History of the Chamber
Now well over 200 years old, the Chamber in Manchester has a long and successful history of supporting business and taking whatever action necessary to ensure a prosperous environment to do business for those in the city and even further afield.
Below is a timeline of key dates in the Chamber's history and beneath that, a full article telling the story of the Chamber from its early days as Manchester Commercial Society to becoming the largest Chamber in the UK today. Clicking on the blue links within the timeline will take you to further information relating to that date. Just press 'back' to come back to the timeline.
Timeline
| 1794 |
Manchester Commercial Society was launched |
| 1799 | |
| 1801 |
Act of Union created the United Kingdom |
|
In the same year, the last full meeting of the Manchester Commercial Society was held. |
|
| 1815 | |
| 1820 |
Manchester Commercial Society was revived as Manchester Chamber of Commerce |
| 1822 |
Chamber had a committee room at the Exchange |
| 1825 |
First printed list of members appeared, listing 229 members |
| 1829 |
Robert Peel set up the Metropolitan Police |
| 1837 |
Victoria came to the throne |
| 1845 |
Membership had grown to over 300 |
| 1846 |
Corn Laws repealed |
| 1852 |
Chamber had rooms at Manchester Town Hall Buildings |
| 1853 |
Manchester was made a city |
| 1880 |
In the years up until 1880, a number of vigorous recruiting campaigns saw membership rise to over 1,000 |
| 1882 |
Oldham & District Chamber was formed |
| 1887 |
Chamber moved to offices at 44 Mosley Street |
|
An agenda item from the same year demonstrated the Chamber's interest in a proposed railway between Karachi and Delhi, showing the importance of India as a source of supply and as a market for local products |
|
|
Bolton & District Chamber was formed |
|
| 1894 |
Manchester Ship Canal opened |
|
Over the first 100 years of the Chamber, most Presidents were connected with the textile manufacturing industries and were usually Justices of the Peace. Of the 33 Presidents between 1794 and 1894, nine were MPs and many others stood for Parliament |
|
| 1895 |
Bury & District Chamber was formed |
| 1901 |
Victoria dies and is succeeded by Edward VII |
| 1910 |
Chamber had 2,123 members |
| 1914 |
Britain declares war on Germany |
| 1915 |
An agreement was signed for the lease of premises in the new Danlee Buildings at the corner of Fountain Street and Spring Gardens |
| 1918 |
The Representation of the People Act enfranchises all men over the age of 21 and propertied women |
|
11th November - World War One ends when Germany signs an armistice |
|
| 1925 |
Chancellor Winston Churchill returns Britain to the 'Gold Standard' |
| 1927 |
On completion of Ship Canal House on King Street, the Chamber moved in there |
| 1928 |
Women in UK achieve suffrage on same terms as men |
|
Stockport Chamber was formed |
|
| 1936 |
Wigan & District Chamber was formed |
| 1939 |
Britain declares war on Germany in response to the invasion of Poland |
| 1945 |
Britain celebrates the end of the War on Victory in Europe Day |
| 1947 |
India gains independence from Britain |
| 1948 |
Rochdale & District Chamber was formed |
| 1965 |
Towards the later past of last century, the Chamber took on the spirit of growth into new ventures, rewriting its objectives to encompass them. By 1965, the Chamber had expanded considerably; there were 17 committees considering various aspects of policy and responding to enquiries from all parts of the world |
| 1970 |
Name change to Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry |
| 1982 |
Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) moved to Churchgate House, 56 Oxford Street where, in 1988, it moved from offices on the fifth floor to the ground floor |
| 1994 |
Chamber's double centenary. Membership stood at 3,000 |
| 1995 |
MCCI, Manchester Training and Enterprise Council (MTEC) and the Manchester Business Link created a three-way membership scheme whereby all Chamber members became members of all three organisations. |
| 2000 |
Angie Robinson appointed Chief Executive of Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) |
| 2000 |
When the proposed abolition of Training and Enterprise Councils was announced, MCCI and Manchester Training and Enterprise Council (MTEC) set up a joint venture, Chamber Business Enterprises which later become Business Support Solutions. All the business support activities of MCCI, MTEC and the Business Link were put into this one operation which also managed the membership scheme. MTEC was renamed Manchester Enterprises. The equivalent activities of the TEC in Stockport were also brought into the new organisation. |
| 2003 |
In October, a merger between MCCI and Wigan Chamber saw the Chamber become the largest in the UK |
| 2004 |
In February, a further merger with Stockport Chamber followed. |
| 2004 |
The 'Back on Track' campaign led by Greater Manchester Chamber, Manchester Evening News and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) saw the reinstatement of £500m funding for Manchester's Metrolink system after the government had previously withdrawn the money |
| 2008 |
Greater Manchester Chamber launched its Action for Business initiative designed to tackle the coming recession by providing practical support and services and lobbying government on various measures to improve the business climate in Greater Manchester and throughout the country |
History of the Chamber
"...the present state of the Trade and Commerce of this country calling for the local superintendence and attention of the merchants and manufacturers of this town and neighbourhood, a committee be appointed for the purpose under the collective name of a Committee for Commercial Affairs."
