Outside the Old Cock in Didsbury sometime round 1907

Now I have fond memories of the Old Cock in Didsbury.

It was where I spent many happy lunchtimes while I was at the college across the road.

And in a conversation with my old friend Pierre who taught at the college till its move to Birley it was still a place where staff and students  retired after a morning’s graft on the theory of education and its practical application.

That said on any day of the week or evening there will be plenty of Didsbury residents who have made the choice of this pub over its neighbour across the green.

Both The Old Cock and the Didsbury have long histories stretching back centuries and I rather think our picture post card has caught something of that past.

The card was sent in 1907 but the picture will be older.

Now I could go on but I will just leave you to roam over the image and work out what has changed over the century and a bit.

But in the meantime here is the Old Cock today from a painting by Peter Topping.

And for those who like outrageous self promotion I would just add that the pub and Peter's painting  feature in the new book on the history of Didsbury, simply called Didsbury Through Time.

The book  aims to chronicle the changes over the last century mixing old images of the place with new photographs and paintings and focuses on some of the people who lived behind the doors of the buildings featured in the book.

The old photographs were sourced by Peter Topping who also took the new ones and has contributed some fine paintings of Didsbury today which just left me to write the stories.

Didsbury Through Time is  available in Didsbury from Morten’s Bookshop on Warburton Street, Didsbury, and of course from all other bookshops.  

Picture;  The Old Cock,circa 1907, and the painting of The Old Cock © 2013 Peter Topping,facebook: Paintings from Pictures, web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk