When I lost a water trough ….. in Stretford in the summer of 1965

 I collect water troughs ….. eccentric perhaps but fun.

And had I been on Chester Road in the summer of 1965 this one would have made the collection.

But then in 1965 I was sixteen still living at home in southeast London and had yet to come across one of the passions of my life.  

Sixty years ago I might well have snapped this one, recorded its exact location, and returned decades later to check its fate.

Now I have no idea how many water troughs were made in the 19th century or for that matter how many have survived.

In London they were made and maintained by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association which is not the zippiest of names but neatly does the business.

It had been founded in 1859 as the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain Association and added the rest when it began providing fresh water for horses and cattle as well as fountains for the people of London.

According to Dickens’s Dictionary of London, in 1879 there were 800 fountains and troughs which on a hot day 30,000 people took advantage of the supply while a “single trough supplied the wants of 1,800 horses in day.”*

So, I shouldn’t be surprised that in my pursuit of water troughs I should keep turning up fine examples of ones that have lasted the course.

All of which leads me back to the Chester Road trough which the caption from the 1965 slide says was erected in 1874, and here’s the rub I can’t find it.

I have wandered down Chester Road using Google maps, checked out the route from the 1896 OS map, and even trawled the collection of old photographs from Trafford Lifetimes, but to no avail.**

That said someone will know, suggest where to look and perhaps surprise me with the fact that it now resides in one of the parks.

And even before the post went live, my friend Lawrence helped me out with, "I do remember it now. That’s the floodlights of Old Trafford in the background. 

They were four steel towers at each corner. Erected around late 1957 early 1958. Now demolished. That pub is the Dog and Partridge. Used to go drinking in there when I was 16. Now demolished and the Bishop’s Blaze pub was built there.

Chester Road was widened and the island went under tarmac and the horse trough disappeared. That area has fascinating relics of the early 20th Century. I think the building behind the camera now a Halfords tyre fixing garage was a factory for motor cars.

It's the starter for ten.

Location; Stretford

Pictures; the Stretford water trough, Chester Road 1965, from the 1965 Collection 

*quoted from Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Drinking_Fountain_and_Cattle_Trough_Association

**Trafford Lifetimes, https://apps.trafford.gov.uk/TraffordLifetimes/

The Stretford I never knew ………..60 years ago

It is 60 years ago that this collection of images was taken.

They cover Manchester, Stretford and out to Chorlton and Wythenshawe and are a mix of industrial scenes, some old historic buildings and more than a few of well-known city centre sites.

What they have in common was the year they were taken and that originally they were colour slides.

The collection was donated to me by the daughter of the photographer, but somewhere along the line their identity was lost, although I am still looking for the letter, email or Facebook message which alerted me to the names of the woman who donated them and the photographer.

I hope by posting them the donor will come forward and I can change the credit from the 1965 collection to a name.

These are image of the Stretford I never knew.

That said the first is vaguely familiar and is the junction of Edge Lane and Chester Road, but with differences.

The second is Longford Hall, which I may just remember, but never really bothered with and then it was gone. 

Like all of the32 I the collection they are a unique record of how things were in 1965.

Location; Stretford

Pictures, Edge Lane and Chester Road, and Longford Hall from the 1965 Collection

See better days …… and do better things …..

I won’t be the only one to remember wandering through the House of Fires that emporium of all things to do with keeping the house warm.  

Here could be found ornate coal scuttles, fire surrounds, grates and much more which were offered at “affordable” prices for a £10 deposit fitted in 8 days”.

For us it was the humble fire grate and sometimes a new coal scuttle, but there were plenty of other things, and judging from the steady traffic of customers “Tommy” did the business.

And then it closed, and we were forced to look elsewhere.

I have Andy Robertson to thank for the pictures which he took last week on a wander across this part of Trafford.

I did sometimes wonder at the origins of the building and armed with copious street directories and OS maps I have plunged myself into a bit of research. 

