The perfect gift for the discerning fan of Chorlton Park .... out today

 Every place deserves a park, and every park deserves its story, so today I can announce the publication of the “big bumper history book about Chorlton Park”. 

It’s got the lot from what was there before the park including the racecourse, observatory, and posh 18th century house.

And by degree moves on to why Chorlton residents wanted a place to play, its opening in 1928 and lots more from the open-air swimming pool, the paddling pool, open air theatre and that pets corner, along with two bowling greens, heaps of tennis courts, some football pitches, and the lost air raid shelter.

nothing to do in chorlton …… Chorlton Park – Stolen By Withington And then Returned will be published in December, and is available from us www.pubbooks.co.uk  Chorlton Book Shop and cost £5.

It is the fifth in our very popular nothing to do in chorlton.

It is small enough to fit in a pocket, be carried in a bag and with a tilt at those winter festivals will be perfect as a stocking filler, as well as a surprise gift for Hanukkah.

What did you do in Chorlton Park?……….

So, for those who got their feet wet in the paddling pool, made friends with the goat or just whiled away the hours in Chorlton Park this is for you.

Every place deserves a park and every park deserves its story, so we have written the story of our own big park.

It will take in what was here before the park including the racecourse, observatory, and posh 18th century house.

And by degree move on to why Chorlton residents wanted a place to play, its opening in 1928 and lots more from the open air swimming pool, the paddling pool, open air theatre and that pets corner, along with two bowling greens, heaps of tennis courts, some football pitches, and the lost air raid shelter.

It is one in our series "nothing to do in Chorlton"

nothing to do in chorlton …… Chorlton Park – Stolen By Withington And then Returned is available from us at, www.pubbooks.co.uk of Chorlton Book Shop and cost £4.99.

Perfect for that present that fits into the Christmas stocking.

Pictures; reading in the Park, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

* A new book on nothing to do in chorlton, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20doing%20nothing%20in%20Chorlton

Hot summer days …….. with memories ….. of parks …. and carefree times

 It may still be August with another bank holiday to come but some mornings have had a distinct autumnal feel.

Reading in the park, 2023

Added to which there is that dampness which even when the sun does break through the clouds remains as a persistent backdrop to the summer we might have had.

The park in 1934

So as a  challenge to damp 2023 Peter and I have decided to remember those hot sunny carefree days in Chorlton Park with a new book in the series “nothing to do in Chorlton”* where we offer a selection of locations to sit and enjoy some stories as well as a few original paintings and a variety of old images of the places we have chosen for you.

Our new book on Chorlton Park, comes as it heads towards its centenary and will explore its long and fascinating history, including the now vanished open air theatre, swimming pool, and paddling pool and mysterious wartime air raid shelter.

And not to shortchange the park there was that magical “Pets corner”, the bowling green and the mound, along with the historic Brookfield House and the lost observatory and racecourse.

Julie and the goat, circa 1970s

So, lots to write about, but as ever the story is also about your memories, and these we would like to include in the book.  For some it will be rolling down the mound or paddling in the pool, before playing tennis or football on the football pitches.

There may also be some who can remember the air raid shelter, theatre and swimming pool.

Over the years I have collected plenty of memories of the animals in the Pet’s Corner and Julie has donated a picture of herself with a goat sometime in the 1970s.

The paddling pool, circa 1930s

And that is it, memories, stories and pictures are invited and these you can leave with us at www.pubbooks.co.uk

Location; Chorlton Park

Pictures; reading in the Park, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson,  Julie in Chorlton Park circa early 1970s, from the collection of Julie Thomas, Chorlton Park 1934 from the 1934 OS map for Manchester & Salford, the paddling pool, circa 1930s, from the Lloyd Collection

*nothing to do in chorlton, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20doing%20nothing%20in%20Chorlton

Sun …. flowers …. heaps of history … and a thank you to the Friends of Chorlton Park

Yesterday over 30 people turned out for our first walk through Chorlton Park’s past.

