CURRY MILE A Changing Neighbourhood .... last week of this not to be missed exhibition

 I am a great fan of Phil Portus's photography.

I have known him for nearly three decades and so I was pleased when he told me about his latest exhibition.“An exhibition encompassing perception, recollection & transition”

It is in CENTRAL REFERENCE LIBRARY Manchester on the Upper Gallery July 10th – September 30th 2023

"Covering over 7 years of documentary photography along this iconic stretch of Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, Manchester, photographers Michael Baker & Phil Portus have captured significant moments in time. Commencing in 2016 following a chance meeting with a local charity worker, Hanif Bobat, of Ethnic Health Forum, they set out to capture the ever-changing landscape and cultural diversity of the ‘Curry Mile’ before it changed beyond all recognition. 

What was traditionally a predominantly Indian & Pakistani influenced neighbourhood, the area has evolved exponentially over recent times, influenced by immigration from the Middle East and East Africa. 

The result has seen an increase in multinationalism in terms of language, culture, bespoke shops, restaurants, cafes, dessert parlours, barber shops and shisha bars, all which have sprung up to serve this ‘new’ community. Perceptions of this street are forever evolving and the exhibition raises the very pertinent question as to whether the term ‘Curry Mile’ is now a misnomer. 

The photographs capture many of the scenes, people, places and religious events of this neighbourhood. The project also references the wider Rusholme community, touching on the impact of Manchester City Football Club’s relocation from Maine Road in 2003 and the demise of the many public houses. 

There is also an interesting collection of ‘Curry Mile Stories’, where past memories and future aspirations of Rusholme, are recorded by members of the community. 

'There are around 90 different dialects and languages spoken here. It is multiculturalism at its best.' RABNAWAZ AKBAR – LABOUR COUNCILLOR FOR RUSHOLME WARD + Meet the photographers at a special talk on Thursday 20th July at 6.00pm + Book via Library Live: Home - Library Live"

Location; CENTRAL REFERENCE LIBRARY, St Peter's Square, Manchester

*Library Live, https://librarylive.co.uk/

**Press Release,  CURRY MILE A Changing Neighbourhood, July 10th – September 30th 2023

CURRY MILE A Changing Neighbourhood .... last week of this not to be missed exhibition

 It is in CENTRAL REFERENCE LIBRARY Manchester on the Upper Gallery July 10th – September 30th 2023

"Covering over 7 years of documentary photography along this iconic stretch of Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, Manchester, photographers Michael Baker & Phil Portus have captured significant moments in time. Commencing in 2016 following a chance meeting with a local charity worker, Hanif Bobat, of Ethnic Health Forum, they set out to capture the ever-changing landscape and cultural diversity of the ‘Curry Mile’ before it changed beyond all recognition".*

 Location; CENTRAL REFERENCE LIBRARY, St Peter's Square, Manchester

*Press Release,  CURRY MILE A Changing Neighbourhood, July 10th – September 30th 2023

CURRY MILE A Changing Neighbourhood .... the exhibition to do

I am a great fan of Phil Portus's photography.

I have known him for nearly three decades and so I was pleased when he told me about his latest exhibition.“An exhibition encompassing perception, recollection & transition”

It is in CENTRAL REFERENCE LIBRARY Manchester on the Upper Gallery July 10th – September 30th 2023

"Covering over 7 years of documentary photography along this iconic stretch of Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, Manchester, photographers Michael Baker & Phil Portus have captured significant moments in time. Commencing in 2016 following a chance meeting with a local charity worker, Hanif Bobat, of Ethnic Health Forum, they set out to capture the ever-changing landscape and cultural diversity of the ‘Curry Mile’ before it changed beyond all recognition. 

What was traditionally a predominantly Indian & Pakistani influenced neighbourhood, the area has evolved exponentially over recent times, influenced by immigration from the Middle East and East Africa. 

