One hundred years of one house in Chorlton …. part 118 ......... the Christmas of 2020

The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since. *

This will be the last of the Christmas stories of the house for this year, which also included reflections on how Covid would bring about a very different event, and the nostalgic look back at the Christmas in 1958.

In many ways it has brought me closer to Joe and Mary Ann than any of those I have written about the house at this time of year, and that I guess is because the Christmases they experienced during the last war broke the traditional way of doing things.

And 80 years on, that break has again been forced upon us.  

The plans to celebrate it with some of the family from Italy along with  our Saul and Julia who live in Warsaw , fell away when first travel restrictions looked likely and then by flight cancellations.

Then with days to go it became apparent that we would not be sitting at a table with the rest of the children three of whom were in schools and the NHS.

Like so many other families, the options were limited.

We could have gone for a walk, but instead opted to sit in the garden, suitably spaced apart, with hot food, and more than enough to drink.

Tina decorated the trees, ordered up extra blankets and a very different Christmas dinner followed.

But it was fun, with the bonus that we were able to spend time with our grandson.

And it snowed ….. not much but enough.

Leaving it a Christmas which did indeed break with tradition and made it a first, which I think deserves to be recorded as part of the story of the house.

To which I shall  just add that as I write this on December 30th a dozen or so Christmas cards arrived on the mat.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Christmas in the garden, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*The story of a house, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house

Little bits of history through the post …..going French

The continuing series on first day issues, and the history behind them.

Now having started the short series with Italy, today we are doing all things French, and I have started with  Marianne, who is that symbol of the French Revolution.

As one source says she is the “personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.

Marianne is displayed in many places in France and holds a place of honour in town halls and law courts. She is depicted in the Triumph of the Republic, a bronze sculpture overlooking the Place de la Nation in Paris, and is represented with another Parisian statue in the Place de la République. 

Her profile stands out on the official government logo of the country, is engraved on French euro coins, and appears on French postage stamps.

It was also featured on the former franc currency. Marianne is one of the most prominent symbols of the French Republic, and is officially used on most government documents”.*

So, no surprise then,  that it appeared on this 50 centime stamp which was first issued in 1971.

Leaving me just to add the second first issue which commemorated the life of Marcechal Juin, who was a senior French Army general and later became a Marshal of France. 

And given that I knew nothing about him I have again fallen back on Wikipedia, which some I know can be sniffy about but I reckon does the biz.

"A graduate of the École Spéciale Militaire class of 1912, he served in Morocco in 1914 in command of native troops. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, he was sent to the Western Front in France, where he was gravely wounded in 1915. As a result of this wound, he lost the use of his right arm.

After the war, he attended the École Supérieure de Guerre. He chose to serve in North Africa again. 

After the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, he assumed command of the 15th Motorized Infantry Division. 

The division was encircled in the Lille pocket during the Battle of France and Juin was captured. He was a prisoner of war until he was released at the behest of the Vichy Government in 1941, and was assigned to command French forces in North Africa.

After Operation Torch, the invasion of Algeria and Morocco by British and American forces in November 1942, Juin ordered French forces in Tunisia to resist the Germans and the Italians. 

His great skills were exhibited during the Italian campaign as commander of the French Expeditionary Corps. His expertise in mountain warfare was crucial in breaking the Gustav Line, which had held up the Allied advance for six months.

Following this assignment, he was Chief of the Staff of the French forces and represented France at the San Francisco Conference. In 1947 he returned to Africa as the Resident-General of France in Morocco, where he opposed Moroccan attempts to gain independence. Next came a senior NATO position as he assumed command of CENTAG until 1956. 

During his NATO command, he was promoted to Marshal of France in 1952. He was greatly opposed to Charles De Gaulle's decision to grant independence to Algeria, and was "retired" in 1962 as a result. He was the French Army's last living Marshal of France until his death in Paris in 1967, when he was buried in Les Invalides".*

Pictures; first day of issue stamps, 1970-1971, from the collection of Stella Simpson

* Marianne, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne

** Alphonse Juin, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphonse_Juin

Walking in the City

Now for no particular reason other than I took them and they are of Manchester, here is a short series celebrating places I like.

All have appeared before and some a long time ago.

Location; Manchester

Pictures; around Manchester 2002-2015

Looking out on the River and everything beyond …………….

Sometimes you come across a picture which perfectly captures a memory of childhood, but also matches that with a comment on the present.

