How did money from slavery help develop Greater Manchester?

The Ainsworth family of Bolton

The Ainsworths were a family of bleachers who established their business in 1739. They owned Mossbank Hall and Estate and moved to the Manor of Smithills Hall in 1801. Both these places are now owned by Bolton Council (Mossbank Hall has since been demolished and the land and estate is now a public park).

Smithhills Hall is part of Bolton Museum and Archive Service: www.boltonmuseums.org.uk/visiting/find_smithills_hall.

Money from logwood dyes

Bolton Local Studies has numerous archives connected to the Ainsworth family, which show that part of the money used to establish the business came from a bequest made in 1764 from a family member who had been a logwood merchant and had owned enslaved African workers in Honduras, South America. Logwood was used to make a cheap black dye for fabrics.