Discovering the meaning behind Manchester's famed symbol
They're on benches, bollards, buildings and bins.
Look up to see them on lampposts. Look down to see them on the footpath.
As I step out of Manchester Cathedral, an impressive sculptural rendition catches my eye. Across the road, there's a mural of them as well — just before a tram glides past, also bearing their image.
The humble insect has been a symbol of the vibrant north-western English city since it was added to the Manchester coat of arms in 1842.
The small details of a destination can offer a glimpse into the true fabric of a society. Hidden in plain sight, they quietly shape the character of a place.
This rings true in the metropolitan city home to nearly three million people.
Manchester embraces the worker bee as a proud emblem of its industrial identity.
Unlike other British cities that made their wealth through royalty or natural resources, Manchester owes its rise to the hardworking nature of its citizens during the industrial revolution.
Even part of Greater Manchester's transport system takes its name from the insect. Next time you visit, keep an eye out for the Bee Network — marked by its distinctive yellow and black buses, trams, cycling routes and walking paths.
It may no longer be Cottonopolis, but you don't have to spend long in Manchester to see it's still a thriving hive of activity.
The streets buzz with the rhythm of daily life. Footsteps echoing between red-brick buildings, the chatter of students spilling out of cafes and cyclists weaving through traffic.
When wandering through the Central Library in St Peter's Square, I couldn't help but notice how its top floor, named the Great Hall, resembles a beehive in library form, with people busily working away at their desks.
Worker bees are solely insignificant but collectively formidable — a fitting symbol for the thousands of factory workers who were cogs in the wheel of the world's first industrial city.
For those curious to learn more about various aspects of Manchester's industrial history, here are four places you can visit.
The National Trust property is one of Britain's greatest industrial heritage sites.
Located in Styl, near Manchester Airport, the beautifully preserved cotton mill was one of the first water-propelled spinning mills to be built during the early years of the Industrial Revolution, in 1784.
Owned by the Greg family and home to hundreds of mill workers and child apprentices, Quarry Bank quickly became one of the largest cotton manufacturing businesses in the world.
You can explore inside the mill and watch its machinery in action. It's rather noisy in there but a fascinating experience nonetheless. The Quarry Bank House, once home to owners Hannah and Samuel Greg, is also worth a visit.
There's also the Styl village, the Apprentice House (where child workers lived), the gardens and woodland estate to explore.
Opening times vary between attractions.
nationaltrust.org.uk
The Oxford Road museum is part of the University of Manchester, and it has a dedicated textiles gallery connecting art and early industrial links. It's home to 20,000 textiles from around the globe, ranging from the third century AD to the present.
Textiles play a massive part in Manchester's industrial history given its status as the international centre of the cotton and textile trade in the 19th century. The city was nicknamed 'Cottonopolis' for its more than 100 cotton mills producing an astounding amount of cloth. Between 1800 and 1860, Britain's cotton exports reportedly rose from £5.4 million ($11.2m) to £46.8 million ($97m) as the country produced almost half the world's total output of cotton.
Whitworth is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-5pm, and on Thursdays until 9pm.
Whitworthcollections.manchester.ac.uk
For those interested in Manchester's contribution to the development of science, technology and industry, visiting the Science and Industry Museum is a must. It showcases just how pivotal the city was in the wider Industrial Revolution.
Its Textiles Gallery has an array of historic machinery used in cotton mills in England's north-west. The museum often hosts demonstrations to tell the story of how cotton was transformed from its raw form into finished cloth.
Though they came after the Industrial Revolution, two interesting objects in the museum's Manchester Revolution exhibition are worth checking out.
The first is a small-scale experimental machine affectionately known as the 'Manchester Baby'. Built in 1948 at the University of Manchester, it was the first computer to store and run a program from memory — the basis for billions of computers today.
The second is a Rolls-Royce made in 1905 which was one of the first Rolls-Royce motorcars ever built. The now internationally renowned company originated in Manchester.
Open daily from 10am to 5pm.
scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk
Last but not least is the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester. In a historic 1901 tram shed and 1930s bus garage, the museum showcases a fascinating insight into how public transport evolved alongside industrial growth, with more than 70 vintage vehicles to see, from horse-drawn carriages to early buses and trams. There's also a tearoom and gift shop on-site.
Open Wednesdays and weekends, 10am to 4.30pm.
