As you can see on the map below, in the corner formed by Deans Gate (1) and Market Street (2) there was a field (4) called Acres Field where an annual fair was held from the 13th Century until 1823. When the square was set out, it was as a tree lined residential area.

In the square you will find a statue of Richard Cobden (June 3 ,1804 - April 2 ,1865 ). He was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman who, with John Bright, founded of the Anti-Corn Law League . Cobden became a conspicuous figure in Manchester political and intellectual life. He was involved in the foundation of the Manchester Athenaeum and he was the first to address the members. He was a member of the chamber of commerce and was part of the campaign for the incorporation of the city becoming its first aldermen.

Standing near the Market Street end of St Ann's Square is the Boer War Memorial by Hamo Thorneycroft and erected in 1907.  It depicts a British soldier protecting a fallen comrade.