Looking down Market Street to St Mary's Gate sometime around 1906

I have to say it is not the best picture in the collection from the point of view of either its sharpness or overall quality but it is still a superb image of Market Street looking down towards St Mary’s Gate.

It compliments an earlier postcard of Market Street which appeared a few weeks ago and was sent sometime around 1906 but I think this image is much older.

We are at the point where Market Street is joined by High Street on our right.  Today the tram lines again swing round from High Street on to Market Street but all the buildings down on the right had side have long gone replaced by the Arndale.  Those on the left are a little more familiar but that is about it.

There are still plenty of horse drawn vehicles and enough wall mounted clocks to remind us that not everyone would have a watch.

But in one way it is just like today with the crowding surging back and forth along Market Street, only today they extend out onto what until recently was the preserve of traffic.

Picture; from the collection of Rita Bishop, courtesy of David Bishop