1822.
A saw mill, belonging to Messrs. D. Bellhouse and Son, wilfully set on fire and destroyed, January 9.
— The Manchester Iris, No. 1, February 2, printed and published by Henry Smith; ceased February 27, 1823. Henry Smith served his apprenticeship with William Cowdroy, jun.; he died July 11, 1838, aged 44 years.
— The Manchester Society for the Promotion of Natural History, established June 30. Museum, late in Peter Street (the collection is now in possession of the trustees of Owens College, by gift of the Corporation), opened May 18, 1835.
— Rusholme Road Cemetery opened.
— Smithfield Market, Shudehill, opened May.
— The improvement of Market Street commenced, June. Scholfield and Mawn’s shops first taken down. Width of street to be 21 yards. Palace Buildings finished August, 1839.
— Spire, or rather dome, added to St. Peter’s Church.
— The Female Penitentiary, Rusholme Road, opened.
— The manufacture of gros de Naples and figured sarcenets introduced into Manchester.
— “The History of the Siege of Manchester by the King’s Forces, under the command of Lord Strange, 1642.” By John Palmer, architect To which is added, “The Complaint of Lieutenant- Colonel John Rosworm, against the inhabitants of Manchester, relative to that event” 8vo. Printed by J. Leigh.
— “Metrical Records of Manchester,” in which its history is traced (currente calamo) from the days of the ancient Britons to the present time. By Joseph Aston.
— St. Matthew’s Church, Liverpool Road, founded August 12; consecrated September 24, 1825. It will accommodate 2,000 persons. Rector, Rev. T. R. Bentley (1840). It was constituted a district parish church under the provisions of the Church Building Acts, the commissioners of which granted £14,000 towards its erection. It is a fine specimen of modern Gothic architecture, and is especially worthy of attention for its elegant lantern tower and spire, the height of which is 132 feet. It is built upon the site of the ancient Roman town of Mancunium. Mr. Barry, architect
— Hugh Hornby Birley, major of the Manchester Yeomanry Cavalry; Richard Withington, captain; Alexander Oliver, private; and Edward Meagher, trumpeter in the same corps, were tried at Lancaster, in March, under an action of assault and wounding on the 16th of August, 1819, Thomas Redford, a journeyman hatter; but, after a trial of five days, a verdict was given for the defendants.
— David Ridgeway sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment for a libel published at Manchester.
— Church Clothing and Dorcas Societies begun, January.
— The Town Hall, King Street, founded by James Brierley, Esq., August 19; finished 1825. Cost of land was £6,500; cost of the building to June, 1825, £28,035; finishing the large room, £5,012; making a total outlay of £39,547. The style of architecture is taken from the Temple of Erecthus at Athens, and the dome in the centre is after the model of the octagon tower of Andronicus, generally called the Tower of the Winds. In the niches in front are figures of Solon and Alfred; and in the attic are medallion portraits of Locke, Solon, and Judge Hale. The building measures 134 feet in front, and 76 feet in depth, The public room Is 131 feet in length, and 38 feet in width. The new staircase, erected in 1838, is a splendid addition.
— The New Quay Company began by Mr. John Brettargh and two others, with a capital of £30,000.
--- The County Court first held in Manchester, by adjournment from Preston, May 23. Uproar among the lawyers.
— Wesleyan Tract Association instituted.

1823.
— By a decree made in the Rolls Court, London, all lands in the parish of Manchester (with but few exceptions) were subjected to the payment of one-tenth of all the hay, milk, and potatoes produced within it, and one-tenth of the value of agistment of barren cattle, besides corn, March. The agricultural lands within the parish contained 15,000 acres.
— The import of cotton into Great Britain was 187,231,520 pounds, of which 171,993,160 pounds were imported into Liverpool, and may therefore safely be said to have been consumed in and about Manchester.
— There were 2,500 looms employed on silk, and about 3,000 on mixed goods.
