Walking Temperance Street ..... just sixty-four years apart

Today I walked down Temperance Street which is that road that hugs the side of the railway viaduct carrying the lines into Piccadilly Railway Station.

Temperance Street, 1959

Over the years I have become very familiar with the bit that runs down from Fairfield Street past the new Mayfield Gardens and is cut short by the Mancunian Way.

But there is another section which carries on all the way to the junction with Higher Ardwick and Devonshire Street North.

And it was this bit that prompted my interest after coming across this image dated 1959. 

I was drawn into the picture by a mix of things, from the kids casually playing in the shadow of the viaduct, and the houses as well as the sheer curiosity as to exactly where on Temperance Street it was taken.

Today the houses have long gone and pretty much the only activity will be from people looking to park up and the comings and goings from the small workshops and storage facilities in the arches.

Temperance Street, 2023

Looking down Temperance Street today it is hard to match the scene from Google maps with that of 64 years ago.

And the challenge then became the quest to locate the spot, which may seem nerdy I agree but was historically fun.

To this end I fell back on the OS map of Manchester and Salford for the area from 1950, that 1959 photograph and the line of Temperance Street today.

And because I failed to have my camera with me, I had to rely on the images generated by Google maps.

It took about fifteen minutes, but I am confident that this 2023 picture is the spot where sixty-four years ago the kids were captured by the photographer.

Temperance Street, 1950

We are looking down the street towards Higher Ardwick and Devonshire Street North, just behind us is Union Street and to our left is the viaduct and to our right behind the railings and some open grasslands are the twelve football pitches which front Union Street.

I maybe wrong and I invite correction, but the clues are there in the 1959 picture. 

These are the slight curve of the viaduct at that point, and the railings just behind the children.

The OS map of 1950 offers up that slight curve but more importantly shows a Garden Place running into Temperance Street, while behind it are a network of streets and terraced houses stretching back to Union Street.

The curve of the viaduct and a hint of Garden Place, 1959

Some might ponder on why spend an hour or so on a detective hunt which reveals no great secrets or high moments of history, but it was fun, and a reminder of just how this part of the city was still occupied well within the living memory of many.

Over the roof tops, 1902

Nor will I labour the point with comparisons which are silly, but the grocers’ or newsagents is today mirrored by the Temperance Street Café almost opposite our picture, while the rooftop scene from 1902 will be familiar to many who follow a TV soap .

All of which just leaves a trawl of the census returns and street directories to get an insight into who lived there over the last century and a half, but that is for another time.

Location; Temperance Street,

Pictures; Temperance Street, 1959,m08284, and rooftops over Temperance Street1902, m11996, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, Temperance Street, 2023, courtesy of Google Maps, and the OS map of Manchester and Salford, 1950