History in the Park, 2023

It was at the invitation of the Friends of the park and this ramble through a bit of Chorlton’s history, covered the missing observatory, and racecourse, a sideways look at the historic Brookfield House and even more historic Hough End Hall and of course covered the story of the park.

Questions were asked about the open-air swimming pool, the bandstand and the wartime air raid shelter with a tad amount of speculation about the possible existence of Dig For Victory Allotments somewhere in the park.

Such are the stories about the place that Peter and I have decided to make it the next book in the series “nothing to do in chorlton”.*

And we invite you to offer up your own memories of the park, along with  treasured pictures which might be of a night in the air raid shelter, a carefree day in the padding pool or a magic moment in the pet’s corner.

Julie and the goat, circa 1970s

There may even be the odd “fascinating object” which was long ago discarded but which might have its own story.   In the course of digging some of the Friends revealed that they had come across fragments of clay pipe, broken crockery and “dark matter” which challenged them for an explanation.

During the walk Tony shared his father's memories of a barrage balloon and anti aircraft gun which were sighted in the park and of plying football and cricket on the pitches in the 1950s.

You can contact us at www.pubbooks.co.uk, where you can also see all the books by Andrew Simpson and Peter Topping.**

Location; Chorlton Park

Heaps of people listening to the park's past, 2023

Pictures; in the park listening to a heap of history, 2023, from the collection of Peter Topping and the goat and Julie in Chorlton Park circa early 1970s, from the collection of Julie Thomas

*Doing nothing in chorlton, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20doing%20nothing%20in%20Chorlton

**www.pubbooks.co.uk

Saving that bit of Chorlton’s history for another century and a bit …..

For many the Lych Gate on the village green is one of the iconic images of where we live.

Meeting at the Lych Gate, circa 1900

It has stood at the entrance to the old parish burial graveyard since 1887 and was erected to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee.

And long after the parish church was abandoned and demolished and most of the gravestones carted away it stood as a reminder that this was the spot where most of Chorlton were baptised, married, and finally buried stretching back into the 17th century.

But this listed building is now in need of some tender care and attention.

It last had a make over in 1993 when the bell tower “was repaired with specialist Victorian tiles from Staffordshire”. *

Repairing the Gate, 1993

The need to revisit the building was raised by Andrew Simpson and Peter Topping earlier in the year as part of a bigger initiative to restore the former parish graveyard.

The Gate and the green, 1981

Suggestions included relocating the remaining gravestones, creating a ramp at the southern entrance, and a series of story boards which would explain the history and significance of the site.

Central to the plan would be the establishment of a Friend’s group of volunteers who would adopt the graveyard, and in partnership with the City Council look to maintain the place and look to its future.

To this end Andrew and Peter contacted Cllr Mathew Benham who organised several meetings with Neighbourhood Services and the plan for the Friend’s group is advancing.

And last week Cllr Benham alerted us to the exciting news that there is an application in for “fabric repairs and redecoration of the Lych Gate and boundary wall”.**

The Lych Gate, 1980

The application from the City Council to do the work was submitted in May and is now out for consultation, and you can see the plans in detail by following the link below.

There will be many who will greet the news with great pleasure.

Some, because the Lych Gate is a special part of  Chorlton while for many others it will be the memories of hearing the bell at New Year or from illicit games in the tower. 

Through the gate and into the graveyard, 2022

And for those who would like to know more about the history of the graveyard, the church and the lychgate, I shall suggest the book by Andrew and Peter, The Lych Gate and Grave Situations beyond, from that popular series nothing to do in chorlton, available from us at www.pubbooks.co.uk and Chorlton Book shop, and The Story  of Chorlton-cum-Hardy,  Andrew Simpson.

So that is it for now.

Other than to say the report of the 1990s repairs needs a tad correction, because the gate dates from 1887 not 1897 and the church was demolished in 1949 not 1930.

