People's History Museum facts for kids
The People's History Museum
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Former name | National Museum of Labour History |
|---|---|
| Location | Left Bank, Manchester, M3 3ER, United Kingdom |
| Type | History museum |
| Architect | Henry Price |
|
Listed Building – Grade II
|
|
| Official name: Former Hydraulic Power Station in grounds of City College | |
| Designated: | 22 July 1992 |
| Reference #: | 1254724 |
The People's History Museum in Manchester, England, is a special place. It is the United Kingdom's national center for learning about the history of working people. The museum collects, saves, and shares items that tell this story. It helps us understand how people lived and worked in the UK.
The museum is in a Grade II listed old pumping station. This building used to help power machines in Manchester. It was designed by an architect named Henry Price.
The museum shows how people in Great Britain fought for their rights and for democracy. It also shares stories about everyday life over the last 200 years. You can see printed materials, objects, and photos. These show people at work, resting, and having fun.
Some of the topics you can explore include:
- How ordinary people pushed for change.
- The Peterloo Massacre, a famous event where people protested for rights.
- The start of trade unions in the 1800s. Trade unions are groups that protect workers' rights.
- The women's suffrage movement, which fought for women's right to vote.
- The history of cooperative movements, where people worked together for common good.
- How people's lives improved over time.
Discovering the Past: A Look at the Museum's History
The People's History Museum has an interesting past. Before it came to Manchester, a group called the Trade Union, Labour and Co-operative History Society had a collection in London. This was from 1975 to 1986.
In 1990, the museum moved to Manchester. It opened in an old building called the Mechanics' Institute. This building is also very old and important.
Later, in 1994, the museum opened another part at its current location on Bridge Street. This part was called the Pump House People's History Museum. In 2001, both sites became known as the People's History Museum (PHM).
The Bridge Street site closed in 2007 for a big update. They spent a lot of money to make it better. The old Pump House building was fixed up. A new four-story building was also added next to it. A cool glass walkway now connects the two buildings. The museum reopened in 2010, ready for more visitors.
Amazing Collections: What You Can See at the Museum
The People's History Museum has one of the biggest collections of political items in Britain. Many of these items are from the early 1800s. A large part of the collection focuses on the history of democracy. This includes items about how people gained the right to vote.
Here are some of the things you can find:
- Over 2,000 posters from elections and political campaigns.
- About 300 political cartoons, which are funny drawings with a message.
- 7,000 trade union badges and tokens.
- 95,000 photographs showing different moments in history.
The museum also has the largest collection of trade union and political banners in the world. There are over 400 of them! You can even watch experts carefully fixing these banners in the Textile Conservation studio. This is in Main Gallery Two.
The museum also collects new items from today. For example, they tried to get the "EdStone." This was a stone with promises from a political party in the 2015 election. They also have a copy of Mao's Little Red Book. This book was once thrown across the House of Commons by a politician. The museum uses projects like "Play Your Part" to connect old history with today's issues.
The Labour History Archive: A Treasure Trove of Documents
The People's History Museum also has a very important archive. It is called the Labour History Archive and Study Centre. An archive is a place where old documents and records are kept. This archive has many materials about the history of working people in Britain.
The collections here include:
- Records from the Labour Party.
- Documents from the former Communist Party of Great Britain.
- Materials from the cooperative movement.
- Records from the Department for Work and Pensions.
You can also find documents about Chartism. This was a movement for political rights for working people. There are also papers about general elections and the First World War. You can learn about the women's fight for the right to vote. There are even documents about the big miners' strike from 1984 to 1985.
