A cinema classic in Bury

Now it is always a joy to open an email from Andy Robertson whose quest for recording our history knows no bounds, and is limited only by where his bus pass will take him. 

And so here after a tram ride on a wet grey March day Andy offered up this grand old relic of the cinema age.

It is the Art Picture House on Haymarket Street in Bury.

It was built in 1922 on the site of a theatre which had originally Baptist Chapel which was then converted into a warehouse.*

Today it is a Wetherspoons, all of which makes for a rich and varied

history which has been researched by the Theatre Trust.*

And the more I look at it there are distinct similarities with the that cinema on Oxford Road, once known to many as "Studios one to a million."

There is more, but for that you will have to read their blog and go up to Bury following in the tramstops of Andy Robertson.










Picture; the Art Theatre, Bury, 2015 from the collection of Andy Robertson

*The Theatres Trust Theatres Database, 
  http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/2233-art-picture-house

Tatton Hall ....... once the preserve of the rich and now a place to mix a bit of history with a load of fun

Now I am going to lay aside my prejudice for stately homes.

It is something which I have carried it with me since childhood and is based on that simple observation that all such posh places were funded by exploiting the labours of those who were doomed never to get closer than the estate gates and maintained by an army of servants and labourers whose contributions to the great house went largely unrecorded.

Nor do I totally accept that tosh about preserving the past.

So while some might argue that there is no comparison between Blenheim Palace and a 1930 semi built on the outer reaches of Manchester. I am not so sure.

But both have histories, both were built for someone to live in and both were cherished by their inhabitants.

In the case of Tatton Hall it is now open to all and run by the National Trust after the last owner, Maurice Egerton bequeathed the mansion and gardens to the National Trust on his death in 1958.

And for all those who live in south Manchester, the Egertons at one time pretty much owned all of it having begun to acquire great chunks from the 18th century onwards and only parting with the land in the late 19th and early 20 centuries.

All of which may seem a long way from a pleasant day in Tatton Park which if you choose the day correctly will offer up a shed load of attractions, from steam engines to the fun of the fair.

These Peter has captured well in his series of paintings on Tatton Hall.

My favourite remains that traction engine which reminds me of the time when steam was the thing powering everything from pumps and textile machines to trains and even to carousel rides.

Today it is hard to imagine that once that distinctive smell of steam and warm oil along with the noise and smoke of a steam machine was the backdrop to most people’s lives.

All of which makes Tatton Hall’s visitor attractions worth a visit, not that it over changes my views of stately homes, but I shall put that prejudice to one side.

Paintings; from the Tatton Hall series,  © 2011 and 2015 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,

Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

Facebook:  Paintings from Pictures

An Easter history walk .......... advance warning ........... now that's a zippy title

Now I make no apologies about mentioning Easter, and an Easter egg hunt in March given that the hunt is linked to those ever popular history walks.

And so returning by popular demand this Easter Sunday I will offering up a bit more of the history of Chorton, with that added attraction that along the way there will be opportunities to take part in the hunt for Easter eggs.

So starting starting at 3 on Easter Sunday from the Post Box Cafe we will be setting off to explore the history of Martledge in the late 19th century.*

Martledge was the area roughly from the Four Banks down to the Library and was so transformed from the 1880s that even its name was forgotten and locals referred to it as “New Chorlton” or the “new village.”

The walk will take us past some farms, the old Royal Oak pub, a very interesting block of houses dating from 1832 and by degree out across the Isles to gaze at the sight of the old Chorlton Ice Rink and finish off with the story of the Great Burial Scandal and the almost forgotten stories of Chorlton and the Blitz.

Along the way there will be tales of dark deeds, quite a bit about the people we might have encountered and more than one silly story.

Like the day the lady from Beech Road lost her skates while visiting our skating ring on Oswald Road and went on to make a fascinating discovery.

The event is being staged by the Post Box Cafe and for the price of £8 for adults, and £5 for children you get all the history you might want and more plus hot drink for the walk and then soup or cake on return for grownups and  juice and an Easter egg for the children.

And if you want more information follow the link.*

Picture; from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-history-walk-with-childrens-easter-egg-hunt-with-chorlton-historian-andrew-simpson-tickets-15965229431

Looking for Alice ...... 250,000 Bexley records now online and that postcard from Chislehurst

Now I would love to track Alice who sent this postcard of Sidcup Road on December 23 1915.

But while I have the name and the address of the person she sent it to, Alice will always evade me.

