69 - 77
Lever Street These houses were built
during a period when the population of the city centre
was mushrooming. There was increasing pressure to
accommodate the huge numbers of textile workers moving
into the city. These houses were first built in
the 1780s. This development was built by a
plasterer called William Bradley. One of the
houses was built to accommodate a single family but the
ones that were added later were apparently built as
tenaments. They housed multiple families and the
top floors were set aside a loomshops.
When they were built they had open rear yards over time that space was used to add further living and manufacturing structures, as you can see in the plan below. Above my sketch map based on the 1888 map of the area D- dwelling OFF - office PH - public house WHSE - warehouse FAC - factory The houses have been restored and restructured to accommodate a number of educational and commercial ventures. As you can see the
building on the corner of Lever Street and what was
Ancoat Street and is now Houldsworth Street was once
a pub. Today it offers a different sort of
therapy.
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