Picking up on Chorlton's story at The Oaks ..... Edge Lane

I am the first to admit that it is lazy history to claim that one house  can reflect the story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy from the mid 19th century onwards.

22 Edge Lane, 1907 shown in red

But if I did, 22 Edge Lane is up there amongst the list.*

It was built in 1865, was home to a succession of wealthy families, and during the last century went through a transformation into multi-occupancy and is now being renovated and redeveloped.

Now, there are plenty of those big houses which fit into that category, but 22 Edge Lane is the one I am focusing on.

The Haselgrove family were the first to own and occupy the property, giving it the name of the Oaks and were typical of the “new people” who were moving into Chorlton-cum-Hardy, when the area was still a rural community.

But already by 1865 the township was changing.

The arrival of the railway sixteen years earlier at the bottom of Edge Lane, along with improvements to the supply of water and sanitation began to make Chorlton an attractive place to live.

22 Edge Lane, entrance, date unknown

And so during the 1860s through the next two decades, there was residential creep along Edge Lane, which was replicated by similar developments following the Egerton estate’s decision to cut Wilbraham Road through Chorlton and onto Fallowfield.

The building of these big properties pre dated the much bigger housing boom which began in 1880 in the area once known as Martledge which was the strip of land around the junction of Barlow Moor and Wilbraham Roads.

These tended to be smaller properties, and were home to the “middling people” who were mainly drawn from the professional and clerical occupations.

But while they may have been the future of Chorlton, those big houses were part of that history as were the people who lived in them.

And that is the link to the Mr. Nicolai Christian Schou, and his family who had made 22 Edge Lane their home in 1871.

Edge Lane, 2019, before redevelopment began

He was a “shipping agent” with offices at 38 Cooper Street which was on the corner with Bootle Street.

The building and his stretch of Cooper Street vanished when Central Ref was built in the 1930s, but was still there at the beginning of the 20th century when it was occupied by Overman and Co., which earlier had operated in partnership with Mr. Schou. 

Just when the two got together is yet to be discovered, but the records show that during the 1860s well into the following decade the company was listed just as N. C. Schou.

Sadly he left very little in the way of a paper trail.  I know he was born in 1834, and was buried in the St James’s Birch-In-Rusholme, in 1881.

But the parish burial records do contain a touching reference to the family, listing the deaths of his wife, and two of his children.  “In memory of Frances Mary wife of Nicholi Christien Schou, died 28th April 1869, aged 36 years also Constance Mary their daughter died 21st November 1863 aged 3½ months also Nicholi Christian Schou born 22nd April 1834 died 2nd December 1881 also Oscar Henry their second son born 6th March 1859 died 2nd August 1892”.

20 Edge Lane, next door to no. 22, 1959

That pretty much is all there is so far, other than the census return for 1871 which lists him living at Edge Lane, with his five children and four servants who included the housekeeper, a cook, housemaid and charwoman.

We may today be surprised at the number of servants, but his neighbours employed almost as many, which again marks number 22 out as typical of the time and place.

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Picture, 22 Edge Lane, 2019, courtesy of Armistead Property**, Edge Lane and entrance to 22 Edge Lane, date unknown, Lloyd Collection, OS map 1907, and 20 Edge Lane, 1959, A E Landers, m17780, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

*At 22 Edge Lane, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/At%2022%20Edge%20Lane

**Armistead Property Ltd, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

Welcome back Wellfield ….. that impressive and historic house in Whalley Range

History hasn’t been kind to that grand old house at the end of Upper Chorlton Road close to the former Whalley Hotel.

Wellfield, 2023

Once it was home to a succession of wealthy families but for most of the last century it was the site of a series of commercial ventures, which included a laundry, a wallpaper warehouse and more recently a carpet showroom.

And to add to the indignity the property was divided into a number of self-contained flats, which were themselves subdivided over the decades.

But all that decline has been reversed by Peter Armistead and his team of architects, builders, and interior designers, and today as the development enters its final stages, 59 Upper Chorlton Road is once again an attractive place to live.

