Manchester Histories Salons: The Hidden Cornbrook and Pomona Rewilding
Join Dr John Piprani, University of Manchester Archaeology Technician, and Dr Nick Overton, University of Manchester Post-Doctoral Research Associate, as they trace the hidden, underground journey of the River Cornbrook, passing through Manchester’s complex subterranean architecture and ending in the Manchester Ship Canal.
This Salon is focussed upon a University of Manchester Social Responsibility project tracing a culverted watercourse called the Cornbrook along its present route. The Cornbrook rises in east Manchester and empties out into the Manchester Ship Canal, to the west at a site called Pomona Island.
The majority of the Cornbrook journey allows us to explore material evidence that can tell us about the development of industrialisation in Manchester, and as part of that process the culverting of the watercourse. However, upon arrival at Pomona Island we have another opportunity, to think differently about a post-industrial space. In particular we want to pick apart Pomona’s present ambiguous status, and not just look back in time but consider its future possible histories.
To do so we want to explore a space that is largely characterised by the plant communities that have made their home there. Upon closer inspection, at any one point in time we can also recognise a range of bird species that visit for more or less time each year. There are also the wide range of newer and older ‘object things’ that lie scattered across, and in some cases emerge from the post-industrial landscape. And finally there are the fleeting glimpses of people.
The journey has been plotted as part of a digital mapping project as a collaboration between the team at University of Manchester’s School of Arts, Language and Culture (SALC) and local communities.
Find out more about the project here.
This event will be available to attend in person at the Manchester Histories Hub or online.
Book your place here.
