UK Museums: People's History Museum
People's History Museum, Manchester
The People's History Museum is located on the banks of the River Irwell in Spinningfields, Manchester.
It is the national centre for the collection and study of material relating to the history of working people in the UK.
The People's History Museum exhibits the largest collection of political material in Britain.
History
The museum has its roots in material related to the labour movement collected by activists in the 1960's. This material was the basis of the National Museum of Labour History which opened in London in 1975.
The museum came to Manchester in 1990. It was first housed within the historic former Mechanics' Institute on Princess Street where the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) were all founded.
The museum expanded and moved to the Pump House in 1994. In 2010 new investment enabled renovation of the site and the construction of a new four storey extension.
Presently, the museum attracts over 100,000 visitors annually.
Museum Exhibits
The People's History Museum is housed on four floors and has around 1,500 historic objects including the largest number of trade union banners in the world.
The museum presents the history of working people, the formation of trade unions and establishment of the British labour movement and political party. The information is presented using text panels, photographs, touch screens and real objects.
Other displays focus on women's rights, CND and the establishment of the gay rights movement.
Key protests are also covered including the Peterloo Massacre that took place in Manchester in 1819 and the more recent Miners' Strike in the mid-1980's.
Radical thought and thinkers are also covered including Thomas Paine (1737-1809). Visitors can see the author's desk where he penned such influential essays as the Rights of Man, The Age of Reason and Common Sense as well at his death mask.
The museum makes good use of interactive displays such as recordings of famous political speeches which can be listened to a the press of the button. There are also several videos, sounds and touch elements to offer an all round experience for the visitor.
Another core element of the exhibits is the fight for the vote in Britain set against the often corrupt and unrepresentative nature of Parliament.
Early political cartoons document the struggle for general suffrage in the country.
The Labour History Archive & Study Centre has the complete holdings of the national Labour Party and Communist Party of Great Britain. This includes over 95,000 photographs relating to the growth of democracy in Britain and politics in general.
Altogether, the museum has a huge collection of various documents. These include documents, newspapers and pamphlets relating to such topics as the 1926 General Strike, Britain and the European Union, the British Union of Fascists, Chartism, Early Industrial Manchester, the Spanish Civil War and the LGBT movement.
The archive is open Monday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm, closed 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm for lunch.
The museum also has a gift shop and the The Left Bank cafe bar with great river views on the premises.
Access - Getting to the People's History Museum
People's History Museum
Left Bank
Spinningfields
Manchester
M3 3ER
Tel: 0161 205 2122
phm.org.uk
The building has full wheelchair access using lifts and ramps.
Hours
The museum is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
On the second Thursday each month it is open until 8 pm.
Closed: 24, 25, 26 December, 1 January
Admission
Entrance is free. A suggested donation is 5 GBP.
Public Transport
The nearest Metrolink station is St Peter's Square.
The museum is also a 2 minute walk from Salford Central Station.
Buses 1, 8, 12, 25, 26, 31, 32, 36, 37, 50, X34 all stop at Bridge Street.
Nearby
The museum is close to the Manchester Civil Justice Centre, Manchester Magistrate's Court, the Manchester Opera House, and The John Rylands Library. Deansgate Station is a short distance to the south.
Accommodation options near Spinningfields include the four star Great John Street Hotel, once a former Victorian School, complete with roof garden and classic rooms, the Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel also four star and the luxury apartments in the five star The Bridge, just across the River Irwell.
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Greater Manchester Police Museum
Museum of Transport Greater Manchester
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