The Gangs of Manchester

During the last three decades of the 19th century, the slums of industrial Manchester and Salford were the battle ground for gangs of violent youths called Scuttlers. The ‘dangerous game called scuttling’ involved fighting turf wars that left many injured, maimed and sometimes dead. Their uniform of brass tipped clogs, bell bottom trousers, long soaped down fringes with angled caps, Burberry-like scarves and belts with a heavy buckle said “we’re ready for a fight”; typically a ‘seething mass of sixty lads fighting with sticks, stones and belts’.

Walk the streets where they fought and hear Andrew Davies’ The Gangs of Manchester brought to life. Understand the rise and fall of this earliest recorded instance of a youth culture that emerged from the slums.

Lead by Emma Fox of Manchester Guided Tours, it finishes in the Marble Arch pub, Rochdale Road, where books signed by Davies will be available for purchase.

BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL FOR THIS TOUR!

Tour starting point: Inside Barton Arcade by Edwards Shoes, Deansgate, M3 2BW