If only she had added her surname and then I might have been lucky and found her on the census return for the area and now also from one of the more than 250,000 parish records for the London Borough of Bexley.

Until now they were available from the Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre* but have been digitalised and can be accessed at Ancestry** and cover local baptisms, marriages and burial from1558 to 1985.

And along side these Ancestry has also released a set of Bexley civil cemetery records which include casualties of the Slade Green Munitions Factory disaster, which killed 11 female workers and a foreman in 1924.

Described by newspapers as a "‘tragedy that rocked the nation’, a memorial for those killed in the fire still remains at Erith Cemetery today" details of which have just been released by Who Do You Think You Are? ***

So for anyone in Eltham with an interest in Bexley there may well be a cornucopia of research opportunities.

Of course not everyone will subscribe to Ancestry but the  Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre is just a short trip away on Townley Road, Bexleyheath.*

And like all good studiy centres there is a huge collection of things to look at ranging from Electoral registers and poll books which start in 1833 to Kent local directories, rate books, Ordnance Survey maps from the 1860s and  school records, including admission registers.

And if you want more there are local newspapers dating from 1874, local council plans and photographic collections.

But if like me you live along way north of Watford Gap it will have to be Ancestry which offers up a route to Bexley’s past.

Sadly even here I will not be able to discover any more about Alice and as yet the person she sent the card to in Hereford is equally unwilling to come out of the shadows.

So I shall have to content myself with that card which I have written about in the past and which gives us a nice insight into how commercial picture postcards worked.

It is a pretty scene taken in high summer and was originally released in 1905 but with that eye to a profit the postcard company re released it in the December of 1915 with the addition of a Christmas message printed across the front.

Picture; Sidcup Road, 1915 from the series Chislehurst, marketed by Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdb.org/

* Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre, Central Library, Townley Road, Bexleyheath, DA6 7HJ

**Ancestry,

*** Centuries of Bexley parish records added to Ancestry, jonbauckham, 26 March 2015, Who Do You Think You Are?

**** That mysterious cottage in Chislehurst, 

Standing on Talbot Road watching the progress

Now never say that the blog is just about the past.

Here is 39 Talbot Road as it was in September of last year and yesterday as recorded by Andy Robertson who commented that the pictures “shows the area has been cleared, at least of vegetation, presumably for some imminent redevelopment.”

And I can report that according to Trafford Council’s Planning on line site, the cleared land will become "a car park for a temporary period of two years including erection of timber gates as a site entrance.”*

Which followed on from a previous

application for "the  demolition of existing building and erection of part five/part six storey block of offices. 

Provision of 90 parking spaces with access from Talbot Road." Which was approved in 2003.

So as they say watch this space and in the fullness of time I reckon there will a few more pictures from Andy, all of which will add to the growing portfolio of images of how where we live continues to change.

And that is important because we so seldom bother to clock the changes.

Pictures; 39 Talbot Road, 2014-15 courtesy of Andy Robertson

*39 Talbot Road Stretford, Ref. No: 83473/FULL/2014, http://publicaccess.trafford.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage

Revealing more of the work of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls‘ Refuge.

Parent Indenture, 1903

Now I always look forward to a new post from the archivist of the Together Trust which hold the records of the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls‘ Refuge.

From 1870 this charity extended its work from providing a bed and a meal for destitute children from the twin cities to an organisation which campaigned for the rights of children, offered training to enable young people to rise from poverty and settled some on farms and homes across Canada.

What I particularly like is the insight into the work of the charity and today’s post focuses on the agreement undertaken by the charity, the children and their parents.

There maybe those who criticise the language of the indentures as a tad patronising and question also the degree to which a parent was expected to surrender authority over their child in favour of the charity and I have to say they sit uncomfortably with me.

But that merely goes to highlight the degree to which poverty and the lack of real State intervention made the work of such charities necessary.

As the secretary of the Manchester & Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges reflected the charity had “during its forty-six years helped 10,831 children, and “besides these thousands of temporary cases have been helped [along with] poor delicate children sent to the seaside home, ........ poor boys sent to summer camps for a week’s holiday which have numbered no fewer than 55,891.” *

This was a record set against the desperate degree of poverty and hardship experienced by our homeless children back in the 1870s who were “getting their living by begging, selling papers and matches, or by blacking boots in the streets, and when they could not raise 3d. for a night in a common lodging house slept out.

They were to be found lying under stalls in Shudehill Market, in the various alleys under the railway arches, and among bales of cotton in railway yards.”

