Carlton House …… the convent on High Lane and …….. the trail that led back to a Beech Road bar

This was Carlton House on High Lane which was the home of one family from 1866 to the early years of the 20th century.

Carlton House, 2022

And it is a building I have passed countless times but never once gave it much thought.

For most of the time I have lived in Chorlton it was the Convent School before becoming the Manchester Islamic Grammar School For Girls.

But it started as the home of Thomas and Catherine Harrison who I suspect were pleased with their impressive property which consisted of 10 rooms with a garden which stretched down towards Beech Road and included stables, a greenhouse and heaps of ancient fruit trees.

Just how long that garden was can be gauged by walking down Acres Road from High Lane and following the brick wall of the present school.

Carlton House, 1894

I have yet to find out when Thomas died but I know it will have been before 1871 when Catherine was recorded as a “Widow” at the age of 44.  

She died in 1898 leaving £29,511, and sometime between 1903 and 1909 Carlton House  became the Convent.

Walking the garden, Acres Road, 2022

Two years later the census records it was home to the Principal, six teachers, one pupil teacher and the house keeper.  

They ranged in age from 49 down to 18 years old, all were single, and were drawn from across the country and beyond.  So, while four were from Ireland, one was from Dorset and the remaining three had been born in Woolwich, Hackney and London.

Now the historic records offer up heaps of possible avenues of research including the cottage which  stood on the site in the 1840s and 50s, when this strip of land was owned by William Brundrett.

But also highlight just how twisty turny historical research can be, because I came across Carlton House almost by accident as I was looking for the story behind 97 Beech Road which if I have got it right dates back to 1886, and has in its time sold many different things

Some will remember it as Marcelle’s Fabric shop, and later briefly when it sold “interesting things” before settling on a succession of bars and cafes.

 Convent of the Sisters of the Christian Retreat, 1959

And here is the connection with Carlton House, because 97 Beech Road had been built and owned by William Henry Acton who was the son in law of Thomas and Catherine Harrison. 

In 1871 he was living at Carlton House along with his granddaughter and at 28 was already a widower. 

So, the project turns on where next?  

I know that Mr. Acton was still on High Lane in 1901 but along with other members of the family had retreated to the delights of a large hotel or guesthouse in Bournemouth, having described himself as a “Wood carver” in 1871, forty years later was styling himself “retired builder”.

Or equally fascinating might be a study of the Convent which I am sure will elicit plenty of memories, or the cottage on High Lane before Carlton House.

Beech Road Tap House, 97 Beech Road, 2020

We shall see.

97 Beech Road, 2023

And an anonymous contributor reminded me that "No 97, I remember after Marcelle's was 'Jean Genie', a card / gift shop, and also that 'interesting things' shop you mention, before becoming 'the Library', the 'Tap House' and latterly the short-lived 'Seb's Bar'".

Which reminded me that I had passed the latest "happy" venue to occupy 97 Beech Road, which is appropriately named 97.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Carlton House, and the line of what was once the garden, 2022, Beech Road Tap House, 2020,and (7 Beech Road, 2023,  from the collection of Andrew Simpson, Carlton and house and grounds 1894, from the OS map of South Lancashire, 1894, courtesy of Digital Archives, https://digitalarchives.co.uk/  and Convent of the Sisters of the Christian Retreat, 1959, A.E. Landers, m17917, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass