Town Hall Tales is project which gathers together images and stories from people who have had some connection with Manchester Town Hall over the years. Ushiku Crisafulli performed a poem there as a young person, on behalf of Albert Kennedy Trust. Linda Shipper’s dad worked for Manchester’s street lighting department and regularly took her there for the Christmas lights switch on ceremony. The Cannings got married at town hall on the same day that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll was visiting the building, later receiving a letter from her lady in waiting to wish them all the best. Declan Maguire took part in a mass protest in the hall against Margaret Thatcher’s banning of trade unions. These are just a few of the tales on display.
The range of people and stories cuts across so much of Manchester’s history and shows what a central role town hall has played in the lives of so many people across the city. Alongside the exhibition at Longsight library there is also an invite to contribute your own tale of town hall if you have one. Just jot it down on one of the forms provided and pop it in the box on the table and help us continue to expand the project.
