Now, I know exactly where we are on Wilmlsow Road, and I know exactly when we were there.
And this is because the crowds passing in front of us were part of Didsbury’s contribution to the celebrations to mark the coronation of King George V, on June 22nd in 1911.
The picture was part of a collection which appeared in the Souvenir of the Coronation Festivities Held at Didsbury, June 22nd, 1911, by Fletcher Moss.
As to the location, the clue is in the name of the shop keeper who was John Thomas Ashworth whose stationers’ shop was on the corner of Wilmslow Road and King Street which is now known as Kings Lynn Close.
Like many such shops he operated a private lending library, and with a view to advancing his business, he has chosen not to pull down the blinds, leaving the contents of the windows to be seen by all who chose to look in.
And I rather think that is him looking down at the procession.
He was fifty years old, had been married to his wife Betsy, for seven years, and had been trading from the shop since at least 1901.
We will never know where his wife was at the moment the picture was taken, but next door, the Jones family appear to have invited a heap of people. Mr. and Mr. Jones ran a fruit and veg shop, and lived with their grownup son Percy, who was a clerk in the Manchester Shipping Warehouse.
It would be tempting to speculate on who the invited guests were, but perhaps it is enough, that on that day we have identified some of the spectators.
And to those who are confused or doubt where we are, here included in roughly the same spot in 1967, which just leaves everyone to wander down to Kings Lynn Close and marvel at the transformation.
Location; Didsbury,
Pictures, Wimlsow Road, from the Souvenir of the Coronation Festivities Held at Didsbury, June 22nd 1911, Fletcher Moss, and in 1967, "Courtesy of Manchester Archives+ Town Hall Photographers' Collection", https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/albums/72157684413651581?fbclid=IwAR35NR9v6lzJfkiSsHgHdQyL2CCuQUHuCuVr8xnd403q534MNgY5g1nAZfY
*1911 census, Enu 04 42, & 40, Didsbury, South Manchester, Lancashire
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| Walking the Coronation, 1911 |
The picture was part of a collection which appeared in the Souvenir of the Coronation Festivities Held at Didsbury, June 22nd, 1911, by Fletcher Moss.
As to the location, the clue is in the name of the shop keeper who was John Thomas Ashworth whose stationers’ shop was on the corner of Wilmslow Road and King Street which is now known as Kings Lynn Close.
 |
| Looking on, 1911 |
And I rather think that is him looking down at the procession.
He was fifty years old, had been married to his wife Betsy, for seven years, and had been trading from the shop since at least 1901.
We will never know where his wife was at the moment the picture was taken, but next door, the Jones family appear to have invited a heap of people. Mr. and Mr. Jones ran a fruit and veg shop, and lived with their grownup son Percy, who was a clerk in the Manchester Shipping Warehouse.
 |
| Wimlsow Road and Kings Lynn Close, 1967 |
And to those who are confused or doubt where we are, here included in roughly the same spot in 1967, which just leaves everyone to wander down to Kings Lynn Close and marvel at the transformation.
Location; Didsbury,
Pictures, Wimlsow Road, from the Souvenir of the Coronation Festivities Held at Didsbury, June 22nd 1911, Fletcher Moss, and in 1967, "Courtesy of Manchester Archives+ Town Hall Photographers' Collection", https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/albums/72157684413651581?fbclid=IwAR35NR9v6lzJfkiSsHgHdQyL2CCuQUHuCuVr8xnd403q534MNgY5g1nAZfY
*1911 census, Enu 04 42, & 40, Didsbury, South Manchester, Lancashire
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