— The ball and cross on the spire of St. Mary’s Church were lowered to the ground by Philip Wooton, May 10.
— Acres Fair removed from St. Ann’s Square to Campfield.
— The Royal Manchester Institution, for the promotion of literature, science, and the arts, had its origin in a general meeting of the inhabitants, held in the Exchange room, October 1. Dr. Davenport Hulme, in the chair. The splendid stone building in Mosley Street, founded in the year 1825, and completed in 1830, was erected at a cost of £30,000. It contains rooms for the exhibition of paintings, a spacious theatre for public lectures, and suitable rooms for a library and other purposes. Mr. Barry was the architect. During the year ending March 1839 there were two exhibitions, one of ancient, and the other of modern paintings. The first was attended by 3,212 persons and the latter by 4,129.

1824.
Christ Church (Bible Christians), Every Street, opened February 29.
— Manchester Fire and Life Assurance Company established, with a capital of £2,000,000, arising out of 20,000 shares of £100 each, March 24. Office, King Street.
— The treadmill was introduced into the New Bailey Prison, February 18.
— Primitive Methodist Chapel, Jersey Street, opened April.
— The Samaritan Society, for assisting destitute families.
— London Road Covered Market opened February 14.
— Brown Street Covered Market established.
— A company of proprietors was established for a double railway between Liverpool and Manchester formed May 20, at 4,000 shares of £100 each. George Stevenson, Esq., engineer, The bill was lost in committee, June 1, 1825.
--- The Floral and Horticultural Society established.
— The Baptist Chapel, Great Mount Street, opened August 29.
— The Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company presented to the Manchester Museum the head of “Old Billy,” a horse which had been in their service 62 years, August 30.
— Nineteen persons killed and nineteen wounded by the fall of an iron beam from the roof of Mr. Nathan Gough’s factory, Islington, Salford, October 16.
— A second act relating to the lighting of the town with gas.
— The Humane Society, for the recovery of persons apparently drowned or dead, revived.
— Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Cooper Street, erected.
— Johnson’s Selector, edited by William Ainsworth, Esq., author of “Rookwood,” “Crighton,” “Tower of London,” &c., printed by John Leigh.
— Vegetarian Society formed in Manchester.
— Riots, occasioned by the masters having increased the hours of labour from 11 to 12 hours. April.
— Hugh Prichard publicly sells his wife, aged 26, in Manchester for 3s. June.
— Dauntesey Hulme, Esq., presented £10,000 to the General Infirmary (subject to a life annuity).
— Unitarian Chapel, Greengate, Salford, erected; opened on Christmas Day. Since taken down, and succeeded by one built in Strangeways.

1825.
Manchester Courier, No. 1, January 1, printed and published by Thomas Sowler No. 4, St. Ann’s Square.
— The Infirmary clock lighted with gas, January 1, at the sole expense of Richard Ormerod, Esq., of Manchester.
— Omnibuses first began to run, January 1, by John Greenwood, from Market Street to Pendleton.
— The Deaf and Dumb School, Stanley Street, Salford, opened February 9.
— The Infant School, Buxton Street, London Road, opened February 14. This was the first infant school established in Manchester, and is due to the exertions of the Society of Friends, by whom it is now supported.
— The Police Act for the township of Ardwick passed the legislature March 23.
— It is estimated that the capital invested in mills and machinery is £8,000,000.
— The Mechanics’ Institution, Cooper Street, founded: held its first meeting March 30. The institution in Cooper Street (which was some time ago given up for more commodious premises in David Street) cost £6,600, and was the first building erected in England for the purpose. Subscription, 5s. per quarter.
— The premises of Messrs. Sharp, Roberts, and Co., destroyed by fire, through the agency, it is supposed, of an incendiary.
— A peal of ten bells opened in the Collegiate Church on Easter Monday.
— The Union Club established. The house in Mosley Street, founded April 7, 1834. and opened March 21, 1836, is an elegant stone building; and in its internal arrangements is surpassed by few of the club houses in London.
— The Diorama, Cooper Street, built: since taken down.
— Manchester Advertiser, No. 1, July 2, printed by Joseph Pratt, for Stephen Whalley. This paper, was upon the principles of gratuitous circulation.
--- Chorlton Row Infants’ School Society established August 22.
— The silk trade begins to flourish in Manchester.
— Mr. Roberts (of the firm of Sharp, Roberts, and Co.) took out a patent for the mule now generally in use; a second patent was taken out in 1830.
— Mr. W. Harter undertook silk weaving in Manchester.
— The annual value of property in Manchester was £334,737; in Salford, £74,979.
— A bill was introduced into Parliament for the construction of a ship canal from Manchester to the mouth of the Dee, at an estimated expense of one million, to be raised in 10,000 shares, at £100 each. Scheme defeated.
— The Provincial Portable Gas Works Company, Hulmefield, formed: abandoned 1829.
— Fire Engine Department established under Captain Anthony; improved under Mr. W. Rose, the late superintendent, 1828. Station for engines, Jackson’s Row, Deansgate.
— Independent Chapel, Rusholme Road, opened.
— Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Rusholme Road, erected.
— The Baptist Chapel, Oak Street, built.
— Twenty thousand power looms in Manchester parish; 104, spinning factories in the town, and 110 steam engines.
— Wesleyan Chapel, Oxford Street, built.
— The Jews’ Synagogue Halliwell Street, Long Millgate, erected; consecrated September 2.
— St. Philip’s Church, Broken Bank, Salford. First stone laid in November; consecrated September 21. The parliamentary grant for the building of this church, which is a plain Grecian structure, of singular design, was £14,000. In 1828, by authority of the commissioners, it was constituted a district parish church. Rector, Rev. P. C. Nicholson, B.D. (1849).
— Salford Town Hall and Market, founded August 30, by Lord Bexley; enlarged in 1847, 1848, and 1853; new wing in 1860-62, and the wing built in 1848 taken down.

1826.
Mr. Thomas Price, a fustian manufacturer, murdered at mid-day, in his warehouse, in Marsden Square. attended by the simultaneous firing of the premises, February 10. James Evans, his warehouseman, was tried but acquitted.
— Edward Gibbon Wakefield brought Miss Turner to the Albion Hotel, March 7.
— The Manchester and Liverpool Railway Bill passed the House of Lords, May 1. The draining of Chat Moss (the first point of operation) was commenced in June. The first shaft of the Liverpool Grand Tunnel was opened in September, and the earthwork, comprising the cuttings and the embankings along the whole line, was begun in January, 1827. The last joining between the several lengths of the line was completed in June, 1828, and the cost of constructing the railway, and the expenses of the works, up to December, 1838, was £1,376,073.
— Elizabeth Bates, aged 28, murdered at the “Jolly Carters,” a public-house at Winton, near Patricroft, May 22. Alexander and Michael M’Keand, dealers in linen and tea, at Manchester, were convicted of the murder, and hanged at Lancaster, August 18.
— Great commercial distress and riots, May.
— Trial between the Lord of the Manor and Mr. Walker, a fishmonger, for an infraction of the manorial rights. Verdict for the plaintiff, August 17.
— The Manchester Branch Bank of England opened September 26, in King Street.
--- Welsh Independent Chapel, Gartside Street.
— Infant School, Saville Street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, founded. This was the second infant school in Manchester, and was established by the joint liberality of persons of all religious denominations.
— The Suspension Bridge, near Broughton Ford (which united Pendleton with Broughton), opened. A toll taken.
— Hunt’s Bank Bridge, over the Irk, erected.
— Four large and very handsome chapels, belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists, were opened in Manchester, affording accommodation to 6,000 persons: Oxford Street, Oldham Road, Ancoats, and Irwell Street, Salford.
— Independent Chapel, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, opened.
