Angel Meadow Walking Tour

At 12.00 noon on a wet Wednesday, we met Dean Kirby, author of “Angel Meadow: Victorian Britain’s Most Savage Slum” for a walking tour. The rain however didn’t dampen our spirits and it soon brightened up.

Dean’s stories really brought to life the underworld of Angel Meadow, the vilest and most dangerous slum of the Industrial Revolution. In the shadow of the world’s first cotton mill, 30,000 souls trapped by poverty are fighting for survival as the British Empire is built upon their backs.

Thieves and prostitutes keep company with rats in overcrowded lodging houses and deep cellars on the banks of a black river, the Irk. Gangs of ‘scuttlers’ stalk the streets in pointed, brass-tipped clogs. Those who evade their clutches are hunted down by cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis. Lawless drinking dens and a cold slab in the dead house provide the only relief from this filthy and frightening world.

Dean took us on a hair-raising journey through the former gin palaces, alleyways and underground vaults of this nineteenth century Manchester slum considered so diabolical it was re-christened ‘hell upon earth’ by Friedrich Engels.

There are many historic characters associated with Angel Meadow and the surrounding area. Some of them were local people trying to make a difference. Others were national celebrities who were connected to the area in some way.

Friedrich Engels

Friedrich Engels was born in 1820 as the son of a German industrialist. As a young man his father sent him to England to escape the troubles in Germany at the time. Engels was shocked by the poverty in the city and began writing an account that was published as the “Condition of the Working Classes in England” (1844). His account includes a graphic description of the pauper burial ground at St Michael’s Flags. Engels later collaborated with Karl Marx which famously resulted in the writing of the Communist Manifesto.

“Angel Meadow was in one of the most notoriously squalid districts; there is a certain black irony to its name … “

Reverend Mercer

Reverend Mercer was a minister at St Michael’s Church. He was deeply involved in the newly formed Prevention of Cruelty to Children Society (1884) – now known as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). He had an in-depth knowledge of the local area and its community.

Reverend Jowitt Wilson

Reverend Wilson was minister of St Michael’s Church between 1913 and 1927. During this time he brought about numerous improvements to the church and its grounds, using money raised largely by his own efforts. His obituary in the Manchester City News described him as:

“the stalwart figure, with the big, kind genial face, so well known to every man, woman and child in St Michael’s parish”

L S Lowry

Lawrence Stephen Lowry had links with the area long before sketching and then painting St Michael’s and All Angels, Angel Meadow. His maternal grandparents lived on Oldham Road, near to St Michael’s Flags (his grandfather was known locally as a “moderately prosperous” hatter).

Jerome Caminada

Jerome Caminada was Manchester’s very own Sherlock Holmes. Born of Irish-Italian descent, he was a great believer in law and order who became a high-ranking detective in the police force, patrolling both Deansgate and Ancoats.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was invited to visit the Charter Street Ragged School by its superintendent, Thomas “Saint Tommy” Johnson, in 1906. He was the first member of government ever to set foot within the school. Later, on hearing of Tommy’s death, Churchill wrote a moving letter about meeting him and visiting the area.

Thomas “Saint Tommy” Johnson

Thomas Johnson became Superintendent of Charter Street, Manchester’s largest Ragged School. He was born and bred in Angel Meadow, though he could remember neither his father nor his mother (both of whom presumably died in one of the many epidemics).

Duchess of Sutherland

Lady Millicent Fanny St Clair-Erskine, The Duchess of Sutherland and wife of the 4^th Duke, was a writer and editor, and served in the Red Cross during World War I. She opened the Girls’ Home, above the Charter Street Ragged School, on 26 July 1900.

Thomas Wright

Thomas Wright played an active part in befriending the many homeless and destitute children of Manchester. He was a frequent visitor to the Charter Street Ragged School and was described by his friend, Lord Shaftsbury (the 7^th Earl), as “saintly”.

More photos can be seen here.

International Transgender Day of Visibility

The first International Transgender Day of Visibility was held on 31 March 2009.

This is a day to elevate the voices of trans people and raise awareness about the challenges they face.

Let’s meet Dee Hawley:

I’m a Trans Woman and I’ve Never Felt More Beautiful at 88

“I’m one of Britain’s oldest trans women aged 88 and I’ve never felt younger – I’m living my best life!” These are the words of Dee Hawley, who celebrated her 88th birthday on 18 March. She says she’s “never felt younger or more beautiful”.

Dee spent most of her life hiding her true identity before bravely deciding to come out when she was in her late 70s. She’s decided to embrace her femininity with a boost from breast implants, but the full change isn’t for her due to her age.

Before this vital transformation, Dee lived in Oxford with her wife for an impressive 62 years. They then relocated to Moseley. In early years, Dee had an adventure-packed life when she joined the army during the 1950s. She became a tank gunner in the Royal Engineers and was on standby for potential deployment to Suez during the tumultuous crisis of 1956.

After serving, Dee swapped the military life for one in local government. It was here that she met her wife, and they were blessed with three children during their marriage. Interestingly, it wasn’t until her 60s and early 70s that Dee developed a fascination and attraction towards feminine clothing, with no prior desire to transition into a woman.

It took a great deal of courage for her, but by the summer of 2011 Dee had shared her deep-seated secret with her wife. Despite the obvious shock, her wife continued to support her. Yet, their journey together ended amicably a year after.

Between her three children, she has been blessed with two grandchildren and has since claimed her female identity which she enjoys every day. Her wish now is that her story will become an inspiration to older transgender individuals who are contemplating coming out.

Reflecting on her own journey, she commented: “The interesting thing about me is that I had no inclination throughout my life until I was in my early 60’s.”

