Manchester, Town Hall 1895

Photo ref: 36380

More about this scene

This is a lovely full frontal view of Manchester Town Hall as it was over a century ago. The Albert Memorial in the middle of our photograph has a elaborate history, which is often told wrongly. The monument is in two parts. The statue itself is one part, and the ornate cover and surround is the other. The statue was paid for and commissioned by Thomas Goadsby, who had known Prince Albert when they planned the Old Trafford Exhibition together. It was he, as mayor of Manchester, who had started the Albert Square project. He died before it was completed, and his widow married the next mayor, Abel Heywood. So this memorial, presented by Mrs Abel Heywood, was really thanks to Tommy Goadsby, as was the Cromwell statue mentioned elsewhere. The money for the canopy was raised by public subscription, and this is what has led to the confusion.

An extract from Manchester Photographic Memories.