Location; Chorlton Green

Pictures; The Lych Gate, circa, 1900 from the Lloyd Collection, Target Tower Repairs, South Manchester Express and Advertiser, 1993, and pictures of the Rec, 1980, 1981, and 20023 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Target Tower Repairs, South Manchester Express Advertiser, April 8, 1993

**Listed building consent for fabric repairs and redecoration of the Lych Gate and boundary walls, 136990/LO/2023, Manchester City Council Planning Portal, https://pa.manchester.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=RURB6TBCJOG00 

Pick a day …. invite an audience ……. and tell some stories

The invitation was from Chorlton Good Neighbours to speak for 60 minutes, without hesitation, or repetition on a subject to do with Chorlton’s past.

Waiting, 2023

In the end we spoke for an hour and half, had heaps of questions and only repeated ourselves a few times.

Such was the talk on St Clement’s Church, its graveyard and the project to form a Friend’s Group.

All of which can be read on the blog or in our latest book, nothing to do in Chorlton, The Lych Gate and Grave Situations Beyond.

Suffice to say the audience enjoyed themselves, we had a good time, and everyone went away knowing a bit more than they did about the old church and its graveyard.

Waiting in anticipation, 2023

There were a few gruesome stories, along with lots of interesting and challenging facts and a promise to come back again with more.

So a thank you to Chorlton Good Neighbours and to Bernard who manipulated the projector, Helen who invited us, and Peter and his chums who made the refreshments, took names on the door and collected up the chairs at the end.

And to the audience, who didn’t look bored once, asked the right questions and bought the book.

nothing to do in chorlton, The Lych Gate and Grave Situations Beyond is available from us at www.pubbooks.co.uk  as well as Chorlton Bookshop.

Location; St Ninians’s Church

Pictures; Waiting in anticipation, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*A new book on doing nothing in Chorlton, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20doing%20nothing%20in%20Chorlton

A heap of history …… and an exciting new project .... today

 It is easy to slide over Chorlton’s past.

The graveyard, 2023

Buildings disappear, people’s memories fade, and newcomers will have no reason to think that close to where they live is a treasure trove of stories about our shared past.

So that landscaped area between the village green and the Bowling Green pub is more than a collection of bushes and trees with the odd ancient gravestone.

Mary Crowther's gravestone, 2023

The clues for the curious are of course those gravestones, that marks the place out as the old parish graveyard, and with a little careful observation the casual visitor will find the outline of the old church, which dates to 1799 and was built on a wattle and daub chapel constructed sometime in the early 16th century.

Today there are only a handful of the 362 gravestones and memorials left. The earliest recorded burial in the parish records was in 1753 but a headstone found in the 19th century carried the date 1690.

And of course, with these gravestones come the stories.

Stories like that of Mary Crowther the last woman to do penance in the old church and whose gravestone is situated beside the Lych Gate, or that of Thomas Walker anti slave trade campaigner, supporter of the French Revolution who was indicted for sedition in 1794.  

A record of all the gravestones, 1974

Added to these are memorials to two families who took opposing sides in the great Chorlton Church schism and that of Samuel and Sarah Nixon who ran the Traveller’s Rest Beer shop on what was once Chorlton Row but is now Beech Road.

And there is plenty more …… but for the rest you will have to join me and Peter Topping at our two talks of the day on St Clements’s Church, and the campaign to refresh the graveyard.

Finds from the archaeological digs, 1971-82

The first of the talks is at St Ninians’s Church at the invitation of Chorlton Good Neighbours starting at 1.30, today, May 9th.*

The second will be tonight at the meeting of Chorlton Voice [the Civic Society] at 7.30, Chorlton Central Church, corner of Barlow Moor Road, Sandy Lane and Zetland Road

As well as sharing the stories of our past we want to alert people to the exciting new campaign to refresh the former graveyard.  

It was landscaped in 1984 and while it is still a pleasant place to sit and relax it needs some tender care and attention.