Suffice for now I know that one of the buildings straddling Talbot and Chester Road s was Matin’s Bank which had merged with the old Lancashire and Yorkshire bank in 1928 and shows up in the 1911 directory as the L&Y Bank at 555 Chester Road and no. 2 Talbot Road.

It’s immediate neighbours on Talbot Road were Burgons Limited, teal dealers, at no. 4, Mrs. Emma Whitworth confectioner at no. 6 and E.H. Houghton wine & spirit merchant at 8, leaving a doctor at no. 10.

I doubt that the Hall of Fire has long to last and may soon be the in the sights of a developer.

.

We shall see.

And within hours of me posting the story my old Facebook friend Bill Sumner answered my thoughts about the future of Tommy's with "Little did you realise whilst looking at the fires, that beneath your feet in a tunnel rumbled the main Manchester to Altrincham Railway line exiting at Old Trafford Station., this being the reason for that property not being replaced with a towering block of offices or apartments, planning permission refused recently".

Adding . "I leave you here with a photo of the Garage that many years later became Tommy's.......Talbot Rd side and late 1920's would be right. The Pankhursts lived just a few doors down, the Bingo Hall car park covers the site.

The married Pankhursts lived at Drayton Terrace, Richard before he married lived at James Place which was in fact a little to the right of the marked circle. 

A Cinema was later built at the rear of their home".

Bill's picture is from the Talbot Road side and he tells me dates from the late 1920s.

Leaving me just to thank Bill and once again reflect on how sharing our past ads to our understanding.

Location; Talbot Road and Chester Road

Pictures; House of Fires and other curiosities, 2024, from the collection of Andy Robertson its former self, circa late 1920s, courtesy of Bill Sumner

Trojan ....... the hidden ghost sign

It’s the sign that has been hidden, but as ever Andy Robertson brought forth a story, and like Samson’s riddle it will be fun to solve.  

He saw it on “Sunday morning whilst waiting to get my tyre done at Kwil-Fit.

The ghost sign is on Chester Road between Halfords and National Tyres, and has only recently been exposed as part of National Tyres sign fell down”.

Now someone will be able to offer up the story on Trojan.

Me and Andy will just sit back and wait ...... lazy historians.

Location; Chester Road

Picture; ghost sign, 2018 from the collection of Andy Robertson

*"And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle". Judges 14:14

The story that isn’t .......... down on Wright Street by Chester Road

Now, many of us are familiar with the work of Andy Robertson, who has been recording the changing landscape of the Twin Cities and beyond for a decade and a bit.

2018

He begins with a derelict or empty property, and then returns at stages, as the building is renovated or more likely demolished.

By degree, he then carries on chronicling the progress from the moment the builders break ground and onto the finished building.

But today he offers up an intriguing set of pictures which he says are of “Wright Street which runs parallel to Chester Road.

2016

This is unusual as it depicts the demolition of a building before it was even properly constructed!”

There will be someone on the know who will wade in with chapter and verse, so I shall await their contribution.

In the meantime here is the sequence of pictures taken from May 25th of this year back to May 2014.

2014

Location; off Chester Road

Pictures; Wright Street, 2014-2018, from the collection of Andy Robertson

The leviathan which has become the minnow ...... out on Chester Road with the Commercial

Now I never drank in the Last Hop on Chester Road, or indeed when it was first the Commercial, then the Turville before getting that silly name of the Last Hop.

According to that excellent Pubs of Manchester, “Bob Potts' book confirms that the Commercial Hotel later became the Turville and then the Last Hop.*  The pub dates back to the 1870s and was granted a spirits licence in 1896.**

At which point I should mention Bob Potts who has over the years written some fine books on the history of Manchester pubs and has an impressive knowledge of all things Red Cross.

But back to the Commercial/Turville/Last Hop which is now home to Institu a place I have been coming too for years.

