Volume 18, 2018
Mapping the Rise and Fall of Ancoats Hall
Brian Robson
School of Environment, Education & Development, University of Manchester.
Abstract
A sequence of maps focused on Ancoats Hall is used to chart the fluctuating fortunes of the hall. It had been a 17th century building built by the Mosley family, sited in a rural setting facing the River Medlock. Replaced with a new building in the early 1820s by the textile magnate George Murray, the hall was rapidly engulfed by the industrial expansion of Ancoats leaving it hemmed into grim industrial surroundings. In the 20th century, the local philanthropist Thomas Horsfall used it as an art museum which aimed to enrich the lives of the poor, and it was joined by the first university settlement outside London which used both the hall and the nearby Round House to provide accommodation for activities that brought together local residents with university staff and students. Both buildings have now been demolished. Their legacy is the array of maps and plans that plot the hall’s history.
Radiocarbon constraints on historical peat accumulation rates and atmospheric deposition of heavy metals at Holcroft Moss, Warrington
William J. Fletcher and Peter A. Ryan
Department of Geography, School of Environment, Education and Development,
The University of Manchester
Abstract
Peat bog records of environmental change from the industrial heartland of NW England are rare, precisely because industrial activity and urbanisation have often destroyed or truncated the stratigraphical record of recent times. Here, we present new stratigraphical, radiocarbon and heavy metal (Pb and Cu) data for the near-surface peat layers of Holcroft Moss, a lowland raised bog located near Warrington, Cheshire. Based on the radiocarbon data and informed by down-core changes in bulk density, we derive an age-depth model for peat accumulation during the last ca. 700 years and use the resulting accumulation rates to derive estimates of historical Pb and Cu deposition at the site. The study reveals the legacy of the Industrial Revolution in terms of peat stratigraphy, peat accumulation rates and heavy metal deposition. Deposition of Pb and Cu peaked in the late 19th to early 20th century, reaching 122 and 50 mg m-2 yr-1 respectively, and the timing and magnitude of flux changes can be linked to developmental stages in the industrialisation of the Mersey basin and urban expansion of Liverpool and Manchester. The study confirms the high value of the site as an archive of regional environmental change through the Industrial Revolution.
Obituary
KEITH SUTTON 1943 -2018
Ian Douglas
School of Environment, Education & Development, University of Manchester.
Urban agriculture: evaluating informal and formal practices
Michael Hardman
School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford.
Rebecca St. Clair
Faculty of Business and Law, Manchester Metropolitan University.
David Adams
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham.
Richard Armitage
School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford.
Veronica Barry
School of Engineering and the Built Environment, Birmingham City University,
Peter Larkham
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham.
Graeme Sherriff
School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford.
Abstract
Urban agriculture (UA) is a fast-increasing element in many settlements in the Global North. This paper reviews the diversity of UA activity, ranging from legal to illegal, formal to informal. Focusing particularly on current research on UA projects in England, including small-scale guerrilla gardening and large community projects supported by community and government funding, we look at the realities of UA. We suggest that it is under-theorised as previous research has focused on practicalities and activism. In particular, we highlight the problematic contribution of UA to food production, the wider value in terms of community development, health and wellbeing, and warn of the danger of the ‘local trap’.
‘Working from home’: academics and Airbnb, an autoethnographic account
Dr Samantha Wilkinson
School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Dr Catherine Wilkinson
Faculty of Health and Social Care, Edge Hill University.
Abstract
This paper offers an autoethnographic account of the impact Airbnb has on ourselves, as hosts, in our own homes in Greater Manchester. The paper is theoretically framed by Goffman’s (1959:79) notion of “theatrical performance”. This framework is pertinent to our positions as Airbnb hosts, since performance is key to the way in which we present our homes and ourselves to guests. The paper provides insight into our findings, surrounding three key themes: spatial management; dirty work; and tensions between guests and hosts.