Location; Chorlton Green

Pictures; our parish graveyard, 2023 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, record of gravestones, Manchester City Council, 1974, and finds from the digs conducted by Angus Bateman, 1971-81

*Chorlton Good Neighbours, Wilbraham St Ninians Church, Egerton Road South M21 0XJ, 0161 881 2925, www.chorltongoodneighbours.org

**Chorlton Voice, Chorlton Central Church, corner of Barlow Moor Road, Sandy Lane and Zetland Road, 7.30, https://chorltonvoice.org/

Sharing a day at the Lloyds ….. with friends … some silly history …. a bit more

I have always maintained and maintained most strongly that you should always have some fun when launching a new book.

Books and a guest writer, 2023

My first one was in the Horse and Jockey and was accompanied by a folk group.

And since partnering up with Peter Topping, we have celebrated the launch of our books in local libraries, Ken Foster’s Cycle shop, an art gallery and a few times by the Narnia lamp post on Chorlton Green.

Reading the book, 2023

More recently we have been the guests of the Lloyds Hotel which has given us the large side room in full view of the rest of the pub.

Over the years we have invited a host of local singers and writers to perform at our events. 

They have included the artist and folk singer Susan Parry, the poet Melanie Neades and this time the writer Stephen Smythe.

It may seem odd that during the promotion of our own book we should want to share the moment with others, but that is part of the fun.

And there was fun this Easter Monday when the writer Stephen Smythe joined us.  He was born and grew up in Hulme and still lives locally.  

Stephen Smythe sharing hist stories, 2023

He came late to writing and is a master of the 40-word story which presents his take on life, often drawing on his own experience of family and work, and invariably concludes with a funny punch line.

One of my favourites revolves around a work mate who long ago acquired a nick name.

These have always fascinated me, like the day a school friend called Peter Driver, fell into the swimming pool fully dressed and was was for ever known as “Dribble”.

Lindy shares a moment with Stephen, 2023

And like the “Dribble" nick names arise out of a particular moment which then stick.  

They can be witty, sometimes a little cruel but always a clever observation on the character of the individual.

Stephen’s story was no exception and I can see why he has won awards in writing competitions and been invited to festivals.

He was warmly received at the launch, which leaves me just to mention our own book which is the fourth in the series of “nothing to do in chorlton”, and is entitled, The Lych Gate and Grave Situations Beyond

Like all our books it tells “the stories behind the doors”, concentrating less on the great and the good but exploring the lives of the “little people” who at best history has forgotten but mostly never even bothered to notice.

Friends and interested readers, 2023

People like Mary Crowther who was the last woman in Chorlton to do penance in St Clement’s Church, Samuel and Sarah Nixon who ran a beer shop on Beech Road for half a century and the unknown mother and child whose bodies were found underneath a side aisle of the church.

That said we do also acknowledge the important role of Thomas Walker who despite being an important Establishment figure in Manchester during the late 18th century campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade and was indicted for sedition for supporting the values of the French Revolution. 

He lived at Barlow Hall and was buried in the graveyard.  And for me what makes this collection of stories the most important to date is that it is linked to efforts to restore the parish graveyard, along with the Lych Gate which are in need of some tender care and attention.

At the Lloyds with the book launch, 2023

But all of that and more is in the book which is available from us at  www.pubbooks.co.uk  as well as Chorlton Bookshop.

Location; The Lloyds Hotel, Chorlton

Pictures; Easter Monday at the Lloyds celebrating the launch of The Lych Gate and Grave Situations Beyond, by Andrew Simpson and Peter Topping, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

One to do today ....... the book launch of nothing to do in chorlton .... at the Lloyd Hotel at 1pm

 That prolific and entertaining team of Simpson and Topping invite you to the launch of their new book which offers up a journey of 400 years of Chorlton’s past.

Along the way there will be stories of the last woman to do penance in St Clements Church, the great burial scandal, and the Chorlton man who campaigned against the Slave Trade and was persecuted for his views on the French Revolution.

