We are on Chorlton Green sometime in the 1970s during one of the annual Whit Walks.
And of course this is entirely appropriate given that every year thousands of people turned out to parade through the city following a tradition which began in the 1820s.
There will be many who fondly remember the walks and in particular the new clothes that they wore for the occasion. For some this meant a year of careful saving to ensure that the children looked their best.
Now this is not the first time I have featured both the Whit Walks and a series of pictures taken on the day.
These two courtesy of Faith, like the others in the collection were not taken by a professional and were meant only for the family.
But such personal snaps are a vivid and fascinating record of our recent history.
Look carefully and something of what the green used to be like is there in the pictures.
Directly behind the procession is the old farmhouse which became a garage and has now become a housing development.
Then there is the telephone kiosk which once stood on the green, was moved to the corner of Crossland Road and one day just vanished.
And what in a way is all the more remarkable is that I was here in Chorlton but cannot remember a single Whit Walk or for that matter the telephone box in its old position.
Now that is an awful admission.
In my defence I think I did see one which may have marched down Beech Road but that is it.
Of course there will be many who do remember the walks and still a few who were there on the green as our own Brass Band led the procession.
The first band had been formed in the early 1820s reformed in 1850 and lasted till the end of the last world war.
All of which is a long way away from that day on the green.
Location, Chorlton Green, Manchester
Pictures; of the Whit Walk, sometime in the 1970s from the collection of Faith Carter.
*Manchester Whit Walks, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Manchester%20Whit%20Walks
And of course this is entirely appropriate given that every year thousands of people turned out to parade through the city following a tradition which began in the 1820s.
There will be many who fondly remember the walks and in particular the new clothes that they wore for the occasion. For some this meant a year of careful saving to ensure that the children looked their best.
These two courtesy of Faith, like the others in the collection were not taken by a professional and were meant only for the family.
But such personal snaps are a vivid and fascinating record of our recent history.
Look carefully and something of what the green used to be like is there in the pictures.
Then there is the telephone kiosk which once stood on the green, was moved to the corner of Crossland Road and one day just vanished.
And what in a way is all the more remarkable is that I was here in Chorlton but cannot remember a single Whit Walk or for that matter the telephone box in its old position.
In my defence I think I did see one which may have marched down Beech Road but that is it.
Of course there will be many who do remember the walks and still a few who were there on the green as our own Brass Band led the procession.
The first band had been formed in the early 1820s reformed in 1850 and lasted till the end of the last world war.
All of which is a long way away from that day on the green.
Location, Chorlton Green, Manchester
Pictures; of the Whit Walk, sometime in the 1970s from the collection of Faith Carter.
*Manchester Whit Walks, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Manchester%20Whit%20Walks
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