So wrote the Manchester Mercury on 30th April, 1793.
In other words, there was a growing need for a collective body to understand and represent the needs of business in Manchester. In 1793, the entrepreneurial classes were developing a sense of identity, particularly in regard to opposition from the elitist upper classes who no doubt feared that these new enterprises would make their proprietors even richer and more powerful than the aristocrats themselves.
In 1794, Manchester Commercial Society was launched and meetings were held in Spencer's Tavern, St Ann's Square. In the first year, 31 meetings were held with an average attendance of 14. Despite the existence of previous organisations, this is generally recognised as the beginning of what is now the Chamber of Commerce.
By 1799, just eight meetings were held and three had to be adjourned without doing any business, attended by as little as three members. The situation wasn't helped by two Acts passed by William Pitt the Younger's government, making it illegal for working men to form combinations in which their political rights were discussed. The Combination Acts were among several repressive measures designed to stifle any catalysts for a French-style revolution in Britain. They were repealed 25 years later.
The next meeting of the Society was on 11th December 1800 at Hillidge's Tavern. A few weeks later, on 1st January 1801 the Act of Union created the United Kingdom. In March of that year Britain held its first census.
Despite fluctuations in attendance, caused by suspicion surrounding organised meetings and also strong rivalries among local business, the common interests at the heart of the Commercial Society continued to rise. As a result, the Commercial Society became a national union of commercial societies, stimulated by changes in the tax system which appeared to penalise manufacture.
The pioneer industrialists were divided on issues of politics; some assumed that they would join the existing parties, either Whig or Tory and strive within those parties for their interests. Others did not consider this a plausible way forward and championed a more radical approach to move themselves directly into powerful positions in the political process.
At this time, the radicalism had little to do with the socialism that emerged later in the nineteenth century - the businessmen were fighting for their own sectional interests.
Among the original members of the Commercial Society, one was already known as a formidable lobbyist. Thomas Richardson had been involved in a successful campaign to abolish a discriminatory tax on fustian (a kind of coarse, twilled cotton fabric). The tax had been introduced as one of the measures designed to pay for the war and gave rise to the Committee of Fustian Manufacturers. This was dissolved when the tax was repealed.
This example of lobbying for their own interests was a precursor to the Chamber and became a main purpose of the Commercial Society when it was formed. An early minute gave the following objectives:
- 1) detection of fraud; a black book was to be kept of businesses to be boycotted
- 2) regulation of trade, including the promotion of regular payments; delayed payments were a common problem
- 3) watch over trade and invoke government support
Two families that later became famous were represented among the early membership of the Manchester Commercial Society; the Gregs and the Peels. Robert Peel was an active member and his son was actually was the first Industrialist to become Prime Minister, of the newly named Conservative party in 1841. In spite of the size of their businesses, all in the Society were equal. There were no directors, only a President (who was also treasurer) and a secretary elected annually.
1801 - the last full meeting of Manchester Commercial Society was held. However, a committee that it had formed continued in operation and in 1803 was renamed as the Society for the Protection of Trade. This continued operating until 1807.
In 1815 the original Corn Law was passed. This prohibited the import of corn when the domestic price fell below £4 a quarter. This measure was brought in to safeguard the countryside and prevent farms from going out of business. Manufacturers condemned the laws however, on the grounds that they raised prices, which presumably had a knock-on effect on the level of wages they had to pay. The opposition to the corn laws was part of a general support for free trade - an issue that the Chamber would have to contend with for the next century at least.