Triggering the curiosity of many, she went on to add: “Most people always have some inclination when they’re children, they often suppress it.”

“It starts in all sorts of ways. I’ve only ever met one other person that has been like me. It creeps up on you and takes hold of you.

When people say ‘why do you want to do a thing like that? ‘, well I didn’t want to. It comes on you so strong, you just want to be that all the time. At the beginning you’re hiding it. It was still terrifying that people would find out. It kind of started gradually.

I couldn’t stop myself. I must have been in my 60’s and it became an issue in my early 70s. I came out to my wife in 2011. I’ve been wanting to go out and do things for a couple years prior to that, up to then it had been building up.

You start to get bits of clothing and hide them away. When the wife’s gone out you start to dress out. By the end you want to go out, but that’s a really scary thing.

I think I was lucky because it was hard emotionally, but I was older and mature and I was confident in myself as a person. Unlike young people who are going through a string of emotions.

When I moved here I made an important decision, I decided that I was most definitely not doing anything wrong. I was going to be proud of myself as a person, I considered myself as a good person.

I didn’t get the feeling I wanted to be a woman until I was later in life. I want to live my life as a woman and look like a woman. It’s a spectrum. One end there’s a pure female and then there’s a pure male. Then there’s all the in between.”

“We’re all individual and all in our own place. I was just going to be myself and live my life as anyone else.”

Dee spent £4,000 on breast implant surgery in 2016, but says she wouldn’t go further with operations or take hormones due to her age. Her family and friends have supported her, many of them joined her when she celebrated her 88th birthday on 18 March.

She added: “When I came out, which is the most difficult thing I’ve had to in my life, my wife tried to live with it, but she couldn’t, bless her. But we settled amicably. That was quite mature. I’ve got three children, two of them have embraced me so well.

And in that respect I’m incredibly lucky and in that respect I’m quite unusual. They go out with me without hesitation. I started giving myself little tasks to do to go forward, to go in the shop or the cafe or the ladies toilets.

Bit by bit, I built up my confidence quickly. The other thing that worries you is your male voice, but then I thought to hell with it. That’s what I did. I told my very best friend Michael who I have been since childhood, when I told him he said ‘never mind, we’re mates’.

There are some people who are older than me, but I don’t come across it much. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to achieve as a normal person. Going back, I got to accept gay people. When I was younger it was still illegal. You became aware of that and I became more liberal about it.

I didn’t know about trans at all moving through my life. I got a computer and was surprised to find there was a whole community out there like me. It was encouraging.”

Dee’s advice for anyone with similar feelings is to just go with it, no matter how old you are and to “believe in your right to live”.

She added: “I’m proud of it, how I look for my age. People do tell me how amazing I look for my age, I like to be glamorous. I like colourful things. I’m young in my head. I’ve had one or two rude remarks made in the street, more in the past than now. The worst thing is sometimes you get young men in cars who shout the most obscene things. It’s not nice to have that shouted at you.

I’d say believe in yourself, whatever age, and believe in your right to live your life like anyone else. It is your right to live it. They should not be put off by age. You’re embarrassed about it in a way, you’re a little bit ashamed. You have to get over that. When you realise that you can’t help doing that, it’s a strange period to go through. It’s an emotional rollercoaster.

If ever anyone had said this would happen 30 years ago, I would’ve said no way. That’s the most amazing thing about it. People say it’s not natural, but it is a natural thing to do. I am 88, but I’ve never felt more youthful and beautiful. I’ll never look back.”

Lorraine Kelly Hosted Gay Wedding Live on TV

TV host Lorraine Kelly helped a gay couple get hitched on live television, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first same-sex marriages in England and Wales.

The host of ITV’s Lorraine wore a glittering rainbow dress to proclaim what she dubbed ‘Lorraine’s gay wedding’.

“You are cordially invited to a very special occasion,” she said on the set of Lorraine. “It’s been 10 years since the first same-sex marriage and to commemorate a decade of love and commitment, a happy couple will get married right here in this studio with a very special celebrant.”

The big day for the lucky couple was Wednesday, 27 March.

Tomorrow (29 March) marks 10 years since the first weddings took place in the UK, following the Royal Assent of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 on 17 July 2013.

Social media users thanked Kelly for putting LGBT+ couples front and centre on her show, especially given the rising anti-LGBT+ sentiment in the UK. 

“She gets a lot of flack and weddings are not the be all and end all of queer rights, but good on her,” one person wrote. “Especially in current times, it’s nice to see a little positivity on a mainstream platform.”

Another viewer said: “The anti-LGBT+ movement has, once again, pushed the rainbow flag to the top of their ‘it’s evil’ list, so seeing an ally go full in your face with it on day-time TV is quite the statement.”

Lorraine Kelly  has proven herself to be a staunch LGBT+ ally in recent years, most notably by defending trans people during an interview with gender-critical professor Kathleen Stock in 2021.

On Monday, 25 March, the presenter was named as the recipient of this year’s BAFTA Special Award for services to TV.

Despite the televised wedding being little more than a bit of camp fun, the bigots have come out in full force, pledging to boycott Lorraine.

“Here’s an idea for you next week … show a straight wedding too, celebrate with the majority,” suggested one upset social media user.

Another wrote: “I’m heterosexual. Can I get married on your show? If not, why not?”

The anniversary of same-sex marriages is also being marked with a one-off BBC show, hosted by Tom Allen. Big Gay Wedding will follow Adam Johnson and Dan Mackey as they plan for their dream day, with support from the comedian and some of his famous friends.

Lorraine’s gay wedding special aired on ITV1 and ITVX from 9.00am on Wednesday, 27 March. Big Gay Wedding aired on BBC One at 9.00pm the same day, but is also available on BBC iPlayer.