Prof Alan Kidd
Professor of Social and Regional History
Contact Details
Room: Geoffrey Manton Building (Room 424)
Telephone: 0161 247 1726
E-mail: a.kidd@mmu.ac.uk
Background
Current Research Interests
Modern British social history; the history of the Manchester region; the development of local and regional history in the British Isles; the theory and history of charity, philanthropy and civil society; suburbs and suburban development.
Current projects
Manchester In The Canal Age: Research project funded by English Heritage
Research co-ordinators: Alan Kidd, Terry Wyke, Research Associate: Dr Peter Maw
This externally funded three-year project is designed to enhance understanding of the canal infrastructure of Manchester between the later eighteenth century and the middle of the nineteenth century. Interest is focused on a number of key aspects, including [i] the development and character of the basins, canal arms, wharves and warehouses of the Rochdale Canal between the Castlefield Basin and Ancoats, [ii] the volume and value of the commodities carried on the Rochdale Canal [iii] the impact of Manchester’s canal system upon its economic development. The project draws on a variety of sources, including the voluminous and under-researched archives of the Rochdale Canal Company. The research outcomes will be in the form of articles and a book. It is also intended to develop a public history element of the project to bring its findings to a broader audience.
Cholera and Community: The Cholera Epidemic in Manchester 1831-2
Researchers: Alan Kidd, Terry Wyke
The preparation for publication of the minutes and proceedings of the Special Board of Health appointed to combat the cholera epidemic. To be published by the Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, edited and with an introduction and notes by Alan Kidd & Terry Wyke. This is the most complete set of minutes to survive of any of the local boards of health appointed to deal with the cholera. Its publication will assist a wider understanding of how early industrial society responded to the threat of epidemic disease. Relevant publications: A. Kidd ‘Constructing a Moral Pathology for the Industrial Town: Manchester and the Cholera Epidemic of 1831-2’, in A. Fahrmeir & E. Rembold eds, The Representation of British Cities. Transformations of Urban Space, 1700-1900, Philo, Berlin, 2003, ISBN 3-8257-0332-0, pp.73-90; A.Kidd & T.Wyke, ‘The cholera epidemic in Manchester 1831-32’ Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester (special issue on medical history edited by J.V. Pickstone & S.Butler) Vol 87 (2005) ISSN 0301-102X, pp.43-57.
Other projects:
Regional and Local History Associations in the British Isles since the Eighteenth Century
Architecture, Urban Space and Civic Identity in Manchester c1919-c1950