The result has seen an increase in multinationalism in terms of language, culture, bespoke shops, restaurants, cafes, dessert parlours, barber shops and shisha bars, all which have sprung up to serve this ‘new’ community. Perceptions of this street are forever evolving and the exhibition raises the very pertinent question as to whether the term ‘Curry Mile’ is now a misnomer. 

The photographs capture many of the scenes, people, places and religious events of this neighbourhood. The project also references the wider Rusholme community, touching on the impact of Manchester City Football Club’s relocation from Maine Road in 2003 and the demise of the many public houses. 

There is also an interesting collection of ‘Curry Mile Stories’, where past memories and future aspirations of Rusholme, are recorded by members of the community. 

'There are around 90 different dialects and languages spoken here. It is multiculturalism at its best.' RABNAWAZ AKBAR – LABOUR COUNCILLOR FOR RUSHOLME WARD + Meet the photographers at a special talk on Thursday 20th July at 6.00pm + Book via Library Live: Home - Library Live"

Location; CENTRAL REFERENCE LIBRARY, St Peter's Square, Manchester

*Library Live, https://librarylive.co.uk/

**Press Release,  CURRY MILE A Changing Neighbourhood, July 10th – September 30th 2023

So goodbye and thanks for those Art Nouveau church windows* …… or a little bit of Didsbury’s finest

I have never visited St. Aidan’s Presbyterian Church on Palatine Road and now I doubt I ever will.

It closes for good in late June after a decision by the congregation to merge with Christ Church South Manchester on Parrs Wood Road. **

And that means I will never get to see its stunning Art Nouveau windows which my friend Phil Portus tells me were by Walter Pearce who once lived on Lansdown Road in West Didsbury.

His is a fascinating story which involved the death of his parents when he was just ten, followed by a succession of institutions where he grew up, culminating with an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator.

After a spell working for different firms, he set up on his own and by 1899 described himself as a Stained Glass Artist.  

The year before he had begun teaching painting and decorating at the Manchester Municipal School of Technology and published “’Painting and Decorating’ which became the standard text book, running to seven editions”.*** 

At this point if you want more follow the link to the article in Architects of Greater Manchester.

And never one to steal other’s research rather than describe the windows which he created in 1901 for the church I suggest you go to the Didsbury United Reformed Churches site and read the history along with some pictures of those windows.

For now, I will thank Phil for alerting me to both the windows and the closure as well as his own fine pictures of Mr. Pearce’s work.

And perhaps all is not lost as the congregation comments, "The  church building is Grade 2 listed having some beautiful stained glass windows so when the church is able to re-open we hope you will come to see them".

I hope so.

Location; Palatine Road, Didsbury

Pictures; courtesy of Phil Portus, 2023

*With apologies to Douglas Adams and his wonderful book So long, thanks for all the fish, 1984

**Didsbury United Reform Church,  https://didsburyurc.org.uk/

***Walter John Pearce, Architects of Greater Manchester, https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/index.php/architects/walter-j-pearce

****Didsbury United Reform Church, About Us, https://didsburyurc.org.uk/about-2/

Forgotten faces … lost stories

I am looking at a set of glass negatives and staring back at me are four people of whom I know nothing.

Unknown man, unknown date

The images are undated, there is no hint of a location nor the name of a photographer.

All of which means my four people are and will remain a mystery.

They are part of a collection of glass negatives belonging to Phil Portus who acquired them a very long time ago.

Amongst the others there are four pictures of Worsely and Wardley Halls in Worsely which we can attribute to J.T. Sandell from South Norwood in London, who pioneered a new photographic process, but died in near poverty in 1906.*

Gardens, date unknown

But it is impossible to say whether these four come from Mr. Sandell.

Three might be but one I am pretty sure dates to the Great War and will postdate Mr. Sandell.

The quality is mixed, and so the two of a man woman in their gardens lack a degree of sharpness but still offer up lots of detail, from the flowers to the rain butt, watering can and hint of their houses.

The other two are better, and the image of the man in uniform prompts so many questions, about his identity, that uniform and the location.

Equally the picture of the soldier and his wife throw up a heap more questions.  

She appears to be wearing a wedding ring and he wears a red cross badge on his right arm, and carries a stick. My Wikipedia tells me that “In the British Army before World War I, swagger sticks were carried by all other ranks when off duty, as part of their walking out uniform. 

The stick took the form of a short cane of polished wood, with an ornamented metal head of regimental pattern. 

The couple, date unknown

The usual custom was for the private soldier or non-commissioned officer (NCO) to carry the stick tucked under his arm. … Until 1939 swagger sticks were still carried by peacetime regular soldiers when ‘walking out’ of barracks, but the practice ceased with the outbreak of World War II”.**

The background, date unknown

And while I can’t make out the detail on the cap badge and belt buckle so one will and suggest a regiment and a time.

Added to which there may be a clue in the background, which has escaped me.

So, all still to play for.

Picture; four glass negatives, unknown date, courtesy of Phil Portus

*In search of Worsley mysteries …….. two halls….. five old pictures and …. an enigmatic clue, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2023/04/in-search-of-worsley-mysteries-two.html

**Swagger stick, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swagger_stick

In search of Worsley mysteries …….. two halls….. five old pictures and …. an enigmatic clue

I am not a fan of those stories of mysterious and dark goings on in old halls, which at best leave the ghost of some tragic figure wandering the corridors or at worse stamp the place with a curse which rings down the centuries.

The Hall circa 1896-8

And on our visits to Worsley Old Hall nothing untoward has befallen us, other than the singing man in the lavatory whose mastery of the 1-minute aria from La bohème was astonishing.

The food and the service has been excellent, and Rosa from Milan always asks to go back.

Now, I must confess I only vaguely knew of the Hall’s existence until our Ben and Lindsey took us there a few years ago and since then we often drop in for a leisurely midday meal. *

My Wikipedia tells me that it is "a public house and restaurant in Worsley, Greater Manchester, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building," dates from the 16th or 17th centuries and has undergone several additions before becoming a pub in 1930.

The Hall "in the show", circa 1896-98

Added to which “the hall is of particular historical importance because it was here that Francis Egerton, the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, James Brindley and John Gilbert planned the Bridgewater Canal and supervised its building”.

And it serves up an excellent Cheshire cheese, onion and potato pie, served up with buttered greens, and redcurrant gravy.

But as far as I know there are no restless spirits or dark stories of treachery, unfilled promises and strange sudden deaths.

That said my friend Phil Portus has presented with a mystery, which comes in the form of five old images of Worsley and Wardley Hall, which he tells me .  “A while ago friends who lives in the old house opposite the Moor Allerton prep school found these somewhere in the house and gave me 5 old half plate glass negs to me as I'm a photographer. 

I'd forgotten about them and found them when clearing out stuff.  Here is a quick inverted phone shot on my light table”.

Wardley Hall, circa 1896-98

They are undated, of mixed quality but are a fascinating record of the two halls sometime in the late 19th century.

That said what I thought at first was a shot of Worsley Hall may not be so.

The connfusion arose because of a reference to the Hall on a faded typed card which offers up details of the images, how to process them, and the name J.T. Sandell along with the word Halation which a source describes as “a photographic effect that can add a sense of nostalgia and warmth to a photograph or video. 

It is often associated with the look of film and can be used to give digital images a more analog feel. 

You can achieve this type of "bloom" or halation through diffusion filters for your camera lens”***

I hadn’t expected to track Mr. Sandell’s down assuming he was a local photographer in the Salford or Manchester area.

