Ghost signs, a TV programme and the blog that got there first

Bedford, 2012

Now I remain a modest sort of person but I was pleased that the blog has got there before the BBC.*

Tonight at 7.30 they are celebrating ghost signs with an edition of  BBC Inside Out which “discovers the forgotten 'ghost signs' or old advertisement billboards which are found on gable ends across towns and cities in Britain.

Designer Wayne Hemingway is a huge fan and thinks they should be treasured and preserved for future generations.

Presenter Dianne Oxberry met John Rymer who runs a Facebook site and Twitter feed dedicated to the signs which have developed a cult following.

Stockport, 2013

Together they went in search of old 'ghost signs' across towns and cities in northern England including Preston, Leeds and York.

Some enthusiasts believe 'ghost signs' should be restored to their former glory. In Morecambe two artists have been working to bring old signs back to life.”

It should prove a fascinating 30 minutes but I have to say that we got there first.

The first blog ghost story appeared in January 2012 and since then Andy, Ron, Angie and Stephen along with David, Neil, Chrissie and Sally have been contributing photographs of long forgotten traders, companies and products all with a story behind them.

Bedford 2012

One of my favourites is Grey’s Cigarettes, collected on the side of a wall in Bedford by Ron Stubley, which I featured in November of last year and by coincidence is the same sign used to advertise the BBC programme.***

But I could instead have used those found by Angie in Stalybridge Chrissie in Eltham and Sally on Burton Road, not to leave out Neil who came across a whole set of signs for Beecham’s on the railway line from North Wales to Manchester and some hidden ones which Linda Rigby discovered as well as  the one in Chorlton which Ted Harris captured and has now been retained by the new owners.

Staylebridge, 2014

And only last month Barri passed one on from Bristol which only leaves me to talk about those I found in Naples, Sorrento, Rome  and Varese but that would I think count as being boastful.

So I shall book my place on the sofa in front of the fire tonight at 7.30 and wait to see how many we have already collected.

Ghost signs are fast vanishing from our streets and as each one disappears we lose a bit of our history.

Here are the traders, companies and

Manchester, 2013

products which were household names just a few generations ago.

Our parents and grandparents would have been familiar with them and a few will even have appeared in our own homes.

Some like Beechams are still with us but most have long gone.

A few of the trader's and factories can be traced back but many are just faded names on the sides of gable ends.

But programmes like tonights and the odd site on the net will I hope introduce a lot more people to these wonderful bits of our past

Pictures; Bovril and Greys' Cigarettes, Bedford, 2002, from the collection of Ron Stubley, Empsons, Stockport, Sally Dervan 2013, Sidney Shaw, Staylebridge, 2014, Angie Thomas and Hair Cutting, Manchester, 2013, David Easton

*The Ghost Sign, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20Ghost%20Sign

**Celebrating “ghost sign advertising boards, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30703573

***Tracking down the story behind a ghost sign.http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/tracking-down-story-behind-ghost-sign.html

Catch it while you can...... that footbridge over Whitworth Street West, soon to be gone

Now for anyone with a love of a slightly tatty but still unique piece of our recent history I suggest you visit that bridge which connects Deansgate Station with the metro stop at Deansgate-Castlefield because its days are numbered.

As part of the redevelopment of the metro at Deansgate-Castlefield it will be rebuilt.

The bridge has long looked very tired and the patchwork repairs to the sides did nothing to enhance what once was a rather striking walkway.

So there you have it, yet again Andy Robertson has captured a moment in Manchester’s history which will soon be no more.

Already a new island platform has been constructed along with additional trackway, and soon there will be a new staircase and lift down to Whitworth Street West and later the refurbishment of the stairwell near First Street to Deansgate Locks with a modern footbridge.

He took a series of pictures of the metro stop along with the railway station and I am minded with Andy’s permission to post these as the work down there moves on.

Picture; footbridge, December 2014 from the collection of Andy Robertson

Just when you thought you knew everything about the Railway Hotel on Deansgate and that Mr Bardsley

The Railway Hotel in 1901

Now I have to admit Mr John Bardsley of the Railway Hotel Knott Mill would not leave me alone which given that he died in 1920 may seem a tad odd.

But that is pretty much how it can be with historical research.

