Famous Associations
There are many historic characters associated with St. Michael's Flags, Angel Meadow and the surrounding area. Some of them were just local people trying to make a difference, while others were national celebrities who were connected to the area in some way.
![]() Reverend Mercer
Reverend Mercer was appointed rector of St Michael's Church and wrote vividly of the 'grinding poverty', 'besotted drinking' and prostitution which he strove to alleviate. He became a leading member of the Christian Social Union and was involved in the newly formed Prevention of Cruelty to Children Society (1884) - now known as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Mercer was appointed fifth Anglican Bishop of Tasmania in 1902 serving until 1914. After a period at Brighton he was appointed assistant to the bishop of Chester, accepting a residential canonry in September 1916 and in 1919 he added the archdeaconry of Macclesfield to his duties and participated vigorously in the Church of England convocation. His death from erysipelas on 28 April 1922 came as a shock. |
![]() Jerome Caminada
Jerome Caminada (1844-1914) was Manchester's very own Sherlock Holmes. Born of Irish-Italian descent, he became a high-ranking detective in the police force and was responsible for patrolling both Deansgate and Ancoats. Jerome was a great believer in law and order, even though he was aware of the harshness of some convictions. His "Moriaty" was Bob Horridge, a Blacksmith in Angel Meadow by day and violent armed robber by night. Towards the end of his life, he wrote an account of his time as a policeman, entitled 25 Years of Detective Life - a Fascinating Account of Crime in Victorian Manchester. |
![]() Alexis de Tocqueville
Tocqueville (1805-1859) was a French political thinker and historian, best known for his Democracy in America (two volumes: 1835 and 1840) and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both these works he explored the effects of the rising inequalities in social conditions on the individual and the state in western societies. He visited Manchester in 1835, describing it in his work of the same year Journeys to England and Ireland. ![]() L S Lowry
Artist Lawrence Stephen Lowry's (1887-1976) maternal grandparents lived on Oldham Road, near to Saint Michael's Flags (his grandfather was known locally as a "moderately prosperous" hatter). Hence, Lowry had links with the area long before sketching and then painting St Michael and All Angels, Angel Meadow. Link to our LS Lowry page |
![]() Charles George Gordon
Celebrated British Military servicemen, General Gordon "of Khartoum" (1833-1885) saw colonialist action in China and Egypt before becoming Governor-General of Sudan and later killed during an uprising. When not on duty, Gordon worked tirelessly on behalf of the Ragged Schools Movement and for a short period taught at Charter St Ragged School on Aspin Lane. The manner of Gordon's death is uncertain, but it was romanticised in a popular painting by George William Joy - General Gordon's Last Stand (1893, currently in the Leeds City Art Gallery), and again in the film Khartoum (1966) with Charlton Heston as Gordon. |
![]() Johnny King (Boxer)
Johnny King (1912-1963) was born in a lodging house owned by his father Henry on St. Michael's Place leading from Angel St. He fought professionally at fly/bantam/feather and lightweight between 1926 and 1947, totalling 227 fights and winning 161 of them King was both British and Commonwealth (British Empire) champion before losing a World title bout with Panama Al Brown in 1933 at King's Hall Belle Vue in Manchester. |
![]() Norbert "Nobby" Stiles (Footballer)
Stiles was born in Collyhurst in 1942 and reputedly honed his skills on St. Michael's Flags. He played 311 times for Manchester United winning two league titles and one European Cup. Most famously, Stiles played in the 1966 World Cup Final against West Germany which England won 4-2. His post match celebration has become one of the most famous images in English sport history. The sight of Stiles dancing on the Wembley pitch, holding the World Cup trophy in one hand and his false teeth in the other, has lived for decades. |
![]() Violet Carson (Actress)
Carson was born in Ancoats in 1898 and starred as battleaxe Ena Shaples in long-running television soap opera Coronation Street. She was a long standing patron of the Sharp St Ragged School. During her tenure the Annual Christmas Party became famed for the celebrity friends who would attend including singer Dusty Springfield, William Roche and Michael Le Vell from the soap (Ken Barlow and Kevin Webster) and local-born comedian Les Dawson. She died in 1983 aged 85. |

Les Dawson (Comedian)
Comedian Les Dawson was born in Collyhurst in 1939. He's worked in various Co-op offices including the Angel Meadow Tobacco Factory before finding fame on televsion. Nearby Harpurhey Comedian Bernard Manning also worked here briefly.
An ITV documentary follows him around Angel Meadow including the Sharp St Ragged School recounting his childhood.
https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/les_dawson_forever/
Comedian Les Dawson was born in Collyhurst in 1939. He's worked in various Co-op offices including the Angel Meadow Tobacco Factory before finding fame on televsion. Nearby Harpurhey Comedian Bernard Manning also worked here briefly.
An ITV documentary follows him around Angel Meadow including the Sharp St Ragged School recounting his childhood.
https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/les_dawson_forever/