It will be the usual mix of light humour, some serious history and more than a few surprises.

One of which will be from local author Stephen Smythe who will be reading some of his short fiction.

And for those who want the series stuff, this is the twelfth book the team have published and the fourth in that very popular series “nothing to do in chorlton”.  

All of which are available from the authors at  www.pubbooks.co.uk   as well as Chorlton Book shop.

So come and join us for an afternoon celebrating old Chorlton in the company of friends, and heaps of discerning students of art and those hidden history stories.

And as an added bonus there will be an appearance from Eric Braithwaite  who claims direct descendancy  from the last marl hewer of Martledge.

Added to which we bring you a ground breaking offer unique in the history of publishing ..... we invite all those who attend and buy a book to partake in the free raffle for one of our historic Book 4 T-shirts.

This is a limited offer and can never be repeated.

This Easter Monday at 1 pm in the Lloyd’s Hotel Wilbraham Road.

A burial scandal ….. a walk of shame … and a heap of other stories at the Lloyds this Easter Monday

That prolific and entertaining team of Simpson and Topping invite you to the launch of their new book which offers up a journey of 400 years of Chorlton’s past.

Along the way there will be stories of the last woman to do penance in St Clements Church, the great burial scandal, and the Chorlton man who campaigned against the Slave Trade and was persecuted for his views on the French Revolution.

It will be the usual mix of light humour, some serious history and more than a few surprises.

One of which will be from local author Stephen Smythe who will be reading some of his short fiction.

And for those who want the series stuff, this is the twelfth book the team have published and the fourth in that very popular series “nothing to do in chorlton”.  

All of which are available from the authors at  www.pubbooks.co.uk   as well as Chorlton Book shop.

So come and join us for an afternoon celebrating old Chorlton in the company of friends, and heaps of discerning students of art and those hidden history stories.

And as an added bonus there will be an appearance from Eric Braithwaite  who claims direct descendancy  from the last marl hewer of Martledge.

This Easter Monday at 1 pm in the Lloyd’s Hotel Wilbraham Road.

Six Chorlton families ……. and their final resting place ….. coming to a book shop and a pub near you

I say coming to you but the book of these very different six families is already in Chorlton Book shop and available online from us.

This is the latest in our series “nothing to do in chorlton", and is entitled The Lych Gate and Grave Situations Beyond. 

We have chosen the six because each tells a story about our township from the 1760s into the beginning of the twentieth century.

They include Mary Crowther, the last woman to do penance in the old church on the Green, Thomas Walker who successfully campaigned for an end to Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, Samuel and Sarah Nixon who dispensed beer and cheer from their beer shop on Beech Road and the Holt and Brook’s families who took different sides in the Great Chorlton Church Schism.

Along with these stories come an account of the old parish church and its graveyard with a nod to some grim happenings.

All of which just leaves the launch of the book at the Lloyds Hotel on Easter Monday from 1pm.

It will be the usual mix of light humour, some serious history and more than a few surprises.

One of which will be from local author Stephen Smythe who will be reading some of his short fiction.

And for those who want the series stuff, this is the twelfth book the team have published and the fourth in that very popular series “nothing to do in chorlton”.  

All of which are available from the authors at  www.pubbooks.co.uk   as well as Chorlton Book shop.

So come and join us for an afternoon celebrating old Chorlton in the company of friends, and heaps of discerning students of art and those hidden history stories.

And as an added bonus there will be an appearance from Eric Braithwaite  who claims direct descendancy  from the last marl hewer of Martledge.

Location; The Lloyds Chorlton

Pictures; graves and things, 2011 

A burial scandal ….. a walk of shame … and a heap of other stories

This week sees the publication of our latest book in the series nothing to do in chorlton, which tells the story of the old parish church and its graveyard by the green.

The newly arrived books, 2023

This is the twelfth book Peter and I have written together and for me it is the most important.

Like all our books it tells “the stories behind the doors”, concentrating less on the great and the good but exploring the lives of the “little people” who at best history has forgotten but mostly never even bothered to notice.

