Well it had to happen ............. the one bit of street furniture I have consistently ignored, so here is the start of a series on the humble road sign.
I say road sign because as everyone one knows, Chorlton-cum-Hardy never did streets, just roads.
I rather think a “street” might have crept in with all that new development over the years and we did have our own Lloyd Street back in the mid 19th century but that is it.
And of course more recently there has been the renaming of roads.
But for now I just want to focus on the road sign like this old traditional one on just round the corner from us.
You can still see them on the sides of buildings but they are in decline, replaced by the easier to read but a bit bland version of today.
And while I am on it perhaps a supplementary series could be the road/street names themselves. Most are in memory of long gone local heroes, like Mr Brundrett, Mr Needham and of course those big landowners, the Egerton’s and Lloyds.
But sometimes the odd names strike you, like Ney Street in Waterloo in Ashton which I will leave you to ponder on, given that Marshal Ney was one of Napoleon’s generals and Napoleon of course was defeated at Waterloo.
Or Battle of Tel el- Kebir Street in Sunderland or the equally imaginative Faucet Street in the same town and our own Anita Street which more than a few people will be able to furnish the full story.
So that is it ............ road signs the new series to sit beside the other street furniture series, which include, finger posts, water troughs telephone kiosks and pillar boxes, not forgetting those huge iron street ventilation pipes.
That said my old friend in Adam in Peckham has started the research going, so lots I suspect still to come.
Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Picture; Provis Street, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
I rather think a “street” might have crept in with all that new development over the years and we did have our own Lloyd Street back in the mid 19th century but that is it.
And of course more recently there has been the renaming of roads.
But for now I just want to focus on the road sign like this old traditional one on just round the corner from us.
You can still see them on the sides of buildings but they are in decline, replaced by the easier to read but a bit bland version of today.
And while I am on it perhaps a supplementary series could be the road/street names themselves. Most are in memory of long gone local heroes, like Mr Brundrett, Mr Needham and of course those big landowners, the Egerton’s and Lloyds.
But sometimes the odd names strike you, like Ney Street in Waterloo in Ashton which I will leave you to ponder on, given that Marshal Ney was one of Napoleon’s generals and Napoleon of course was defeated at Waterloo.
Or Battle of Tel el- Kebir Street in Sunderland or the equally imaginative Faucet Street in the same town and our own Anita Street which more than a few people will be able to furnish the full story.
That said my old friend in Adam in Peckham has started the research going, so lots I suspect still to come.
Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Picture; Provis Street, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
I remember Provis Rd. Why change the name and confuse folks.
ReplyDeleteProvis Road, is still Provis Road, but other road names were changed to avoid city wide duplication
DeleteAndrew - do u have any history on the land by Chorlton Brook where Meade Manor flats now stand, please? Anne
ReplyDeleteAnne ... the flats stand on what in 1845 was Bottoms Meadow rented by Samuel Grattrix whose home and farm house on the south east corner of Beech and Beaumont Roads, and directly opposite the flats was New Hey which was a wooded area farmed by William Knight who lived in a farm house on the lane running down to the Bowling Green pub from the green. This lane was once called Horse Yard Road. Both fields were owned by the Egertons.
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