Forty-six years on the secretary commented “I could have taken you to half a dozen places where you would have found young lads sleeping out; today I do not know of one.  Indeed I do not think boys and girls are to be found sleeping out, .... thanks to the work of our own agencies and of others in Manchester and Salford.”

At which point I will stop and direct you to that post which contains some interesting documents with its observations on the work of the charity and offers no better start fo anyone wanting to research the issues of child poverty and destitution..**

Pictures; courtesy of the Together Trust

*The Passing of the City Arab Manchester Guardian January 3rd 1916

**Getting down and dusty, http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/

On discovering the service records of a British Home Child

Attestation Papers, James Rogers, James Roger Hall, August 1915

I have no pictures of my great uncle who went over to Canada in 1914 with the Middlemore charity.

Nor has he left much else in the way of personal material and even the official records stretch to just a few census returns, the register of his birth and fragmentary documents from the social services, Middlemore and the Derby Poor Law Guardians.

My great aunt left a few memories of the man and I have two letters and that is about it.

I know he had an unhappy time, was placed on three farms between May 1914 and August 1915 before he ran away from his last placement, changed his name, lied about his age and enlisted in the Canadian Army.

Attestation Papers, August 1915

But that decision has at least offered up a wealth of information and has gone some way to bring him out of the shadows.

I know what he looked like, the colour of his eyes, his hair and his weight and general health and I can follow his experiences from his enlistment through to his basic training, embarkation for Britain and onward journey to the Western Front.

Moreover knowing who he served with it is possible to read the war diaries of his unit and get an understanding of what he went through in France from the daily tedium of training and fatigues to the brutal realities of serving on the front line.

And along with his medical records are a list of his misdemeanours which suggest that the troubled adolescent in Derby who could not settle on farms in NB and NS found the discipline of army life no easier.

Between 1916 and 1918 he faced four military courts from refusing to obey an order to absent without leave while on active service.

George Bradford Simpson, circa 1918

But of all the military documents it is perhaps his Attestation Papers which are the most revealing for this is the moment when he sets his face against everything in his life so far.

It starts with that name change and the falsification of his age and goes on to deny the very existence of his mother, preferring instead to offer his aunt as his next of kin.

Now this is not the place to explore why that might have been and while I can vouchsafe some reasons they will always be speculation.
Suffice to say that his mother who was my great grandmother may have been a difficult woman who in her way was no less troubled than her son.

After his demob he all but vanishes from the record.  I know he was instrumental in helping his sister cross to Canada in 1925 and there is a suggestion from her that he had gone west but there the trail ends.

So those army records offer up a brief glimpse of my great uncle and are all the more important given that we have none of the military records for the others in the family who fought in the Great War.

In all six of my immediate family joined the Colours, and they include my great grandfather, my grandfather, two of his brothers and two of my uncles..

C Company, First City Battalion, 16th Manchester's September 1914

But ironically it is the one family member who left for far away Canada whose military career is intact.

Sadly the records of the other five are part of the 60% of service records which were destroyed in the Blitz.

So today I have one letter from an uncle dated December 1918 as his unit prepared to cross the Rhine into Germany, a few photographs, the demobilisation papers of my grandfather and a few bits from my great grandfather who served in the armies of the old Queen between 1888 and 1892 and briefly served again during the Great War.

Not that this will surprise anyone who has gone looking for their family history but there is perhaps a slight irony in that the man who was sent from these shores, and whose later life would end in a mystery should for a brief few years provided the most detailed records of any of his family.

Pictures;, Attestation Papers of James Rogers [Roger James Hall] August 1915, George Bradford Simpson circa 1918, from the collection of Andrew Simpson and C Company of the First City Battalion of the 16th Manchester’s 1914 courtesy of Bob Potts.

A quiet day along the Rochdale Canal

I first stumbled across that stretch of the Rochdale Canal which runs from the Dale Street Basin to Castlefield through the heart of the city.

It was sometime in the mid 1970s and still find it a fascinating place.

So here over the next few days are some images taken by Andy Robertson on a sunny March day.





Picture; the Rochdale Canal March 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Hough End Hall ............. a time before now courtesy of Julian Beech

I have often wondered just what Hough End Hall would have been like before those tall office blocks were built which now loom large over this 400 year old building.

Of course to remember a time when you could have had an uninterrupted view across open land in all directions from the hall broken only by trees and the odd farm building would be to step back almost a century.

The office blocks may only date from the 1960s and 70s but the houses to the north and south of the hall were pretty much all in place by the late 1930s and the park had been laid almost a decade earlier.

