Top of the Pops The very first edition was broadcast from a converted church studio in Rusholme on New Year’s Day 1964. Anthony Burgess Famous for being the author of the dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange, Burgess grew up in Moss Side. In 2008, The Times placed him number 17 on their list of ‘The […]
Winstanley Hall, built in the 1560s, is one of only three Tudor buildings in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan. It was originally built for the Winstanley family, who had been the Lords of the Manor since c.1252; however, only three decades later in 1596, the estate was sold in its entirety to James Bankes, a […]
What is peace? Peace is an ideal we humans have been striving towards since the beginnings of mankind. On the micro level, peace is essential to a stable upbringing, whilst on the macro it is fundamental to a functioning world. Whilst Syria prepares for peace talks in Switzerland, by bringing the Syrian government and the […]
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was, for over two decades, one of the most formidable leaders in Europe. He has often been overlooked in history but he was idealised by many fascists, including Hitler himself. Mussolini’s rise to power can be attributed to two main features, Mussolini’s talent in journalism and his recognition of the importance […]
“History matters. Many school children doubt this. But they are wrong, and they need to be persuaded they are wrong”. Niall Ferguson, the self proclaimed saviour of history, recently launched a malicious attack on the way history is taught in schools. He may be correct in saying that history does matter, but the methods he […]
Last month, we discovered that gang culture is almost as native to Manchester as Corrie and football. Inspired by this, we have delved into history’s murky underworld and uncovered the criminal activities that have marred society throughout the centuries. From crimes of passion to the history of the mob mentality, we have reviewed the misdeeds […]
All Saints Church now: 2015, the site is now All Saints Park. All Saints Church then: All Saints Church in 1900. Built in 1820, it was a C of E church. It sustained heavy damage in the Blitz and was demolished in 1949. Photo courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives. Fallowfield station now: Same […]
As the second term is well underway, Peer Support is now recruiting for mentors for the next academic year. The Peer Mentor scheme offers first years support and advice from students who have been in the same position as them. Freshers are assigned a mentor who is there to help them settle into university life […]
Disclosing the cultural importance of Manchester’s music scene through the ages. Tout & the success of the Manchester School. Name: Lewis Namier Lived: 1888 – 1960 Born in Poland in 1888 into a conflicted childhood; constantly disagreed with his Father’s views through his abhorrence of the dual-monarchy. Namier was a long time Zionist & campaigned […]
In the Spring of 2011, chaos and revolts rippled across the Arab world, commonly referred to as ‘The Arab Spring’. The term ‘Arab Spring’ originates from the 1848 revolutions, also called the ‘People’s Spring’, when political upheavals swept across Europe. 10 years on from the Arab Spring, we must look back on what happened and […]
The weeks leading up to the storming of the Bastille had been rife with rumours of a government attack on the people, and the growing fear and anger culminated in the still-celebrated event that is often seen as the start of the French Revolution. The dismissal of Jacques Necker, the French Finance Minister, who had […]
Popular images of the first transatlantic migrants depict fierce conquistadors in the South and pious pilgrims in the North, motivated by greed in the former case and obscure Puritanism in the latter. However, what really caused people to make such a radical journey in the centuries following the encounter with the Americas? What factors could […]
Like consumerist nursery rhymes, we can quote them in their hundreds and do so every day. Not since Shakespeare has one form of media so transformed our language, with the extraordinary rapidly becoming so ordinary. Slogans were the communication channel of choice in the twentieth century and in the Internet era we cannot avoid them. […]
The Prayer Book rebellion, also referred to as the Western Rising, took place between 6th June and 17th August 1549, in Devon and Cornwall. This was a response to widespread opposition to the authorisation of the Book of Common Prayer in January of the same year. Following Henry VIII’s religious reformations through the 1520s and […]