In 1816, Income tax was abolished to be reintroduced by Robert Peel in 1842 - at below five per cent.
In 1819, eleven died at the Peterloo massacre in Manchester. A huge crowd of people had gathered at St Peter's Fields, Manchester, to hear radical orators speak on the subject of parliamentary reform and high food prices. The local yeomanry, led by Hugh Birley, were ordered to arrest the speakers, but panicked and charged the crowd. Eleven people died and hundreds were injured. The massacre became known as 'Peterloo' - an ironic inversion of the British military triumph at Waterloo. Birley later became Chairman of the Chamber and was one of the leaders in its revival a year later.
In 1820 the Commercial Society was revived as Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
There were still divided councils at this time - one was religion, the other was politics: not which side to take but whether to take any side. A minute of the Chamber reported the following resolution
"That the duty of the Association (the Chamber of Commerce) should be to attend to proceedings in Parliament affecting the commercial interests of Manchester..."
After 1820 the organisation's importance increased. New technology and the town's growing population (from less than 100,000 at the turn of the century, it was to reach a quarter of a million by the mid 1830s) meant that the number of mills was growing rapidly.
By 1822, the Chamber had a committee room at the Exchange, which had opened in 1809. Many Presidents of the Chamber were also committee members of the Exchange, which later became the Royal Exchange after Queen Victoria's visit in 1851.
During the 1820s, the Chamber sent many petitions to Parliament advocating free trade and gradually the free trade movement became linked with efforts to politicise the Chamber in spite of a clause in the objectives which reads ‘party objects and party feelings should be rigidly excluded'.
In 1825, the first printed list of members appeared, listing 229 members.
1829 - Robert Peel sets up the Metropolitan Police
1837 - Victoria comes to the throne after the death of William IV
In 1838, The People's Charter advocated democratic reform on the basis of six points: one man, one vote; equal electoral districts; payment of members of parliament; elections by secret ballot; removal of property qualifications for MPs; and parliaments elected every year.
In 1839 an ardent free trader was elected President. At this time, manufacturing interests dominated the Chamber (and the Board) although service industries (the merchants) were represented. From 1825 to 1935 over half the Chamber's members were from the cotton industry. This balance only changed following World War II.
Efforts to politicise the Chamber were resisted partly due to ambiguities in the positions of both sides. The Tories were not whole-hearted protectionists and there were limits to the radicalism of the radicals. In later years it was said that the Chamber provided a politically divided Manchester middle class with a forum for the expression of commercial views.
By 1845 membership had grown to over 300. In this year, a steep decline followed as the Chamber split between advocates and opponents of free trade.
1846 - Corn Laws repealed
By 1852, the Chamber had rooms at Manchester Town Hall Buildings.
1853 - Manchester was made a city.
In the years up until 1880 there were a number of vigorous recruiting campaigns and membership rose from 500 to over 1,000.
In 1887 the Chamber moved into offices at 44 Mosley Street. An agenda item from the same year demonstrated the Chamber's interest in a proposed railway between Karachi and Delhi, showing the importance of India as a source of supply and as a market for local products.
1894 - Manchester Ship Canal opened
Over the first one hundred years of the Chamber, most Presidents were connected with the textile manufacturing industries and were usually Justices of the Peace. Of the 33 Presidents between 1794 and 1894, nine were MPs and many others stood for Parliament but failed to get elected.
1901 - Victoria dies and is succeeded by Edward VII
By 1910, the Chamber had 2,123 members.
1914 - Britain declares war on Germany in response to invasion of Belgium
In 1915 an agreement was signed for the lease of premises in the new Danlee Buildings at the corner of Fountain Street and Spring Gardens.
1918 - The Representation of the People Act enfranchises all men over the age of 21 and propertied women.
1918 - 11th November - World War One ends when Germany signs an armistice
1925 - Chancellor Winston Churchill returns Britain to the 'Gold Standard'
In his first budget as chancellor of the exchequer, Winston Churchill returned Britain to its pre-1914 monetary system, whereby sterling was fixed at a price reflecting the country's gold reserves. The move resulted in massive deflation and overvaluing of the pound. This made British manufacturing industries uncompetitive, which in turn exacerbated the massive economic problems Britain was to face in the 1930s.