All of which makes this photograph by Julian Beech so interesting.  Having taken the picture he set about with Photoshop to mute the surrounding buildings.

Now there are plenty of images of the hall dating back into the middle of the 19th century but what I like about Julian’s is that instant connection with what is now and what was once.

Picture Hough End Hall, March 2015, courtesy of Julian Beech

Another view of the Ashton Canal

An occasional series which aims to contrasts some of the oldest bits of the city with the newest.

Here we are out by the Aston Canal with one of the lock gate houses with some of its old contemporary buildings and few which point to the future.

Picture; the Aston Canal, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Hough End Hall ………….. have your say Saturday March 28 at Chorlton Library

Eltham Palace ......... the latest book ..... reviewed by Sue Hurley*

Now I like it when people write for the blog and so here is a review of the latest book on Eltham Palace by Sue Hurley

I lived all my young life in Eltham, and had the honour of having a view from my bedroom window of a part of a royal Palace, which I knew very little about.

I found out a bit about the lovely building as I grew up and admired it every day as I walked up King John’s Walk and along Court Road to catch the bus to school.

The stunning Eltham Palace captured my heart and I have always felt a closeness and warmth towards the place and a need to know more.

One of the books I have stumbled across is just simply called ‘Eltham Palace’ by John Priestley.* The author has been fascinated by Eltham Palace and it’s history since he was stationed there while serving in the army nearly 60 years ago.

This comes across in the way the book is laid out and written with a warm affection.

It covers the history of the Palace over three and a half centuries, between the reigns of Edward 1 and James 1.

It is richly illustrated and follows important moments in the building’s history, tracing the Palace from it’s medieval and Tudor beginnings, through the tournaments and festivities, the links with Henry V111 and Wolsey (very prominent of the moment with Wolf Hall just aired on tv) the decline of the Palace and the Civil War and the very sad destruction in the 17th Century.

The Palace was rescued from demolition in 1828, although in a state of much needed repair, as it was damaged even more by the gale of 1827, but major repairs were started by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

More major repairs took place in 1912-1914 and the book takes you through not only all necessary work, but all the costs and some amazing photographs.

When the Courtaulds paid for more restorations in 1935, they employed top craftsmen and after three centuries of decay brought Eltham Palace back to it’s full glory.

The book is a mine of information and you can get lost in the history of the Palace. It can whisk you back to early Lancastrian times where Henry 1V spent ten of his 13 Christmases, Tudor times and a time when Queen Anne Boleyn and Princess Mary quarrelled there, a visit from Mary 1 in 1556 when she stayed there for a month much due to its recent repairs and good condition and the meetings of the Tudor privy council where the topics of France and Spain were discussed.

The book is a vivid and in-depth work of interest to locals and historians, full of Eltham Palace’s rich royal heritage and architectural history.

© Sue Hurley 2015

*Eltham Palace, John Priestley 2008, the History Press

A bit of the past ....... a hunt for some hidden eggs ....... it can only be the History walk and talk on Easter Sunday

Now I make no apologies about mentioning Easter, and an Easter egg hunt in March given that the hunt is linked to those ever popular history walks.

And so returning by popular demand this Easter Sunday I will offering up a bit more of the history of Chorton, with that added attraction that along the way there will be opportunities to take part in the hunt for Easter eggs.

So starting starting at 3 on Easter Sunday from the Post Box Cafe we will be setting off to explore the history of Martledge in the late 19th century.*

Martledge was the area roughly from the Four Banks down to the Library and was so transformed from the 1880s that even its name was forgotten and locals referred to it as “New Chorlton” or the “new village.”

The walk will take us past some farms, the old Royal Oak pub, a very interesting block of houses dating from 1832 and by degree out across the Isles to gaze at the sight of the old Chorlton Ice Rink and finish off with the story of the Great Burial Scandal and the almost forgotten stories of Chorlton and the Blitz.

Along the way there will be tales of dark deeds, quite a bit about the people we might have encountered and more than one silly story.

Like the day the lady from Beech Road lost her skates while visiting our skating ring on Oswald Road and went on to make a fascinating discovery.

The event is being staged by the Post Box Cafe and for the price of £8 for adults, and £5 for children you get all the history you might want and more plus hot drink for the walk and then soup or cake on return for grownups and  juice and an Easter egg for the children.

And if you want more information follow the link.*

Picture; from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-history-walk-with-childrens-easter-egg-hunt-with-chorlton-historian-andrew-simpson-tickets-15965229431

On the Ashton Canal

An occasional series which aims to contrasts some of the oldest bits of the city with the newest.