People like Mary Crowther who was the last woman in Chorlton to do penance in St Clement’s Church, Samuel and Sarah Nixon who ran a beer shop on Beech Road for half a century and the unknown mother and child whose bodies were found underneath a side aisle of the church.

The graveyard in 2009, in happier times

That said we do also acknowledge the important role of Thomas Walker who despite being an important Establishment figure in Manchester during the late 18th century campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade and was indicted for sedition for supporting the values of the French Revolution. 

He lived at Barlow Hall and was buried in the graveyard.  And for me what makes this collection of stories the most important to date is that it is linked to efforts to restore the parish graveyard, along with the Lych Gate which are in need of some tender care and attention.

Since the landscaping project of the 1980s bits of the site have become tired and it is time for a joint venture between the City Council and a “Friends” group to identify areas which need repair, and improvement and imaginative suggestions about how the gravestones could be better displayed and preserved.

So, while the book is about the church and those who were buried there it is also a way of increasing awareness of the history of this green space in the heart of Chorlton.

The Lych Gate and Grave Situations beyond, is book 4 in that popular series nothing to do in chorlton, costs £4.99 and is available from us at www.pubbooks.co.uk and Chorlton Book shop.

The graveyard in 2023 in less happy times

The book launch will be on April 10th at 1 pm in the Lloyd’s Hotel and we are planning a history walk later in the month which will be centred in the old parish church yard.

Location; Chorlton in April

Pictures; The newly arrived books, 2023, the graveyard in 2009, in happier times, and in 2023 in less happy times.

All you ever wanted to know about the history of Chorlton Park …….

Perhaps it is time for a history of Chorlton Park.

A magical place, 2019

After all, it has been a place to play, relax and meet up with friends for almost a century.

In 1933-34

There will be plenty who remember the paddling pool, and the pets’ corner, but few who now know that beside the paddling pool there was a large open air swimming bath, a band stand with a covered seating area, and that during the last world war the park had its own air raid shelters.

Added to that the historic records suggest there was a race course and an observatory, which fit nicely with stories of Brookfield House, which dates back into the 18th century, and was once home to the son of Francis Deakin who had been brutally murdered in a beer house on Manchester Road in 1847.

In 1854

And if you had strolled along Barlow Moor Road back in the 1840s, and looked out across what is now the park you might have been able to make out the ponds close to Brookfield House and perhaps even had conversations with the agricultural labourers working on the fields which had names like Rent Meadow, Second and Third Moorfields and which were a mix of arable and meadow land.

Brookfield House, circa 1900

Walk a little further along that road and you would have encountered the fine processional way that ran off from what was then called Barlow Moor Lane east towards Hough End Hall.

The path is still there although the full majesty of the hall is somewhat at present obscured by a modern office block.

Bits of the park’s story have appeared over the years in the blog*, and one very good account was published in 2017.**

And now Peter and I have decided that it is time to include this jewel of a place in our series of books entitled nothing to do in chorlton.

Each book is predicated on the idea of doing nothing in chorlton, and offers six sites where the reader can sit and uncover the stories of the surrounding area while doing nothing.***

Julie and the goat, circa 1970s

The first three have been a roaring success, and the fourth on our old parish church and graveyard by the village green will be published next month.  

The books are slim and small enough to fit in the back pocket or in a handbag and are designed to be carried with you on the walk and each costs £5.  They are available from Chorlton Bookshop or us at  www.pubbooks.co.uk.

All of which leads me back to Chorlton Park and an appeal for anyone with memories or pictures to get in touch with us at www.pubbooks.co.uk.