In 1927, on completion of Ship Canal House on King Street, the Chamber moved in there. At this time 50 people were employed by the Chamber and it was controlled by 40 board members assisted by committees and sections. The Chamber now had 2,600 members however this number fluctuated throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s when many firms went out of business due to a depression in the cotton trade and membership declined to 2,300 companies.
1928 - Women in UK achieve suffrage on same terms as men
During the first half of the twentieth century, the Chamber interested itself in European tariffs, African trade, Eastern trade, the American market and above all the removal of obstacles to all trade. Domestic issues included transport along with postal and telegraph services; justice, commercial law and the protection of trade also appeared on the agenda. But for the first 150 years of its existence, the Chamber was mainly concerned with the cotton trade. Greater diversity in Manchester's industry was only reflected in the Chamber's activities after 1945.
In the period between the wars, trade with South East Asia came to the top of the agenda. The main issue was India as both a source of supply and as a market.
At a half-yearly meeting in the summer of 1933, the President disagreed with a claim that a disproportionate amount of the Chamber's time was taken up with the textile industry. "Not disproportionate," he said, "because every man, woman or child in all the millions to be found within a short distance from the centre of Manchester is directly affected by the state of affairs in the staple export trade of the county of Lancashire."
In other words, the cotton industry was the lifeblood of trade. At this time, the new constitution for India was causing worries in Lancashire. Whilst the Chamber featured greater independence for India, there was hope for some restraint on the development of exports and favouring of bilateral trade treaties, i.e. trade exclusively between the two states. At the time, this showed how far business opinion had moved on from the earlier support for free trade.
1936 - George V dies and is succeeded by Edward VIII who abdicates later that year to marry Wallace Simpson
1937 - George VI is crowned king
1939 - Britain declares war on Germany in response to the invasion of Poland
1945 - Britain celebrates the end of the war on Victory in Europe Day
1947 - India gains independence from Britain
Towards the later part of last century, the Chamber took on the spirit of growth into new ventures, rewriting its objectives to encompass them. By 1965, the Chamber had expanded considerably; there were 17 committees considering various aspects of policy and responding to enquiries from all parts of the world.
1970 - Name change to: The Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry
In 1982 Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry moved to Churchgate House, 56 Oxford Street where in 1988 it moved from offices on the fifth floor to the ground floor.
By the Chamber's double centenary in 1994, membership stood at 3,000
In July 2000, Angie Robinson was appointed Chief Executive of Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Previously, Angie was Chief Executive of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, Training and Enterprise and Business Link.
In 2001 when the formal abolition of Training and Enterprise Councils took place, the relevant part of the operation of Manchester Enterprises was transferred to the newly formed Learning and Skills Council - but the remainder of Manchester Enterprises' operation continued as before.
Chamber Business Enterprises, which had been formed in 2000 and later became Chamberlink and ultimately Business Support Solutions provides training and business support for Chamber members and for businesses in Greater Manchester generally. The architects of this change had been Sir David Trippier and Julian Hulse, then President and Chief Executive of the Chamber, Sir Graham Melmoth, Peter Heginbotham (past President and Deputy Chair of the TEC) and Richard Guy, Chairman and Chief Executive of Manchester Enterprises. At that time the Manchester Chamber covered the areas of Manchester, Salford, Tameside and Trafford.
Following these changes, the Chamber embarked on the idea of expanding to cover the whole of Greater Manchester. In October 2003, a merger between MCCI and Wigan Chamber saw the Chamber become the largest in the UK.
In January 2004, a further merger with Stockport Chamber followed. Then in October of that year, a merger took place with the remaining North Manchester Chambers; Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and Bolton. Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce was formed.
In the period following Angie Robinson's arrival, the Chamber was involved in high-profile lobbying that massively increased the Chamber's presence on the Manchester business scene. A key campaign saw the reinstatement of £500m funding for Manchester's Metrolink system; the government had previously withdrawn the money but a high-profile campaign led by the Chamber, the Manchester Evening News and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) resulted in the pledge to give the money back to Manchester.
In November 2008, Greater Manchester Chamber launched its Action for Business initiative designed to tackle the coming recession by providing practical support and services and lobbying government on various measures to improve the business climate in Greater Manchester and throughout the country.
Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/