Manchester’s Victorian history will come alive next Saturday (26th) as a shipment of spuds is unloaded in the traditional style from a canal boat at Potato Wharf, Castlefield.
The event is the centrepiece of a morning of free family-friendly activities, guided walks, information, costume and colour, organised by Forgotten Fields, a project of the Manchester-based Kindling Trust and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Visitors will be able to see the crops being unloaded by boat-people in the traditional way, recreating a task that was performed daily in Manchester from the 18th century until the start of World War II.
The shipment will be carried by The Clematis, a beautifully-restored working boat, built in 1935, to be skippered by the Wooden Canal Boat Society.
Delicious traditional fare, made with the specially grown heritage potatoes and fresh produce from the local food cooperative Manchester Veg People, will be available from 11.30 at the Oxnoble pub on Liverpool Road.
The 'Underground Manchester' exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry just over the road tells part of this story, so visitors will be encouraged to explore that too.
Many generations of local people have been involved in the cycle of food production, from collectors of the city's chamber-pots, toilet-buckets and horse manure, to the boat-people who transported this vital fertiliser, and the growers of local crops that fed the world's first industrial city. The Forgotten Fields project encourages people to consider their own personal connections to the agricultural and industrial history of Manchester.
Fiona Dunk of The Kindling Trust says:
“This event will be a spectacular re-enactment of a forgotten part of Manchester’s history. We hope it will encourage local people to share their memories, family stories and memorabilia from the time. We would love to hear from anyone who has relatives who were night-soil men; boat-people; market-gardeners; farmers; market traders, or in any other way involved in the supply of food for the people of Manchester. This wonderful part of the city’s culture is being rapidly lost, and Forgotten Fields hopes to capture and record it for future generations.”
The Castlefield Spud Spectacular is a free event and will take place at Potato Wharf, Castlefield Arena, M3 4LZ. on Saturday 26th October from 10am to 1pm, with the boat arriving at 10.30am.
For more information please email fiona@kindling.org.uk