He was the publican of the Railway Hotel on the corner of Deansgate just opposite the railway station.

It was a large 16 roomed property which dominated this corner flanked by the railway at its back and the canal in front.

I can’t as yet be sure when it was built but there was a pub here by 1849 called the Runcorn, Wigan & Worsley Boathouse was also the Packet House Tavern and later still the Boathouse before ending up as the Railway Hotel.

All these names shed light on the history of the area.  Packet Boats plied our canals and were a quick and comfortable way of travelling across the country in the age before the railway.

The Hotel facing Knott Mill Station, 1902

And just a few minutes’ walk away was the terminus of the Duke’s Canal which had been constructed for the Duke of Bridgewater so that his company could transport coal from his mines at Worsley into the heart of the city.

In 1876 was the Boathouse and was managed by J & E Bardsley who may or may not be our John Bardsley and until today he proved more than a little difficult to track down.

The census records stubbornly refused to yield up anything more than an entry for 1911.

The hotel during work on the canal, 1902

But this I couldn’t believe, especially for a man who managed such a large pub, and so today I went back and slowly something of the man came out of the shadows.

He was born in Burnage in 1845 and was one of four children born to Sarah and Thomas Bardsley.

His father gave his occupation in 1851 as “brewer foreman” and in time I think I will dig deeper into the family history.

As for John, there the trail goes a little cold till we have him in 1898 listed as owning property beside and around the Railway Hotel and at the same time paying rates on the pub and is listed on  to wait till on the 1901 and 1911 census in the hotel.

Another shot of the canal and hotel in 1902

Now just how wealthy he had become can be judged by the probate document at his death in 1920 which listed his effects as worth £50759, 10s 8d.

All of which is intriguing given that the rents on one property on Gaythorn Street amounted to £14 a year and another on Crown Street at £10.

Nor does he seem to own the land of the Railway Hotel who are listed as belonging to the Cheshire Railway Company.

Added to which there remains a mystery about the pub, it changes its name, is listed as being run by J & E Bardsley in 1876 who turn out to be James and Elizabeth Bardsley.

Bit 1891 they are running a milk business just a few doors down the road and who appear to be no relation to our John.

Looking over towards the site of the hotel, 2014

All of which brings me back to John who so far has not turned up on the 1891 census and certainly was not at the Railway Hotel which in that year was run by 22 years old Margaret Clare.

Which is all the more confusing as Mr Bardsely was running the Boat House pub in the same year at 1 Gaythorn Street which looks to be located next to the Railway Hotel.

And today looking towards Deansgate

Now in time I know there will be an answer.  The licensing records may provide a clue and there will be in the street directories which just leaves me to ponder on when our Railway Hotel was built and what happened to Miss Clare.

The answers are out there I just haven’t found them yet.

And just as I was ready to post the story my old friend Andy Robertson found this account of the hotel with some fine pictures and a possible date of the 1950s for its demolition.

But if you want to see it you will have to visit the site, The Railway Hotel - Whitworth Street West & Deansgate.*

Additional research by Andy Robertson

Pictures; the Railway Hotel, 1901, m05495,  in 1902, m05496, m05497, m05498, A Bradburn, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass and the area in 2014 from the collection of Andy Robertson

*The Railway Hotel - Whitworth Street West & Deansgate, http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/gone/railwayhotel.html

Back with the Railway Hotel in 1911 and a shed load of mysteries

Now earlier today I was on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Deansgate exploring the Railway Hotel.*

Back in 1911, it was run by John Bardsley who was 66 years old, single and shared the 16 roomed hotel with three staff.

And I have to confess I was a tad lazy and didn’t look to see if there were any pictures of Mr Bardsley’s place.

Had I gone to the digital archive I would have found this superb image dating from the year before.**

So I have Pubs of Manchester to thank for locating the photograph which also discovered that in 1849 it was called “the Runcorn, Wigan & Worsley Boathouse and later on the Packet House Tavern under the stewardship of Samuel Hague.”***

Now all three names shed light on the history of the area.  Packet Boats plied our canals and were a quick and comfortable way of travelling across the country in the age before the railway.

