I never knew that maze of streets, squares and courts which existed between Market and Cannon Street and which were bounded by High Street to the east and Corporation Street to the west.
They were indeed a maze, with some of the courts only accessed by narrow alleyways which led off from almost equally narrow streets.
They vanished when the Arndale was built, leaving the curious to search for them on old maps, photographs, and in newspaper clippings, or trawling through official reports of the Police and the City Council.
As early as 1942 the Corporation signaled its intention to redevelop the area, and in 1970 compulsorily purchased eight acres, with construction work for the Arndale beginning the following year.
Of course, there will be plenty of people who still remember that pre-Arndale warren, which included places like, Marsden Square, Cromford Court, and Cock Pit Hill
But memories fade, added to which there will be plenty more who have no knowledge of what now lies under the Arndale.
What set me off today, was not that maze of streets which I have written about already*, but a group of three unremarkable looking buildings photographed in 1967.
They stood on the corner of New Brown Street and Cannon Street, and what first drew me in, was the entrance to the Wishing Well which occupied cellar of Kitchen warehouse.
According to that excellent site, The Pubs of Manchester, the Wishing Well was a “restaurant-cum-nightclub …. Originally the 'City Restaurant', the Wishing Well was so-named due to a shaft (and some bones) that was unearthed in the basement in 1954 by an electrician.
The owners thought it was a well, so they made a feature of it, building a faux brick wall round it, complete with winch and bucket on a rope. Not to mention the model skeleton they hung next to it which must have gone down well with diners and drinkers.
The Wishing Well became a popular late-night haunt, more of a bar than an eatery, and at weekends it became Cord Disco, named after the owner's American car”.**
There is much more, but rather than steal some else’s research I suggest you follow the links.
Leaving me to focus on Walton’s Buildings.
The name Walton crops up across the Rate Books in the 1830s, tied to properties in the area around Cannon Street and New Brown Street, with a specific reference to Walton’s Buildings in 1838, and in the maps during the next two decades.
What is even more intriguing is that the one in our picture comes as a collection of properties located either side of Marsden Court, which was accessed through the entrance beside the doorway of Walton’s Buildings.
And in the fullness of time I shall go looking for Mr. or Mrs. Walton.
But for now, I am equally fascinated by the last of the three buildings. This was number 44 Cannon Street, which is listed on Goads Fire Insurance map of the late 19th century as a “warehouse & factory” , which in 1911 was home to the business of Albert E. Moore shirt manufacturer”.
Not that there is anything over remarkable in that, this was after all, an area full of small factories and warehouses.
So, I wasn’t surprised that when our picture was taken in 1967, number 44, was home to the firm of I Shevloff who had been trading in textiles at various locations since the early 1920s.
But what makes I. Shevloff a little different is that I have been following the family’s fortunes for a while, having first come across them when they took up residence at 22 Edge Lane in Chorlton around about the time they opened their first business in Manchester.***
Both Mr. and Mrs. Shevloff were originally from London, although he had been born in the Russian part of Poland as had Mrs. Shevloff’s parents.
And in the course of telling their story I encountered a number of people who remembered visiting the warehouse as children and one who could describe Mr. and Mrs. Shefflov.
All of which confirms that simple observation that history is messy and to misquote the film, is a little like a box of chocolates, because you don’t quite know what you are going to get.
And I have to say just got a bit messier, but just that bit more interesting, because no sooner had the story gone live, Brenda posted a comment about the Hidden Well, where she worked in the 1950s and 60s.
“I worked as a waitress at the Wishing Well in the late 50s and early 60s.
The owners were the Britain’s.
Loved that place. So sorry it isn’t there any more.
As they say in the article, it had a fake well.
There were 2 sides - the one where the well was which was a quite upscale coffee bar/restaurant that was open until quite late.
The other side was only open during the day for lunch and dinner. Old Mrs Britain was a great pastry cook. Made delicious deserts. I was just there on Saturdays and in the holidays when I was off school.
Really fun place to work”.
All of which takes me full circle, because we started with the Wishing Well, and have finished with Brenda’ memories, and in between met Mr. Shevloff who no doubt passed it every working day, leaving me to speculate on whether he called in. But that, as well as being very unhistorical is a story for another time.
Location; Manchester and Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Pictures; New Brown Street and Cannon Street, 1951, from the OS map of Manchester, 1951, the three properties, 1967, "Courtesy of Manchester Archives+ Town Hall Photographers' Collection",
https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/albums/72157684413651581?fbclid=IwAR35NR9v6lzJfkiSsHgHdQyL2CCuQUHuCuVr8xnd403q534MNgY5g1nAZfY and 22 Edge Lane, the home of the Shevloff’s, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*Manchester Pubs- The Stories Behind The Doors-City Centre, Peter Topping & Andrew Simpson, 2016
** The Pubs of Manchester, http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.com/2010/03/wishing-well-cord-disco-new-brown.html
***At 22 Edge Lane; https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/At%2022%20Edge%20Lane
 |
| That maze of streets, squares and courts, 1951 |
They vanished when the Arndale was built, leaving the curious to search for them on old maps, photographs, and in newspaper clippings, or trawling through official reports of the Police and the City Council.
As early as 1942 the Corporation signaled its intention to redevelop the area, and in 1970 compulsorily purchased eight acres, with construction work for the Arndale beginning the following year.
Of course, there will be plenty of people who still remember that pre-Arndale warren, which included places like, Marsden Square, Cromford Court, and Cock Pit Hill
But memories fade, added to which there will be plenty more who have no knowledge of what now lies under the Arndale.
 |
| The Wishing Well, 1967 |
They stood on the corner of New Brown Street and Cannon Street, and what first drew me in, was the entrance to the Wishing Well which occupied cellar of Kitchen warehouse.