motgm.uk
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
FAQs – Garden bed soil Native colour in shade
HANNAH: Raised beds are usually open at the bottom, giving plenty of space for roots to extend and for water to drain. For this, the best choice is a quality loam soil – one that combines sand, silt and clay – mixed with lots of compost and aged manures to bring it to life. For pots and containers, the roots and soil are contained, so you need something different. You need some quality potting mix, which comes with inbuilt fertiliser (that will need topping up every 6 months or so), and which offers good drainage with no risk of compaction. What's good for native colour in shady spots? CLARENCE: For winter colour, the native heath – Epacris longiflora, Epacris impressa, Epacris stuartii and other species – are show-stoppers. They prefer an acidic soil with good drainage but consistent moisture, so they may be better grown in a pot if you're on heavy clay or alkaline soils. They are found naturally growing on the edges of woodlands and like the same light shade in the garden. What is a parterre garden? SOPHIE: These are featured in some of Europe's best-known gardens, as they were a popular choice for wealthy families in from the late1500s onwards. Parterre in French translates as 'on the ground' and these ornamental, symmetrical designs were created on low, flat areas, designed to be seen from above, such as the balcony of a house. The outlines of the pattern are usually created with neatly clipped hedges, and spaces within the pattern filled with colourful flowers. Gravel paths set off the neat edges. They can also be applied to smaller, formal gardens if there is level ground.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
BS Audio Program Bahasa Indonesia Program for Friday 25 July 2025
Independent news and stories connecting you to life in Australia and Indonesian-speaking Australians. Ease into the English language and Australian culture. We make learning English convenient, fun and practical.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Darcy wants to do HSC Advanced English. His school won't let him
Reported tactics include imposing entrance exams, pre-selecting English streams for students against their wishes, using a ranking system and setting minimum year 10 scores. The NSW Education Standards Authority sets no such markers. English Advanced is 'designed for students to become critical and sophisticated users of English and to develop their academic achievement through the study of complex texts', its website says. A small but successful cohort has the effect of boosting a school's English ranking. An analysis of NESA HSC data shows that some of the state's top 20 comprehensive public schools – all of which fall in the top quartile of socio-educational advantage – have lower-than-average percentages of students taking English Advanced. At Willoughby Girls High, the state's top comprehensive school, 26 per cent of students took Advanced. Former student Crystal Shi, who graduated in 2020, said the school divided students into classes based on their rank. In her year, the school ran three Advanced classes in year 11, but told students 'there would only be two classes in the HSC'. At the end of year 11, the results of who made it into Advanced would be displayed on a piece of paper outside the English staff room. 'The class that was dropped in year 12 was based on your ranking, and they gave it some stupid name,' she said. 'So everyone knew you were too stupid to do Advanced, but not bad enough to have been in Standard to begin with. 'They didn't want people who weren't going to be amazing to drag down the weighting. If your ranking wasn't good enough, too bad. 'There was so much pressure on me to perform well, but the system was never set up fairly.' HSC tutor Katie Ord said some schools required students to do an exam to have 'the opportunity' to do Advanced. 'If the teachers don't think the student will get a band 6, they will discourage them from pursuing Advanced,' she said. 'They are not encouraging growth, investigation and a further passion for English.' The NSW Department of Education said schools with lower participation rates in English Advanced tended to have higher than average proportions of students from a language background other than English (LOTE). 'Students may seek clarification about a decision on HSC selection by speaking with the head teacher, year adviser or deputy principal,' a department spokesperson said. Year 12 student Masi Haddad Hachour is at Greystanes High School, which encourages students to do English Advanced. He was shocked to learn many of his friends at study centres, who attend other schools, don't have the same opportunity. 'It makes me feel frustrated, and it impacts everybody because the HSC is a game, and everyone is ranked against each other,' Masi said. 'It's because schools, especially public schools, are so desperate and thirsty for validation from the department through high HSC results. So they do anything they can to get it – that includes forcing some students to drop out so that they don't skew HSC data, forcing some students to do lower scaling subjects like Standard English.' Many independent and Catholic schools encourage students to enrol in Advanced. The principal of Meriden, an Anglican girls school in Strathfield where 93 per cent of students take English Advanced, says their students 'are reminded not to underestimate their ability, to back themselves and use the resources around them to do their best'. A current year 11 student at partially selective Chatswood High School, who spoke to the Herald on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals, said the school chose their English course for them. 'There was no opportunity to confirm, challenge, or properly discuss which English course I wanted to do.' Loading An internal Chatswood High policy document, seen by the Herald, advises students 'should have a minimum of 80 per cent and be ranked in the top 75 of the Stage 5 Year 10 English course and will need to have previously demonstrated the ability' to do Advanced. The student was placed in Standard. 'The whole experience really impacted my confidence. I started to question whether I was capable of doing well in English, even though I was genuinely interested and willing to challenge myself in my senior years,' they said. The Ponds High School enforces an arbitrary prerequisite. A subject selection handbook seen by the Herald states, 'the top 90 students (approximately) of the cohort may be offered a place into the English Advanced course provided they have a weighted average of 75 per cent' based on their year 10 assessments. Across the state, 36.3 per cent of HSC students take English Advanced while 47.6 per cent take English Standard, based on 2024 data. The remainder take English Studies or English as a second language or dialect (EALD). Every student must choose one of these four. Loading A Catholic Schools NSW report, released earlier this year, found the current HSC award system – which recognises only students who achieve a band 6 or mark above 90 – is distorting subject selection and discouraging students from taking more rigorous courses. Some schools measure their success by the number of band 6s they achieve. The report found it creates an 'incentive for teachers or parents to nudge students towards easier subjects where there is a greater chance of earning an award'. A former student from another northern Sydney school – who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals – said her teacher was 'consistently' advising her she could drop or change classes, at one point 'sneaking' withdrawal forms into her exams. '[She said] I would not be on par with the standards of English Advanced even when I was one of the top students of my English Advanced class in year 10,' she said. Despite her teacher's advice, she stuck with Advanced. It paid off – her HSC marks were 'really, really good'. She scored a band 5 in English and is now studying engineering. 'I didn't realise that maybe there was something wrong with my teacher and not me.'
