I am the first to admit that following the 81 Corporation bus along Upper Chorlton Road on a winter’s day sometime in the early 1960s might seem a little dull.
But not so, and I am indebted to George Cieslik who posted his picture a while ago and gave me permission to add it to the collection and tell its story.
We are heading towards town and this is the bus stop just before Wood Road, and for those who know the stretch the block of flats to our right still exist, but pretty much everything else on either side has gone.
That starts with the large house, pocking out of the trees, behind its impressive brick wall on the corner of Wood Road and Upper Chorlton Road .
While the even grander house close to the bus stop, and marked only by the stone gate posts, had only a few more years.
It had once been the residence of Mr. Demosthenos Tchaoussoglou, who was a shipping merchant, from the Ottoman Empire. He had applied and was granted naturalization in 1905 and in 1911 was living in the house, with his wife, Helene and three children along with a cook, housemaid and “nursery governess”.
Mr. and Mrs., Tchaoussoglou, had married in 1906, and their first child was born the following year.
Theirs was a large house which in 1911 had thirteen rooms which I suppose made it perfect as the home of the Allied Libraries Ltd.
Just when the company moved into the property is yet to be discovered.
It had grown as a chain of rental libraries in the years after the last world war and at its peak in March 1962 it hired out 362, 000 books through 1,489 bookshops.
Just when it closed is also yet to be discovered, but I do know it was still there in 1969.
Look more closely and there beyond Mr. and Mrs.Tchaoussoglou's, home is Carlton Terrace, which had been built in 1871 and has recently been renovated and redeveloped into modern apartments.
Location; Upper Chorlton Road
Picture; following the 81 along Upper Chorlton Road, circa early 1960s, from the collection of George Cieslik
We are heading towards town and this is the bus stop just before Wood Road, and for those who know the stretch the block of flats to our right still exist, but pretty much everything else on either side has gone.
That starts with the large house, pocking out of the trees, behind its impressive brick wall on the corner of Wood Road and Upper Chorlton Road .
It had once been the residence of Mr. Demosthenos Tchaoussoglou, who was a shipping merchant, from the Ottoman Empire. He had applied and was granted naturalization in 1905 and in 1911 was living in the house, with his wife, Helene and three children along with a cook, housemaid and “nursery governess”.
Mr. and Mrs., Tchaoussoglou, had married in 1906, and their first child was born the following year.
Theirs was a large house which in 1911 had thirteen rooms which I suppose made it perfect as the home of the Allied Libraries Ltd.
Just when the company moved into the property is yet to be discovered.
It had grown as a chain of rental libraries in the years after the last world war and at its peak in March 1962 it hired out 362, 000 books through 1,489 bookshops.
Just when it closed is also yet to be discovered, but I do know it was still there in 1969.
Look more closely and there beyond Mr. and Mrs.Tchaoussoglou's, home is Carlton Terrace, which had been built in 1871 and has recently been renovated and redeveloped into modern apartments.
Location; Upper Chorlton Road
Picture; following the 81 along Upper Chorlton Road, circa early 1960s, from the collection of George Cieslik
Does the sign on the right say 'Doriscourt' which I remember was a maternity home?
ReplyDeleteYes I din't know about the maternity home, but the name was in use as the name of the residence in 1911.
DeleteI lived in the block of flats (Granville Court) in the mid 90s. Middle floor, corner flat. Old fashioned but nice flats, could have done with a bit of updating. The window frames were metal and I was often woken by the bus rattling at the bus stop at 5.30 am
ReplyDelete