And just a few minutes walk away was the terminus of the Duke’s Canal which had been constructed for the Duke of Bridgewater so that his company could transport coal from his mines at Worsley into the heart of the city.

All of which leaves me the task of tracking back through the street directories to fix the moments when its name changed.

In 1876 it had become the Boathouse and was managed by J & E Bardsley who may or may not be our John Bardsley who has proved somewhat elusive to find on the census records and in much the same way so has Mrs Helen Cattermole who was working the hotel in the April of 1911.

She was 29 years old, described herself as married with one child who had died.

Now I would be interested to know why she was living away from her husband but so far she too stubbornly has not come out of the shadows.

So we are just left with the picture of the Railway Hotel, not that I think we have finished with Mr Bardsley of Mrs Cattermole, but they will have to wait for another time.

Picture; the Railway Hotel, 1910, m50342, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

*That metro stop at Deansgate-Castlefield and a hidden story of hotels, canals and vanished houses, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/that-metro-stop-at-deansgate.html

** Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

***Pubs of Manchester, http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.co.uk/

One hundred years of one house in Chorlton part 51 ............ the dog, the cats, two gerbils and a couple of rabbits

The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since.*

Now in a house which is almost a century old you can be pretty sure that the odd cat and dog would have taken up residence.

When we moved in we brought a baby black Labrador which we called Bagel and he become so much a feature of the house that for many years it defined who I was.

The dog walkers on the Rec would refer to me as Bagel’s and all my sons learned to walk holding on to him.

We had already inherited one stray cat which we called Tamla Motown and took into two more who were called Harvey Moon and Henry Harris.

Tamla had been found at the back of Stephenson’s the hairdresser’s on Wilbraham Road, Harvey turned up on the doorstep and Henry was a victim of some poor behaviour on the part of a gang of lads who had left him in a plastic bag on the Rec.

Their names of course have their own stories.

Tamla speaks for itself, Harvey came from a gentle TV show of the time and Henry was named after a Labour Party canvasser who travelled all the way on the bus from Crumpsall to help in elections.

And along the way if but for short periods there were gerbils, rabbits a guinea pig and very briefly one goldfish.

None of which is surprising really.

Most family homes will pick up the odd pet at some point.

What for our house is remarkable is that we were by no means the first to share the place with assorted animals.

Joe and Mary Ann had their fair share some of which still turn up in the garden when I dig deep enough, a tradition we followed with all three cats.

But they went further and left the house to the PDSA  who in the fullness of time sold it to John Mike and Lois.

The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals was established in 1917 offering free care and treatment for sick animals in the Whitechapel area of London and spread across the country with the first horse drawn mobile clinic starting in 1924.

Now I grant you in all the twists and turns of the history of the house the story of its pets may seem trivial and yet it is as much a part of what went on as anything else.

We may not be able to boast a snake or a goat but between our varied collection and that of Joe and Mary Ann's we have pretty much filled most of its time with the noise of animals.

Pictures, Bagel and Tamla, circa 1983, Harvey 1988 and two unnamed gerbils 1990, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*The story of a house,
http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house

That metro stop at Deansgate-Castlefield and a hidden story of hotels, canals and vanished houses

Now something is happening on the corner of Whitworth Street West and Deansgate and it is all to do with the Metro.

Whitworth Street West and Deansgate, 2014

The new Second City Crossing has meant a redevelopment of the Metro stop at Deansgate-Castlefield with an island platform, a newly designed bridge to connect with Deansgate Station,  and the installation of a new staircase and lift for better access with a "living wall" for a greener environment*

This last bit is going on right now and will replace the brick staircase on the bit of open land on the corner opposite the station.

I have to confess I have never given this spot much thought and while I can’t remember I guess before the metro staircase the bit of land was hidden by advertising hoardings.

Whitworth Street West with Crown Street , now Century Street, 1907

But as you would expect there was more to this patch of land than I had thought and it took one of Andy Robertson’s pictures to set me off looking for the story.

“That hole to the left of this picture is roughly where the Railway Hotel stood at the turn of the last century

It's not often I get bossy but you must check out Local Images for Whitworth Street West, especially Gaythorn Improvements.

I've got my head around the geography now and that hole I photographed must show some of the Railway Hotel's foundations and the building next to it is beautifully captured on two images.”

