Artefacts
Artefacts are pieces of our shared history – these can be photographs, oral histories, scans of printed materials or even written memories.
Celebrating Manchester's Untold Stories
Welcome to This Is Us: Tracing Manchester’s Histories, creating a space to reshape how Manchester’s public spaces reflect the people, stories and histories that make up our city. Through storytelling, conversation, and collaboration, overlooked voices will be uncovered, Manchester’s complex past explored, and the resilience, creativity and pride of local communities celebrated. Together, this work creates space for hidden histories to be shared, heard and celebrated.
How to use This is Us
Stories
Stories are collections of artefacts woven together into a narrative, illuminating different aspects of Manchester’s history.
Places
Places are physical locations that have played a part in Manchester’s story. These can be as small as a commemorative plaque or as large as an entire neighbourhood.
Explore Place Themes
Abbey Hey
Ancoats
Ardwick
Ashburys
Baguley
Benchill
Beswick
Blackley
Brooklands
Burnage
Castlefield
Charlestown
Cheetham Hill
Chorlton
Chorlton Park
Clayton
Collyhurst
Crumpsall
Didsbury
Droylsden
Failsworth Border
Fallowfield
Gorton
Green Quarter
Harpurhey
Higher Blackley
Hulme
Levenshulme
Longsight
Lower Broughton Border
Miles Platting
Monsall
Moss Side
Moston
Newton Heath
Northern Quarter
Openshaw
Piccadilly
Plymouth Grove
Ringway
Rusholme
Whalley Range
Withington
Woodhouse Park
Wythenshawe
Featured content
Story
MADE Manchester: Young People Exploring Welcome, Identity, and Belonging in Manchester
What does it really mean to feel welcome in Manchester? Year 9 students from Chorlton High School explored this question through history, poetry and spoken word, working with Manchester Histories, MADE and poet Reece Williams.
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Story
Artefact
•Wythenshawe
Oliver Cromwell statue
Discover why Manchester chose to honour Oliver Cromwell, a controversial figure remembered for overthrowing the monarchy, invading Ireland and imposing strict Puritan rule.
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Artefact
Artefact
•Withington
Marcus Rashford Wall of Hope
Explore the Marcus Rashford Wall of Hope in Withington, Manchester, a mural celebrating Rashford’s campaign against child food poverty and the community’s inspiring response to racism, solidarity and collective action.
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Artefact
Help us Chronicle our City's History
We are inviting contributions of existing stories, audio recordings, images, personal memories, and archive collections that highlight the histories missing or untold in Manchester’s public spaces. If you have material that deserves a wider platform, we would love to hear from you. We are especially interested in stories that reveal who has not been represented or often overlooked.
Quick Links
Our Histories
A space to explore a wide range of Manchester’s stories, shared through oral histories, images, videos,…
Resources
Find helpful tools, guidance, and materials connected to This Is Us. This includes our toolkit, useful…
Partners
Our partners are at the heart of This Is Us: Tracing Manchester’s Histories. Across Manchester, communities,…