Here we are out by the Aston Canal with one of the lock gate houses dwarfed by one of its modern neighbours.

Picture; the Aston Canal, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

St Mary's in Hulme

Now I know St Mary’s in Hulme, not that I ever went inside, but passed it countless times on the bus.

That said here is a view of the church I am less familiar with and one that I rather like.
Andy tells me it was taken just before a trip to the local supermarket.

It was opened in 1858 and closed in 1981 and has the tallest spire in Manchester.

Picture; St Mary’s Hulme, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Celebrating our Municipal Town Halls part 6 .......... Stretford Town Hall

Another in the short series celebrating our Municipal Town Halls which focus not only on the grand buildings but also the achievements of local government.

Stretford Town Hall is is that grand building on Chester Road which has for over a century served as a Public Hall, Municipal Library, Civic Theatre and council offices.

It also had a set of swimming baths at the rear all of which made it a focal point for those who lived in the area.

It was built in 1878 by John Rylands who lived just up the road in Longford Hall and on his death his wife gave the building to the local authority for a small annual rent.

On her death the council bought the property.

Over the last century and a bit the place has changed as new civic buildings were built.

So the library moved out when the new one was opened in 1940 and after a period as Stretford Civic Theatre it became council offices reverting to a Public Hall in 1997 while the swimming baths closed when the new Leisure Centre opened.

Painting;  Stretford Public Hall © 2013 Peter Topping
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook: Paintings from Pictures https://www.facebook.com/paintingsfrompictures

Celebrating our Municipal Town Halls part 5 .......... WithingtonTown Hall

Another in the short series celebrating our Municipal Town Halls which focus not only on the grand buildings but also the achievements of local government.

It’s not every day that you get the chance to decide on becoming part of a city.

But that was exactly what happened in the January of 1904, when the ratepayers of Chorlton along with those of Burnage, Didsbury, and Withington were asked to take a leap and join the big city neighbour.

We had been part of the Withington Urban District Council since it was set up in 1876 and bits of its legacy are sill knocking around if you know where to look.

Some of the streets grids still bear the name Withington UDC and out by the meadows are the remains of the sewage works, although I have to confess my favourite bit of this long vanished little local authority is Withington Town Hall.

It was built in 1881 for the Withington Local Board of Heath which in 1894 became Withington Urban District Council.

After our vote for incorporation into the City the building remained in public use and I can remember many evenings spent in the great hall, although the details of why I was there have faded.

I wish back then I knew of its proud history and of the discussions which went on over issues like the sewage works down by the Mersey, the provision of new schools across the district and the attractions of Manchester Corporation all of which I have written about.*

Painting; Withington Town Hall, © 2015 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook:  Paintings from Pictures

* Here’s an offer you can’t refuse, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/heres-offer-you-cant-refuse.html

Celebrating our Municipal Town Halls part 4 .......... Burnley Town Hall

Another in the short series celebrating our Municipal Town Halls which focus not only on the grand buildings but also the achievements of local government.

It was opened in 1888 a full 27 years after Burnely was granted borough status, and during that period the Council met in various buildings including the fire station on Manchester Road.*





Painting; Burnley Town Hall, © 2014 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook:  Paintings from Pictures

* The proud history of Burnley Town Hall, http://www.pendletoday.co.uk/news/columnists/the-proud-history-of-burnley-town-hall-1-6654506 

Down on Hilton Street on the corner of Port Street

This is another one of those magnificent buildings which can still be found across the city.

This is on the corner of Port Street and Hilton Street and is a good reminder that you should always have your camera with you.

Places in the city centre change with a rapidity that can leave you wondering what the building was like the last time you passed.

So in the space of a few months from June of last year to when Andy took this picture last month a new bar has opened in the corner section.

That said the rest of the building has changed little and is all the more impressive for that.

Picture; Hilton Street, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Tatton Hall and the staircase from Chorlton

Now Tatton Hall is an impressive pile by any estate agents sales pitch.

It was begun in the 1770s was steadily added to by members of the Egerton family, boasts a large Corinthian portico, monolithic columns of varying classical designs and is big.

But I have reservations.

Part of that comes from that prejudice I have carried with me since childhood about big posh places funded by exploiting the labours of those who were doomed never to get closer than the estate gates and maintained by an army of servants and labourers whose contributions to the great house went largely unrecorded.

Added to which it has something of ours.

Tucked away in the great house is that fine staircase from Hough End Hall which the Egertons decided should grace their home in Cheshire.

