Now Manchester Road is old.
It will have been one of the routes our people used when they were leaving the village and traveling the three and bit miles into Manchester.
Later of course there would be the attractions of the Duke’s Canal, and later still the railway from Stretford, but none of these would have pushed out Manchester Road.
And for most of time, travellers would have encountered little to see as they left the village green, made their way across High Lane and out of the township at Martledge, passing the old Royal Oak and Redgate Farm before plunging off across open land to Seymour Grove.
As late as the 1890s that was how it was, with Redgate Farm as the last lonely outpost on the edge of Chorlton.
But developers abhor open spaces, and so within a decade, stretching out from the newly cut Longford Road, there were rows of shops and houses snaking up towards Clarence, Kensington and Cheltenham roads.
By 1909 the space between these three roads had been filled by a brand new set of shops, selling everything from cycles, and shoes to vegetables, fish, sweets and draperies.
And in the middle of the parade was Mr James H. Heys, stationer, and tobacconist, and in one of those odd bits of continuity number 105 Manchester Road remained a purveyor of all things tobacco and note paper into the late 1960s and beyond.
Back in the 90s to the beginning of this century I rarely wandered down this bit of Manchester Road, and so missed the slow transformation of the shops and particularly the change from traditional retailers to bars, and restaurants.
I also failed to clock that 105 had become Pads, which sold gifts and stationary, and its more recent rebirth as CBD Coffee Lounge.
But Peter Topping had noticed the changes, and decided to follow it up with a painting of the newly opened coffee shop.
He told me “Until a few days ago I hadn't realised that Pad, (across the road from Unicorn), had closed down.
So as is my wont, and in a quest to paint whatever shop had taken over the premises, Mrs T and I sidled down to take a look.
Well, who would have guessed that Chorlton now has its very own CBD cafe?
Oil, capsules, Gummy Bears and you can even get a tea, coffee and a cake. After a large pot and a sublime chocolate cake, I had made my mind up that this had to go into my 'Moment in Time Paintings Series'"
And for those uncertain about CBD, of which I am one, I shall just suggest you either look it up, or pop in to the cafe.
Location; Chorlton
Painting; Painting, CBD Coffee Lounge © 2018 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures.
Photograph; Pads 2016 © Peter Topping
Map; Manchester Road in 1894, from the OS of South Lancashire, 1894, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/
 |
| Manchester Road, 1894 |
Later of course there would be the attractions of the Duke’s Canal, and later still the railway from Stretford, but none of these would have pushed out Manchester Road.
And for most of time, travellers would have encountered little to see as they left the village green, made their way across High Lane and out of the township at Martledge, passing the old Royal Oak and Redgate Farm before plunging off across open land to Seymour Grove.
As late as the 1890s that was how it was, with Redgate Farm as the last lonely outpost on the edge of Chorlton.
But developers abhor open spaces, and so within a decade, stretching out from the newly cut Longford Road, there were rows of shops and houses snaking up towards Clarence, Kensington and Cheltenham roads.
By 1909 the space between these three roads had been filled by a brand new set of shops, selling everything from cycles, and shoes to vegetables, fish, sweets and draperies.
 |
| Pads, 2016 |
Back in the 90s to the beginning of this century I rarely wandered down this bit of Manchester Road, and so missed the slow transformation of the shops and particularly the change from traditional retailers to bars, and restaurants.
I also failed to clock that 105 had become Pads, which sold gifts and stationary, and its more recent rebirth as CBD Coffee Lounge.
 |
| CBD Coffee lounge, 2018 |
He told me “Until a few days ago I hadn't realised that Pad, (across the road from Unicorn), had closed down.
So as is my wont, and in a quest to paint whatever shop had taken over the premises, Mrs T and I sidled down to take a look.
Well, who would have guessed that Chorlton now has its very own CBD cafe?
Oil, capsules, Gummy Bears and you can even get a tea, coffee and a cake. After a large pot and a sublime chocolate cake, I had made my mind up that this had to go into my 'Moment in Time Paintings Series'"
And for those uncertain about CBD, of which I am one, I shall just suggest you either look it up, or pop in to the cafe.
Location; Chorlton
Painting; Painting, CBD Coffee Lounge © 2018 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures.
Photograph; Pads 2016 © Peter Topping
Map; Manchester Road in 1894, from the OS of South Lancashire, 1894, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/
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