According to that excellent site, The Pubs of Manchester, the Wishing Well was a “restaurant-cum-nightclub …. Originally the 'City Restaurant', the Wishing Well was so-named due to a shaft (and some bones) that was unearthed in the basement in 1954 by an electrician.
The owners thought it was a well, so they made a feature of it, building a faux brick wall round it, complete with winch and bucket on a rope. Not to mention the model skeleton they hung next to it which must have gone down well with diners and drinkers.
 |
| The three buildings, 1967 |
There is much more, but rather than steal some else’s research I suggest you follow the links.
Leaving me to focus on Walton’s Buildings.
The name Walton crops up across the Rate Books in the 1830s, tied to properties in the area around Cannon Street and New Brown Street, with a specific reference to Walton’s Buildings in 1838, and in the maps during the next two decades.
 |
| Walton's Buildings, 1967 |
And in the fullness of time I shall go looking for Mr. or Mrs. Walton.
But for now, I am equally fascinated by the last of the three buildings. This was number 44 Cannon Street, which is listed on Goads Fire Insurance map of the late 19th century as a “warehouse & factory” , which in 1911 was home to the business of Albert E. Moore shirt manufacturer”.
Not that there is anything over remarkable in that, this was after all, an area full of small factories and warehouses.
So, I wasn’t surprised that when our picture was taken in 1967, number 44, was home to the firm of I Shevloff who had been trading in textiles at various locations since the early 1920s.
 |
| I. Shevloff, 44 Canono Street, 1922 |
Both Mr. and Mrs. Shevloff were originally from London, although he had been born in the Russian part of Poland as had Mrs. Shevloff’s parents.
And in the course of telling their story I encountered a number of people who remembered visiting the warehouse as children and one who could describe Mr. and Mrs. Shefflov.
All of which confirms that simple observation that history is messy and to misquote the film, is a little like a box of chocolates, because you don’t quite know what you are going to get.
 |
| 22 Edge Lane, 2019 |
And I have to say just got a bit messier, but just that bit more interesting, because no sooner had the story gone live, Brenda posted a comment about the Hidden Well, where she worked in the 1950s and 60s.
“I worked as a waitress at the Wishing Well in the late 50s and early 60s.
The owners were the Britain’s.
Loved that place. So sorry it isn’t there any more.
As they say in the article, it had a fake well.
 |
| And back with the Wishing Well, 1967 |
The other side was only open during the day for lunch and dinner. Old Mrs Britain was a great pastry cook. Made delicious deserts. I was just there on Saturdays and in the holidays when I was off school.
Really fun place to work”.
All of which takes me full circle, because we started with the Wishing Well, and have finished with Brenda’ memories, and in between met Mr. Shevloff who no doubt passed it every working day, leaving me to speculate on whether he called in. But that, as well as being very unhistorical is a story for another time.
Location; Manchester and Chorlton-cum-Hardy
Pictures; New Brown Street and Cannon Street, 1951, from the OS map of Manchester, 1951, the three properties, 1967, "Courtesy of Manchester Archives+ Town Hall Photographers' Collection",
https://www.flickr.com/photos/manchesterarchiveplus/albums/72157684413651581?fbclid=IwAR35NR9v6lzJfkiSsHgHdQyL2CCuQUHuCuVr8xnd403q534MNgY5g1nAZfY and 22 Edge Lane, the home of the Shevloff’s, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson
*Manchester Pubs- The Stories Behind The Doors-City Centre, Peter Topping & Andrew Simpson, 2016
** The Pubs of Manchester, http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.com/2010/03/wishing-well-cord-disco-new-brown.html
***At 22 Edge Lane; https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/At%2022%20Edge%20Lane
My father worked for a firm in Back Pool Fold back in the 1950s. When I was a young child, most Saturday mornings when he had to work he would take me with him and turn me loose to wander round the centre. I knew most of the alleys and streets between St. Annes Square and Lewis's on Piccadilly. One very vivid memory is of watching barbers strop their razors, lather their client and then, after the shave, smother his face in steaming hot towels. I never felt afraid there - it was a warm, friendly sort of atmosphere. A few times I was asked what I was up to, but when I explained where my father was and what he was doing, it was enough to satisfy the questioner. Later in life I worked on the upper floors of the 20 storey block atop the Arndale. And every morning I regretted how the soul had been ripped out of what to me was a romantic and enchanting world!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tony
DeleteIn the early 1970s, New Brown Street contained a number of hippy boutiques/ head shops, and was in particular the original site of On The Eighth Day, which in those days sold clothes, hippy paraphernalia and second hand records. Upstairs was also the office of Manchester’s underground paper at the time, Mole Express. Originally titled Moul Express, as a joke on Soul Express (it changed because no one got the joke and couldn’t pronounce it properly), the paper covered the usual mixture of music, gossip and left-wing/anarchist politics, with an aspiration to be a northern Private Eye through its contacts with the then substantial Manchester press. The paper was run by Mike Don, who later worked at Grass Roots bookshop and finally became an itinerant second hand bookseller. There must be some memoirs of either the early days of Eighth Day, or of Mole Express. The papers are archived at the People’s History Museum.
ReplyDeleteThank you Matthew I remember Mole Express well, a big paper like the old Guardian and with a distinctive smell. Mike died only recently.
DeleteI lived at 20 Edge Lane at the end of the 1970s. It was a massive property, 3 storeys, basement and coach house. I had a look at your post about the work being done on 22; brought back memories.
ReplyDeleteAll done now.
Delete