A little bit of Manchester in Holland, and another bit in a garden in Chorlton-cum-Hardy

I finally have a picture of the Manchester Assize Courts which I have added to the collection.

It was donated by my old friend David Harrop, who is a collector of all things posty.

The Courts were designed by Alfred Waterhouse and finished in 1864.

Sadly, this magnificent building did not last a century and after being hit during the blitz of December 1940 and again in ’41 it was demolished in 1957.

Some of the exterior sculptures were designed by Thomas Woolner who was one of the founding members of the Pre Raphaelite-Brotherhood, and others was the were of the Irish stonemason firm of O’Shea and Whelan.

But more of them in a minute.

For now, it is the postcard itself which interests me, and in particular the message on the back, which is in Dutch and begins, “Congratulations on your birthday We have a pleasant one ………….”

And here I have to credit Google translate, which over the years has allowed me to appear semi proficient in a host of languages.  And what makes the card that bit more interesting is that it appears to have been produced for the Dutch market, given that the printed word postcard is also in Dutch.

Not that I should be surprised at that.  F. Firth, like Raphael Tuck and other companies marketed their postcards across Europe and beyond.

But I like the idea of a little bit  of Manchester somewhere in Holland, and …………. with a smile at the contrived link that follows, I like the fact that for many years one of the stone figures from the Manchester Assize Court adorned a garden in Chorlton-cum-Hardy.

The garden was part of Park Brow Farm at the bottom of Sandy Lane where it joins St Werburghs Road.

My friend Tony Walker maintained that it came from the old Manchester Assize Courts on Great Ducie Street in Strangeways and looking at pictures of the building the figures do look the same.

And it has led me to more than a few stories about the farm, the Assize Courts and just what people put in to their gardens. *

Location; Manchester, Amsterdam, and Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Picture; The Assize Courts, 1898, from the collection of David Harrop, and stone figure in the garden of Park Brow Farm, 1988 from the collection of Tony Walker


*One stone statue ........ late of Park Brow Farm and the Assize Courts .......... makes its way into Cheshire and on “down south”, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2016/06/one-stone-statue-late-of-park-brow-farm.html