Location; Chorlton Park

Pictures; The park in 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, in 1933 from the OS map of Manchester and Salford, 1933-34, and in 1854 from the OS map of Lancashire, 1854, courtesy of Digital Archives, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/ Brookfield House circa 1900 from the Lloyd Collection, the goat and Julie in Chorlton Park circa early 1970s, from the collection of Julie Thomas

*Chorlton Park, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Chorlton%20Park

**The Quirks of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Andrew Simpson, & Pester Topping, 2017

****nothing to do in chorlton, Book 1, Chorlton Green and the Ees, Book Two, Martledge Lost and Found, Book Three Down Beech Road Looking for Chorlton Row, and Book Four, to be published in April, The Lych Gate and Grave Situations Beyond 

Losing our past ……….

It is easy to be complacent about Chorlton’s past and I suppose there will be some who don’t care.

In happier times, 2010

But once we have lost it, it can’t be easily recovered.

Which brings me to our old village graveyard which stands south of the green and was the burial place for generations of Chorlton people.

Uncovering the inscription, 2023

There are 362 recorded gravestones of which only a handful still exist, and these are beginning to deteriorate.

After hundreds of years it was closed in 1886 to all but a few, and with the demolition of the parish church in 1949 the graveyard became a neglected and half forgotten place, which nature and the odd gang of vandals did nothing to improve.

And so the project to landscape it and create a quiet space full of grass, bushes and trees where you could sit, contemplate the few remaining headstones seemed a good idea and has proved to be an asset.

But the decision to remove most of the gravestones deprived us of a chunk of our history while the practice of putting some of the stones down to form a pathway will do for the rest.

although to be fair the parish authorities had already laid a significant number down by the 1920s to act as a path.

Already some are showing signs of wear while others are suffering from flakes of stone falling away.

Added to which the slow build up of vegetation is beginning to obscure some of the inscriptions.  

And while this layer does ironically act as a form of protection it serves also to hide the names and the precious messages of loss from sight.

Mr. Ree's toppling monument, 2023

Not that I am apportioning blame.  Back in the 1980s the landscaping did seem an attractive alternative to the crowded and unattended graves.  Moreover the practice of laying tombstones to act as a path is not unusual, and is used by some local churches.

At which point someone will shout that the Council who is responsible for the plot should do something, but I am well aware of the financial constraints on local authorities, particularly at this time of post Covid, the cost of living crisis and a parsimonious Government.

I fully accept that the finite sum of cash has to go a long way and it would be difficult to argue that council revenue should go to the monuments of the dead when so many of the living need all sorts of help.

But I fear that if we do nothing we will lose much that makes the place so valued by local residents.

Already one monument is beginning to list, some of the flagged steps at the rear are also very uneven, and as if to add to the decline, on my last visit one dog walker had deposited a pink bag of excrement by the lych gate.

Back in 2010 when I recorded all of the gravestones most were still in very good condition and apart from the odd cigarette butt and discarded piece of chewing gum were clear and the inscriptions easy to read.

One dog walker's contribution to the quality of the place, 2023

But not so now, which has led Peter Topping and I to talk to Cllr Mathew Bentham about a way forward for the graveyard.  

We thought that the establishment of a "Friends" group might be a first step.  

Mathew has proved very helpful, and to date we have had two meetings convened by him with officials from Neighbourhood Services, and together we are exploring possible funding as well as a model constitution along with examples of how other Friends groups work.

It is early days, and there is a long way to go.

Peter and I were out at the graveyard on Friday assessing the extent of the deterioration of some of the gravestones and did a bit of TLC.

The headstone of Rev Booth slowly disappearing, 2023

Now there will be someone who points out that February is not a good time to view the gravestones, compared with a bright summer's day.

But the accumulation of dead leaves which settle into the encroaching soil will not go away with the appearance of  Sammy sunshine.

And so we decided that as a way of highlighting the importance of the place to the community we would devote our next book in the series nothing to do in chorlton to the history of the old church, and the surrounding graves, four of which we would feature, telling the stories of the four and their unique contribution to Chorlton-cum-Hardy.

Location; the old parish churchyard, Chorlton

Pictures, the graveyard in happier times, 2010 from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and the same place on Friday, February 28th 2023, courtesy of Peter Topping