It has not  always been on Chester Road, but “since launching in 1984, as predominantly a reclaimed door and fireplace seller, Insitu has grown through many guises but the main focus has always been on architectural salvage and classic design pieces.

Now based just on the outskirts of Manchester’s trendy Castlefield, in a Grade 2 listed Victorian pub building, it is an exciting venue to find high quality and interesting pieces to create unique homes and express individual style.

Proudly named as, “Hands down the best second hand shop in Manchester” by Creative Tourist, Insitu Architectural Salvage is a reclamation business with a difference. Specialising in reclaimed timber flooring, doors, cast iron radiators, stained glass, anything that can can be saved from demolition”.***.

All of which takes me back to Andy’s pictures which show how ever grand the pub once was it is now a minnow set against the surrounding development.

And I do have to wonder how close some of that new build can get to the old pub.

But that is a debate for another time.

Location; Chester Road

Pictures; Chester Road, 2018, from the collection of Andy Robertson

* Pubs of Manchester, http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Turville%20%2F%20Commercial%20Hotel%20-%20Chester%20Road

** The Old Pubs of Hulme & Chorlton-on-Medlock, Bob Potts, 1997
***Insitu, https://www.insitumanchester.com/about-us/

Could I be the only person on the planet taking pictures of this? ........... at West Point

Now I suspect in answer to Andy’s question he may very well be the only person taking pictures of this petrol station on Chester Road, near West Point.

And long may he continue to record our fast disappearing landscape like this one.

I might go looking for the plans for its redevelopment which will be available o line, or I might just wait for someone else to do the digging and report back.

There is of course a very important point to make here, not so much about the passing or the redevelopment of a petrol station but that Andy is out there recording our industrial landscape.

I long ago lost count of the number of photographs Andy had taken which catalogue the passing of everything from grand old houses to mucky warehouses, along with theatres, cinemas and even the odd shed.

They are already a magnificent collection of and will be prove to be a great resource, for everyone from the historian to the curious.

So with that said I shall make no apologies about posting a fair selection of Andy’s Chester Road petrol station and point out that in years to come the machinery will look as dated as those old telephone kiosks.

Location; Chester Road

Pictures; the petrol station, 2017 from the collection of Andy Robertson

A building on Chester Road, a painting by Peter and the promise of a lot more history ..... nu 1 a beginning

Now I like the way stories come together.

This is Peter’s painting of the Greatstone Hotel on Chester Road.

And as these things happen I have just had a long conversation with Adrian the owner who thought I might be interested in a collection of old family documents including the original deeds and as everyone knows I like deeds.

For a start they will usually be very old, will offer up the story of the building as well as who owned the land and when it was sold.

If you are really lucky there will be other bits including references to wills, property transfers and much else.

So less a bit of paper and more a history book all in its own right.

Later next week Peter and I will be meeting up with Adrian and  some of the story the Greatstone Hotel will be revealed.

Along with a family link to Gorse Hill Farm and a commercial enterprise in the heart of the city.

All of which means that Peter’s painting will be appearing again in the near future.

Location Stretford Road

Paintings; the Greatstone Hotel, © 2015, Peter Topping,
Facebook; Paintings from Pictures, Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

Never pass up an opportunity to record a bit of history ............. down on Chester Road

Now St George’s House has fared much better than that other block of terraced houses a bit further down Chester Road.

St Georges House, 2016

So while St George's House looks neat and busy that other terrace on the corner with Great Jackson Street is empty and looking forlorn and shabby.

I can’t say I have ever thought about either group over much but prompted by Andy Robertson’s picture I went looking for their history.

Those fine  houses in 1849

In the early 20th century they were occupied by pretty up market people including two surgeons and an oil merchant.

Looking back into the previous century and they seem to have always attracted a “better class” of people.

I don’t yet know when the site was first developed but by 1849 there were three fine house on the site with views across open land to the Duke’s Canal.

But the writing was already on the wall for the future because had you looked across that open land and let your eye stray to the south there was Hulme Works and a Saw Mill running along Hulme Hall Lane.

In time these two would be joined by a complex of other industrial works one of which has featured frequently as Andy has maintained his continuing project to record the site from a fire last year to its eventual demolition.*

But that is another story.

Location; Chester Road, Manchester

Pictures; St Georg'e House, 2016 from the collection of Andy Robertson, Chester Road and those fine houses, fromthe OS of Manchester & Salford, 1842-49, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/

*Hulme, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Hulme

On Chester Road with Andy Roberston

Now there will be lots of stories about Trafford Press and the adjoining buildings  running along Chester Road to Empress Street.

Once they were all busy hubs of old fashioned industries.

I am grateful to Andy Robertson who continues to record the changes to the city and the surrounding area and in the fullness of time I bet those stories will feature here on the block.

Pictures; courtesy of Andy Roberston

So what is the story behind the arched wall of the house on Chester Road?

I am intrigued by Andy’s picture and I would like to know more about the building and the story behind this odd bit of design.

We are on Chester Road close to the entrance to Gorse Park and I can’t quite make up my mind about the arch.

It was clearly designed to let light into the well behind it but that begs the question of why it was constructed in the first place.

I thought it might have been part of what looks to be an addition at the side of the house which is not quite in keeping with the rest of the front elevation.

That said I think our arched wall may be an even later addition and was part of something else.

The lower half of the side elevation shows evidence of another building which is there by the line of stones in the brick work and the apertures which may have taken roof beams.

But I am no expert and someone I hope will come along with a perfectly sound explanation, plus pictures and documents.

As it is I have no access to the street directories for this section of Chester Road, and I can’t source a picture of the building but that will come with time and then I shall be able to put names to the property and a date.

So, all still to play for.

All of which just leaves me to thank Andy again who is in that long line of photo-historians who is patiently recording the city and surrounding areas as they are today with often a glance over his shoulder at what they were once.

And it is an important task because we tend to take these buildings for granted, and then when they have gone quickly forget that they ever existed.

Already some that Andy took only months ago have gone.or have undergone extensive refurbishment as to make them unrecognisable.


Pictures; from the collection of Andy Robertson

Looking for the Angel Inn on Chester Road and finding William Mason, Samuel Watson and the Drum

The Drum, © Peter Topping, 2014

I had no idea when I wrote about the Drum on Chester Road that it would stir up such strong feelings.*

There were those that mourned its passing, citing its iconic shape and the many good nights they had spent there.

And equally there were those who were less complimentary about the pub and argued that its demolition in favour of a fast food restaurant was a long time coming.

It even gave one political party the opportunity to argue for what it thought was best for this corner of Stretford.

Now I had never been inside and despite the mixed comments I wish I had.  Likewise it is a pity that I never got to buy a pint in its predecessor which was the Angel Hotel.

The first Angel Hotel opened its doors in 1780 and served not only those who lived around it but also acted as a coaching stop.

It was demolished by 1890 for a large brick building with an arch leading to the Bowling Green directly behind the pub.

By 1951 the arch had gone and just twenty year later so had the pub replaced by the Bass Drum which became the Drum.

The Angel Inn, 1854 marked in red

So the site has had an association with beer and good nights out for a long time.

And as you do I went looking for William Moss who was the first publican back in 1780.  Sadly I could find very little other than a possible reference to him marrying an Alice Anderson at St Mary’s in Eccles.

But I did turn up one of his successors who was Samuel Watson who in 1836 was on the electoral register on the strength of being the “Owner of the Angel Inn public house and 4 acres of land.”

He was still there in 1841 with his wife Mary, their three children and five others who were listed as farm servants.

Theirs would have been a busy spot with plenty of properties to the south along the main road that ran out to join Back Lane, which if they had a mind would have taken them by degree all the way to Chorlton.

But that as they say is another story.

In the meantime other paintings by Peter can be seen at the exhibition, CHORLTON-CUM-HARDY... A MOMENT IN TIME EXHIBITION. The Exhibition starts April 22nd till May 17th 2014 at Arison Gallery, 512 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, M21 9AW.

