Andrew Simpson: So thank you ....... to the 27 people who now know who to be polite to ……

Tuesday, 19 September 2023

So thank you ....... to the 27 people who now know who to be polite to ……

It’s not the zippiest title but it sums up what happened on Sunday when me, 25 guests accompanied by Linsey Parkinson and Cllr Mathew Benham walked Beech Road as it might have been in 1848.

Starting the walk, 2023

That was the year of Revolutions when across Europe tyrants quailed, monarchies tumbled and here in Chorlton-cum-Hardy the rate payers refused to pay the rates.

The walk was part of Chorlton Book Festival and has been a feature of the Festival for the last eleven years.*

And this year we walked from Beech Road to the Edge Theatre via Chorlton Green recreating what our township would have been like 175 years ago.

It was a varied picture, with the big absentee landlords, the 20 smaller owners of land, and the farmers, agricultural labourers, and traders.

Added to which there were stories of everyday life, like that of Mrs. Sutton, whose wattle and daub cottage with its thatched roof and earthen floor had to be maintained each day, the Easter and May festivals and the man who stole the village green.

And of course the families who you would indeed have to be polite to.

In the Rec, once Row Acre field, 2023

Theses included the Holt's who lived in the big house at the top of Beech Road and owned all the land down from what is now the bus terminus to St Werburgh's Road and Cunliffe Brooks who was a banker, lived in Barlow Hall and was elevated to the peerage.

The degree of politeness might depend on if you lived in a cottage owned by the Holt's or hoped to be taken into service in the "big house" which was Barlow Hall.

Or for that matter a job as an agricultural labourer working for one of our farmers.

As ever we ended up at the Edge Theatre where Janine, Dom and the staff of the café provided cake, tea, and coffee and Janine gave a short the history of the theatre and its continuing role as a cultural hub in Chorlton.**

On the green, 2023

So, a good day all round.

And a thank you to those who came, ... to the Edge Theatre and to Mathew and Linsey who helped with the organization on the walk.

And of course, to Gail Mallet at Manchester Libraries who continue to invite me to participate in the Book Festival, now in its 18th year ……. which is not over yet.

Not forgetting Elaine who traveled by car, tram, and bus, from Stalybridg to be with us.

Location; old Chorlton