Lost and forgotten streets of Manchester ....... nu 49 Mayfield Cottages moved so Mr Topping could catch a train

You won’t find Mayfield Cottages, they were swept away in 1910 when Mayfield Railway Station was opened so Mr Topping could catch a train.

The Star & Garter, 2015

But then you won’t be able to catch a train from Mayfield Railway Station.

It closed to passenger traffic just 50 years after it was opened and the last trains left in 1986.

It had acted as a relief for London Road Railway Station, having five platforms and recently it was proposed to reinstate it to help ease the congestion of traffic at Piccadilly.

But the latest plans which are part of the bold and innovative Northern Hub would see it demolished and an extension to Piccadilly with two new platforms running over Fairfield Street.

The Star & Garter, 1849, on Boardman Street

And that brings me to the Star and Garter which if it is doesn’t vanish under the new scheme will be so close that with a bit of ingenuity the publican could pass pints up to railway passengers.

The Star and Garter is a magic place, part old fashioned pub but also a venue for live music and a place which many people will remember with affection.

It has stood on the corner of Travis and Fairfield Street since at least 1879 and moved from its previous site between 1876 and ’79.

That previous site was on Boardman Street which is now Baring Street and where the pub once stood is at present just a bit of open land on the corner of Fairfield Street.

Now depending on which source you read the original Star and Garter opened in 1801 or 1803 when an enterprising individual saw the potential in an area which was fast being developed with residential, industrial and commercial properties.

The Star & Garter and Mayfield Railway Station, 2014

That said the name of the pub doesn’t appear in any of the early street directories although it is clearly labelled on both the 1849 OS map and that of Adshead’s map of 1851.

Of course its absence from the street directories proves nothing given that Boardman Street doesn’t appear in any listings.

And so what is needed is a trawl of the rate books and licensing records which should offer up the answer.

Mayfield Cottages in 1849

In the meantime I shall just ponder on the name of Mayfield which is currently associated with the disused railway station and was once the site of two schools and nine properties of which five were back to back.

And go back into the 18th century and the area is shown as Mayfield.

All of which leaves me to ponder on how the name will survive into the future.

Location; Manchester

Painting; Paintings from Painting; The Star & Garter Manchester. Painting © 2015 Peter Topping, Pictures
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk



Pictures; of the Star and Garter, 2014 from the collection of Andy Robertson and maps of the area from the 1842-44 OS for Manchester & Salford, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/