It first appears in the records in 1861 as the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hinchelwood, their four children and four servants.

Wellfield, 1894

The property commanded a rateable value of £160 which marked it out as one of the more expensive properties along the road with views across fields towards the gardens of Hullard Hall.  

Original floor, 2020

It was set in an extensive garden with two greenhouses and fronted the still private Upper Chorlton Road which had been cut by Samuel Brooks in the 1830s for his new Whalley Range development.

From the beginning it carried the name of Wellfield, and throughout the rest of the 19th century was home to merchants and manufacturers.  

Of these the McQuade family, bought the house in 1871 and stayed there until 1899 were the longest residents.

But by then the surrounding area was being developed, and the fine views towards Hullard Hall were obscured by row of semidetached properties, which included The Whalley Range Orphanage, while some of the grand houses close to Wellfield had vanished to be replaced by more modest homes. 

And by the turn of the century the Hichelwood’s former home had also undergone a transformation, and was being used as a laundry, with only part of the house occupied by a family who worked in the business.

Just when the laundry ceased is as yet unclear but the OS maps for 1933 and 1951 record the property as Wellfield Linen Works, which doesn’t preclude it still being be a laundry.

After the demolition of the industrial workshops, 2020

But in 1954 it is listed as the Paramount Wallpapers Ltd warehouse and in 1962 59 Upper Chorlton Road operated as “Linda Gay Dresses Ltd. Gown manufacturers” and 59a as "Needham F. (Shopfitters) Ltd". 

The last directory entry is for 1969 when the property was listed as “W.P.M ltd. Wallpaper mfs”.

That said in the 2000s it was a carpet warehouse, and I can attest to buying two cheapy carpets from them.

As for the house, by 1939 it was divided into three flats, and continued as such into 1962, and later still seems to have been further subdivided into 10.

It is a common enough story, which saw a once grand house converted to fit the changing needs of the 20th century when its size and decline in the use of domestic servants made it less attractive as a home for one family.

What perhaps adds a twist is its partial conversion in to industrial and retail use.

And that may have just saved it from being demolished in favour of a block of pedestrian flats which maximise the footprint to squeeze as many flats as possible onto the exiting plot of land.

That could still have been the fate of Wellfield, but instead it was acquired Armistead Property who specialise in transforming old residential properties into modern apartments while retaining as much of the original character as possible.*

Work in progress, 2020

Their work has featured on the blog over the years, including the award-winning Denbigh Villas development on High Lane and the equally impressive Carlton Terrace, at 199 and 201 Upper Chorlton Road.**

In the case of Wellfield the plan was to create 17 apartments using the existing house and an extension and creating roof top gardens.

Features like the large south facing window, and the floor tiles in the hall have been retained and any internal features which survived the brutal years of “laundry and multi occupancy”.

But modern planning regulations have precluded the retention of the barrel roof in the cellar.

That said the architect Simon Jones and the contractors have been alert to the possibilities of saving more of the original house as possible.

Added to these the original brickwork has been restored to what it would have looked like when Mr. and Mrs. Hinchelwood first took possession sometime in 1861. 

It will always remain an area of debate as to how far an old property should be saved and what the price of saving it will be.  

There are countless examples of where the conversion has been done badly and fails to honour the original building but done properly and it seems to me, we are on a winner.

Armistead conversions fall into that second category.  Witness Denbigh Villas on High Lane which was home to a famous industrialist and historian as well as a school

Finished rooms, 2023

Its survival and renovation by Armistead has done much to save a bit of our history, while the alternative would have been to see such a historic building left and sliding slowly into an increasingly parlous state till safety demanded its demolition.

That could have been the fate of Wellfield, and I am pleased it has also been saved.

And just after the story went live, Nick Turner got in touch and added, "My dad owned 59 Upper Chorlton Road in the 70s, 80s and 90s. 

It was an upholstery and soft furnishings business known as LE Swain and Turner.

 

The business was in the long warehouse. The block was offices and then converted into 10 studio apartments, I used to collect the rent from the tenants. They've done a great job on it, looks amazing!"

