This article delves into the untold stories of 'higher learning' and 'higher education' in Manchester before 1824, the milestone year marked by the University of Manchester as its founding date. By exploring diverse sites and institutions, we uncover a complex, interconnected network of knowledge institutions, including dissenting academies, teaching hospitals, learned societies, independent libraries, and individual initiatives. These institutions blur the traditional narrative of the development of higher education in Manchester, which often focuses on the origins of the university. As Manchester rapidly transformed into the 'world's first industrial city' in the early 19th century, a vibrant urban educational landscape emerged, unparalleled in the British Isles at that time. In stark contrast to England's ancient universities, which remained largely private and exclusive until the mid-19th century, Manchester's educational culture was characterized by its self-consciously diffused, civic, and participatory nature. This was heavily influenced by the city's prominent dissenting communities, who sought to shape the educational culture according to the Enlightenment ideal of polite learning as a public endeavor. While historians of knowledge and ideas have long highlighted civic participatory models, this article innovatively explores how these models influenced the history of educational cultures in Manchester, a story that has yet to be fully told.