“It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.”

The blog has been going since November 24th of 2011 and in that time lots of people have kindly donated pictures of Chorlton for me to post with a story.

Now I was thinking of the opening lines of Tale of Two Cities after coming across this picture taken by my old friend Lawrence Beedle as this historic house was being demolished.

It had stood on Chorlton Row long before the road was renamed Beech Road and dates from at least the early 19th century. It was at this time the home of the Blomely family who baptized their children in the parish church and owned the pond which stretched from Acres Road up to Chequers.

Now for those who gained from its destruction I guess it was a good day but for those of us, who liked it, knew that it was old; its destruction was a very sad event. More so because now that it has gone there are only two houses dating from this period left in the old township.

So here is the challenge. Who has pictures, documents or even stories that they would like to pass onto me so that I can share them with the many who read this blog on every continent of the world and in many countries in each of those continents? As you know I always acknowledge the contribution. Just add a comment at the end of the blog and we can make contact.

Picture; from the collection of Lawrence Beedle