Location; Whalley Range

Pictures; Wellfield, 2022, from the collections of Andrew Simpson the site 1894, from the 1894 OS map of Lancashire and the 1894 OS map of South Lancashire, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/ and other  pictures by Jak Spedding, https://jakspedding.co.uk, courtesy of Armistead Property Armistead Property

Finished, 2023

* Armistead Property, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

**Denbigh Villas, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=denbigh+Villas&max-results=20&by-date=true & Carlton Terrace, 

Stories from a window ......Mrs Botsford, and her big house on Wilbraham Road

Now I wonder if Mrs Mary Botsford watched with interest the construction of the McLaren Memorial Baptist Church which stood directly opposite her home.

623 Wilbraham Road, 1958

She lived at number 623 Wilbraham Road, and the church was opened in 1906, but as yet I can’t quite date her house.  It is missing from the 1903 directory but is there on the OS map four years later.

Wilbraham Road was only cut in the late 1860s by the Egerton estate, although plans for three alternative routes through Chorlton were drawn up a decade earlier.

Development along the eastern part of the road from Edge Lane to Manchester Road was slow, and by 1894 there were just sixteen properties on the northern side, with another two and the Conservative Club along the southern stretch.

623 Wilbraham Road, 1907

Nine years later in 1903, eight semi detached properties and been built from Edge Lane up to Hastings Avenue, with names like Elmshurst, Denehurst and the intriguing Danialcus House, which became Damascus House, and has a fascinating story which alas is not for here.

I suspect Mrs Botsford was the first resident, and  she will have named it Ardlui House, which may take its name from Ardlui, a hamlet at the head of Loch Lomond. She had been born in Derbyshire in 1831, and her husband had been a goldsmith.

Auction of contents, 1922

According to the 1911 census the house had eleven rooms, and here she lived with just two servants. She died in 1922 leaving £17,764 in effects.*

And something of those possessions can be gained, by reading the advert placed in the Manchester Guardian for the sale by auction, of the contents of the house, which included some fine items.**

I assume the house was then sold, and then came back onto the market in 1929, when it was advertised as, “Good corner house: with possession on completion.”

The purchaser appears to have seen it as an investment property, because within two years the papers carry the first of a series of adverts for both furnished and unfurnished flats.

The ads stretch through the 1930s, and I have no doubt with more research similar ones will turn up for the following decades.

And from then on Ardlui House continued its long association with rented accommodation, leading to the arrival in 1970 of a fresh faced and eager Peter Topping, who told me that “after four years at art college in Preston and Blackpool, I took up a job working in Advertising in Manchester, at the age of 21.

623 Wilbraham Road, 2017

I had looked at many places to live but soon fell in love with Chorlton, and found the top floor of a house to rent at 623 Wilbraham Road.

Little did I know that 47 years later, I would be painting it as part of my "Moment in Time Series" of paintings, that tell the story of the history, of Chorlton-cum-Hardy”.

Peter also gazed across at the McLaren Baptist Church, which by then had just a few years left before it was demolished in the mid 1970s, to be replaced by McLaren Court,which consists of 28 “Retirement Living Apartments” for people over the age of 55.

McLaren Baptist Church

Today few people will know that the church had been one of the buildings used by the Red Cross during the Great War, to tend for sick and wounded soldiers.

It opened in 1914 and along with two others remained open for the duration, and with a generation or so of its closure its work had been almost forgotten.

And in the same way Mrs Mary Botsford presence in Ardlui House has passed out of common knowledge, but she has been  brought out of the shadows after 623 Wilbraham underwent  a makeover by Armistead Property who specialize in renovating old and often tired properties.***

623 Wilbraham Road, 1932

Unlike other developers who merely tear down the old building, Armistead Property work with the original, restoring the exterior, saving where possible the unique features of the interior while creating apartments for 21st century living.

Advert for Ollivant & Botsford, 1895

And always mindful of the past history of each development they are keen to share that history with the new residents.

So Mrs Botsford will not be forgotten, and nor will Peter Topping, although I suspect it is too early to think his presence will be remembered with a blue plaque.

