Reweaving Manchester’s cotton connections
Welcome to Global Threads, a public history project that draws out new and previously under-represented stories related to Manchester’s cotton industry, particularly those linked to colonialism, enslavement and global movements of people and goods.

Science Museum Group Collection.
About the project
Global Threads began in 2019 and is a collaboration between the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at University College London, the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester and a diverse team of talented researchers.
We aim to create new networks and conversations about Manchester’s textiles heritage, weaving together narratives about lived experience, resistance, solidarity and industrialisation.
Here, you can explore the research carried out by the Global Threads team so far and discover people, places and museum objects that reveal stories about Manchester’s local and global cotton connections
Explore our Global Threads
The Global Threads case studies have been written by our team, who came together to carry out original research into Manchester’s people, places, memorials and museum objects. You can explore their work below, or find out more about the project’s themes and browse the case studies here.
Sarah Parker Remond
A trailblazing African American female abolitionist in Manchester
by Serena Robinson

Creativity, craft and community
Subverting power and building solidarity through textiles
by Megan Bridgeland


Riots, rebels and rhymes
Upheaval and expression in the Lancashire Cotton Famine
by Cameron Christie
Meet the team
Get to know the team behind the Global Threads project.