But not so, he was from South Norwood in London, pioneered a new photographic process, but died in near poverty in 1906.****

The clue, circa 1896-98

According to another source he established his own company in 1896, in Norwood Junction, South Norwood, which folded two years later, “the firm produced dry plates and later films, specialising in multi-coated plates and Cristoid films. Sandell Works Co. went into receivership in June 1898, its interests were taken over by Sandell Films & Plates Ltd (capital £10,000). J.T. Sandell (d. 1907) ended his links with the company in 1902. 

T.K. Grant worked for the company until 1901 as a sales representative.

References: Phot. Dealer Jun/1898, p. 148. Phot. Dealer Mar/1899 p. 69. Article in Phot. Dealer Jun/1902 p. 143 on Sandell. Phot. Dealer Nov/1902 p. 276. BJP 21/6/1901, p. 396.”*****

Between them the two “Sandell” sites include more information, along with a picture of our man and a poster.

So, I suppose that goes some way to explain the Worsley mystery, offering up a date range for our pictures and possible identity for the photographer, all of which means our next visit to the Worsley Old Hall will have the added bonus of knowing we are eating in a place with a bit of photographic history.

And my task will be to match the image s with the Hall thereby confirming or not that Mr. Sundell passed this way.

Another of Wardley Hall, circa 1896-98

Location, Worsley 

Pictures, Worsley Old Hall, and Wardley Hall, circa 1896-8, from the collection of Ron Marsden and Clare Debenham. courtesy of Phil Portus, http://www.philportus.co.uk/

*Worsley Old Hall, https://www.brunningandprice.co.uk/worsleyoldhall/

** Worsley Old Hall, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worsley_Old_Hall

***Fstoppers, https://fstoppers.com/guest/use-halation-624893#:~:text=Halation%20is%20a%20photographic%20effect,filters%20for%20your%20camera%20lens.

****J.T. Sandell, Historic Camera, http://historiccamera.com/cgi-bin/librarium2/pm.cgi?action=app_display&app=datasheet&app_id=2707

**** Sandell, Early Photography, http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/companies4.html

Salford People through the camera of Phil Portus ...... "This House Is Occupied"

Phil took this photograph in 1978 for a documentary project on the Ordsall area of Salford.

"This House is occupied" - Ordsall, 1978

"Joe Hunter, pictured in the doorway and surrounded by boarded up buildings, had a sign in the window to show he was still living in his house on Nashville Street.  

Joe was born in Salford in 1906 working in a local mill as a seed crusher to make oil. 

He was married to Savilla, born 1907, who was a cotton spinner and died in 1984.  Joseph played the drums at St Josephs and the Ship pub, and was also a keen photographer".
© Phil Portus 2017

Pictures; courtesy of Phil Portus, 1977-2016

*Phil Portus, http://www.philportus.co.uk/

Salford People through the camera of Phil Portus ......Sandra Opoku & Michelle Darby

In the 1970s Phil Portus set out to record  Salford people.

He writes, Sandra,  as a child,  lived in a large terraced house on South Anne Street opposite the Langworthy Estate.  They both attended St Joseph's Infant School in Ordsall and then went on to Sacred heart School (Cathedral High)

Sandra  recalls "Happy times for me, however they did have a lot of racism at that point and coming from a mixed parentage, that had an impact on my life as well as growing up in the Salford environment.
But we are in multicultural society now which is a bit more accepting, but back then it was quite tough. I had lovely friends like Michelle who kept me going and kept me smiling"

Sandra and Michelle lost touch after secondary  school, eventually Sandra  got married and moved away.

She has 2 grown up children and currently works in the accounts department for Unilever and has a telecommunication business in Africa.

As a child, Michelle had lived in one of the  council flats above the arch on the Langworthy Estate.

Michelle recalls that it was safer for children to play out when she was a child. Children  generally belonged to  large extended families living in close proximity and they all looked after each other.

Michelle now works on reception at the Trafford Cricket Ground.  She has 2 grown up sons and lives in Peel Green, Eccles.