We shall see.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; Wilbraham Road, A E Landers, 1959, m18434, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, Wilbraham Road, 1907 from the OS for Chorlton, 1907,advert from the Manchester Guardian, 1922

Painting; 623 Wilbraham Road Chorlton. Painting © 2017 & McLaren Memorial Baptist Church, © 2018, Peter Topping, Paintings from Pictures.

*Mrs Mary Botsford, June 13, 1922, England & Wales Probate Calendars, 1858-1966

**Sale by Auction, Manchester Guardian, May 27, 1922

*** Armistead Property, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

Uncovering 154 years of the history of one house ……. 22 Edge Lane

Now I doubt few people have ever seen number 22 Edge Lane as it would have looked back in 1865 during its construction.*

I suppose its owner, a Mr. John Muffet Haselgrove, might have just popped in, along with the architect, and perhaps a curious trespasser might have chanced their arm and climbed in.

But leaving these aside, it will have been the workmen, who labourered on the property, completing each of the stages, until the house was ready to become a home.

And now, after 154 years Mr. Haselgrove’s house has reverted to bare brick, devoid of virtually every feature we would call home comforts.

In the process, all the subsequent additions, and alterations are there to see, including wood and concrete lintels used to create new openings, windows that were never part of the original plan, and partition walls added to create new living spaces.

Nor is this everything, because deep down in what were the cellars are some very odd things, including openings that seem to lead nowhere, and lots of Victorian earth back filled into some of the rooms.

All of this meant that I felt quite privileged to be invited in to see, number 22 in its raw state.

A few bits of the past have survived including the elegant staircase and the solid front door, but of the fireplaces, the plaster cornices, and picture rails, nothing remains.  Most of them will have vanished long ago, being judged “unmodern” by owners who wanted to embrace the simplicity of 20th century design.

Or were sacrificed when this once proud family home was divided up into flats.

But that does mean that the place is a blank canvas, for Armistead Property Ltd, who are beginning to redevelop the property, creating two bedroomed apartments in this mid nineteenth building.

The historian in me always welcomes the sympathetic redevelopment of a property, which in its long history has been much knocked about and is in danger of being demolished for a pedestrian block of flats, or worse still lingers on, with its glory days far in the past.

Not so 22 Edge Lane, which along with the redevelopment of its interior will be restored to what it might have looked like back in 1865.

This will include cleaning the brickwork, picking out other exterior features and creating landscaped open spaces in keeping with the building.

And I am pleased that the development will retain its original name of The Oaks, which was bestowed upon it by Mr. Haselgrove shortly after he moved in, and echoes the name of an earlier house he lived in.

So, in the fullness of time The Oaks, will again stand proud on Edge Lane, and be a focus for the stories of its long history, which includes the Haselgrove family and a long line of other Chorlton residents.

Some of these I have already written about including Julia Shevloff, whose father and mother arrived in Britain in 1874, from the Russian part of Poland and settled in Whitechapel.

Her husband  was also from Imperial Russia, and was naturalized in 1909 having married Julia nine years earlier.

In 1901 they had set up home in Sheffield and moved into The Oaks sometime in the early 1920s, and here they stayed.

Both are buried in Southern Cemetery and there are some people who remember shopping in Mr. Shevloff's premises in the heart of Manchester.

Location; Chorlton;

Pictures; the original interior, 2019, from the collection of Andrew Simpson



*At 22 Edge Lane, **https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/At%2022%20Edge%20Lane

**Armistead Property Ltd, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

Flying in to Manchester ………..on the long haul from Calgary

Now I never have presence of mind to capture that moment when the plane heads towards the city.

But Peter flying in from western Canada, did just that, and I rather like what he recorded.

Enough said.

Location; “Coming in to Manchester”, August 19th, 2019, from the collection of Peter Armistead

Denbigh Villas ...... saving that historic building

Now it is one of those sad observations, that we do not really care that much about buildings with a past, which have fallen on hard times.

The back of Denbigh Villas

So, while it is true there are charities, government agencies, and individuals committed to saving everything from a crofter’s hut, to castles, stately homes, and the odd shippon, there will never be enough money or groups to save everything.