And that is exactly what we have with John King’s photograph taken from the heights of One Tree Hill in Greenwich Park looking out across the river.

I can remember standing in the same spot aged about 10 sometime in the late 1950s.

As now the heights are a perfect place to view the city in the distance, but of course, the passage of 60 years have dramatically transformed the skyline.

And the rest as they say is John’s photograph.

Leaving me just to add, John’s own comment, “view over London from 'One Tree Hill' in Greenwich Park.

Out of the natural beauty in the park, the architecture both old and new to be seen, for the few minuets I was there three dads decided to point out the shard to their little children, not that they were interested”.

Location; Greenwich Park

Picture; Greenwich Park, 2019, from the collection of John King

Little bits of history through the post ….. two mysteries ….. “boldy going” ….. the Moon and the Mayflower

The continuing series on first day issues, and the history behind them.

These are the envelopes of first day issues from our Stella’s collection, starting today with that Moon landing back in July 1969.

I have to confess that I never saw the live TV coverage of the historic event.  We had gathered to watch it at the house of a friend in Orpington, but I was on an early shift which meant being at work for 6 am, which in turn meant leaving an hour earlier if I wanted to be on time.

And so Clive and I who was also working, left the assembled gathering and drove home to Eltham.

I suppose looking back it was a decision that lacked the sense of history, but then Glenville’s food factory on the banks of the Thames by the Blackwall Tunnel was where I earned my money, and a failure to show up could have cost me my job.

That said the job was hard, and unpleasant and consisted of filling 56 lb bags of hot granulated milk powder, from an outlet.

The outlet had long ago lost the regulating tap, and so we had to slip one hand underneath the outlet while the other chap pulled the filled bag free and a an empty substitute placed underneath the tap.

The heat made you perspire and as you were already covered in milk dust, it combined to produce rivulets of sweet milk.

Looking back, the sitting room in Orpington might well have been preferable, although neither would have been as challenging as that moon landing.

By contrast the departure of the Mayflower from Plymouth may seem tamer, but a journey in a small sailing ship across the Atlantic, which was destined to arrive in November just a head of winter was a tough challenge.

I have no idea when the Mayflower  envelope was issued but I think it will have been to commemorate the 350th anniversary which was in 1970, and with a bit of research came across the story of that commemoration, which I will leave you to read..*

Pictures; first day of issue stamps, 1962 and 1969, from the collection of Stella Simpson

*The 'greatest festival Plymouth ever staged' is coming back, Rachael Dodd, August 1st, 2018 Plymouth Live, https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/history/greatest-festival-plymouth-ever-staged-1840518 

Looking for people on Deansgate on Christmas Day

I am not surprised that Andy didn’t find many people out on Christmas Day, but the upshot was that he got some uninterrupted pictures of Knott Mill.

Even in the time of Covid, with lockdown, tier three, and may be worse to come this junction is a busy one, and it would be a brave soul who chose to stand in the middle of the road to capture the views under the Bridgewater Viaduct or up along Deansgate.

But Andy did, and that is enough for me.

Location; Knott Mill

Pictures;  Christmas Day at Knott Mill, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Little bits of history through the post ….. two mysteries ….. and only one solved

Now our Stella’s collection of first day issues is a fascinating mix of British and international history, and each envelope offers up a story.

And the two from Khartoum and Cyprus also threw up mysteries of which The First Camel Post has yet to be resolved.

I like the idea of the “Camel Post”, and there will be someone who knows much more than me about its origin and subsequent history.

What makes the Khartoum to Libya service a lot more intriguing is the over stamped message, “Camel Post Interrupted By Revolution Returned to Khartoum”, which I take was the overthrow of King Idris of Libya by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969.

So, I await chapter and verse from someone with a detailed knowledge of all things posty and Libyian.

The second card remained a mystery only until I spoke to my friend Sophia Kanaouti who lives in Athens, and  translated the Greek on the envelope  which reads, “Cyprus a member of the European Council”, “Cypriot stamp collecting company , first day of issue”.

It is dated 1962, and was the year Cyprus joined the Council of Europe which “is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.[3] Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states, with a population of approximately 820 million, and operates with an annual budget of approximately 500 million euros”*

The island had a troubled and violent history during the 20th century, culminating with its independence from Britain in 1960, a period of communal violence through the next decade, leading to the Turkish invasion in 1974, and the division into a small Turkish area in the north east and the rest.

