I must have walked past this building dozens of times, but last
week I happened to look up and I spotted the sign for Manchester and Salford Street
Children’s Mission, so I felt moved to find out more.
This fine terracotta building was part of the Wood Street
Mission, a charity founded by Alfred Alsop in 1869 (and named after the
premises it moved into in 1873). The Mission aimed to relieve the misery of the
poor - particularly the children of the nearby slums; it also helped convicts
and tramps. It ran soup kitchens, handed out clogs and clothing, and provided
breakfast, presents and entertainment at Christmas. It later went on to organise
days out at the seaside, and ran holiday camps.
