Why a Booktrail?
The Man who built Manchester
Manchester’s Radical Mayor
Why a Booktrail?
The Man who built Manchester
What you need to know before your trail
Known in his day as the man who built the Town Hall, Abel Heywood was a leading Manchester publisher who entertained royalty at his home and twice became Mayor of Manchester. Yet before he found success his life was one of poverty and hardship, marked by a prison term in his pursuit of a free press.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Manchester
A campaigner for votes for all and social reform, Heywood attempted to enter Parliament twice, but his working-class origins and radical ideas proved an insurmountable obstacle. As councillor, alderman and mayor, he worked passionately and tirelessly to build the road, railway and tram systems, develop education, improve the provision of hospitals, museums and libraries, better the living conditions of the poor, and make Manchester a great city.
There are lots of signs in the city today of this era – be sure to have lunch at the Liberal reform club – now rejuvenated as the Grand Pacific. Or why not raise a glass to the man himself who has a pub named after him?
This book explores the wider political, cultural and class context of the Victorian city.
Streetview Maps
A) Manchester - Town Hall
B) Manchester - Abel Heywood pub
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Manchester’s Radical Mayor
Destination: Manchester Author/Guide: Joanna M. Williams Departure Time: 1701-1900
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
