Longford Hall … The Parsonage and that Didsbury pub ….. three pictures from that remarkable artist Derrick Lea ….. and their stories

I have become a great fan of the artist Derrick Lea who during the 1950s and into the 60s drew and painted many of our iconic buildings across Manchester.

Longford Hall and Park circa 1950s

And given that he lived in Chorlton it is not surprising that some of his work records places around the Township.  

But he also produced images of Manchester, and its suburbs.

All of which is an introduction to three in the collection from Stretford and Didsbury.

The first is Longford Hall which was in the grounds of Longford Park and was commissioned by John Rylands that extremely wealthy industrialist whose commercial interests were global and who was a prime financial backer of the Manchester Ship Canal.

Alas the hall was demolished in 1995, having been acquired by Stretford Council in 1911 and used variously as accommodation for Belgian refugees, a Red Cross hospital, a museum and art gallery.  Added to which in 1977 it hosted the only Royal garden party to be held outside London.

And if that were not enough of a claim to fame it stood on the site of Longford House which at one point was inhabited by Thomas Walker that distinguished 18th century businessman who was the boroughreeve of Manchester, prominent in the campaign to abolish the Slave Trade, and supported the French Revolution which resulted in him being wrongfully  accused of sedition.

Like most people I assumed that Mr. Walker’s house had been torn down to make way for Longford Hall in 1857, but a paper in the bulletin of the John Rylands Library by Richard Bond argues for a later date.*

It is a compelling argument and along the way offers much detail about the Hall and the architect Philip Nunn.

The Old Parsonage, circa 1950s

Now I know from Mr. Lea’s son that the family lived close to the hall and visited it regularly with Jon telling me that  “we used to go there with Dad for milk shakes, and in cold weather it was hot Vimto.”

In contrast to the grand home of John Rylands Derrick Lea was at home with more modest buildings like The Parsonage in Didsbury which he drew sometime in the 1950s.

It is “a Grade II listed building, next to the original village green of Didsbury. The building and gardens were left to the citizens of Manchester by Alderman Fletcher Moss in 1919. The Didsbury Parsonage Trust has provided a thriving community hub for the people of Didsbury and beyond, in a significant and picturesque setting. This historic and much-loved building has been lovingly restored, and the Trust aims to preserve it for future generations”.**

Added to which it is set in a fine and lovingly kept garden with views across to the parish church.

Ye Old Cock, circa 1950s

And after a spell in the gardens there is the Old Cock which I would like to think Mr. Lea could have visited after taking in the Parsonage which backs onto the pub.

It was a place we escaped to during my time on a post grad course at Didsbury College over half a century ago.  At the time and looking back now there was no competition between a couple of pints and an hour and bit listening to a lecture on the Philosophy of Education.

The pub looks old and in 1825 hosted a three day Wakes event which the Stockport Advertiser reported  included “ass-racing for purses of gold, playing and grinning through collars of ale [as well] bag racing for hats; foot racing for sums of money; maiden plates for ladies under twenty years of age for gown pieces and shawls, treacle -loaf eating, wheel barrow racing and bell-racing with balls each evening”.***

I have to say I bet that event would have made a fine picture for Mr. Lea.

Leaving me just to mention  Juliette Tomlinson and her debut novel, "Longford", which charts the lives of John Rylands and his third wife, Enriqueta 

It is the first of a trilogy which will span the decades from 1864 into the twentieth century and on the way offers up glimpses into the lives of the two, set against provincial France and Manchester, with of course sideways looks at Longford Hall, Stretford and other bits of south Manchester.

The second novel called Sunnyside is due out in April of 2026.

Location; Stretford, and Didsbury

Pictures; Longford Hall, The Parsonage and the Old Cock, circa 1950s, courtesy of Jon and Hazel Lea

 *Bond, Richard, Longford Hall Revisited: A New Building Date, and an Architect, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Vol 100, No. 1 Spring, Manchester University Press 

**Didsbury Parsonage Charity https://www.didsburyparsonagetrust.org.uk/

***Didsbury Wakes, Stockport Advertiser, August 5th, 1825