Standing on the lost Prichard Street in the summer of 1971 ……… with no thoughts of the future

There will still be some people who remember the close network of streets and houses that stretched back from Oxford Road to the Medlock, and from Charles Street down to Great Street.

Pritchard Street on the cusp of change, 1971

In all there were fourteen streets and countless houses which were all swept away so that the BBC could have a new broadcasting centre here in Manchester.

The lost streets included Pritchard Street, Hesketh, Leigh and Saville Streets and along with the houses there had been a school and a pub.

Planning permission had been granted in 1968 and after a hiccup building began in 1971 was finished in 1975 and the place was home to the BBC until 2011.

And for those wanting to impress a companion, about 800 staff worked there and with the opening of the second studio in 1981 the BBC closed Broadcasting House in Piccadilly which had been there for 52 years.

And now Broadcasting House has gone replaced by Circle Square.

Pritchard Street, 1894

In the meantime, I wonder how many memories of those that lived in that small area can be shared.

After all the buildings only began to be cleared in 1968.

Broadcasting House, 2011

All of which has been prompted by that picture at the top of the page, which must have been taken in the summer of 1971.

We were on Prichard Street with Charles Street and the Lass O’Gowrie in the distance, surrounded by the remains of a warehouse to our right and what had once been a row of back-to-back house.

At the time I doubt we had any idea what the developers had planned, and more than likely we were on our way down to The Eighth Day or to meet up with friends at the Art College on All Saints.

The picture and the memories of that day have lain hidden for over half a century but offer up a little insight into the area off Oxford Road on the cusp of its development.

Lost and forgotten warehouses, 1971

I did wander down during the demolition of the old BBC Broadcasting House, and waited patiently for the site to be redeveloped.

But it seemed an age before the ground was broken and the development began to rise, pretty much eclipsing the surrounding buildings.

Now I don't pretend to be Methuselah, but in the space of that time from the summer of 1971 I have seen the rise of Broadcasting House, its demise and the subsequent rise of Circle Square. 

I guess it is presumptuous to suppose I will be around for the next development/

Well we shall see.

Location; Oxford Road, 1971-2022

Pictures; Prichard Street, 1971,  tall buildings and stairs, Circle Square, Manchester, 2022, from the collection of Andrew Simpsonand map of the area in 1894, from the OS of South Lancashire, 1894, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/ BBC New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road, 2011, from the collection of Andy Robertson

One Circle Square, 2022

*Lost and forgotten streets of Manchester ......... nu 56 the vanished fourteen and the story of the BBC, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2016/10/lost-and-forgotten-streets-of_5.html

Property of the BBC ..... on the wireless ..... all this week

Today at 3.45.

"In a week of programmes for the BBC Centenary, historian Robert Seatter selects three objects from the BBC’s archive store and tells the stories behind their creation - what they tell us about the changing history of the organisation, about expansion of the media and the nation at large. 

The iconic BBC microphone, 1944

Robert’s choices are unexpected, revelatory and sometimes, with the cruel benefit of hindsight, funny. 

Today Robert examines three maps which played key roles in broadcasting: one of the earliest Shipping Forecast maps – dating back to July 1925 before it began formally on the BBC in October 1925; the Football Grid – a small grid of a football pitch, with goals marked either end and headed ‘Radio Times Listeners’ Plan for Broadcast Running Commentary’'; and the Coronation Map for radio listeners from 1953, the year of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

In this edition Robert explores themes of vital communication, the transition from audio to visual and disinformation and trust. With special guest, the poet and shipping forecast super-fan, Imtiaz Darker

Producer: Mohini Patel"

Location; Radio 4 

Picture; The iconic BBC microphone. Designed in 1944, and formally called the AXBT microphone, this was the first high-quality microphone studio use. It became an iconic symbol of the BBC, 2012. Source, Flickr: Author, Feeling My Age, This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Front cover of the Radio Times, 25 December 1931, Source, https://twitter.com/bbcgenome/status/947493801265733633

Radio Times, 1931

*Three Maps, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001f4xn