Rev Arthur Connell

Here’s a photo of the Rev Arthur Connell who was the rector at St Mark’s Church in West Gorton when the boys of the parish established the club’s first association football team. That team continued (via a number of incarnations, reformations etc.) to become Ardwick AFC, the predecessor of Manchester City. Arthur and his family established many pioneering activities in the parish with the hope of improving the lives of ordinary working class inhabitants. Savings banks, libraries, soup kitchens etc. It was a grim life for many at the time. I’ve written about this extensively over the years and much can be found elsewhere on this site. Why not subscribe and read everything? Here’s another image of Connell, a bit younger here.