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Manchester, Railway viaducts, Castlefield

By the end of the 18th century Manchester was poised to move on to the world stage as urban and industrial expansion gathered pace. South East Lancashire and Manchester became the first industrial economy and society in the world. The town had by then an important asset in the country's first canal (1759-65) of the industrial era, built by the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, with its terminal basin at Castlefield, south of the centre.

• More about the Bridgewater Canal and other canals

The transport revolution continued with the coming of the railways. The terminus of the world's first passenger railway, the Liverpool and Manchester, with the original station and warehouse of 1830, survives as part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in Castlefield.

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Manchester, Murrays Mills, Ancoats

Two concentrations of internationally important cotton mills lie closeGlossary Term to the city centre. The group in Ancoats which includes Murrays Mills and McConnel & Kennedy's Mills on Redhill Street, and Beehive Mill on Radium Street illustrates development in design and construction techniques from the 1790s to the opening of the 20th century.

The other group, Chorlton New Mills in Chorlton-on-Medlock, includes the oldest surviving fireproof mill (1813-15) in Manchester.

• More about the Beehive Mill
• Image of the Chorlton New Mills