"the gates of hell" at Didsbury with more than one tall story

Now I like the story of the Devil’s Gate at Didsbury.

According to the local historian Fletcher Moss it referred to “the remnant of the village green in front of the inns where the cock fighting and bull baiting used to be.  In later days this space was clerically termed ‘the gates of hell’ and therefore to be shunned by the orthodox.”*

And it is easy to attribute the name to the gateway that leads into the Parsonage hard by the Didsbury Hotel to the left, and the Cock Inn to the right.

It would give just that tingle of apprehension to anyone wanting to cross into the gardens at night from the old village green having perhaps had too much in one of the two pubs.

But the gate is a relatively new addition to this bit of Didsbury having been brought here by Fletcher Moss himself.

Nor are the origins of that gate any more sensational for they come from the Spread Eagle Hotel on Corporation Street and were purchased for just £10 when the hotel was demolished in 1902.

Those still wanting a sinister turn to the tale might just ponder on the disappearance of a second eagle which stood in the gardens and vanished one night never to be seen again.

I was told and I have to admit it was late in the night after more than enough to drink in the Old Cock that there was a belief that this eagle had been spirited away as an act of revenge on the part of a long dead publican who roamed the village green and gardens in search of the clergy who had railed against the common pleasures of the people of Didsbury.

It is of course more likely that the lost eagle now adorns a garden somewhere in south Manchester its origin as part of a hotel and later a garden ornament long forgotten.

Still the gate remains a pretty impressive structure which Peter has captured in his painting.

Painting; Eagle Gate, © 2013 Peter Topping, 

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*Fletcher Moss, Souvenir of the Coronation Festivities held at Didsbury June 22 1911

Blackfriars Street and the story behind the Palatine Photographic Company and a young woman

Now it was Mark Twain who said "never let the truth stand in the way of a good story, unless you can't think of anything better" and I have to admit I was tempted.

Sometime in the early 20th century this young women wandered into the studios of the Palatine Photographic Company and had her picture taken.

I don’t know who she was, exactly when she posed for the picture or if this was a special occasion.

The photograph was one of a large number of images that Ron Stubley passed over to me recently.

They consist of picture postcards, birthday cards and a group of family photos.

And it is these family pictures which have come to interest me.

There are no names or addresses and only a few have a date but they are local because some carry the name of photographers who were active across the twin cities.

Most are old fashioned portraits and are of single individuals, but one has a young soldier in uniform and his wife and looks to be from the Great War.

Another is of a teenager and carries the caption “Passed away Feb 4 1918,” which may be a reference to the great flu epidemic but could so easily be any one of a number of illnesses.

All of which just leaves those phot0pgrapher, some of whom were big national or regional companies and others who operated from just one studio.

And this is where the Palatine Photographic Company seemed to offer a clue.  Their address was 50 Blackfriars Street and for a brief few minutes I wandered up and down Blackfriars Street looking for them, for that would at least suggest that she came from Salford.

But, and it is a big but Blackfriars stretches from Chapel Street over the bridge to terminate at Deansgate in Manchester, and yes, 50 Blackfriars Street was in that block which inhabited the corner with Deansgate.

The company post date 1895 and were still in business at their Manchester address in 1911 and that is it.

 They do appear on a database but it seems to be the only record of their existence.

So we are left with little that can identify our young woman who may be from Salford but in the interests of disowning Mark Twain I have to say I don't know.

Location; somewhere in Manchester or Salford

Picture; unknown young women, date unknown from the collection of Ron Stubley

Collecting another Roman Villa ....... Brading in the Isle of Wight

You can never get enough Roman Villas in my opinion.

And so I was pleased when Angela Buckley, shared some pictures of the mosaic floor of the Roman Villa at Brading in the Isle of Wight.

Angela is a historian who has written some excellent books on Victorian crime, along with a regular blog.*

The villa at Brading is not one I have visited, and if you can’t get there, then other people’s pictures are the next best thing, along with the offical guide  from the museum of the villa.**

“The museum preserves the West Range, built around AD300, which is the last and grandest of three buildings on the site. 

The foundations of two earlier North and South Ranges are now outlined in chalk outside. 

The South Range was erected around AD 100, not long after the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43 and was followed by the completion of the grander North Range around AD 200.

Since its re-discovery the villa and surrounding land have been excavated many times. Using artefacts and archaeological reports, the museum will take you on a tour from prehistory up to the modern day.

