So no more will I meet you at Kemps’ Corner

One of Chorlton best known landmarks .... rebuilt to form an extension to a bank

Kemp’s Corner is no more and lives only in the memories of  older residents.  

And yet for more than half a century it was one of the places in Chorlton which was a recognised meeting place.

It was located on the corner of Wilbraham and Barlow Moor Roads and was the site of Harry Kemp’s Chemist shop.

Now it is a story I have told before but is worth bringing out of the shadows again underling that simple observation that despite planners efforts to designate a place with an official name if it doesn’t catch the popular imagination it will not be used.

So it is with the junction of the two roads.  The official name which appeared just before the end of the last century is Chorlton Cross, but older people still think of it as Kemp’s Corner and most people today refer to it simply as the Four Banks.

Detail from the story in the Stretford and Urmston Journal, 1978

Both names arose out of popular usage, for not only was Kemp’s Chemist a prominent shop and he was a local politician but above the shop door was a big clock which I guess made meeting there that bit easy while today the presence of  a bank on each corner continues to make it a landmark.

All of which is a long way round to this newspaper report which captured the moment when Kemps’ Corner disappeared.

The Chemist had been run by the Coop for a while and then became a fast food out let but eventually the Midland Bank bought the building and set to converting it.

And the rest is almost history, for as someone said to me the idea that the place could have been known as Kentucky Fried Chicken Corner was just not going to happen.

Once the Midland had taken the corner we were on the way to the “Four Banks” which is itself an echo of an earlier name.  For back at the end of the 19th century someone had told a friend on a postcard to meet her at Bank Corner.

Location; Chorlton

Picture; the Chorlton edition of the Stretford and Urmston Journal, April 13, 1978

On a day in 1910 at Kemp's Corner

Kemp's Corner, 1910

I am in Chorlton on a sunny day in the summer of 1910 and today I just want to reflect on what you could have done on that day.

So we shall start with the picture which is the junction of Barlow Moor Road and Wilbraham Road.

And in the company of the photographer we are looking up Wilbraham Road towards the Lloyds Hotel with the fire hut in the distance.

Today officially the junction is Chorlton Cross but unril recently most people referred to it as the Four Banks, which echoes its earlier name of Bank Corner.

Harry Kemp's Chemist

But for most of the 20th century it was Kemp’s Corner after Harry Kemp’s chemist shop which is to the left of us, and is now the HSBC bank.

Well into the 1960s it was an accepted place to meet up, not least because the shop displayed an enormous clock outside and so was a landmark.

Harry Kemp had opened his shop in the early years of the 20th century and it was still there on the corner long after he had died.

Oliver Bailey remembers the shop in the 1950s with its huge jars of coloured water which was also the place he bought the ingredients to make his own fireworks.

While Ida used it as the place to meet her friends.

Sunwick 

Directly opposite is Sunwick now another bank but then a large private residence, and stretching out down Wilbraham Road are more stately houses all with their front gardens which have  yet to become the shops we know today.

But the buildings beside it along with the magnificent advert for Shaw’s motor garage were demolished to make way for the shopping precinct.

And soon after our picture was taken Mr Shaw had opened his new garage on Barlow Moor Road in that prime set of new shops which ran from High Lane to the tram terminus.

Always a head of his commercial rivals the premise had the first kerb side petrol pump in Chorlton.

Road mending

Looking directly at us are the men mending the road, or I should say the man mending the road because there is only one in shirt sleeves standing a little back while in front appear to be the supervisors and possibly someone from the Corporation.

And as ever in work scenes from the period there are the hand carts which would have carried his tools and the materials needed to do the job.

There is of course lots more going on and we are spoilt for choice.  There are the women out shopping some with parasols, the man on the cycle and away in the distance tradesmen with their horse and carts doing the delivery rounds.

Post Offices, pillar boxes & posting times, from the Almanack

Now I want to leave aside the scene for a minute and instead reflect on what you might want to do on that sunny day, which is pretty much drawn from Harry Kemp’s Almanack  & Handbook which he published in the January of 1910 and provided you with all you might want to know about Chorlton.

Here were the addresses of the local post offices, the pillar boxes and posting times as well as our first public library houses in a converted house on Oswald Road.

It remains a surprise just how many collections and deliveries there were at the time, all of which enabled people to send a postcard in the morning confident that it would arrive in time to alert a friend to a proposed meeting in the afternoon.

Trams, trains & a Penny Savings Bank, from the Almanack

Likewise our first public library was a fulfilment of a promise made when we voted to join the city in 1904.

And then there were the tram times along with our railway stations which offered a regular service into the heart of Manchester.

But my own favourite in the Penny Savings Bank which operated from the school on the green once a week, and is a reminder of the social divide in Chorlton, for while this part of the township had the banks the old village had only a sub post office.

Books, fire engines and policeman, from the Almanack

Pictures; Kemps Corner in 1910 from the Lloyd collection, details from The Chorlton-cm-Hardy District Almanack & Handbook For 1910, published by Harry Kemp from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Pictures from a Chorlton Bus ..... no 1 ... Kemp's Corner and other nostalgic moments

The top deck of a Chorlton bus must be a pretty neat way of seeing the world below.

The 85, 2024

And when it is the same bus at about the same time every day, then you have got yourself a project.

Stone clues, 2024

And yesterday it was the 85 passing along Barlow Moor Road, although I confess that  on this day, I sat downstairs allowing me a full glimpse of the building which was the former HSBC bank.

There will be plenty who remember it as the Midland, and before that a fast-food outlet and before that as Harry Kemp’s Chemist.

Mr. Kemp opened his pharmacy at the start of the last century, added a landmark clock and so we gained that popular place to meet up which for seventy years was simply known as "Kemp’s Corner".

The name long survived the demise of Harry Kemp and his chemist and in more recent times entered the popular culture as one corner of “Four Bank Corner”, or just simply “the Four Banks”.

Now I have written extensively over the years about Harry Kemp and Kemp’s Corner so I won’t say more.

Kemp's Corner undergoing a makeover, 1978

Instead I am intrigued by the stone blocks uncovered when the rendering was taken off, which offer the promise of some research and a story.

But for now I am back with the bus, and the slight lingering smell that pervaded it as it waited at the Chorlton Office.

It was a feint odour but took me back to those old London buses of the 1950s and 60s, which on a summer’s day reeked of worn smelly upholstery with a hint of dust and warm engine oil.

But which were pleasant when compared to the interior of their rival, the trolley bus which somehow mimicked the smell with that added whammy that they were much hotter, made little noise other than a low whir and made me thoroughly ill every time I ventured on one.

The facelift, 1978

Nor was it just the trolley buses of London Transport, but also their green rivals of Derby Corporation which I had to endure on visits to my grandparents.

But enough of such memories, other than to say the new fleets of buses are a luxury compared to their predecessors.

I shall instead pursue the clues to just what the stone blocks were which were hidden in 1978 during the conversion of the property to the bank.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures, from a Chorlton Bus, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, The Midland Bank extension, from the Chorlton edition of the Stretford and Urmston Journal, April 13, 1978

*Kemp’s Corner, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Kemp%27s%20Corner

When there were still four banks on Bank Square

I can’t be exactly sure of the date of the picture, but I know it must be sometime around the late 1990s.

Now I can be pretty sure of that because what was the National Provincial Building Society with its distinctive yellow lettering on a green background became the Abbey Building Society in 1996 which in turn became part of the Santander Group thirteen years later.


Added to which the Midland Bank which had moved into its present building in 1978, adopted the HSBC logo in 1997, having been acquired by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1992.

Those who want will look carefully through the picture and identify other lost shops and offer up stories.

What I like about the image is that in some ways it looks more dated than one of those black and white photographs from the 1900s which we know show a very different Chorlton.

But this one is close enough to us today to look very familiar ……. But just not quite.

And for those about to mutter about the name, Four Banks, our building societies had begun to become banks in 1989, and so by the time this picture was taken there were indeed four banks on each corner, hence the accurate title, which harps back to references from the late 19th century on picture postcards when people referred to the spot as “Bank Square”.

That said, as many will know the corner of Barlow Moor Road and Wilbraham Road, now occupied by the HSBC was popularly known as “Kemps Corner”, after Harry Kemp’s chemist which stood there.

As so often happens, remained the accepted name for the corner well into the 1960s, long after it ceased being a chemist.

All of which points to that simple observation that names for locations arise from popular usage, which I suspect will mean that the official name for the junction which is Chorlton Cross, will never catch on.

Location; Chorlton







Picture; Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads, circa 1995, courtesy of Steve

Another instalment in the fascinating story of Harry Kemp

Harry Kemp was one of those local figures who has faded somewhat from Chorlton’s history, and that is a shame.

Kemp's Corner, circa 1900

For more than half a century his name was used for the corner of Wilbraham and Barlow Moor Roads, now occupied by the HSBC.

So, for anyone born in the 1950s or earlier this spot was Kemp’s Corner, which in that pre mobile age was a recognised meeting place, not least because above the door of Harry Kemp’s chemist shop was a giant clock.

And as we all know a clock is an important part of any prearranged meeting, if only as a measure to judge how late your companion will be.

But there was more to Harry Kemp, that just that spot on the corner of a junction.

He ran two Chemist shops, one on Wilbraham Road and the other down on Beech Road, and was responsible for the Chorlton-cum-Hardy District Almanack and Handbook for 1910.

The Almanack, 1910

I can’t be sure if this was a one off or a series, but alas I have only been able to track the one copy for that one year.

It offered up a lot of local information, including the various sporting clubs and cultural societies which were active, as well lots of local information on posting times and council offices.

And as useful as it was back in 1910, a century and bit later it is a fascinating historical document, which I regularly trawl.

Added to this document there is Harry Kemp’s election address for 1904, which includes his fellow candidates, and a statement of their joint programme if elected.

What marks the election address out as particularly interesting is that it was the first time that the people of Chorlton-cum-Hardy had participated in elections for the Manchester City Council.

Election Address, 1907

In that year the rate payers of the Withington UDC, which comprised Burnage, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Didsbury and Withington voted for incorporation into the City having been made offers which many couldn’t turn down.

Now, all of this I have written about on the blog and elsewhere, but today I got to see something rather special, which is the ceramic top of a tub of Otto of Rose Cold Cream, from the collection of Jay Hurst.

And in that way that those of us who are involved in local history share material I have my old Facebook chum Bill Sumner to thank for sharing it with me.

Just on its own this item is a wonderful connection with harry Kemp, but of course there is so much more.

First, there is that simple observation, that like the Alamanck, Mr. Kemp was never backward at promoting himself and his business.  So, the top includes the locations of both of his shops, just in case there was any doubt as to where to obtain this product.

Otto of Rose tub top, date unknown

And then there is the product itself which was made from the essential oil extracted from the petals of various types of roses, and which is still the most widely used oil in perfumery.

The process was and is expensive, but by the time Harry Kemp was marketing his rose oil, I suspect some producers were adulterating the oil with cheaper ones.

That said, I am in awe of how it was produced, given that like many kids I soaked rose petals in water, assuming that the result would be scented water, only to discover  what you got was best just thrown away.

Kemp's Corner, 1978

All of which just leaves me to thank Jay and Bill and reflect that Harry Kemp and his corner had not quite been forgotten by 1978, judging by this newspaper article.

Location; Kemp’s Corner, and Beech Road

Pictures;  Harry Kemps’ chemist shop, circa 1900, from the Lloyd Collection, the 1904 election address, courtesy of Lawrence Beedle, Chorlton-cum-Hardy District Almanack and Handbook for 1910, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, Otto of Rose tub top, date unknown from the collection of Jay Hurst, and news story from the Stretford & Urmston Journal, April 12, 1978 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Tragic Traffic Accident at “Kemp’s Corner” 27th September 1958 .... a story from Tony Goulding

Kemp's Corner, 1960

This photograph (A.E.Landers m18413 -1960) from the Manchester Archives Local Images Collection carries a very intriguing caption.

It describes a new shop front for the Chemists – rebuilt after a serious road accident in which 5 people died.
   
As this was such a significant incident which occurred at the very heart of Chorlton-cum-Hardy I have long wanted to tell the story of this tragedy.

Kemp's Chemist from shop pre-accident, 1958

Apart from knowing the approximate date, however, I could find out little else; even following enquiries made of some older Chorltonians amongst my friends.

Then, completely unexpectedly, while researching another story I ascertained the exact date when happening on a brief report of the accident in “The People” of Sunday 28th September 1958.

Armed with this vital piece of information I took a trip to Manchester Archives at Central Library to peruse the relevant microfilmed copies of The Manchester Evening News.
     
The paper carried a full account of the accident and included these two photographs.

One showing crash site on the night and the other the scene at the tragic corner the following morning showing the boarded-up front window of “Kemp’s the Chemist”.
 
Just after midnight in the early hours of 27th a heavy (10 ton) lorry travelling along Barlow Moor Road towards Didsbury was in collision with a saloon car travelling towards Stretford along Wilbraham Road.

All five occupants of the car were fatally injured two dying at the scene the remaining three later in hospital The driver of the lorry, Mr. William .Chapman aged 47,  of Stockton-on- Tees, had a lucky escape jumping clear before his vehicle ploughed into the Chemist’s shop front.
   
The five men who died were three brothers Bernard aged 24, Anthony, 22 and Edmund, 21, Robb and two friends 36-year-old William Hywell Roberts (the car driver) and Norman J. Mayo.

It was thought that they were on their way home after a night out playing darts (for which they were well known). The two youngest Robb brothers lived with their widowed mother Mary at 114, Norwood Road, Stretford. Norman Mayo was the only son of Albert Edward, a turbine engineer and his late wife, Margaret lived close by at 68, Davyhulme Road East with his father and four sisters.
   
