About
Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections is an exceptional academic and public archive housed in the Sir Kenneth Green Library on the university's All Saints campus in central Manchester. The collections bring together rare books, manuscripts, archives, artists' books, photographs, maps, and documentary materials spanning five centuries, with particular strength in the history of radical politics and social movements in Manchester and the north of England.
The collections' greatest distinction is the Trade Union, Labour, Co-operative and Democratic History (TLCDH) collection — one of the most significant archives of British labour movement history in existence. This remarkable resource documents the Chartist movement of the 1830s and 1840s, the growth of trade unionism across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the co-operative movement and its deep roots in Manchester and the north of England, women's suffrage and the suffragette movement (for which Manchester was a crucible — the Pankhurst family and the Women's Social and Political Union were based here), socialist and radical political organisations, and the broad sweep of working-class political and social history. Researchers from around the world consult these materials.
Beyond the TLCDH collection, Special Collections houses an outstanding library of rare books, including incunabula (books printed before 1501) and early printed books from the fifteenth century onward. The artists' books and fine press collection is nationally significant, documenting the tradition of the book as art object from the private press movement of the late nineteenth century to contemporary artist publishing. A substantial collection of historic photographs documents Manchester and its people across the Victorian and Edwardian periods and into the twentieth century.
The Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies archive reflects the university's academic strength in Gothic Studies — a field in which MMU has national and international standing. Historic maps of Manchester and the wider north-west provide cartographic documentation of the region's transformation during industrialisation and beyond.
Access to Special Collections is available to all researchers and members of the public, though an appointment is required for most collections. Staff provide expert guidance to new users, and digitisation projects have made portions of the collections accessible online. The collections are an invaluable resource for anyone researching Manchester's extraordinary history as a city of radical ideas, industrial transformation, and social innovation.
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Highlights
Trade Union, Labour, Co-operative and Democratic History (TLCDH) Collection
The TLCDH collection is the collection's greatest treasure — a comprehensive archive of British labour movement history assembled over decades. It includes records of trade unions, co-operative societies, socialist and radical political organisations, personal papers of activists and politicians, pamphlets, newspapers, and ephemera documenting working-class political organisation from the early nineteenth century to the present day.
For researchers of Chartism, trade unionism, the co-operative movement, or radical politics, this is one of the most important archives in the United Kingdom.
Suffragette and Women's Suffrage Archive
Manchester was central to the suffragette movement — the Pankhurst family founded the Women's Social and Political Union here in 1903, and the campaign for women's votes drew enormous energy from Manchester's radical political traditions. The Special Collections holdings on women's suffrage include pamphlets, correspondence, photographs, banners, and records documenting the campaign locally and nationally.
These materials are of major significance for the history of women's political emancipation and for understanding Manchester's unique role in this defining struggle.
Rare Books and Incunabula
The rare books collection includes volumes printed before 1501 (incunabula) — among the earliest printed books in existence — as well as significant holdings of sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth-century publications. These volumes represent the history of printing and publishing from the era of Caxton's press onward, and include theological works, natural philosophy, literature, and early scientific texts.
The collection is of interest not only for its textual content but as a physical record of the craft of the book through five centuries of typographic history.
Artists' Books and Fine Press Collection
MMU Special Collections holds one of the most significant collections of artists' books and fine press publications in the north of England. Artists' books — works in which the book form itself is integral to the artistic concept — sit at the intersection of visual art, literature, and craft. The collection ranges from the private press movement of the late nineteenth century (the Kelmscott, Doves, and Ashendene presses and their successors) to contemporary artist publishing.
This collection supports MMU's strong programmes in art, design, and book arts and attracts researchers and artists from across the world.
Collections
Special Collections Reading Room
A dedicated reading room in the Sir Kenneth Green Library where researchers can access and study materials from Special Collections by appointment. Staff provide expert guidance and support.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.