Any discussion on which is the oldest retailer still in business will feature Etchells the newsagents.
Once the answer would have been Burt’s the Gentleman outfitters on Wilbraham Road which opened for business in the early 20th century, and followed by Richardson’s the bakers who started up on Beech Road in the late 1940s.
And while Etchell’s has a long pedigree, the title actually falls to Ken Foster’s Cycle shop on Barlow Moor Road.
That said the shop on the corner of Beech Road and Chequers has been a newsagents since it was built as has the chippy next door which is now a Chinese takeaway.
Location; Chorlton
Picture; Beech Road, 1979 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
And while Etchell’s has a long pedigree, the title actually falls to Ken Foster’s Cycle shop on Barlow Moor Road.
That said the shop on the corner of Beech Road and Chequers has been a newsagents since it was built as has the chippy next door which is now a Chinese takeaway.
Location; Chorlton
Picture; Beech Road, 1979 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
