Saturday 27 April 2019

Two old pictures of Wilbraham Road and a story

Now, I guess like many people that block of modern shops which runs back from Brundretts Road towards Whitelow is one I have always taken for granted.

And while it is a later addition to Willbraham Road I never gave it much thought, given that it was already thee when I arrived in Chorlton in the mid 1970s.

There is one image which shows the site of the present Co-op as an empty plot which dates from the early 1960s, but that is it.

And until today I had always assumed the whole block from Brundretts to the Red Cross shop was one continuous building.

But not so because there is here two distinct buildings, which differ in height and design, and will be separated by a few years.

It is a discovery which came to light when George Cieslik posted two pictures of Wilbrahm Road from Brundretts Road.

I can’t date them exactly, but I know they will be after 1961, because in that year A. E. Landers photographed the site of the Co-op just after the two shops which had been on that spot had been demolished.

By contrast Georg’s pictures show the new building, along with the remaining original buildings.

And that is it.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Wilbraham Road, circa 1961-62 from the collection of George Cieslik

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