The Wood Street Mission is a Manchester institution. Located just behind The John Ryland's Library on Deansgate, it has been helping children and families living in poverty in Manchester and Salford since it opened in 1869.

Today, the charity helps to alleviate the effects of poverty by providing struggling families with basic supplies such as clothes, bedding, toys and books. They also promote engagement in education by helping families with the costs associated with going to school, and raise awareness of child poverty by holding events and giving talks at schools and businesses. The charity estimates it helps about 7000 children and 3000 families every year, a figure that has doubled in recent years.

The 'Queues, Clogs and Redemption' exhibition looks at the work of Wood Street Mission over the years – from "rescuing" street children in the 19th century, sending tens of thousands to the seaside in the early twentieth, and running a city gym in the 1980s – the charity has evolved to meet the needs of a changing city and a changing society.

The exhibition is accompanied by a specially commissioned historic walk from Wood Street off Deansgate to the Marble Arch pub in Ancoats, and the launch of a one-off 'Wood Street' traditional bitter brewed courtesy of Manchester brewery, Marble Brewery. It opens at 5.30pm on Wednesday 9 September and runs until Friday 9 October. 

For more information about the event and to book a ticket please go the Eventbrite page here. The ticket includes the price of a 'Wood Street' bitter or alternate drink.

For more information about the wonderful work being done by Wood Street Mission – and to find out how you can help – please go to their website here.

Main image courtesy of Flickr user The Joneses published here using a Creative Commons License.