Of course given the slow decline of Hough End Hall during the middle of the last century followed by the wholesale destruction of almost all the interior during various renovation projects it may have found a safer and better home.

Like many I have at times muttered that “we wos robbed” and that is the prevailing view of many I talk to but I wonder what its fate would have been if left in Chorlton.

One visitor to Hough End Hall in 1862 reported that the “widely and interesting staircase .... [with] boldly carved oaken balustrade, was [now] white as purity itself from a recent infliction of whitewash.”*

I doubt that it would have survived long in the last century a victim of either the random visits of young children who saw the hall as a secret playground or the more sinister opportunist thief out to offer it to the highest bidder.

Instead along with “some of the choicest wainscoting [which was also] removed to adorn a Cheshire house belonging to the Egertons”* it can still be seen and admired.

And that brings me to Peter’s painting of the Hall which he painted recently after a visit to find and record that staircase.

I can report he found the staircase and I am hoping he will offer up a painting as it looks today which in turn may well make its way into our book on Hough End Hall which will soon be out on the book shelves.

Today Tatton Hall is no longer the home of the privileged.

It is part museum, part theme park all set in stunning landscape and is enjoyed by visitors who could never have hoped even to have walked through the lodge gates a century ago.

Painting; Tatton Hall, © 2015 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook:  Paintings from Pictures

*A Visit to Hough End Hall in Withington, Ashton Reporter, December 6 1862, quoted by Cliff Renshaw in Hough End Hall, 400 Years of History, 2001

**Hough End Hall .......... the book.......... coming soon
 http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/hough-end-hall-book-coming-soon.html

What we take for granted in the city centre

Now I used to think that most of our fine late Victorian and Edwardian buildings had been lost, having succumbed to either Mr Hitler’s bombs are the grand plans of developers in the 1950s and 60s.

But not so as these two photographs by Andy Robertson show.

I could have done the research and gone into great detail about the design and materials but instead I shall just reflect on how fascinating both of these look.

And of course repeat that simple observation that all too often we just ignore these fine buildings, many of which are tucked away in bits of the city which were just regarded as the work day parts of Manchester.

Picture’s Hilton Street and Dale Street, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Walking in Well Hall in March

Now I think you can never get enough pictures of Well Hall and especially photographs by Chrissie Rose, so here is the first of a few more she took earlier this month.

Picture; Well Hall in March 2015, from the collection of Chrissie Rose

On why finding Uncle George has just become easier

Birth certificate of G B Simpson, 1899, Alloa, Clackmannanshire

Searching for relatives is not a cheap hobby.

Nor for that matter is it any cheaper when you are looking for some lost resident of a house or family as part of a research project.

So I am pleased that the General Registry Office which is responsible of issuing birth, marriage and death certificates is about to explore cheaper ways of providing such records.

A full certificate costs £9.25 which can be a bit steep if you have a whole shed load of family members you want to find out about, and even more expensive when on a hunch you order a certificate up only to discover it is not one of yours.

But the Government has accepted an amendment to the Deregulation Bill which changes the definition of the documents the General Registry Office (GRO) supplies to the public.*

Under the new rules the GRO can start to explore alternative options which could mean following the Scottish model and providing digital copies for BMD which can be accessed at ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk

Now I have to say I had no idea that ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk offered this service and as my father’s family came from Scotland researching them has become a whole lot easier and of course cheaper.

My great grandparents, 1869

Back when my sisters’ first started looking for our family in the 1970s it involved trips to churches from the Lowlands into  the Highlands comparing parish records with gravestones.

The internet has made all that easier and now the possibilities of digital copies open up even more exciting opportunities.

After all for most of us a digital copy will suffice and will be so much cheaper, with that added bonus of saving a tree.

So what is there to complain about that?

Pictures; birth certificate of G.B.Simpson, 1899 and the gravestone of George Honeyman Simpson and Cecillia Anderson Simpson 1869, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*GRO, http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/
**Amendment paves way for BMD changes, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? MAGAZINE Issue 98 April 2015, www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com

On Windmill Street thinking of Cox's Bar

Now it is pretty easy to miss this building on Windmill Street, especially in the summer when the trees in front are in full leaf.

But for any over a certain age this was and will always be Cox’s Bar which was a rare place to spend an evening.

Like Andy who took the pictures I spent many happy hours there but for all sorts of reasons stopped going.

And then it was gone, or at least transformed into something more smooth which then also went.

There will be those with more vivid memories of the place and above a detailed history of when it first opened,

some of the characters that inhabited both sides of the bar and a few sad tales.