The eldest Robb brother, Bernard was living at 629, Wilbraham Road, and only very newly married to Kathleen (née O’Neill), a nurse. His younger brother had just recently completed his National Service and returned home from Cyprus.

The eldest casualty thirty-six years old Mr William Hywell Roberts, who resided at 60, Whitelow Road left a widow, Alice and a young son, Adrian.

Initially the lorry driver was blamed for the accident and he was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. However local people had been voicing their concern for some time regarding the inadequacy of the traffic lights at this increasingly busy junction. They were demanding that the obsolete system in situ using road pads be replaced by a time-controlled set. Whatever the reason when the case came before Manchester’s Crown Court on the following 20th March, Mr. Chapman was acquitted.

 Finally, the hero of the night, according to The Manchester Evening News was John Quinlan, the landlord of the “Royal Oak” public house on the opposite diagonal of the junction. On hearing the crash as he was preparing for bed he dashed out to the scene and extricated one of the car’s occupants from the wreckage.

Tony Goulding © 2019

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Pictures, Kemp’s Corner, A.E.Landers m18413 -1960, Kemp’s Chemist shop front pre-accident 1958
(A. E.Landers m 18412) courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass remaining images from the collection of Tony Gouldng

Kemp’s Corner .... the Four Banks and Bank Square ....... names that speak of our history

The news that the RBS Bank in Chorlton is to close in August is sad news and more so because according to press reports, the closure of 162 branches across the country will lead to the loss of 800 jobs.*

Sunwick, circa 1900

How the closure will impact on the staff here is unclear, and nether the Guardian or the Manchester Evening News** who also reported the story give any indication of the potential job loss.

And the news of the closure has led to a deal of speculation on the future of the popular name the “Four Banks”, for the junction of Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads.

In a lapse of judgment I joined in, but on reflection it is a little in bad taste, given the loss of one of our local banks.

Not that what I say or think will change the decision or the speculation.

So instead I will return to one of my popular preoccupations which is how place names evolve.

For years the spot was known as Kemp’s Corner after Harry Kemp’s Chemist shop which occupied what is now the HSBC Bank and was a popular meeting place well into the late 1960s.  Before that, there is a reference in a picture postcard to the junction as Bank Square.

Kemp's Corner and Sunwick, circa 1900

What all three have in common is that they were popular names which arose from ordinary usage and have been more enduring than the official title of Chorlton Cross.

And that leads me to the building which is at present inhabited by the RBS.

It was called Sunwick and the name is there on one of the stone gate posts facing out onto Barlow Moor Road.

In 1911 it was home to Mr and Mrs Case, their two children and three members of staff.  Mr Case described himself as a “Doctor of Medicine” and playing to the stereotype his handwriting is all but illegible.

But I can make out that amongst the three servants, there was Jesse Lambert who was 30 and was employed as the cook, Mary Carpenter, the Housemaid and Sara Brow who is listed as “waitress”***

Sunwick was a large house consisting of 11 rooms, with small gardens at the back, front and eastern side, and was encompassed by a tall brick wall.  A little of the wall still survives on Wilbraham Road in front of that low level addition to the original building.

Sunwick, 1896

The property was distinctive enough for the map makers to include the its name on the OS map for 1896 and it appears to have been built sometime around 1885, when it was occupied by a Dr Andrew Denholme who sold it onto Dr George Byrne in February of the following year.

Dr Byrne was still there in the early years of the last century and by 1911 was home to the Case family.****

All of which points to the property having been associated with doctors from the outset.

A close trawl of the directories will offer up the moment it passed from a residential property to a bank, which it certainly was by the 1930s.

But, as what it will become that is idle speculation although some may assume it will become another bar, leading one wag to rename the junction, three banks and a bar.

We shall see.

Location; the Four Banks

Picture, Kemp’s Corner and Sunwick circa 1900, from the Lloyd Collection and Sunwick in 1896, from the OS map of South Lancashire, courtesy of Digital Archive Association, digitalarchives.co.uk/

*RBS to close 162 branches with the loss of 800 jobs, Julia Kollewe, The Guardian, May 1 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/01/rbs-to-close-162-branches-with-loss-of-800-jobs

**RBS to close 31 branches in Greater Manchester and Cheshire, Ravender Sembhy & Stuart Greer, Manchester Evening News, May 2 2018, https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/rbs-manchester-branch-closures-list-14600276

***Census, Enu 18 664, Didsbury, South Manchester, Lancashire, 1911

****Manchester Rate Books, 1885-1900