Andrew Davies, author of The Gangs of Manchester will be giving a free talk at Manchester Art Gallery on Thursday 23rd January at 7pm.
Between the 1870s to the 1890s, the factory districts of Manchester were divided into a patchwork of gang territories. Feuds between rival gangs raged across our twin cities. Gang members called themselves scuttlers, and the clothing they adopted created a startling contrast to mainstream Victorian fashion, making them instantly recognisable.
They wore peaked caps pulled down over ‘donkey’ fringes, patterned mufflers, or scarves, and flared trousers ,known as ‘bells’ measuring fourteen inches round the knee and twenty-one inches round the foot.
In the talk, Andrew looks behind the headlines in the Victorian press to examine the real lives of gang members and explore the reasons why gangs formed and flourished and what caused them eventually to decline. The answer is, perhaps, a lesson for us from history.
