A little bit of our history ............. buying a house in 1978

Now here is a fascinating bit of our collective history from the attic of Mr and Mrs Clinning.

It dates from 1978 and comes from the estate agent of H. Frank Dawson who pretty much dominated the housing market in Chorlton for most of the last century.

For those of us who wanted to buy or sell a house in the area Dawson’s were the first port of call.  They were also connected with the story of Chorltonville and so can be reckoned to be bound up with the history of the township.

And that brings me to the sheet advertising the sale of Newport Road.

There will be many who will gasp at the asking price of £7, 950, and the rateable value of £139.

But everything is relative and I well remember that my earnings and the scary rise in inflation which seemed to go up almost month by month made the repayments quite a challenge.

I have to thank Mr and Mrs Clinning’s daughter Liz for the leaflet.  She was born just two years after her mum and dad bought the property and was fascinated by some of the details of the house.

Back then few houses had central heating and more than a few had been “improved“with polystyrene ceiling tiles.

There is more but I will leave you to find it.

Location; Chorlton







Picture; property leaflet, 1978 courtesy of the Clinning family.