Snaps of Stockport no 5 looking down into Stockport

This is another of those wonderful snaps of Stockport taken sometime in the 1950s by William Ernest Edmondson whose son has kindly given me permission to publish them.*

Now I never knew Stockport in the 1950s but the image reminds me of where I grew up and I bet for those who did live here the memories will be flooding back.

Picture; of Stockport, from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

*Stockport in the 1950s, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Stockport%20in%20the%201950s

Snaps of Stockport no 4 looking down into Stockport

This is another of those wonderful snaps of Stockport taken sometime in the 1950s by William Ernest Edmondson whose son has kindly given me permission to publish them.*

And it pretty much speaks for itself so I will leave it at that.

Picture;  from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

*Stockport in the 1950s, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Stockport%20in%20the%201950s

Snaps of Stockport no 3 looking down into Stockport

Now I just wonder from what window this picture was taken.

We are staring down into the town and bits of it are still recognisable today.

It was taken sometime in the 1950s by William Ernest Edmondson whose son has kindly given me permission to publish them.

The dome of the library to our right and the chimney stack and mill to our left are still there although the mill has long ceased making anything.

And of course the plumes of industrial and domestic smoke have also long gone.

I could go on but that would be just to state the obvious and deny you the pleasure of working out what has gone and what has been retained.

Pictures; of Stockport, from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

Snaps of Stockport no 2 buying a bargain sometime in the 1950s

This is the second in the series of images of Stockport from the 1950s.  

They were all taken sometime in the 1940s by William Ernest Edmondson whose son has kindly given me permission to publish them.

Some have almost passed out of living memory but this one is recognisably little different today.

The Boar’s Head on the corner of Vernon Street and Market place is still there as are the stalls.

Of course the traders have changed and the clothes belong to a very different time but otherwise there is much that Mr Edmondson would be familiar with.

Pictures; of Stockport, from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

Snaps of Stockport no 1 outside the Plaza

Now I always think the snap often outweighs the carefully prepared photograph.

Snaps have a freshness and directness that is often missing from  the ones taken by professional and commercial photographers.

These “superior” images may have a lot going for them but the snapper captures the moment.

Added to this we know that behind that snap is a picture which was special to the person who took it.

So here over the next few weeks are a series of snaps taken by William Ernest Edmondson who along with his wife worked in the Town Hall at Stockport.

They date from the 1950s and some reveal a Stockport that has all but been lost to living memory.
And that on its own makes them special.

They were first posted on facebook by his son Ian who has kindly granted me permission to republish them on the blog.

Pictures; of Stockport, from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

Snaps of Stockport no 7 out on the streets

This is another of those wonderful snaps of Stockport taken sometime in the 1950s by William Ernest Edmondson whose son has kindly given me permission to publish them*and it will be the last for a while.

It is one my favourites from the collection because it perfectly captures a busy day in the town over sixty years ago and reminds me of the value of the “snap.”

Most were taken in an instant and record everyday life.

Few I suspect were ever destined to be be seen by a wide audience and yet like this one they deserve to be.

This is how we went about our business in the early 1950s, with men in old fashioned rain coats, creaky prams and women in head scarves.

It is a priceless image of a moment in time.






Pictures; of Stockport, from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

*Stockport in the 1950s, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Stockport%20in%20the%201950s

Snaps of Stockport no 6 of trams and factory chimneys

This is another of those wonderful snaps of Stockport taken sometime in the 1950s by William Ernest Edmondson whose son has kindly given me permission to publish them.*

I say 1950s but it can be no later than 1951 when the last tram clanked along a Stockport Road.

According to the Greater Manchester Transport Society, “hardly any of the network was abandoned until Manchester replaced the trams between Manchester and Hazel Grove with buses in January 1949. 

This forced the abandonment issue and a fleet of buses was purchased during 1950 and 1951. The last tram ran on 25th August 1951. Stockport was the last operator of conventional trams in Greater Manchester.”**

That said “Stockport Corporation was one of the early pioneers of trolleybuses in this country, placing 3 vehicles into service on the 10th March 1913 on a route that ran from the Market to Offerton along Hall Street. 

The service lasted until 8th October 1919, although by then only two of the three vehicles were in service.”**

Now I don’t have fond memories of the trolleybus which always made me feel ill whenever I travelled on one, so perhaps it is fitting that there isn’t one in sight.

Likewise our picture contains only one of those tall factory chimneys, and perhaps later I should set myself the task of finding out how many are left, but then I bet there will be someone who knows.

Picture; of Stockport, from the collection of William Ernest Edmondson, courtesy of Ian Edmondson

*Stockport in the 1950s, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Stockport%20in%20the%201950s

** Greater Manchester Transport Society,
http://www.gmts.co.uk/explore/history/stockport.html