All of which means that many places despite being unique and full of history will be bulldozed away and replaced by an unremarkable block of flats.

But during the last three decades there has been a move to retain buildings and convert them in to modern residential properties.

Inside

Not all these warehouse conversions or transformed old homes have been done well, but when they are, they achieve something special, providing homes, while at the same time saving a piece of our history.

And so, it is with the two on the corner of High Lane and Stockton Road which were built in 1877 and were called Denbigh Villas, and pretty much reflect the story of where we live.

They were once grand homes for the comfortably well off, one of whom wrote a fascinating account of Manchester in the 1830s.*

The communal garden under construction

Later the two properties became a school for the children of the “middling people”, who worked in the professions or owned businesses, and could afford to pay for their children to attend private schools.

By the mid-20th century they had been turned in to a series of flats, which were not particularly well designed, and by the end of that century the two properties were tired and in need of much tender care and attention.

They could so easily have been demolished, but instead have been brought back, by Armistead Propertry, who have spent the last year gutting the two buildings, and making them structurally safe before starting work on creating twelve, two bedroomed apartments.**

Looking across Chorlton

And because of their history I have not only become attached to Denbigh Villas, but regularly visit them, to record the progress and written about them on the blog.***

Yesterday was one of those visits, and I spent an hour and half wandering through the two buildings, and the highlight was roof garden which will be a communal area for all the residents offering superb views across Chorlton.


Location; Chorlton

Looking towards the city

Pictures; inside Denbigh Villas ...... a work in progress, 2019, from the collection of Peter Topping


* Reminiscences of Manchester, J T Slugg, 1881

**Armistead Property, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/



***Denbigh Villas, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Denbigh%20Villas

Denbigh Villas ...... a work in progress

If you travel down High Lane you will have spotted the builder’s boards up around 57 & 59.

The two are on the corner with Stockton Road and were built in 1877, were called Denbigh Villas and pretty much reflect the story of where we live.

They were once grand homes of the comfortably well off, one of whom wrote a fascinating account of Manchester in the 1830s.

Later the two properties became a school for the children of the “middling people” who worked in the professions or owned businesses and could afford to pay for their children to attend private schools.

More recently in line with the trend across south Manchester they were converted into bedsits.

And now the properties are being redeveloped with work being done to strengthen the buildings, stripping away extensions which were long past their sell by date and creating 12 self contained apartments, making the best use of the space available.

But more than this,  Armistead Properties are saving two Chorlton building, with lots of local history.

So with that in mind I have decided to periodically revisit the site and record the progress.

And as you do, I told Peter who came along and took some pictures which will accompany the story, and he will also be on subsequent trips which will mean that there will be a detailed record of the transformation of an old and tired set of houses into something new and exciting.

In keeping with previous developments, the company will retain the facade, while making the interior fit for the new century.

As in all old conversions, the devil is in the detail, with nasty surprises sometimes hidden behind decades of poor re-plastering and layers of woodchip wall paper.

So, some internal walls were wobbly and the outriggers which for you and me are the jutty out bits at the back had seen better days.

These were not part of the original properties and added nothing to the grand plan.

In the same way, few of features that once graced the houses back in 1877 still exist, which is a great shame.

On previous developments, what features had survived a half century and more of poor bed sit conversions were kept, but sadly not here in Denbigh Villas.

But at least the foot print and the exterior of the buildings will survive and someone will have the opportunity to sit in what was once Josiah Thomas Slugg’s front room and speculate, that it was here that he put the finishing touches to his book, Reminiscences of Manchester,** and where maybe a bored school boy twenty years later, might well have gazed out of the window at the passing traffic on High Lane having been defeated by the exercise in his Algebra text book.

So there you have it the first instalment with more over the next 14 months to come.***

Location; Chorlton









Pictures; inside Denbigh Villas ...... a work in progress, 2018, from the collection of Peter Topping

*Armistead Properties, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

** Reminiscences of Manchester, J T Slugg, 1881

***Denbigh Villas, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Denbigh%20Villas 

Denbigh Villas ...... the name that was lost and is found

It is odd how a house can lose its name, but that is what almost happened to Denbigh Villas on High Lane. 

