Now I have to say that I never really noticed our old telephone exchange on Keppel Road.
And looking at Andy Robertson’s picture from 2015 you can see why.
It was a no nonsense functional building which didn’t pretend to be anything special and certainly didn’t want much attention.
It was what it was, a brick box for facilitating telephone conversations.
It’s design will have been replicated across the country with variations, and there is a similar but smaller version which was a Post Office on Oxford Road and another on Lapwing Lane which is now a restaurant and lacks the arched windows.
But even given its utilitarian use, the architect still felt it’s appearance could be lifted a little and so included those arched windows at ground floor level.
When Andy took his pictures it had been closed for a while and was in the process of being “developed”.
But all good stories need an odd correction so from Andrew Cooper came "It wasn't the telephone exchange, it was used by British Telecom but the actual exchange is next to Unicorn".
And from Andrew Holland "It was the one of the HQs where all GPO / BT workmen went to be given their jobs for the day etc.
There was always bright yellow vans with blue writing in & out of there. In fact my good friend Sammy O'Rouke operated from there. He also was the best barman the Feathers ever had".
And that is that.
Location; Chorlton
Picture; the GPO Exchange, Chorlton, 2015 from the collectuion of Andy Robertson.
It was a no nonsense functional building which didn’t pretend to be anything special and certainly didn’t want much attention.
It was what it was, a brick box for facilitating telephone conversations.
It’s design will have been replicated across the country with variations, and there is a similar but smaller version which was a Post Office on Oxford Road and another on Lapwing Lane which is now a restaurant and lacks the arched windows.
When Andy took his pictures it had been closed for a while and was in the process of being “developed”.
But all good stories need an odd correction so from Andrew Cooper came "It wasn't the telephone exchange, it was used by British Telecom but the actual exchange is next to Unicorn".
And from Andrew Holland "It was the one of the HQs where all GPO / BT workmen went to be given their jobs for the day etc.
There was always bright yellow vans with blue writing in & out of there. In fact my good friend Sammy O'Rouke operated from there. He also was the best barman the Feathers ever had".
And that is that.
Location; Chorlton
Picture; the GPO Exchange, Chorlton, 2015 from the collectuion of Andy Robertson.
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