A Salford resident has been creating YouTube videos covering the forgotten history of the city and providing nostalgia for viewers.
Anthony Mulligan, 35, who is otherwise known as ‘Daft Monkey’ online, grew up in the heart of Salford on Whit Lane.
The channel started four years ago, originally as an ‘Urbexer’ (urban explorer), exploring abandoned buildings in Salford, before delving into the stories behind them.
From documenting history such as the Salford Prince and The Scuttlers gangs, Anthony also covers current derelict sites like Brydon Close and the recently knocked down pubs The Church Inn and The B’Hive Inn.
Speaking about the closure of old-school pubs, Anthony said: “It’s really heart-breaking to see because the communities are the ones that suffer because these are the functions for people’s birthdays, christenings, weddings, funerals, wakes, and it’s just so sad.
“When something like that goes you feel like it’s a bit more of the community that has died.”
All of Anthony’s family still live in Salford and The B’Hive Inn was the local on their estate. He said: “It’s sad because of what it means to my grandparents and my family members and the older side of the community where they might have just popped out for a drink, they have to travel a bit further afield.
“It gets me a bit more emotional because I feel like you’re taking it from them.”
The Church Inn dates back to the 1800s and used to be stables for horses before it was a pub.
He said: “I don’t live in a fantasy world, certain things do need to be pulled down. But the landmark buildings should be saved.
“I think the best thing what they could do is at least change them rather than destroy them. Putting back into use again for whatever they may be. That would be the moral thing to do.”
Despite having just over 4000 subscribers, Daft Monkey’s most popular video has more than 200,000 views.
However, Anthony does not create content for the subscriber or view count, it is solely done out of the love for uncovering the history of the city.
He said: “I do get more of a great reception from Salford. I think it is the nostalgia factor and the reminder of where we come from.
“I like to unearth things that have been forgotten. I think people could live somewhere and I have highlighted something that they never even knew was there or something that took place.”
Anthony still works full time as a paint manufacturer, so only has time on the weekends to do research for his videos, which involves going through newspaper archives and even sometimes interviewing people.
He said: “In an ideal world, I would love to do it full time and rather than it taking a month, it could maybe take a week or two. But it’s finding the balance with work as well.”
Daft Monkey is currently working on his next project, which will be a follow up video to his piece about The Scuttlers gangs posted two years ago.
Daft Monkey’s 2019 video on the Barton-upon-Irwell Catholic Graveyard (All Saints Church) prompted my own recent effort to document and put online the names and gravestone images (thanks to the help of a local photographer) of some 422 individuals buried there between 1823 and 1948. The cemetery includes 1,487 private and communal graves, including memorials to soldiers and airmen killed in WWI. It is a microcosm of community life for 19th and early 20th Catholics across greater Manchester; and yet for decades, the graveyard has been left to languish in a deplorable and overgrown state. Daft Monkey’s video got me to act. I can only hope it will do the same for local authorities who could protect the cemetery and its stories for generations to come.
Well done my husband and I have been watching since his early videos with his Dad, we are in Australia and my husband emigrated here when he was 17 from Stockport .
Hi Anthony, firstly I would like to say how much I enjoy your you tube channel.
I know you must have lots of places lined up for future videos but I was wondering if you could do one on Piccadilly Infirmary now Piccadilly Gardens.
I was born in Gorton 1952 and obsessed with tracing my ancestors not just to add their names to my family tree but to find out as much as I can about them, the conditions they lived worked and died.
While going back over my Taylor family as more records become available I first heard about Piccadilly Infirmary, It was noted on my 3x gt grandfather George Taylor 1804 to 3 June1844. At first I thought nothing of place of death as Infirmary, but for some reason I looked at person recording death. Usually it’s a family member but with George it was a surgeon E Tomlinson born abt 1818 began intern at the Infirmary 1833. He must of operated on my 3x great grandfather Geoege but sadly he died aged 44 death cert says abcess of the spine so more then likely Septis. It would be great if you could look into Piccadilly Infirmary which I believe started in a house on Garden Street 1760.
Regards Anne Taylor.
Anthony’s productions are very thorough and top class, if not professional standard filming and editing..