Telephone: 0161 881 6734 email: arison.gallery@ntlworld.com
web: www.gladtobe.in

Painting; The Drum,© 2014 Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk
Facebook:  Paintings from Pictures

Picture, the Angel Inn and Stretford, from the OS for Lancashire, 1841-53, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/

* The Drum on Chester Road, soon to be a distant memory along with the Angel Hotel which stood on the same spot from 1780, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-drum-on-chester-road-soon-to-be.html

The Drum on Chester Road, soon to be a distant memory along with the Angel Hotel which stood on the same spot from 1780

The Drum, 2014

I went looking for the Drum on Chester Road this week.

It’s not hard to find, its shape gives it away and it has been a bit of a landmark for a long time.

That said I had never been inside and I have yet to meet any one who did.

But there will be many who do have memories of drinking in the place and I hope they come forward.

This is especially important given that I doubt the Drum will be with us for much  longer.

It has been closed for sometime, was subject to a planning application in 2013 to demolish the building and replace it with a fast food drive in restaurant and currently the plans have resurfaced in the local media so I guess I  will soon be a done deal.

The Angel Hotel, 1894

And with its passing will go a tiny bit of drinking history because there has been a pub here on this spot since 1780.

Back then it was known as the Angel Hotel and “was much used by stage coaches and by buses passing through the district for the picking up and setting down of passengers, [and like many inns] ale was brewed on the premises.”*

The first licensee was William Moss who in the fullness of time I will try and bring out of the shadows.

The original was an L shape and shows up on Greenwood’s map of 1818 and the 1853 OS for Lancashire.

This was demolished by 1890 for a large brick building with an arch leading to the Bowling Green directly behind the pub.

By 1951 the arch had gone and just twenty year later so had the pub replaced by the Bass Drum which became the Drum.

Forlorn and empty, the Drum, 2014

Now there are six fine images of the Angel spanning the 19th century through 1971 when all that is left is to the hole.

But all six images are the property of Trafford Council and are held in their Local Studies Centre in Sale, and alas they are very particular about who is allowed to reproduce them.

Suffice to say without paying a fee I cannot so I won’t.

Instead you will have to be content with my picture of the Drum which will soon pass into history.

Now I hear someone mutter will my picture be available to the Local Studies Centre and of course the answer is yes, but I suspect they already have more than a few of the Drum.

So there it is, catch it now before it goes for good.

Picture; from the collection of Andrew Simpson, detail of the Angel Hotel, from the OS for South Lancashire, 1894, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/

* Trafford Lifetimes,  http://legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca/display_image.asp?ImageID=1393

On Chester Road in the early 20th century

Now I am well out of my comfort zone and more than a bit out of what I know with this picture postcard.

We are on Chester Road.  I know that because that is what the caption says and the pub on the right is familiar enough.  It is that stretch heading up towards where the road divide and judging by the leaves and the shadows it must the morning of a summers day.

It was and still is the Old Cock Hotel but like so much of the area it has undergone much change, so while the building looks the same it no longer sells alcohol. It is a place I never visited and I am the loser.

In the same way  I wish I had taken more interest in the building hidden by the pub which was the old Manchester Carriage and Tram Depot which is no more.

Which begs the question of what the tram in the middle of the is doing.  The driver is facing us and the conductor is alighting from the rear, so perhaps the tram has come to the end of the route.

I know the lines run on but looking at a map of the network in this period this does seem to be the case and of course the carriage depot is close by.

All of which leaves  the building on our right which was there from 1895 and may be much older.  Its foot print suggests it ran off from the road, stretching with a longer wing or group of houses at right angles.

The rest I leave to someone who knows the history of the area far better than me.

Picture; from the collection of Alan Brown and detail of Chester Road from the OS map of 1888-1895, courtesy of Digital Archives, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/