But then I suppose a bit like that rather silly observation on the 1960s .......... if you remember it you weren’t there.

That said I do remember the bar and invite others to supply their memories.

Pictures; on Wndmill Street with a lost building, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

On arriving safely home in Didsbury from Blackley in 1908

I am looking at a picture postcard of Wilmslow Road which was sent in 1908 to Miss Marion Scott of Banbury Road in Blackley.

Now there is nothing over unusual about that.

Such cards were just part of the way we communicated with each other at the beginning of the last century.

They were cheap to buy, cheap to send and could be guaranteed to arrive within a few hours of being sent.

All of which meant that you could send a card first thing in the morning arranging to meet a friend later that day and be confident that both of you would be where you said at the appointed hour.

In many cases cards were sent alerting family that a holiday was over and that you would be home for tea.

And that is the fascination of this particular card which announces the safe return of J Richards from Blackley.

Now of course I could be in danger of misunderstanding J. Richards but there is a sense that the journey across the city from north to south was accompanied with some relief.  “Just a line” the message begins “to let you know I got safely back from Blackley feeling none the worse for the journey.”  

One wonders what terrors might have been expected from the trip, but having completed it he/she was content to mark the card with a x to show the chapel of the college.

But there is more and that is the hint that all is not well with Marion’s sister who appears to be “unmanageable.”

I went looking for Marion in 1908 but so far have found nothing, which is a pity because I would love to know the link between Marion who lived at Wesley House on Banbury Road in Blackley and J Richards who was attending the Wesleyan College.

Not that I suspect I ever will, which just leaves me to reflect on the picture of Wilmslow Road which  superficially has not changed much in 107 years.

The scene is instantly recognisable and while the church is no longer the chapel of the Wesleyan College it is still there and much else looks the same.

And that I think is all I shall say.

Picture; Wilmlsow Road circa 1908 from the collection of Paul O’Sullivan

Today ............. Salford in 1977 ...... the exhibition of pictures and the talk

Thirty seven years ago ............ Salford in 1977, pictures ..... interviews ......and  talk by Phil Portus.

I posted the full story of Phil’s exhibition and talk a few days ago,* so this is just a timely and gentle reminder that Salford - Photographing Urban Change, by Phil Portus is on between 12.00-2.30pm. at Charlestown Community Camera Club, St Sebastians Community Centre, Douglas Green, Salford M6 6E.  And it’s free.
How good is that?

And as a way of seeing just what is on offer I suggest you  follow the link to Phil’s site and his story.



Picture; courtesy of Phil Portus

*Thirty seven years ago ............ Salford in 1977, pictures ..... interviews ......and a talk by Phil Portus Wednesday March 18 http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/thirty-seven-years-ago-salford-in-1977.html

**Salford Project, http://www.philportus.co.uk/salford-project/

Coming soon a 27 storey residential development by Albion Street

Now this one almost slipped me by, although I suppose once it’s finished it will be pretty hard to miss.

ATrafford Street, 2015

We are on Trafford Street by Albion Street with the Rochdale Canal behind those hoardings.

I will have passed the site countless tomes and also looked down casually over the years from the tram at that spot.

And recently I did wonder why it hadn’t been developed and what the future might hold.

Of course Andy Robertson has done just that.

An impression of the finished development, 2015

On one of his many photographic excursions through town he stopped and recorded the architect’s vision of what will one day rise from this bit of land.

According to the planning application which was submitted last year it will be a “27 storey residential building (Class C3) with associated servicing arrangements, hard landscaping, pedestrian access bridge and associated works on land Bounded By Albion Street, Trafford Street & The Rochdale Canal.”*

As you might expect given the size of the development the consultation process involved 65 documents many of which were extremely detailed.

All of which points to that simple lesson that I should really go looking at the planning applications more regularly and if for no other reason than that big applications important like this contain detailed heritage and archaeological reports which just add to our knowledge of such sites.**

A view if the finished development, 2015

After all I have no memory of what was there and had to start looking at old directories to get an idea of what businesses used the site.

So the heritage report was a fascinating one given that it comprehensively reported on the site from the late 18th century through with maps and photographs pretty much up to today.

All of which I shall read most carefully and return to at a later date.

But for now I have every confidence that Andy will go back and begin one of his meticulous series photographing the changing site.

So no pressure there then.


