Canal Street (Manchester) - History

History

Canal Street developed when the Rochdale Canal was constructed in 1804, a trade artery running through the city. Pubs and other businesses evolved to service the users of the canal, especially the people stopping at the lock nearby.

Not until the 20th century, however, did the area first begin to be properly associated with gay people. By the 1960s, usage of the canal had greatly declined due to competition from other methods of transport. Whilst assuming the form of an industrial area full of cotton factories, by night the area was a red-light district. With the collapse of the cotton industry in Northern England, the area suffered urban decay. The area along the canal was perfect for gay men to meet clandestinely as it was dark and unvisited, but was near to good transport links such as Oxford Road and Piccadilly railway stations. By the 1980s, James Anderton, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, an Evangelical Christian, had accused gays of "swirling in a cesspit of their own making". According to Beatrix Campbell, a journalist for The Guardian, Anderton "encouraged his officers to stalk its dank alleys and expose anyone caught in a clinch, while police motorboats with spotlights cruised for gay men around the canal's locks and bridges". James Anderton when questioned about the policing of the Canal Street area denied that he was motivated by anti gay prejudice and was merely enforcing the law on sexual activity in public toilets. The Greater Manchester Police under his leadership ran a strict licensing regime for bars and nightclubs in the central Manchester area. This was relaxed following his retirement in 1991.

The opening of Manto in 1990 was regarded as a catalyst for the development of many of the current style of bars and clubs in the Village. Manto was created when Carol Ainscow, a gay property developer, alongside her business partner Peter Dalton, bought a run-down building on Canal Street. The building was the first in the area to be clad with large plate glass windows; Ainscow stated, "I felt sick of having to knock on doors and hide". Despite this, Ainscow stated that the for the first six months of business, Manto was continually losing money due to people's fear of being seen in there.

Another catalyst for the expansion in the 1990s was its official recognition by Manchester City Council. Following the passing of a number of non-discrimination policies on the grounds of sexuality in the late 1980s, the council was pioneering work in the advancement of lesbian and gay rights (along with a HIV/AIDS unit, sympathetic press and marketing officers like Chris Payne and Tony Cross, an 'Equality Group' which appointed lesbians' and gay men's officers, including Paul Fairweather, Marcus Woolley, Chris Root, Maggie Turner, Terry Waller and Mark Ovenden) and many key departments like Libraries, Children's Services and Housing), much official emphasis was placed on strengthening the community element of the Village. This included major support for the Mardi Gras and purchase of the Sackville Street Gardens in 1990 and becoming the first UK council to support civil partnerships.

The Village has been unified by issues regarding the gay community, such as the passing of Section 28. Ian Wilmott, a gay Labour councillor said, " Section 28 was such a monstrous attack on civil liberties that hundreds of campaigners came together to oppose it. People were feeling besieged. We had no homeland, no part of the city. We needed somewhere ... It had to be more than a club. We willed the village into existence." Additionally, raising awareness over the HIV/AIDS threat to the community have been "integral to bringing the village together", according to John Hamilton, chair of the Village Business Association.

There was also much local media support of coverage of events in the Village - particularly by Kiss 102, Key 103 and Granada TV.