This is Hawthorn Lane, which is part of the Old Road, which snaked through Chorlton from Hardy Lane, skirting the parish church before heading off east across the Meadows to Stretford.
We can’t be sure when it was painted, or whether it was an attempt to recreate a much earlier scene.
But what I do know, is that it is the work of Thomas Crowhurst, who was living at no. 15 St Clements Road from 1872 till 1892.
He describes himself variously as a “Teacher of Drawing” and “Artist, teacher and landscape painter”, and he was born in Cornwall in 1835.
His wife Ellen was also a teacher and they employed a Governess who was also a “Teacher of French and German”.
I can track them from 1866 when he was living in Cheetham Hill, but lose them after 1891, although there are hints to where they lived subsequently.
The painting was acquired by a friend about 4 years ago, and is important because it is only one of two dating from the 19th century which I have come come across.
There in the distance is St Clements Church, and I suspect there will be plenty of people who spend a bit of time trying to locate exactly where Mr. Crowhurst stood when he painted the scene.
Walking the lane today, there is one possible bend which might be the one shown, but of course the view across to the church has changed beyond recognition.
In the 19th century this was still meadow land, farmed specifically for the purpose of growing “spring grass”, but during the last century the area was subject to Corporation waste tipping, followed by dramatic landscaping by the wardens of the Mersey Valley which created pretty much what we see today.
So that makes Thomas Crowhurst’s painting so important.
But never one to shy away from a bit of family prying I went looking for the man and his family and there is a story ……….. indeed quite a few.
Back in 1871 he was living with his wife Ellen in Walnut Street, in Cheetham Hill, and gave his occupation as a “Clerk in a Wholesale Drapery House” and Ellen appears not to be employed.
Walnut Street is still there and consists of modest terraced houses, which are a contrast to the property they moved to when they settled in Chorlton.
Just where they worked as teachers is yet to be discovered, but they had a full house in St Clements Road. Along with the two of them, there was a son, two boarders, two servants and Ms Bertha Rath the Governess.
What is equally intriguing is that one of the two boarders, was their niece, and a decade later she is listed as “adopted daughter”.
She was Dora Helen Cornish and a search of the census records reveals someone of that name, of the right age, and birthplace living with her mother in the south.
All of which betokens more stories.
And in the meantime, perhaps a walk down Hawthorn Lane, armed with his paintings and the task of comparing the scene today with that of when Mr. Crowhurst put paint to canvas.
Location; Hawthorn Lane
Picture; Hawthorn Lane, Thomas Crowhurst, date unknown
But what I do know, is that it is the work of Thomas Crowhurst, who was living at no. 15 St Clements Road from 1872 till 1892.
He describes himself variously as a “Teacher of Drawing” and “Artist, teacher and landscape painter”, and he was born in Cornwall in 1835.
His wife Ellen was also a teacher and they employed a Governess who was also a “Teacher of French and German”.
The painting was acquired by a friend about 4 years ago, and is important because it is only one of two dating from the 19th century which I have come come across.
There in the distance is St Clements Church, and I suspect there will be plenty of people who spend a bit of time trying to locate exactly where Mr. Crowhurst stood when he painted the scene.
Walking the lane today, there is one possible bend which might be the one shown, but of course the view across to the church has changed beyond recognition.
In the 19th century this was still meadow land, farmed specifically for the purpose of growing “spring grass”, but during the last century the area was subject to Corporation waste tipping, followed by dramatic landscaping by the wardens of the Mersey Valley which created pretty much what we see today.
But never one to shy away from a bit of family prying I went looking for the man and his family and there is a story ……….. indeed quite a few.
Back in 1871 he was living with his wife Ellen in Walnut Street, in Cheetham Hill, and gave his occupation as a “Clerk in a Wholesale Drapery House” and Ellen appears not to be employed.
Walnut Street is still there and consists of modest terraced houses, which are a contrast to the property they moved to when they settled in Chorlton.
Just where they worked as teachers is yet to be discovered, but they had a full house in St Clements Road. Along with the two of them, there was a son, two boarders, two servants and Ms Bertha Rath the Governess.
She was Dora Helen Cornish and a search of the census records reveals someone of that name, of the right age, and birthplace living with her mother in the south.
All of which betokens more stories.
And in the meantime, perhaps a walk down Hawthorn Lane, armed with his paintings and the task of comparing the scene today with that of when Mr. Crowhurst put paint to canvas.
Location; Hawthorn Lane
Picture; Hawthorn Lane, Thomas Crowhurst, date unknown
Superb. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this - I really enjoy reading your articles
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