— Poors’ rate 5s. in the pound.
— Mr. Joseph Parry, a well-known painter of marine subjects in this town, died May11.
— Mr. D. H. Parry, an artist of considerable local celebrity, died September 15. Mr. Parry was one of the original projectors of our Royal Institution, and bade fair to hold an exalted rank in his profession.
— Abduction of Miss Turner from Manchester by E. Gibbon Wakefield, March 7. The marriage — a Gretna Green one — was annulled by Parliament, and Wakefield was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in Newgate.
— Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Oldham Road, finished.
— Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Newton Heath, built.
— Independent Chapel, Rusholme Road, built
— St. George’s Church, Hulme, founded September 7; consecrated December 9, 1828. The erection of this church was by a Parliamentary grant of £14,000, but the whole cost was £20,000. It is built of stone, in the florid Gothic and English style, and presents, on the whole, a very elegant appearance. The ground was presented by Wilbraham Egerton, Esq., of Tatton. Present rector, the Rev. Canon Crane.

1827.
Salford Market, behind the Town Hall, opened May.
— Jacquard looms come into common use.
— De Jough’s self-acting mule invented.
— Cambrics, woollens, and worsted are brought to the Manchester market
— Mr. J. C. Dyer effects considerable improvements in the method of roving.
— The Salford and Pendleton Royal Dispensary, Chapel Street, opened September 10.
— The Botanical and Horticultural Society established.
— The Albion Club House, King Street, opened, March.
--- Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Irwel Street, Salford, opened January 30.
— St. John’s Charity and Sunday Schools, Gartside Street and St. John’s Place, erected.
— St. Matthew’s Sunday School, Liverpool Road, erected.
— Samuel Crompton, Esq., known as the inventor of the mule for spinning, died January 26.
— John Walker, Esq., cotton merchant, well known for years as “Old Strike-a-Light,” died
December 26. He was a warm-hearted and charitable man.
— The silk trade introduced, and mills for throwing silk erected here.

1828
Thirty-four lives lost in the fatal launching of the “Emma” packet, from the New Quay, February 29.
— At a meeting of the commissioners, party spirit ran so high, that the boroughreeve, C. Cross, Esq., who presided, was assaulted, and forcibly ejected.
— Infant School, Bombay Street, Salford, opened April 7.
— There were 8,000 looms for silk, and 4,000 for mixed goods, at work in and about Manchester,
— Manchester Improvement Committee formed, since which time a great number of alterations, more or less extensive, have been effected through its mediation.
— The declared value of all the cotton goods exported from Great Britain was £36,824,270.
— At the Spring Assizes at Lancaster, judgment was given in a tithe cause pending between the warden and fellows of the Collegiate Church, and their lessee, Mr. Joule, they claiming tithe in kind on hay, milk, potatoes, the agistment of ley cattle, gardens, etc.; It was decided that the parishioners were liable to all these demands, except the tithe in kind on gardens, orchards, poultry, &c.
— One of the arches of a bridge (Hanging Bridge) discovered, which had been concealed for nearly three centuries. July.
— The Manchester Times, No, 1, Saturday, October 17, printed and published by Archibald Prentice.
— The Manchester and Salford Advertiser, No.1, Saturday, November15.
— Mr. Jaquard, of this town, and formerly of Lyons, in France, died, from a fall off the “Herald” coach, May 22.
---. All Saints’ Sunday School, Clarendon Street, built by subscription. The Day and Sunday Schools belonging to this church are now situate in York Street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock.
— Bank of Manchester, Market Street, founded.
— The new Fish Market opened December 22. It was built upon the site of the old butchers’ shambles.
— Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Harpurhey, built.
— Manchester and Liverpool District Bank opened.
— A grand musical festival and fancy dress ball, held for a week, and the proceeds (£5,000) devoted to the public charities, commenced October 7, in the nave of the Collegiate Church, and the evening concerts in the Theatre Royal, Fountain Street.