Brian Groom
@groomb.bsky.social
Ex-Financial Times Assistant Editor. Ex-editor Scotland on Sunday. Author of 'Made in Manchester' and 'Northerners: A History'. 'These Isles' due Feb 2026.
Pinned
'Made in Manchester: A People's History of the City That Shaped the Modern World' and 'Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day', paperback and hardback. 'These Isles: A People's History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales' due 26 Feb 2026 (HarperNorth).
George Square, Glasgow, painting by Bryan Evans, Welsh-born artist.
November 25, 2025 at 2:12 PM
George Square, Glasgow, painting by Bryan Evans, Welsh-born artist.
Middlesbrough, 1976, photo by Chris Steele-Perkins.
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Middlesbrough, 1976, photo by Chris Steele-Perkins.
Northumbrian coal miner eating his evening meal, 1937, photo by Bill Brandt (1904-83).
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Northumbrian coal miner eating his evening meal, 1937, photo by Bill Brandt (1904-83).
Remembering footballer George Best, who died on this day 2005, aged 59. Here he is playing cricket with neighbours' kids while lodging on Aycliffe Avenue, Chorlton, Manchester, 1968. Photo Bill Cross.
November 25, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Remembering footballer George Best, who died on this day 2005, aged 59. Here he is playing cricket with neighbours' kids while lodging on Aycliffe Avenue, Chorlton, Manchester, 1968. Photo Bill Cross.
Signed paperback copies of ‘Made in Manchester’ and ‘Northerners’ a few weeks ago at the lovely Waterstones Trafford Centre.
November 24, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Signed paperback copies of ‘Made in Manchester’ and ‘Northerners’ a few weeks ago at the lovely Waterstones Trafford Centre.
Girl pushing a pram in Cwmcarn, a mining village in Wales's Ebbw Valley, 1965, photo by US photographer Bruce Davidson.
November 24, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Girl pushing a pram in Cwmcarn, a mining village in Wales's Ebbw Valley, 1965, photo by US photographer Bruce Davidson.
Reposted by Brian Groom
I'll be talking about 'Manchester Portraits - 20 Fascinating Figures from the Region's Past' at Saddleworth Historical Society, Weds 10th December 7.30, Saddleworth Museum, Uppermill. Visitors £3. (Pic Saddleworth Viaduct by Edwin Bottomley)
October 29, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I'll be talking about 'Manchester Portraits - 20 Fascinating Figures from the Region's Past' at Saddleworth Historical Society, Weds 10th December 7.30, Saddleworth Museum, Uppermill. Visitors £3. (Pic Saddleworth Viaduct by Edwin Bottomley)
Nassau Street, From Outside The Kildare Street Club, Dublin, painting by Rose Mary Barton (1856-1929).
November 24, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Nassau Street, From Outside The Kildare Street Club, Dublin, painting by Rose Mary Barton (1856-1929).
Pat Phoenix and Dustin Hoffman on the set of 'Coronation Street', 1983. He was in England for the opening of 'Tootsie'.
November 24, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Pat Phoenix and Dustin Hoffman on the set of 'Coronation Street', 1983. He was in England for the opening of 'Tootsie'.
Female welder working on the deck of a new ship in Tyneside, 1943, photo by Cecil Beaton (Imperial War Museum).
November 24, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Female welder working on the deck of a new ship in Tyneside, 1943, photo by Cecil Beaton (Imperial War Museum).
Manchester, 1962, photo by Shirley Baker.
November 24, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Manchester, 1962, photo by Shirley Baker.
Cat crossing the street, Byker, Newcastle, 1974, photo by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
November 24, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Cat crossing the street, Byker, Newcastle, 1974, photo by Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
Market Place, Manchester, as in c.1890, by John L. Chapman (b.1946). #NorthernArt
November 24, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Market Place, Manchester, as in c.1890, by John L. Chapman (b.1946). #NorthernArt
Remembering British-American author Frances Hodgson Burnett, born on this day 1849 in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. Best known for The Secret Garden, which may have been partly written on visits to Buile Hill Park, Salford.
Made in Manchester: Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924), author of children’s classic The Secret Garden, was born in Cheetham Hill, daughter of an ironmonger on Deansgate. 1/5
November 24, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Remembering British-American author Frances Hodgson Burnett, born on this day 1849 in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. Best known for The Secret Garden, which may have been partly written on visits to Buile Hill Park, Salford.
Remembering author Dodie Smith, who died on this day 1990.
Made in Manchester: Novelist and playwright Dorothy Gladys ‘Dodie’ Smith (1896-1990), author of I Capture the Castle and The Hundred and One Dalmatians, was born in Whitefield, near Bury, and spent her childhood in Old Trafford. 1/9
November 24, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Remembering author Dodie Smith, who died on this day 1990.
Copies of 'Made in Manchester' seen recently at the entrance to Waterstones in Manchester's Arndale Centre.
November 23, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Copies of 'Made in Manchester' seen recently at the entrance to Waterstones in Manchester's Arndale Centre.
Bealach na Ba road, Applecross peninsula, Wester Ross, photo by Rebecca Douglas.
November 23, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Bealach na Ba road, Applecross peninsula, Wester Ross, photo by Rebecca Douglas.
How Jodrell Bank spied on Soviet missile launches. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How Jodrell Bank kept an eye on Cold War Soviet missile launches
How did a giant radio telescope in Cheshire help the West monitor the Soviet Union's nuclear missiles?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
How Jodrell Bank spied on Soviet missile launches. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This Wednesday, all welcome.
I’ll be giving an online talk on ‘Northern Writers’ for Elizabeth Gaskell’s House on Weds Nov 26th, 7pm, £6. (Lancashire Day, but I’ll be talking about writers from across northern England.) Book here: elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/events/north/
November 23, 2025 at 1:43 PM
This Wednesday, all welcome.
Splott Road, Cardiff, On A Moody Late Afternoon, painting by Malcolm Murphy.
November 23, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Splott Road, Cardiff, On A Moody Late Afternoon, painting by Malcolm Murphy.
The Victorian market in Manchester's Corn Exchange. December 1990 (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
November 23, 2025 at 9:34 AM
The Victorian market in Manchester's Corn Exchange. December 1990 (Mirrorpix/@manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
Last pit ponies at Wheldale colliery, Castleford, Yorkshire, 1972, photo by Don McPhee.
November 23, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Last pit ponies at Wheldale colliery, Castleford, Yorkshire, 1972, photo by Don McPhee.
Rochdale chippy owners Jimmy and Elsie Greenwood with their coal-fired fryer, May 1973.
November 23, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Rochdale chippy owners Jimmy and Elsie Greenwood with their coal-fired fryer, May 1973.
Deansgate, Manchester, 2021, painting by Cathy Read. #WomensArt #NorthernArt
November 23, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Deansgate, Manchester, 2021, painting by Cathy Read. #WomensArt #NorthernArt
Hebden Bridge, west Yorkshire, 1975, photo by Martin Parr.
November 23, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Hebden Bridge, west Yorkshire, 1975, photo by Martin Parr.