Who pinched the park? ……….. Helmet Street Rec

First ….. I am not accusing anyone, and second I think I understand why it went, so perhaps the title is a bit unfair.

Nevertheless, when I went looking for Helmet Street Rec, which was off Fairfield Street by a bend in the River Medlock, to my surprise it had gone.

I am sure it was still there in the early 1970s when I wandered around the area armed with a camera and a bag full of curiosity, but  sadly it is no more.

Today the site is a mix of industrial units, car parks and a pocket of grass which seems to mock the original Recreation Ground.

That said I suspect the original Rec would have had but a bit of green stuff. And I await  someone  knew exactly what it looked like.

It was opened in 1880 and covered just one acre of land, to which by the 1890s had been added a bandstand, lavatories and shelter.*

To the south of the recreation ground where it bordered Raven Street there was a footbridge over the river, and by the 1890s the perimeter running alongside Helmet Street and the bank of the Medlock was bordered by trees.

Now I can see why the Council created the small park in what was otherwise an area of densely packed terraced housing, and factories, sandwiched between the viaducts of the  London Road Railway Station and several railway goods yards.

It was still there in the 1950s, but I suppose the decline in the population of the area made it an underused resource.

But just when it closed I have yet to find out, a task made more difficult in the present circumstances, and which will require trawling newspaper reports and Council meetings.

In the meantime I hope a few people will come forward with a date for its demise, and perhaps offer up stories and memories of playing there.

And may be even, some pictures, because at present a part from the maps of the area I have only two pictures, which were taken in the 1906 and 1955, neither of which shows very much.

Location; Manchester

Pictures, the Rec in 1950 from the OS map of Manchester & Salford, 1950 and the park in 1906, R. Jackson, m57571, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

*Helmet Street, Fairfield Street, Public Parks, Official Handbook, City of Manchester, 1927