Standing just off Bridge Street on Water Street, beside the Irwell, the Pumphouse has signs outside identifying it as The People's History Museum but photographed here in May of 2008 it was closed and would stay that way until 2010.  Visitors to Manchesters Museum of Science and Industry can see an interesting exhibit explaining the history of this unassuming building.  The exhibit explains that:  "In 1891 Manchester Corporation decided to build a network to distribute hydraulic power to the city."  A power station was built on Whitworth Street and the system opened in 1894.

In 1895 there were 12 miles of hydraulic pipes under the city streets.  The network provided power for 247 machines.  By the 1930s, this had grown to 35 miles of pipes working some 2400 machines. 

- The map below from MOSI show the extent of the pipe system -

The first power station was built on Whitworth Street and in 1899 a second one was added on Pott Street.  This station on Water Street was added in 1909 as demand increased.

(Note: the water storage tanks at the back of the building.)

In Manchester, hydraulic power was mostly used by presses that packed cotton bales.  In the city’s warehouses, these presses worked in the basements.  Hydraulic powered cranes on the ground floor or higher floors lifted the goods onto vehicles for shipment to the customers.  Elsewhere in the city hydraulics drove lifts, moved railway wagons, and even wound the Town Hall clock and raised the Opera House safety curtain.

One of the original pumping units from the Water Street Pump House

In the 1920s the steam pumps were converted to electric drive.  The use of electricity began to spread throughout the city.  The Pott Street Station closed in 1939 and from 1948 the system began to be abandoned.  By 1968 only 25 miles of pipes were used.  Four years later on December 26, 1972, the Water Street Station was closed bringing the use of the system to an end.

The only hydraulic cranes and presses that remain are in Canada House.

In 1994 the Pumphouse became home to The People's Museum.  It housed museum galleries, a café, shop, corporate facilities and education service. In 2008 a major redevelopment of the museum began.  This involved the construction of a new extension and the refurbishment of the existing pump house.  An award of more than £7million from the Heritage Lottery Fund and a £2m grant from the Northwest Regional Development Agency financed the project.

Above:  The image of the new museum at the construction site.

To see the process of construction from hole in the ground to completion, select the menu option on the left.

Dr. Tristram Hunt, HLF trustee and historian, said that when it reopens “The People's History Museum's new galleries will uniquely present the story of the growth of democracy in Britain, in which the city of Manchester played such a crucial part.” 

When I visited the museum in March of 2010 the construction phase was over and the museum was open for visitors.

To see what it looks like inside choose that option from the menu on the left.