Now I know it is not an original observation that the homes we occupy are places that we hold in trust and that sooner or later we will pass them on to someone else.
And it really doesn’t matter whether it is a palace or a modest semi in the suburbs.
The question is how will the property fare on our watch?
Will we have left it in a better state and what will be the stories that we contribute to its history?
I can count five houses which I have called home, along with umpteen flats and bed sits.
Of the five two have been truly family homes where I was happy and where I think we made a difference.
And of these the last is the one we still occupy today after nearly forty years, and I suppose our contribution is that we are the first of the four to own it, who have had children running through the place.
All of which makes me reflect on the twin stories of numbers 198 and 200 Upper Chorlton Road which I have regularly written about.*
They were built in the 1870s when a large chunk of Upper Chorlton Road was still fields, experienced mixed fortunes which by the beginning of this century had left them unloved, neglected and pretty much in danger.
But they have had a new lease of life, being converted by a developer into a series of residences for the 21st century.**
I had the opportunity to wander around them during their conversion, wore the hard hat, watched as bits of unsympathetic and unsafe alterations were swept away and finally returned as the completed flats were finished.
The development has won an award and more than that has saved two grand old properties and made them homes again.
Location Whalley Range
Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson
* At 200 & 198 Upper Chorlton Road, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/At%20200%2F198%20Upper%20Chorlton%20Road
** Armistead Properties, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/
 |
| the two properties just before the redevelopment |
The question is how will the property fare on our watch?
Will we have left it in a better state and what will be the stories that we contribute to its history?
I can count five houses which I have called home, along with umpteen flats and bed sits.
Of the five two have been truly family homes where I was happy and where I think we made a difference.
And of these the last is the one we still occupy today after nearly forty years, and I suppose our contribution is that we are the first of the four to own it, who have had children running through the place.
 |
| The first of the two to be completed |
They were built in the 1870s when a large chunk of Upper Chorlton Road was still fields, experienced mixed fortunes which by the beginning of this century had left them unloved, neglected and pretty much in danger.
But they have had a new lease of life, being converted by a developer into a series of residences for the 21st century.**
I had the opportunity to wander around them during their conversion, wore the hard hat, watched as bits of unsympathetic and unsafe alterations were swept away and finally returned as the completed flats were finished.
The development has won an award and more than that has saved two grand old properties and made them homes again.
Location Whalley Range
Pictures; from the collection of Andrew Simpson
* At 200 & 198 Upper Chorlton Road, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/At%20200%2F198%20Upper%20Chorlton%20Road
** Armistead Properties, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/
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