Engraving

Catalogue Reference:(MCL) M55181

An 1890 engraving showing a temporary village at Acton Grange in Manchester for Irish workmen and their families employed in the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal. There are no street drains or pavements and boards are laid across the drainage ditch which runs on both sides of the road. Much of the work to excavate the canal was manual and 16,000 labourers were employed at its peak. The canal made Manchester a major world port.