So here is a fascinating account of what was once Oak House Farm and is now Arden Court from Tony Goulding.
The history of the piece of land lying between Cundiff Road and Chorlton Brook is very reflective of the development Chorlton-cum-Hardy as a whole.
Four separate phases are discernible in its history throughout the 20th century.
At the opening of the century this land was still part of Oak House farm shown as an orchard OS maps of the time.
On at least one occasion I can recall my father selling some of the windfall to one of the grocer’s shops which were at the Barlow Moor Road end of Cundiff Road.
The 1920's & 30'S saw the development of the area into several tennis courts complete with a couple of pavilions according to contemporary maps.
A third phase had been reached by the time of my family’s arrival.
The tennis court had fallen into disuse and the land had reverted to semi-wild scrub, nicely portrayed in this collection of photos of a friend my brother and me playing cricket on it in the early 1970's.
The plan got as far as Princess Anne ceremoniously laying a foundation stone on I think March 23 1971.
She visited South Manchester and amongst other duties were the opening of a new sports facility at Didsbury College and a visit to a Moss Side children's centre
As the route between these two engagements would probably have taken the royal party along Barlow Moor Road, I think it is highly likely that a stop was made along the way to perform the ceremony I witnessed.
And it may be that others can confirm the date.
For some reason this venture was axed and it was not until 1984, when Anchor housing obtained the plot that the final stage of development was reached with the building of Oakhouse Drive and Arden Court retirement homes.
As a final note , and showing that development is a continuous process, the last of the shop units nearby on Cundiff Road was a ladies hairdressers in its last incarnation, after having been left almost derelict for a number of years, was recently converted into a private residence.
What further changes will be the next few years bring to this area?
Pictures; from the collection of Tony Goulding
I lived at 2 Brassington Ave and in the garden was the well for the farmhouse. We new the farm as Tilley's Farm after the occupant of the farmhouse an old man with a vicious dog. In the outbuilding was a business that made wall plaques run by a man who lived in one of the private houses on Cundiff Road. The only man with a car in the area.
ReplyDeleteThank you David, when would that have been? Interestingly there is a cafe on Barlow Moor Road called Tilly's
ReplyDeleteI lived on Oak House Farm as a child and I have lots of photos and documents pertaining to it plus memories etc. My Grandmother inherited Oak House Farm nd land and owned it until it was compulsorily purchased in 1966 to build a school. That never happened.
ReplyDeleteI was BORN!! in Oak House Cottage which stood next to Oak House Farm. The farm originally belonged to Ernest Tilley (note the e) who ran it as a dairy farm and delivered milk all across Chorlton. Tilley (unmarried)bequeathed OHF and OHC and all its land to my Grandmother (Dorothy May Taylor (nee Harris). Dorothy May worked for Tilley for years. He would have married her but she refused to ever marry again after a 'complicated' short marriage to another. (hence Taylor) Grandma had one daughter (my mother) and we (myself, my sisters and mother and father) lived in both of the houses over the years. Grandma used to live in the House and we in the cottage until our family grew so we swapped! In my lifetime the cows had long gone but we continue to run the dairy (with milk we 'bought in', which my uncle (Grandma's brother) used to deliver locally. Regarding the local shops around the corner on Cundiff. There was a general store Brynings and Youds newsagent (who also had another shop on Barlow Moor Road. Just around the corner from Hardy Lane. Opposite Chorlton Park School. I am not sure who the @old man with the vicious dog my is' ha ha. But possibly my Great Uncle FranK
ReplyDeleteI’ve just been writing my memories of our house, the farm and it’s buildings for my kids. I wonder if you are Veronica whose family I used to play with. I lived on Cundiff road backing onto the farm land
DeleteNo the author is Tony Goulding but we would both be interested in your memories.
DeleteHi Ian. I didnt write this page but, yes, I am 'the Veronica' who commented as 'unknown' 2 November at 21.01hrs. The previous comment was written by my sister Debbie and we were all born at Oak House Farm and Cottage including our older sister Karen. I feel sure that I know who you are too, and, yes we played together all the time. If it is you, your surname begins with S and rhymes with 'tape'. 😉 If it's you you, you will remember that one day when playing on our field we disturbed a wasps or bees nest. They went bonkers and you got stung very badly. You were quite poorly for several days sadly. But luckily this Ian recovered well thank goodness! Three generations of our family lived there as outlined in my previous comment until that dreaded compulsory purchase. I hope you look back and see this because there is no 'trigger' that highlights new comments. You just have to keep looking at the page from time to time!
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