World Cotton Day Heritage City Trail: Linford Sweeney

In celebration of UN World Cotton Day, the Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement programme presents this guided heritage city trail.

This route was part of a commission by Legacies of Enslavement Programme and GM Moving called the Heritage in Action Routes.

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The Legacies of Enslavement programme understands restorative justice as a process of dialogue and collaboration aimed at repair and healing between The Guardian – an institution that benefited from transatlantic enslavement – and descendants of the enslaved. Manchester was the first industrial city in the world. This was built on the cotton trade. This is a shared history.

The route will explore Manchester’s historical links, via the Windrush generation, to the transatlantic slave trade, which fuelled its industrial growth and prosperity from the 16th to 19th centuries through cotton mills reliant on enslaved labour. Even after the abolition of slavery in 1833, Manchester continued importing cotton, maintaining connections to slavery’s legacy.

It takes place in a residential area with busy roads, flat terrain, rest points, and refreshments available at two stops, plus opportunities for participants to leave during the tour. 

End destination: Alexandra Park, Whalley Range, Manchester

ACCESS INFO: The majority of this route has step-free access. Where this is not the case alternative vantage points for stops have been identified. At points we may come across cobbled areas but will strive to avoid them. There is one rest point with the provision of accessible toilets.

All tour scripts were supported by academic advisor, Moleka Newman, and the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Centre.

Image credit: Ella Mayamothi

If you have any queries or requests for the programme’s Privacy and Data Protection policies, please get in touch via legacies email - legacies@theguardian.com