Spreading the news ….. updates on Chorlton’s own blue plaque project

The community-based project to identify and acknowledge people, events and places which have a special meaning to Chorlton’s past has been up and going for almost a year.

Telling the story to Chorlton Good Neighbours, 2024

And on Tuesday members of Chorlton Good Neighbours got to share in the story, and as it turns out were the first group to engage in the new power point presentation which explained the scheme and described the progress so far.

The idea of recognising a person, event or building with a wall plaque has a long history and here in Chorlton we had one on the side of a house on Oswald Road to one of the two men who were the first to fly across the Atlantic in 1919.

And now Chorlton Civic Society has chosen to erect more, with the difference that instead of the famous the new blue plaques will be about subjects which history has not only forgotten but in some cases never even bothered to notice and yet were central to our history.

Unveiling the first three Blue Plaques, 2023-24

The first went up on the Bowling Green Hotel in recognition of its place as one of our oldest pubs, and the second recorded a family business stretching back three generation of Foster’s Cycle shop on Barlow Moor Road.  

The third celebrated the life of Mr. Euton Christian, who served in the RAF during the last War, returned to Britain on the SS Windrush and was the first black manager in the Post Office, the first black JP, helped establish the West Indian Sports and Social Club as well being actively engaged in Race Relations.

The Civic Society is eager to receive nominations, but the individual must have been dead for at least 20 years and have been a resident in Chorlton.

Nomination should be sent to Stephen, ChorltonPlaques@hotmail.com or Peter Topping, events@chorltonarts.org or Phone Peter 07521 557888

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Blue Plaque events, 2023-24 Telling the story to Chorlton Good Neighbours, 2024, courtesy of Peter Topping, Unveiling the first three Blue Plaques, 2023-24 and Chorlton Blue Plaques, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson