![Scuttler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Scuttler.jpg)
Scuttlers were members of neighbourhood-based youth gangs (known as scuttling gangs) formed in
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
areas of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
, and the surrounding townships during the late 19th century. It is possible to draw parallels with the London street gangs of the 1890s, whose behaviour was labelled
hooliganism
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...
. The social commentator
Alexander Devine
Alexander Devine (19 December 1865 — 26 December 1930), often known as Lex Devine, was a British educator and activist for Montenegro, Montenegrin independence.
He became involved in social work at an early point, founding the Lads' Club Move ...
attributed the gang culture to lack of parental control, lack of discipline in schools, "base literature" and the monotony of life in Manchester's slums.
Gangs were formed throughout the
slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
s of central Manchester, in the townships of
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
,
Gorton
Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw.
A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hi ...
and
Openshaw
Openshaw is a suburb of Manchester, England, about three miles east of the city centre. Historically part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. Its name derives from the Old English ''Opinschawe'', which me ...
to the east and in Salford, to the west of the city. Gang conflicts erupted in Manchester in the early 1870s and went on sporadically for 30 years, declining in frequency and severity by the late 1890s.
Dress
Scuttlers distinguished themselves from other young men in working-class neighbourhoods by their distinctive clothing. They generally wore a uniform of brass-tipped pointed
clogs
Clogs are a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood. Used in many parts of the world, their forms can vary by culture, but often remained unchanged for centuries within a culture.
Traditional clogs remain in use as protective fo ...
,
bell-bottomed trousers, cut like a sailor's ("bells" that measured fourteen inches round the knee and twenty-one inches round the foot) and "flashy" silk scarves. Their hair was cut short at the back and sides, but they grew long fringes, known as "donkey fringes", that were longer on the left side and plastered down on the forehead over the left eye. Peaked caps were also worn tilted to the left to display the fringe. The scuttlers' girlfriends also had a distinctive style of dress consisting of clogs, shawl, and a vertically striped skirt.
Clashes
Scuttling gangs were territorial fighting gangs, as reflected in their names; the Bengal Tigers came from the cluster of streets and courts off Bengal Street in
Ancoats
Ancoats is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is located next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre.
Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has ...
. Most gangs took their names from a local thoroughfare, such as Holland Street,
Miles Platting
Miles Platting is an inner city part of Manchester, England, northeast of Manchester city centre along the
Rochdale Canal and A62 road, bounded by Monsall to the north, Collyhurst to the west, Newton Heath to the east, and Bradford, Holt Tow ...
, or Hope Street, Salford.
Gang members fought with a variety of weapons, but they all carried knives and wore heavy buckled belts, often decorated with pictures such as serpents, scorpions, hearts pierced with arrows or women's names. The thick leather belts were their most prized possessions and were wrapped tightly around the wrist at the onset of a "scuttle", so that the buckle could be used to strike at opponents. The use of knives and belts was designed to maim and disfigure rather than to kill.
Some of the clashes between rival gangs involved large numbers; the ''Gorton Reporter'' described one such instance in May 1879 as involving more than 500 people. Scuttling reached a peak in 1890–91; it was said that by 1890 more youths were held in
Strangeways Prison
HM Prison Manchester is a Category A and B men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It is still commonly referred to as Strangeways, which was its former official name derived from the area in which it is l ...
for scuttling than for any other offence.
Demise
By the turn of the century the gangs had all but died out owing to some of the worst slums having been cleared, the setting up of Working Lads' Clubs (such as
Salford Lads' Club
Salford Lads' Club is a recreational club in the Ordsall area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The club, on the corner of St. Ignatius Walk and Coronation Street, was established in 1903 as a boys' club but today welcomes people of both ...
) to engage the working youths in more peaceful
activities, the spread of
street football
The terms street football and street soccer (American and Canadian English) encompass a number of informal varieties of association football. These informal pick up games do not necessarily follow the requirements of a formal game of footbal ...
and the advent of the cinema.
One initiative to provide an alternative to gang warfare resulted in the formation of St Marks (West Gorton) Football Club, which later became
Manchester City FC
Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Footba ...
. In 1997 the Manchester historian Gary James highlighted that scuttling was the number one unifying activity of young men, and that the creation of St Mark's Football Club was a very serious attempt at diverting the young men of West Gorton into more worthwhile activities. Anna Connell, perceived by many as the founder of St Mark's FC, also helped create men's meetings, a library, and other society improving facilities and clubs.
See also
*
History of Manchester
*
Peaky Blinders
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
{{refend
External links
BBC Manchester History - Scuttlers of Manchester
History of Greater Manchester
Subcultures
Gangs in Manchester
19th-century fashion
Working-class culture in England