© Phil Portus 2016

Pictures; courtesy of Phil Portus, 1977-2016

*Phil Portus, http://www.philportus.co.uk/

Salford's past in pictures ..... the exhibition by Phil Portus today

Now when you spend your time writing about the past and in particular the lives of people it is always exciting to come across a project that celebrates the way we lived.

And that is exactly what we have got with "Salford 1977 - 2016" at St Clements Church, Ordsall, Salford.
It arose out of an urban photography project by Phil Portus in the 1970s.*

Phil writes, that "as part of the Heritage Weekend  I'm giving a talk today, Saturday at 2pm. about photographing changes on Ordsall and Langworthy and tracing people I photographed nearly 40 years ago and re photographing them. 

It's been really good talking to people about their memories. 

I have also found out some more names of people I photographed on the 70's and will try to trace them."

So there you have it, Salford 1977-2016 at St Clements', Ordsall, M5 3LQ, as part of the Heritage Weekend.

Location; St Clements Church, Ordsall, Salford.

Pictures; courtesy of Phil Portus, 1977-2016

*Salford Project, http://www.philportus.co.uk/salford-project/

Today ............. Salford in 1977 ...... the exhibition of pictures and the talk

Thirty seven years ago ............ Salford in 1977, pictures ..... interviews ......and  talk by Phil Portus.

I posted the full story of Phil’s exhibition and talk a few days ago,* so this is just a timely and gentle reminder that Salford - Photographing Urban Change, by Phil Portus is on between 12.00-2.30pm. at Charlestown Community Camera Club, St Sebastians Community Centre, Douglas Green, Salford M6 6E.  And it’s free.
How good is that?

And as a way of seeing just what is on offer I suggest you  follow the link to Phil’s site and his story.



Picture; courtesy of Phil Portus

*Thirty seven years ago ............ Salford in 1977, pictures ..... interviews ......and a talk by Phil Portus Wednesday March 18 http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/thirty-seven-years-ago-salford-in-1977.html

**Salford Project, http://www.philportus.co.uk/salford-project/

Thirty seven years ago ............ Salford in 1977, pictures ..... interviews ......and a talk by Phil Portus Wednesday March 18

Now thirty-seven years is a long time in the history of many inner cities, especially Salford.

So I am keen to see a collection of photographs taken by Phil Portus in 1977.

They will be part of a fascinating afternoon at Charlestown Community Camera Club this Wednesday  when Phil talks about some of the changes that have taken place in Salford and shows new portraits and video interviews of people he photographed  37 years ago.*

At which point I shall quote from Phil’s own account of the project and suggest you follow the link to the site and see some more of those pictures.**

"In 1977 I became involved in an urban documentary photographic project in Salford. After several months of taking photographs we had a collective exhibition  of our black and white prints at the Salford theatre on Liverpool Street.    

Our aim was to record what was left of the past in Ordsall, Langworthy and adjacent areas after extensive demolition  of the old Victorian terraced houses.  

After the exhibition the photographs were kept by the authors of the work and not officially archived.

In 2001 I returned to  the areas covered by the project.  The old housing had been replaced by a council estate in the 80s,  but on the other side of Trafford  Road, in sharp contrast,  the former Manchester Docks had been redeveloped as “flag ship” luxury apartments, and the cultural centre The Lowry.  

This was part of the urban regeneration of the 90s.

In 2012 I decided to find some of the people I photographed in the late 70's and take new portraits. With the help of articles in the Salford Reporter, BBC radio and salfordonline.com I have found several people I had photographed 37 years ago. 

My talk looks at the social and economic background to that part of  Salford  and demonstrates my ongoing work on this project using both photographs and video interviews".

Pictures; courtesy of Phil Portus

* Salford - Photographing Urban Change, a talk by Phil Portus: Wednesday March 18 , 12.00-2.30pm. Free, Charlestown Community Camera Club, St Sebastians Community Centre, Douglas Green, Salford M6 6E

**Salford Project, http://www.philportus.co.uk/salford-project/