[foul drain] a historical walking tour of Manchester's water

The Water Tour

Where does Manchester get its water from? How has the city used water over the centuries? How has water shaped the Manchester we know now?

Join The Material City water walking tour to find out.

We’ll meet in front of the main entrance to the Museum of Science of industry on Liverpool Road, then we’ll walk approximately 1 mile over 2 hours to the start of Canal Street, opposite the New Union Pub.

On the way we’ll talk hard water, soft water, graveyard floods, and class issues. We’ll be thinking about what happens when humans try and control water, and what water has meant to us in the city over time. There will be tales about mythical water monsters, cholera, and a hidden river under our feet.

And then we’ll ask ourselves: “how much can humans really control water?”

What is “The Material City”

This is a project that gives you a different way of looking at an urban environment. The aim is to make you stop and think about the everyday things that make up the city of Manchester. Things like brick, tarmac, sandstone, and canal water; things we walk past, walk over, and ignore as part of the background noise. A Material City tour invites you to interact with some of Manchester's key components -water, stone, air- and learn how their material properties influence humans, and explore the history of this influence in the urban environment. This is a mix of new materialism, environmental history, and urban history. Find out more on The Material City project's website: thematerialcity.com/