Commercial life and trading networks in the Manchester region during the 19th century: the economic role of the public house, the warehouse and the Manchester Exchange

"The Manchester region was a key driver of trade and commerce during the nineteenth century, but despite extensive research on different aspects of industrialisation and its effects, there are still gaps in understanding as to how some of the processes operated, and this paper explores the nature and complexity of commercial activity in the Manchester region during the nineteenth century. Specifically, it considers the role of key institutions that participated in the economic life of the area, namely public houses, warehouses and the Manchester Exchange, in creating one of the world’s most successful commercial places of its time. Research to-date has confirmed a distinct geographical location where the Manchester Exchange, public houses that were used for trading purposes and the warehouse district were very close together, but because the warehouse district moved away from this core area by mid-century, the resulting use of inns and public houses changed. At the same time the use of the Exchange flourished. So, what we see is the emergence and strengthening of some institutions, the demise of others, and at each key stage in between each of them adapting to meet their changing requirements. The research has been achieved by first analysing trade directory material on country manufacturers visiting the Manchester markets, which lists where they traded, particularly which pubs were used for commercial purposes. Second, the research looks at the Manchester Exchange archive, specifically membership rates. In addition, newspaper evidence, such as the advertising of auctions at warehouses and local inns, and business reports. The results that emerge are presented against historiography on the commercial development of Manchester and Salford during the nineteenth century.1 Lloyd-Jones & Lewis, whose work on Manchester’s commercial activity through analysis of poor rate assessment books has been the one of the key pieces of research to-date on assessing its trading life, particularly between 1815 and 1825. The value of their research to this study lies in both the usage of public houses for commercial activity and the role of warehouses to Manchester’s economic network. They refer to warehousing and pubs as key trading institutions, but do not reflect the role of the Manchester Exchange. So, the research presented here widens their timeframe and the institutions involved in trading activity. Research on Manchester’s warehousing district has been produced by Cooper, whose doctoral research offers a valuable insight into the architecture and role of warehouses.2 Furthermore, there are a number of brief histories that look at the development of the Manchester Exchange, such as those by Scott, Parsons, Allen, and Simpson.3 Finally, Farnie’s research offers some useful insights into the more strategic role of the Manchester Exchange, such as membership and usage.4 Organisationally, the paper first looks at early commercial activity, and then moves on to consider the role of the Exchange and the development of warehousing. It then looks at the result of trade directory analysis to establish the role of pubs and inns in trading activity; and finally puts the result in a historiographical context of debates in this field."