On discovering Ainsworth Court …… a bit of that very ….. very old Manchester

Today I found Ainsworth Court which was off Long Millgate in the heart of the older part of Manchester.

Ainsworth Court, 1851

I can’t claim it is an earth-shattering discovery, but it was part of that twisty turny area of the city which was almost closed off to the rest of the world.

It was one of those closed courts where a collection of buildings looked out on an open space.  To its rear was the River Irk and it was accessed through a narrow entry.

I suppose its only real claim to fame was that for a few short years it was a Jewish place of worship, from around 1810 till the Halliwell Synagogue was opened fifteen years later.

Other than that, I have so far located a only few people who lived there in the 1850s and 60s.

In 1863 the rate books list four resident who variously described themselves as a bookkeeper, cabinet maker, machine broker and householder, and census returns suggest that most of the properties were occupied by just two or three people.  

Which is all to the good given that the same rate books record modest rents which I suspect means that the properties were small.

The Court was built sometime around 1794 and had vanished by 1894.

No pictures exist and the best I can offer are the houses on Long Millgate directly in front of the court.

The date is 1875 and it appears to show the entry from Long Millgate into the court.

Long Millgate, 1875

That same picture nicely locates the court to a spot beside what was then Cheetham’s Hospital School and the gate house is clearly visible.

Just exactly when the Court vanished is unclear but successive maps show different buildings of which the most recent is and extension to the Music School built in 2012.

It isn’t the stuff of great events but it is a bit little history, that record of the past which is all about vanished places and forgotten people.

So, I shall close with Francis Brewer who was the bookkeeper, John Whittaker the cabinet maker, George Schofield the machine broker and John Brewer the householder.

Two years earlier most od them were in the court with families and George Schofield was in residence from the 1860s through to 1871.

More to follow.

Location, Long Millgate

Pictures, Long Millgate, 1875, m79431, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and Ainsworth Court, 1851 from Adshead’s map of Manchester, Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/