More recently efforts to resolve the division had failed.

Leaving me just to explain why Mr. A. Medawar's address has been left on the envelope, which is something I wouldn't normally do.

But a quick search showed that 30/32 Gray's Inn Road no no longer exists, having been replaced sometime after 1962 with modern shop and office buildings.Location; Khartoum, Libya and Cyprus

Pictures; first day of issue stamps, 1962 and 1969, from the collection of Stella Simpson

*Council of Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe#Member_states,_observers,_partners

Summer in the city ..... July 2018 no. 7 .... Airport shapes

Location; Manchester

Picture; Manchester Airport, 2018, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Stories of pantomime .... on the wireless

Now I missed this on Boxing Day but through the magic of Radio 4 I shall indulge myself sometime to day.

It's Behind You! The weird and wonderful story of British pantomime, Archive on 4.

"Cultural historian and writer Christopher Frayling delves into the archive to explore the rich and surprising history of pantomime.

What could be more British than the Christmas tradition of going out with the family to see a pantomime? Yet panto dates back to ancient Rome, via the 16th century Italian travelling street theatre known as the Commedia dell'arte.

The familiar trappings of modern British panto originated with the Victorians - the principal boy, the dame, popular tunes with new lyrics, double entendres, and those well-worn catchphrases - 'It's behind you!' and 'Oh yes it is!’.

Since then, pantomime has been rebooted in line with other forms of popular entertainment, from working class music hall to middle class variety; radio to film and television. 

Today, celebrities from both sides of the Atlantic queue up to appear on British stages at Christmas. The panto season has stretched to last from the start of December to the end of January, and become essential to the UK’s theatre economy.

With the help of pantomime historians, actors, writers and directors, Christopher Frayling explores how the form has remained so very popular for almost as long as Shakespeare's plays. He examines its role in our more enlightened, politically correct times and hears how companies are striving to stage pantomimes in 2020.

Interviewees:

Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner - writers and actors, Potted Panto

Professor Katherine Newey - Chair in Theatre History, University of Exeter

Neal Foster - actor and manager, Horrible Histories’ Car Park Panto

Simon Sladen - Senior Curator, V&A and pantomime expert

Susie McKenna - pantomime actor, writer and director

Producer: Jane Long

Sound: Jon Calver

A Hidden Flack production for BBC Radio 4"*

Picture; MRS. SINDBAD & THE EMPRESS OF ALL THE SAHARAS, MESSRS. HARRY RANDALL & FRED EMNEY, and Queenie Leighton as Leading Boy as "Sindbad" Royal Drury Th. London 1906, SINDBAD, DRURY LANE PANTOMIME, 1907, Tuck and Sons,, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdbpostcards.org/about

*It's Behind You! The weird and wonderful story of British pantomime, Archive on 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qm0b

Little bits of history through the post ….. planes and things

Now the story of Alcock & Brown and the Dam Busters’ are so well known that I shall refrain from writing about either, other than to say that both Mr. Alcock and Brown have connections with Chorlton and that 617 Squadron used the Derwent Reservoir in the north of Derbyshire for some of the practice runs.

And any one who has no idea about Alcock and Brown’s transatlantic flight or the Dam Buster’s can explore the many references in books and on online.

Instead I will just say that our Stella collected first day issues of special commemorative stamps, and over the next few days I shall share some of my favourites.

Yesterday It was two from Italy celebrating the 700th birthday of the Italian poet Dante and the 1962 cycle road race, held near Milan.

Many of the originals had been sent to a Mr. Tom Pdgeon but for reasons despite the passing of nearly half a century I have airbrushed out his address.

And that is pretty much it other than to say that the Dam Buster’s issue has that added interest that it celebrates the reunion of the 617 Squadron held in Toronto in Canadian June 1972.

An event which is not unsurprising given that the crews included RAF personnel of several nationalities, drawn from  members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). 

On the reverse there is the  post mark from R.A.F. Post Office Scampton, in Lincoln June 23rd 1972, which was where 617 Squardon was based at the time of the attacks on the German dams.

While the stamp and the post mark on the front are Canadian.

Location; Lincoln, and Toronto

Pictures; first day of issue stamps, 1969 and 1972, from the collection of Stella Simpson

Summer in the city ..... July 2018 no. 3 ..... waiting to go

Location; Manchester

Picture; Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station, 2018, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Summer in the city ..... July 2018 no. 6 .... which tram?