Denbigh Villas, 2018

The two properties were built in 1877 and were recognised as Denbigh Villas in the rate books, were listed as such in the street directories and are recorded on the stone gate posts.

But possibly because by the end of the last century the two houses had been converted into eight flats, the name had fallen out of common usage.

And that presented a problem, because the name had also been lost from the official records which the Council relies on when a property is registered, which seemed to preclude the present owner, Armistead Property from using the historic name.*

All of which would have meant that a little piece of our history could have been erased, taking with it the link to Josiah Thomas Slugg, Miss Booth and Mr C Dadley, all of whom made their own contributions to Chorlton.

Denbigh Villas, circa 1910

J.T. Slugg had arrived in Manchester in 1830, still in his teens, went on to have a successful career as a chemist and manufacturer of microscopes and played a part in the cultural and political life of Chorlton.

Miss Booth and Mr Dadley ran successful private schools from Denbigh Villas during the opening decades of the 20th century.

So the two houses on High Lane have history, and have Chorlton history and today the Council confirmed that they have been registered\as Denbigh Villas, which means that there is now that seamless continuity which reaches back to 1877 and stretches on into the future.

Of course the Council can’t be blamed for losing the record as the name appeared in the rate books of the Withington Local Health Board which was responsible for public health in Chorlton from 1875 until 1894 when its powers and responsibilities were taken over by the Withington Urban District Council which was subsumed by Manchester City Council when the ratepayers of Chorlton, along with Withington, Burnage and Didsbury voted to join the City in 1904.**

Denbigh Villas, 2009

All of which meant that the name was there in the historic record, albeit in a convoluted way.

That said, both the 1903 and 1909 street directories also listed the properties as Denbigh Villas.

These street directories were not official listings but commercial ones but were widely regarded as the first port of call to look for an individual householder, or business.***

So I bet Mr Thomas Alker, Josiah Thomas Slugg and our two teachers would be pleased at the outcome.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures; 57-59 High Lane, 2016 from the collection of Tony Goulding, in 1910 from the Lloyd Collection and in 2018 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Armistead Property, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

**Manchester Rate Books, 1706-1900 including surrounding townships, Manchester Archives, Central Ref

***Slater’s Manchester, Salford and Suburban Directory, 1903 and 1909

Denbigh Villas ..... the house that lost its name

This is the story of two houses in Chorlton and how they seem to have lost their name.

Denbigh Villas, 2018, on the cusp of an exciting future

They were built in 1877 and were called Denbigh Villas and they began as fine residential homes, became a school in the early 20th century and finally ended their days as flats.

Now they are in the process of being developed into a series of apartments by Armistead Properties.*

And here comes the surprise because having started off as Denbigh Villas, the Council does not recognise the name and will not grant permission for it to be recognised as the official address.

It would appear that they have no record of such a name, falling back on the Post Office who does not list it as Denbigh Villas.

Added to which the Council does not accept the word Villa as an appropriate name, suggesting instead the word “House”.

Denbigh Villas, circa 1910, Mr Dadley's school

All of which is a little odd, given that in 1877 the Council’s own rate books record it as Denbigh Villas when it assessed the new houses on High Lane as having a rateable value of £46.

True by 1900 they had dropped the title on the Rate Books, but the name appears on the stone post outside the houses, and no doubt the postman would have delivered his letters to “Denbigh Villas”.

But perhaps that has something to do with its change of use into a school, run by Miss Booth who occupied just one of the two properties and a little later Mr Dadley who expanded the school into the other house.

And it may also be Miss Booth who confuses things by  listing the house as Springfield in 1904 in a local directory.

While Mr Dadley dropped all pretence at a name, preferring to advertise the place as Mr Dadley’s Grammar School specialising in training for “Law, Medical Accounts, Prelims, University, and Civil Services Exams” and listing it in the census record for 1911 as Chorlton, High Lane, School.

