Wednesday 17 April 2019

Goodbye to that College in Didsbury part 12 ....... passing the lodge without a second thought

Now the thing about lodge houses even those that belong to posh mansions is that most people just ignore them.

In the old days distinguished visitors would barely give the lodge and its occupant a second glance while for tradesmen, the curious passerby and those up to no good the chap at the gate was someone you were polite to or tried to avoid.

And in the year I walked past the lodge into Didsbury College I don’t think I even really noticed it but this grade II listed building is worth a second look.

I can’t be sure when it was built.  It is not there on the 1854 OS map but has made its appearance on the map for 1894.

The original building consisted of an entrance room, a small narrow staircase and two equally small rooms above.

Now I may be wrong but there is no evidence from the census returns that it was a residential property but that said there may be someone out there who can tell me different.

Certainly the security guard we talked to thought so but I am not so sure.

That said there is today very little of the original save a built in cupboard in the main room and that staircase.

All of which just leaves us with Peter’s painting of the building as it looked when the MMU still ran the site and students and lecturers passed on their way to work.

Paintings; the Lodge © 2013 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures,
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
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