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Cottonopolis: The Origins of Global Manchester
26 November 2025 - 9 May 2026
Explore Manchester’s cotton industry and global connections.
Cottonopolis explores how 18th century Manchester was transformed into a manufacturing powerhouse and the centre of Britain’s booming cotton industry. Manchester became known as Cottonopolis.
The exhibition explores how the city’s explosive industrial growth depended on links to India, Africa and America that inspired, supplied and provided markets for its machine-made cotton goods. Read letters, factory plans and ledgers that were working documents in Manchester cotton mills. See Indian fabrics that were admired by the British cotton industry and learn how these fabrics drove innovation. Examine a rediscovered cotton sample book that traces a world of exchanges that connected Manchester to markets in Africa and the Caribbean.
The exhibition is curated by Professor Edmond Smith as part of his research for his new book Ruthless: A New History of Britain’s Rise to Wealth and Power, 1600-1800.