Denbigh Villas, 2016, waiting for change

I have to say, Mr Dadlely may be accurate with the address, but it suggests a slightly unromantic side to his nature.

I prefer Denbigh Villas, because that was its name, and it was where Josiah Thomas Slugg lived in the 1880s.

He is fascinating chap, who is best remembered for his book, Reminiscences of Manchester, published in 1881 which is a wonderful description of the city in the 1830s which includes vivid accounts of the stage coach inns, the shops and personalities that occupied the main streets, along with a detailed description of a journey Mr Slugg took on the Liverpool to Manchester Railway soon after it opened in 1830.

So Denbigh Villas has history, and has Chorlton history, so for that I think it should be allowed to continue to retain its historic name.

Next; Denbigh Villas ....... and the mystery of the missing coach house

Location Chorlton

Pictures; 57-59 High Lane, 2016 from the collection of Tony Goulding, in 1910 from the Lloyd Collection and in 2018 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Armistead Properties, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

Denbigh Villas ..... on High Lane ... their story over one year

This is the story of two houses in Chorlton.

57 and 59 High Lane, 2016

They were built in 1877 and in their long history have been fine residential homes, before becoming a school and finally ended their days as flats.

Not that this is the end, for they are now in the process of being developed into a series of apartments by Armistead Properties and I am quite excited at the project.*

The company has undertaken other such developments around Chorlton, including the impressive twin properties at 198 and 200 Upper Chorlton Road which saved the exterior and transformed the interior.

In the past these Victorian and Edwardian houses would have been demolished and replaced by anonymous blocks of flats or left to slowly moulder and decay.

Mr Dadley's Grammar School, circa 1910

But numbers 57 and 59 High Lane will not pass away, which is good given that they offer up a window on our past.

The first owner of both properties was a Thomas Alker.  He appears to have taken up residence in the March of 1877 at number 57 and was joined next door by Josiah Thomas Slugg, who is best remembered for his book, Reminiscences of Manchester, published in 1881 which is a wonderful description of the city in the 1830s.

There are vivid accounts of the stage coach inns, the shops and personalities that occupied the main streets and detailed description of a journey Mr Slugg took on the Liverpool to Manchester Railway soon after it opened in 1830.

Work begins, 2018

Later the properties were converted in to a school run by a Mr Dadley, whose Grammar School specialized in training for “Law, Medical Accounts, Prelims, University, and Civil Services Exams” and attracted the “middling people” who had moved into Chorlton during the housing boom which had begun in the 1880s.

All of this and more will be featured on an installation which will front the building work from later this year till its completion and will consist of six panels, telling the story of the house, the surrounding area and the conversion into apartments.

In the meantime the two houses will be part of an occasional series which will focus on the progress of the development.

Location Chorlton

Pictures;57-59 High Lane, 2016 from the collection of Tony Goulding, in 1910 from the Lloyd Collection  and the back of 57 High Lane, 2018 courtesy of Armistead Properties

*Armistead Properties, http://www.armisteadproperty.co.uk/

The fires above Stalybridge ........ June 29 2018

We woke to the distinctive smell of smoke this morning as we have done every day since Monday.

Most days it is just a hint but on the first day it was very noticeable, and there was just a slight haziness, like looking out through a dirty window.

Of course our slight discomfort is nothing compared with what those on the east of the city and particularly in Stalybridge at the foot of the fires must be experiencing.

We are a full 16 miles away while Stalybridge is right beside it.

I have resisted writing about the fires, because there is that sense that to do so is an intrusion on the misery of others but last night Peter posted a picture from Spinneyfields, high above the city streets of the hills and the fires to the east.*

There have been many other powerful images of those fires but this one a full 10 miles away tells the story.

Leaving me just to reflect on the dedication of the firefighters, now joined by the army and on the generosity of the general public who have donated to the comforts of all those struggling to contain the fires

Location; Spinneyfields, Manchester

Picture; looking across to the fires on Saddleworth Moor, from the collection of Peter Armistead

*20 Stories, 1 Hardman Street, Manchester, https://20stories.co.uk/