It is easy to fall into the trap of deploring the loss of old buildings.
I know I am one of them. I am able to see merit in even the most humble of properties which I reason with a bit of loving care and attention could be fit again for purpose.
Of course the reality is that many were pretty much past their sell by date within years of being constructed, usually because they were made of the cheapest materials, and were not well maintained.
Others, just got in the way of some shiny new development which saw no merit in a row of Georgian cottages, replacing them with a “dark satanic mill” which in turn fell victim to the clearance plans of the mid 20th century, which ushered a range of properties now also long since gone.
All of which brings me to a set of pictures from Andy Robertson.
On Tuesday, while the sun still cracked the paving stones, he was out behind Chester Road and took a series of pictures which he accompanied with the comment,
“It looks as though the buildings on the land enclosed by Virgil St, Cornbrook Park Road, Princess Street and Chester Road are about to be demolished!”
And I think he is right.
I wondered how long they had been up.
The OS map of 1893 shows them fitting the footprint and the 1911 directory has our building listed as Henry Moors Printer while his neighbour was Thomas T R Thorpe wheelwright, which seems appropriate because the last business to inhabit the space was Victoria, Services which was involved in car valeting and body repairs.
Andy not only captured the buildings in their final state but also got a glimpse of the inside, which included the discarded bits of the business no one wanted.
And these pictures I find the most fascinating reminding me almost of an industrial version of the Marie Celeste with everything just left on the day the employees walked away.
Location; Princess Street, Cornbrook
Pictures; almost gone, 2018 from the collection of Andy Robertson
Of course the reality is that many were pretty much past their sell by date within years of being constructed, usually because they were made of the cheapest materials, and were not well maintained.
Others, just got in the way of some shiny new development which saw no merit in a row of Georgian cottages, replacing them with a “dark satanic mill” which in turn fell victim to the clearance plans of the mid 20th century, which ushered a range of properties now also long since gone.
On Tuesday, while the sun still cracked the paving stones, he was out behind Chester Road and took a series of pictures which he accompanied with the comment,
“It looks as though the buildings on the land enclosed by Virgil St, Cornbrook Park Road, Princess Street and Chester Road are about to be demolished!”
And I think he is right.
I wondered how long they had been up.
The OS map of 1893 shows them fitting the footprint and the 1911 directory has our building listed as Henry Moors Printer while his neighbour was Thomas T R Thorpe wheelwright, which seems appropriate because the last business to inhabit the space was Victoria, Services which was involved in car valeting and body repairs.
Andy not only captured the buildings in their final state but also got a glimpse of the inside, which included the discarded bits of the business no one wanted.
And these pictures I find the most fascinating reminding me almost of an industrial version of the Marie Celeste with everything just left on the day the employees walked away.
Location; Princess Street, Cornbrook
Pictures; almost gone, 2018 from the collection of Andy Robertson
I worked in this building in the late 80`s, it was "The City Cabinet Company" or it could have been "The Manchester City Cabinet Company". I was a young cabinet maker apprentice at the time and used to cycle to and from Northenden everyday! It was owned by a Jewish guy called Jack Bloomenthal, he was old when I started and still going when they went bankrupt 4 years later, I went back few yeas later and it was operating again this time with one of the directors running it, I recall his name was Derick . The building was sort of L shaped. Above the front door was Jacks office, the window to the left of the front door was a small kitchen area, down stairs was the machine shop, saws and sanders ect upstairs is where the cabinet makers worked, upstairs at the back was a spray booth and a fire escape. I recall a black guy called Roy was the machinist, always had a smoke in his mouth if you know what I mean, two other names - father and son, the son was called Les. The building was in poor shape in the 80`s so i`m surprised it lasted as long as it did. Today, feeling a bit nostalgic I tried finding it on Google earth ( I live in Australia now) I followed my old bike ride route but it was gone and a lot of other changes had taken place in the area, nice to find these old photos though. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you John
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