Pictures; Trafford Street development,  2015, courtesy of Andy Robertson

*Manchester City Planners, Application No. 106490, Albion Street, Trafford Street & The Rochdale Canal, http://pa.manchester.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=N9SAL7BC03O00

**Heritage Report, http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?106490-shs-0001.pdf

By the moat at Well Hall ............

Now I am back at the moat at Well Hall with more of the pictures taken by Chrissie Rose earlier in the month.

For those of us who played there but have long since left they are a powerful memory of what we have lost.

Picture; by the moat at Well Hall, 2015 © Chrissie Rose

Thirty seven years ago ............ Salford in 1977, pictures ..... interviews ......and a talk by Phil Portus Wednesday March 18

Now thirty-seven years is a long time in the history of many inner cities, especially Salford.

So I am keen to see a collection of photographs taken by Phil Portus in 1977.

They will be part of a fascinating afternoon at Charlestown Community Camera Club this Wednesday  when Phil talks about some of the changes that have taken place in Salford and shows new portraits and video interviews of people he photographed  37 years ago.*

At which point I shall quote from Phil’s own account of the project and suggest you follow the link to the site and see some more of those pictures.**

"In 1977 I became involved in an urban documentary photographic project in Salford. After several months of taking photographs we had a collective exhibition  of our black and white prints at the Salford theatre on Liverpool Street.    

Our aim was to record what was left of the past in Ordsall, Langworthy and adjacent areas after extensive demolition  of the old Victorian terraced houses.  

After the exhibition the photographs were kept by the authors of the work and not officially archived.

In 2001 I returned to  the areas covered by the project.  The old housing had been replaced by a council estate in the 80s,  but on the other side of Trafford  Road, in sharp contrast,  the former Manchester Docks had been redeveloped as “flag ship” luxury apartments, and the cultural centre The Lowry.  

This was part of the urban regeneration of the 90s.

In 2012 I decided to find some of the people I photographed in the late 70's and take new portraits. With the help of articles in the Salford Reporter, BBC radio and salfordonline.com I have found several people I had photographed 37 years ago. 

My talk looks at the social and economic background to that part of  Salford  and demonstrates my ongoing work on this project using both photographs and video interviews".

Pictures; courtesy of Phil Portus

* Salford - Photographing Urban Change, a talk by Phil Portus: Wednesday March 18 , 12.00-2.30pm. Free, Charlestown Community Camera Club, St Sebastians Community Centre, Douglas Green, Salford M6 6E

**Salford Project, http://www.philportus.co.uk/salford-project/

By the moat at Well Hall ...........

Now I am back at the moat at Well Hall with more of the pictures taken by Chrissie Rose earlier in the month.

For those of us who played there but have long since left they are a powerful memory of what we have lost.

Picture; by the moat at Well Hall, 2015 © Chrissie Rose

So what fate for the Crown on Court Yard?

Now I wonder on the fate of the Crown on Court Yard.  

Over the last year I have returned to its long history in Eltham ever since I discovered it had closed.

And this picture sent to me by Hayley Smith has set me off all over again.

There is no doubting that little seems to be happening there and yet its presence across the internet is still boldly announced.

I counted six references to the pub all of which appear to suggest that the place is open for business and yet Hayley’s picture tells another tale.

And the Councils’ planning site offers up no hint that there are any schemes to do anything with the site.

So perhaps it will reopen soon under new management and a face lift.

Of course I would welcome news from anyone in the know.

The present building stands on the site of the older one which has a rich past and so having written about the place I rather would have liked to have a drink there.

In 1840 it was being run by John Blundell who was still there the following year, but seems to have retired by 1843 when the place was in the hands of John Martin who seems very much a young man with a determination to go places.*

At the age of 19 he is there in the 1837 land tax records renting a stable from a James Wright and land from a Mrs Dobson, and by 1843 is in the Crown renting the building and the yard.

And as he began his long partnership with the Crown I wonder what its former landlord did with his retirement, which sadly was not long for John Martin died at the age of 51 in 1844.

Not so John Martin who was to serve pints for another three decades.

Not that I am going to repeat that story which is there for all to see on the blog.

Instead I am going to leave you with this image of the Crown from 1977 and reflect that the past
can still look better than the present

Today the pub’s outward appearance has not changed that much although  the boards announcing the latest offers along with the window display do make it look cluttered.

And there is the bus stop just as I remember it, open to the elements.

*Walking along Court Yard in the June of 1841, looking for John Martin and Hannah Simmons
http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/walking-along-court-yard-in-june-of.html

Picture; the Crown, in 2015 from Hayley Smith and in 1977 from the collection of Jean Gammons