FROM THE PUBLISHER

For many years Salford was seen as little more than a grimy part of Manchester:

an area of industrial and urban decay. But Salford has always had a distinct identity and in the late 20th century enjoyed something of a renaissance, with major tourist developments, including the quays area and the prestigious Lowry Museum.

For the most part, Salford was shaped in the 19th century, largely as a result of the demands of the Industrial Revolution. As the author says in his preface, "In my Salford of the 1940s and 1950s the physical environment was still essentially Victorian.... The past seemed hugely present yet strangely absent, despite the clues which lay around."