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Ancoats Works / Hope Mills, Pollard Street
Beyond the Bank of England pub on
Pollard Street, in Ancoats, there is a cluster of industrial
buildings. The building connected to the pub is called the
Ancoats Works. Observation suggests that the building is still
being used for commercial purposes.
Beyond is a taller block known
as the Hope Mill.
Today a number of floors of the
mill are occupied by art studios. The Manchester City Council web
site says of them, "These
studios
have
already
created
a
real
buzz
within the east Manchester art
scene and are clearly filling an obvious need for quality studio space
at an affordable price. AWOL Studios is enabling local entrepreneurs to
turn their talent into a business which is great news, particularly in
this economic climate."
Hope Mill was apparently one of
the
earliest industrial developments beside the Ashton Canal, in Ancoats.
 In 1824 the owners were Joseph Clarke and Sons. The Clarks were still the owners in 1851, when the map below was drawn, although by now it was George Clark and Company, presumable one of Joseph's sons. Notice that Clark's had a gas works across Pollard Street.  Notice also that further along
the canal was Thomas Joynson's Silk Mill. In the map
below, also dated 1851, the whole complex is called the Hope Mills.
 Below is my version of a map
drawn in 1928 and you can see that the Hope Mills name is confined to
the tall building that was home to Thomas Hope's Publishing company and
a waterproof clothing factory. The building known as Ancoats
Works today was called the Albert Cabinet Works and, judging by the
functions of the various rooms, it was a furniture factory.
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