Location; Manchester

Picture; St Peter's Square, 2018, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Passing The Midland

 Just one year ago.

Location; Manchester

Picture; Passing The Midland, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Doorway ………… December 30th 2019

Location; Manchester

Picture; Doorway, Manchester, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Summer in the city ..... July 2018 no. 1 sitting in the sun

Location; Manchester















Picture; St Peter’s Square, 2018, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Beech Road …… waiting for Christmas Eve

Friday December 25th just before 8am

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Pictures, Beech Road, on Christmas Eve, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Hospitality in a time of Tier Three …….

I guess when the dust settles and we are finally out of Tier Three, and finished with the virus, there will be more than a few books on the pandemic and its effects on how we lived through it.

And in time these will roll into history books.

For now, it is all a little too close for comfort.

 So, I shall just content myself with a series of pictures.

 Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Picture; Beech Road, 2020 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Walking in the City

Now for no particular reason other than I took them and they are of Manchester, here is a short series celebrating places I like.

All have appeared before and some a long time ago.

Location; Manchester


Pictures; around Manchester 2002-2015

A church on Barlow Moor Road and a missing hall in Greenfield

Now I fully accept that I am being a tad lazy.  

Were I not I would have fully researched this postcard using the catalogue number from the Wrench Series but sometimes there are too many research projects and anyway in this case I shall just let the date slide by.

It is instantly recognizable as the Macfadyn Church on Barlow Moor Road. Today only the hall remains.  The church was demolished in the 1970s.

It was one of the many churches built in the township as the population grew in the final decades of the 19th century and like those on High Lane and Wilbraham Road did not quite last a century before declining congregations  made amalgamations, rationalizations and eventual demolition the fate of many church groups in Chorlton.

“The Chorlton cum Hardy Congregational church started its life in the Masonic Hall in September 1879 under the joint control of the Chorlton Road and Stretford churches. In June 1881 Chorlton Road, under Rev. J. A. Macfadyen, M.A., D.D., assumed full responsibility. 

A school-chapel was opened for worship in September 1883 and forty seven members enrolled at the new church in December. 

Its first pastor, Rev. Robert Mitchell, was appointed in June 1885. With the death of Dr. Macfadyen, in 1889, the church's connection with Chorlton Rd. came to an end, but in October 1890 a fund was started to build a new church in memory of Dr. Macfadyen, - the Macfadyen Memorial Church, whose opening service was on 25 October 1894.

In October 1972 with the union of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches it became known as Macfadyen United Reformed Church. In October 1975 Macfadyen United Reformed Church and McLaren Baptist Church decided to worship and work together as Chorlton Central Church.”*

All of which puts our picture at some time after 1894 and more exactly after 1903 by which time Holland Road** had been cut and the houses built.

So it is another of those scenes that is now history and one that pretty much has gone from living memory.

But that is not quite the end.  The card was sent by Lena in the summer of 1913 to a Miss Taylor of Stock Lane Stalybridge from Grasscroft Hall, Greenfield.  Nothing odd about that except of course that both Greenfield and Stalybridge are both  well away from Chorlton and so raises an interesting possibility that postcards of the township were being sold in Oldham where the card had been sent from. Or it may be that Lena had either visited or came from Chorlton.

I did try finding Grasscroft Hall but the local historian had no knowledge of such a place. Miss Taylor did however prove to a worthwhile search for there she was at Stocks Lane.  In fact two of them.  A Miss Emily Taylor aged 47 and her niece Edith Alice aged 29.

Now that is a long way from the Macfadyn Church on Barlow Moor Road.

*The National Archives, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=127-m186&cid=0#0

**now Zetland Road

Picture; from the Lloyd collection

The taste of Italy ………

So, when you have gone through all the great pasta dishes and the puddings there is always Ciobar.

Enough said.

Location; Italy and our kitchen.

Picture; Ciobar wrapper, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Shop windows in a time of Tier Three …………..

Just the picture …… no more no less.

Wilbraham Road on the day we learned we were to stay in Tier Three.

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Picture; shop window, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Hospitality in a time of Tier Three …….

I guess when the dust settles and we are finally out of Tier Three, and finished with the virus, there will be more than a few books on the pandemic and its effects on how we lived through it.

 

And in time these will roll into history books.

 For now, it is all a little too close for comfort.

 So, I shall just content myself with a series of pictures.

 Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

 

Picture; Barlow Moor Road, 2020 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Looking for the past ……… amongst the bus stops and shelters

It is a familiar enough place, which before it was the bus terminus was destination of trams and known as Chorlton Office.

And as such dates back to the early years of the last century.

But before that, perhaps for a century this was the eastern end of the garden belonging to the Holt family.

They had taken up residence in the big house in the 1830s, while retaining their business and town house in the fashionable St John Street.

And they were to remain here until the last of the family died in 1908 and the house and its extensive grounds were put up for sale.

Manchester Corporation bought a chunk of the eastern end of the garden in order to widen Barlow Moor Road and build a terminus for its trams.

The rest of the Holt story is here on the blog, including pictures of the house and their town home.

Their's was a large house set in grounds which stretched from Barlow Moor Road to High Lane, down High Lane almost to Cross Road and then south to Beech Road.

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Picture; the terminus, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Suburban Green ...... a bag of nails..... and the shadowy Mr. William Torkington

We are on Beech Road just four days ago, and the new restaurant which is Suburban Green is well on its way to be ready to open.

Since I last walked past it has gained a new sign and a set of plants.

Of course, the continued Covid restrictions have put off the day of opening, but I am convinced that sometime soon in the new year we will be sitting at a table and ordering a meal.

I can say that I have eaten in each of its predecessors right back to when it was Café on The Green, and over the years have written about each one.

Before that I remember it when it was briefly a piano shop and before that a hairdressers.

And so as you do I decided to track the building back into its history.

For a great chunk of the early 20th century, it was an ironmongers and before that a grocers.

There are a few old photographs in the collection dating back to 1935 and sometime around 1900 which show the shop as an iron mongers, and we do have the name of Joe Hallowell who was selling assorted household goods, from nails and waxed string to curtain hooks and candles in 1899.

His predecessor was a William Torkington who is listed as a grocer in 1895 and appears in the Rate Books for the previous year.  He paid an annual rent of £30 to a Mrs. Sarah Dineley, and I rather think this entry offers up a date for when shop was built.

There is some more research to do but at present there appears no record of the building in the rate book before 1894.

And that research may throw some more light on Mr. Torkington who seems a shadowy figure.

There is a reference to him living on Stockton Range in 1901, but he appears to have moved on by the April of that year because he does not appear on the census.

So, much more to do, which I hope will be completed for the time we sit in the restaurant.

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Pictures; Suburban Green, 2020, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, in 1976, A. Dawson,  m17414, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and in 1935, from the collection of Marjorie Holmes

*Pass me the chips and Halloumi Saganaki ......... the new place on Beech Road, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2020/11/pass-me-chips-and-halloumi-saganaki-new.html

The Cultural Revolution …… examining the Red Guards & lots of slogans ……. on the wireless

Now I was just 16 when the Cultural Revolution was unleashed, and I have to confess it passed me by.  

I was aware of it from the news but took little interest.

Four years later and in the second year of a degree course I had embraced ideas of Revolution, bought countless copies of the books of Marx and Engels and adorned the walls with their pictures, along with those colourful Chinese posters of workers, peasants and soldiers striding to a better future.

Along the way I had my own “Little Red Book” full of the quotations of the Chinese leader.

None of them have survived the march into old age, although the Little Red Book was still around in the 1980s.

All of which means I shall be interested in the latest In Our Time programme on the Cultural Revolution which was first broadcast yesterday and is available.

"Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Chairman Mao and the revolt he led within his own party from 1966, setting communists against each other, to renew the revolution that he feared had become too bourgeois and to remove his enemies and rivals. Universities closed and the students formed Red Guard factions to attack the 'four olds' - old ideas, culture, habits and customs - and they also turned on each other, with mass violence on the streets and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Over a billion copies of Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book were printed to support his cult of personality, before Mao himself died in 1976 and the revolution came to an end.

With, Rana Mitter, Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China and Fellow of St Cross College, University of Oxford, Sun Peidong, Visiting Professor at the Center for International Studies at Sciences Po, Paris, and, Julia Lovell, Professor in Modern Chinese History and Literature at Birkbeck, University of London

Produced by Simon Tillotson and Julia Johnson".*

And what an excellent edition of In Our Time it was.

Picture; Book cover: "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung," 1966 Edition, bilingual Chinese-English, published by the People's Republic of China Printing Office

*The Cultural Revolution In Our Time, Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000q9b6