And of course he was dead right.

Looking along the canal towards the Railway Hotel, 1902

Back in 1911, the Railway Hotel was run by John Bardsley who was 66 years old, single and shared the 16 roomed hotel with three staff.

Now I rather think there may well be some stories here not least that of Mrs Helen Cattermole who was 29 years old had been married for five years and had one child who had died.

But for now I am more intrigued by the two properties just a little further along Whitworth Street, just where it meets Century Street.

In1902 this was Crown Street and the taller of our two houses was listed as number 4 Crown Street.

Whitworth Street West  and Crown Street during the canal work, 1902

And in that year they attracted a lot of interest from Mr Bradburn, who was perhaps more interested in the work being done to the canal but came back five years later to record the houses all over again.

The three images he tool perfectly capture both the houses and the Railway Hotel but and there is always a but, number 4 and its companion have so far not yielded up any further information.

Neither is listed in the street directories for 1903 or 1911 and without a name searching the census record is a long complicated process, but I will go looking if only to see how much I can find out about them and the people who lived there.

In the meantime the work on that patch of land continues a pace and soon I will be able to climb the new stairs and look down on the site of Mr Bardsley’s Railway Hotel and its two near neighbours.

Looking towards the Railway Hotel, 1902

So with that in mind I shall close with a detail looking along the canal during that work showing just how large the Railway Hotel was and compare it with the same location today.

Of course there may be people who will be able to provide a date for the end of the hotel and may even offer up some names for those who lived at number 4 Crown Street.

We shall see.

All of which just leaves me to reflect that you can never take any little patch of land for granted.

I had no idea that this small spot had that much history or that trying to track the identity of those that lived there would prove more difficult that usual.

Almost on the same spot where Mr Bradburn snapped the hotel, 2014

Still historical detective work is never that simple, which is what makes it so much fun.

And for those that feel a tad cheated I can reveal that on the opposite side just past what had been Knott Mill Station and is now Deansgate there were a warren of small streets each with a heap of houses.

But those I shall leave to another time.

Pictures; the corner of Whitworth Street West and Deansgate, December 2014 and the roughly the same spot in May 1902, m05501, & April 1905,  m054595, and November 1907, m05508 by A Bradburn, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

*Metrolink,  http://transformationinformation.co.uk/transformation/deansgate-castlefield

The secrets of that diary begun on January 1st 1918

Now I have to say that when my friend Ann sent me a picture of a diary from 1918 I had no idea where the story would lead.

Back in December I reported the find in a story with the promise of more to come.*

I thought that when she got round to sending me more pages there would be the usual mix of diary style comments about New Year’s resolutions, a hint of Christmas excesses and the odd reminder of things to do in the forthcoming months.

And it being 1918 there might have also been a reference to the Great War about to enter its fourth year.
But none of these things, instead we have a bizarre diary with more than a little history and a plenty of speculation about its owner.

For here was the “The Railway Carriage and Wagon Builders’ Pocket Diary, 1918" price 2 shillings and sixpence, published by the Locomotive Publishing Company of 3 Amen Corner London EC 4.

The Locomotive Publishing Company was established in 1899 by two brothers who had been apprentices at the Stafford Works of the Great Eastern Railway and had begun trading in amateur photographs of railways.

From 1896 along with another brother they had launched Moore’s Monthly Magazine which a year later was renamed The Locomotive Magazine and the company continued until 1956 when it was bought by another specialist railway publisher.

And in 1992 the entire archive of pictures was acquired by the National Railway Museum.
So less a diary and more a bit of our train history.

All of which takes me back to Ann's priceless little booklet which amongst other things has a a collection of railway adverts and a list of the “British, Colonial and South American Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendents."

Sadly the owner did not vouchsafe to reveal any personal comments about his or her life but instead there are a list of French trains, locomotive numbers with dates and times.

Now the date of the diary might be a clue to the identity of the owner and I suppose the easiest conclusion was that he or she was involved in the war, or perhaps had a railway connection.

I am not sure we will ever know but I travel in hope.

Pictures; The Railway Carriage and Wagon Builders’ Pocket Diary, 1918, from the collection of Ann Love

*Starting a diary on January 1st 1918, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/start