The People’s History Museum tells the story of Britain through the people who actually built it – workers, protestors, organisers, voters. It sits on the Irwell at the edge of Spinningfields, a short walk from Deansgate, and it’s free.
The banner collection is the centrepiece and it’s genuinely extraordinary. Hundreds of trade union and political banners dating back to the 1800s, hand-painted silk and cotton, each one representing a movement, a strike, a fight for something better. The conservation gallery lets you watch the team restoring them. These banners are some of the most important political artefacts in the country and most people have no idea they’re here.
The main galleries walk you through the history of British democracy – the Peterloo Massacre, the Chartists, the suffragettes, the formation of the Labour Party, the welfare state, right up to modern protest movements. Manchester features heavily because Manchester is where a lot of this happened. The Peterloo gallery alone justifies the visit.
Temporary exhibitions tackle contemporary issues – migration, housing, workers’ rights – and the programming doesn’t shy away from difficult questions. There’s a cafe on the ground floor overlooking the river. The shop stocks politically-minded books and prints.
Always free. Open every day. One of the most important museums in Manchester that not enough people know about.