Why choose the site at Brading?
For those living here, this location was a perfect choice. 

It enabled these freedom to communicate with and travel to local Island settlements, mainland Britain and cross the Channel to Gaul (France).

Fertile arable lands around the Villa complex allowed good crops of grain to be grown. Sheep and cattle could fertilise the land between seasons and springs nearby gave a good water supply.

The West Range
By the early fourth century this high status house was completed. 

As a winged corridor villa, common in southern Britain, it provided separate private living accommodation for the owner and their family together with space for entertaining guests. 

Like modern homes today the West Range had many changes and adaptions to the living space. This included removing and moving internal walls and adding new mosaics."

So that is it ……… another bit of Roman history to add to my collection, leaving me just to thank Angela for letting me use her pictures, and to say that the Villa has its own facebook site.

How neat is that?

Location; The Isle of Wight

Pictures; mosaic floor, from Brading Roman Villa, 2020, courtesy of Angela Buckley


*Victorian Supersleuth, https://victorian-supersleuth.com/?fbclid=IwAR3p-ieeN8snFOBL7QM9ULFtuIs00KAoB5f5DgU_MpMdK0ZFrVM9SGaR1tk

***Brading Roman Villa, https://bradingromanvilla.org.uk/discover/#introducing-the-villa

Watching out on the old and the new ………………

Now it would be easy to go off on one, and shout about the relentless march of the crane, along with the destruction of much that was our Victorian and Edwardian city.

But then, those earlier developments were built on green fields, and did their bit to see off Georgian and Tudor gems.

That is not to say I am happy at the loss of so much of Manchester and Salford’s industrial and commercial past.

At least Andy Robertson is recording much of that past before it is gone.

Location; Knott Mill, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Hoping "Mother is not so troublesome" .............. stories from a Didsbury postcard

Now there may seem nothing remarkable about number 6 Castle Street in Widnes.  

It looks exactly like the house we bought in Ashton-Under-Lyne in 1973 and could pass for the two up two down that my grandparents occupied for over thirty years.

And Peter’s painting could at a pinch be any of the thousands of such houses built during the 19th and early 20 centuries.

But what is interesting about number 6 is that in 1956 it was the home of Mr and Mrs Edwardson who received this postcard in the summer of that year.

It was sent by Mrs Rye who reported that they “were having lovely weather” in Manchester and hoped “it is the same in Widnes.”

Now what I found a little interesting is that while the card was addressed to Mr and Mrs Edwardson it was written to someone else.

The someone else we will never know but Mrs Rye hoped that “Mother is not so troublesome” and asks “to be remembered to mother.”

All of which makes me want to know much more but stubbornly the message offers no more clues other than that Alex had arrived at her destination and the weather was also fine.

I suppose the preoccupation with the weather is understandable given that this was early July and most people still took their holidays in Britain where the sun and clear blue skies can never be relied on.

The message provoked quite a discussion in the house with a whole set of theories about the identity of the person Mrs Rye was writing to.

These ranged from sister to sister in law and even carer but in the end we were no further forward.

And I suppose that pretty much is that and points to the simple observation that messages like this were too personal for them often to be understood outside the family.

But at least we still have them, unlike today when the text, email or phone message is lost as soon as they are made.

For only a handful of people will keep or transcribe a text message and certainly will not go to the bother of recording the reply.

All of which is a loss, not because I wan’t to pry but these messages are the voice of the past and mixed in with the observations on the weather will be a vast array of comments about all sorts of everyday news.

Sadly not in this case, although it did lead Peter to paint number 6 and that is a little bit of a start.

Painting;  number 6 Castle Street Widnes © 2013 Peter Topping
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Picture; Wilmslow Road, circa 1956

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

Ordsall Hall ................. returning to an old favourite

It’s with a bit of shame that I have to admit I haven’t been back to Ordsall Hall in decades.

Back a long time ago it was one of those places along with Clayton, Wythenshawe and Baguley Halls which were part of a day out.

But Peter’s painting has set me thinking it is time I went.

It is after all a fine building with a history which goes back to the 15th century on a site where there has been a house since at least 1251.

And since it was bought by Salford Corporation there will be many with fond memories of day visits to the place when it was a museum.

And perhaps a few stories from when it was a working man's club in the 1870s

Location; Salford

Painting; Ordsall Hall, Salford. Painting © 2012 Peter Topping, 
Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk