I am a great fan of "floral affair" on Chorlton Green which is the go-to place if you want to shop locally for fruit and veg as well as other groceries and of course flowers.
 |
| floral affair, 2025 |
Some will remember that for a while the shop was occupied by
an antiques business around 2012 to 2014.
And before many will have fond memories of the place as a fish and chip shop which stretches back to at least 1909
Back then it was run by
William Richardson who was listed simply as “fried fish dllr”.
During my visits it was the "Chorlton Green Supper Bar" and we have
a wonderful picture from Bob Jones of Mrs Jones and “Chippy Madge” doing the
business of offering up fish suppers.
 |
| Mrs Jones and "Chippy Madge", undated |
It starts with that wall of heat and then the distinctive smell, along with the noise of the chips in the deep fryer and the rustle of paper.
And there is also the conversations which are a mix of the humorous, the mundane and usually a little of the village gossip.
Of course most of what is said might well be repeated over the counter of the newsagents and in the pub but waiting in line for your supper offers up plenty of time to listen to what is being said and an opportunity to add your own contribution.
 |
| Chorlton Supper Bar, 1978 |
So Bob’s picture is just that bit special, more so because on the right is his mum and on the left “Chippy Madge.”
All too often photographs like this one get lost over time
and with it go a tiny but important record of how things were.
And it is the little often trivial things, like the name “Chippy Madge” and
“Blind Bob the Barber”, which say something about the time and the place.
The nicknames were rarely meant to be cruel and were just one of those things
that you said.
Madge worked in the chip shop and her name was Madge so “Chippy Madge” it was,
and more often than not there would be a raft of such names for everyone from
the milkman to the chap who came round to sharpen your knives.
 |
| Inside floral affair, 2025 |
I rather wonder if Mr. William Richardson had a nickname, but then despite his occupancy of the place at the start of the last century, he also held down other jobs.
In 1901 he
described himself as a “general warehouseman” and a decade later as a “Domestic
Gardener” and later still as a coal carter a job he was still engaged in at the
start of the Second World War.
I suspect the fish and chip business was a sideline, which
was run by the whole family.
 |
| Dave at floral affair, 2025 |
It wasn’t the first business to operate from the site because in 1903 the shop was listed as a greengrocer which of course is a nice lead back to floral affair which in this age of supermarkets and online deliveries is a local gem.
But that offers up a mystery because the rate books suggest
that this was owned and occupied by the Wilton family which I ad always thought
was part of the complex which is now the Horse and Jockey.
The pub got a license in 1793 and was only one of four
cottages facing the green.
So more to find out.
Location; Chorlton Green
Pictures; floral affair, 2025, from the collection of Andrew
Simpson, Chorlton Supper Bar, 1976, Tony Walker, Mrs Jones and “Chippy Madge” from the
collection of Bob Jones, undated
I worked in that Chippy in 1971/72 My boss was Tony Latham not sure spelling surname ! There was Footballers came in also George roper and few other comedians who would come in from the pub !
ReplyDelete