On arriving safely home in Didsbury from Blackley in 1908

I am looking at a picture postcard of Wilmslow Road which was sent in 1908 to Miss Marion Scott of Banbury Road in Blackley.

Now there is nothing over unusual about that.

Such cards were just part of the way we communicated with each other at the beginning of the last century.

They were cheap to buy, cheap to send and could be guaranteed to arrive within a few hours of being sent.

All of which meant that you could send a card first thing in the morning arranging to meet a friend later that day and be confident that both of you would be where you said at the appointed hour.

In many cases cards were sent alerting family that a holiday was over and that you would be home for tea.

And that is the fascination of this particular card which announces the safe return of J Richards from Blackley.

Now of course I could be in danger of misunderstanding J. Richards but there is a sense that the journey across the city from north to south was accompanied with some relief.  “Just a line” the message begins “to let you know I got safely back from Blackley feeling none the worse for the journey.”  

One wonders what terrors might have been expected from the trip, but having completed it he/she was content to mark the card with a x to show the chapel of the college.

But there is more and that is the hint that all is not well with Marion’s sister who appears to be “unmanageable.”

I went looking for Marion in 1908 but so far have found nothing, which is a pity because I would love to know the link between Marion who lived at Wesley House on Banbury Road in Blackley and J Richards who was attending the Wesleyan College.

Not that I suspect I ever will, which just leaves me to reflect on the picture of Wilmslow Road which  superficially has not changed much in 107 years.

The scene is instantly recognisable and while the church is no longer the chapel of the Wesleyan College it is still there and much else looks the same.

And that I think is all I shall say.

Picture; Wilmlsow Road circa 1908 from the collection of Paul O’Sullivan

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/

Coming soon a 27 storey residential development by Albion Street

Now this one almost slipped me by, although I suppose once it’s finished it will be pretty hard to miss.

ATrafford Street, 2015

We are on Trafford Street by Albion Street with the Rochdale Canal behind those hoardings.

I will have passed the site countless tomes and also looked down casually over the years from the tram at that spot.

And recently I did wonder why it hadn’t been developed and what the future might hold.

Of course Andy Robertson has done just that.

An impression of the finished development, 2015

On one of his many photographic excursions through town he stopped and recorded the architect’s vision of what will one day rise from this bit of land.

According to the planning application which was submitted last year it will be a “27 storey residential building (Class C3) with associated servicing arrangements, hard landscaping, pedestrian access bridge and associated works on land Bounded By Albion Street, Trafford Street & The Rochdale Canal.”*

As you might expect given the size of the development the consultation process involved 65 documents many of which were extremely detailed.

All of which points to that simple lesson that I should really go looking at the planning applications more regularly and if for no other reason than that big applications important like this contain detailed heritage and archaeological reports which just add to our knowledge of such sites.**

A view if the finished development, 2015

After all I have no memory of what was there and had to start looking at old directories to get an idea of what businesses used the site.

So the heritage report was a fascinating one given that it comprehensively reported on the site from the late 18th century through with maps and photographs pretty much up to today.

All of which I shall read most carefully and return to at a later date.

But for now I have every confidence that Andy will go back and begin one of his meticulous series photographing the changing site.

So no pressure there then.


Pictures; Trafford Street development,  2015, courtesy of Andy Robertson

*Manchester City Planners, Application No. 106490, Albion Street, Trafford Street & The Rochdale Canal, http://pa.manchester.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=externalDocuments&keyVal=N9SAL7BC03O00

**Heritage Report, http://www.publicaccess.manchester.gov.uk/associateddocs/selecteddoc.aspx?106490-shs-0001.pdf

By the moat at Well Hall ............

Now I am back at the moat at Well Hall with more of the pictures taken by Chrissie Rose earlier in the month.

For those of us who played there but have long since left they are a powerful memory of what we have lost.

Picture; by the moat at Well Hall, 2015 © Chrissie Rose

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/

By the moat at Well Hall ...........

Now I am back at the moat at Well Hall with more of the pictures taken by Chrissie Rose earlier in the month.

For those of us who played there but have long since left they are a powerful memory of what we have lost.

Picture; by the moat at Well Hall, 2015 © Chrissie Rose

So what fate for the Crown on Court Yard?

Now I wonder on the fate of the Crown on Court Yard.  

Over the last year I have returned to its long history in Eltham ever since I discovered it had closed.

And this picture sent to me by Hayley Smith has set me off all over again.

There is no doubting that little seems to be happening there and yet its presence across the internet is still boldly announced.

I counted six references to the pub all of which appear to suggest that the place is open for business and yet Hayley’s picture tells another tale.

And the Councils’ planning site offers up no hint that there are any schemes to do anything with the site.

So perhaps it will reopen soon under new management and a face lift.

Of course I would welcome news from anyone in the know.

The present building stands on the site of the older one which has a rich past and so having written about the place I rather would have liked to have a drink there.

In 1840 it was being run by John Blundell who was still there the following year, but seems to have retired by 1843 when the place was in the hands of John Martin who seems very much a young man with a determination to go places.*

At the age of 19 he is there in the 1837 land tax records renting a stable from a James Wright and land from a Mrs Dobson, and by 1843 is in the Crown renting the building and the yard.

And as he began his long partnership with the Crown I wonder what its former landlord did with his retirement, which sadly was not long for John Martin died at the age of 51 in 1844.

Not so John Martin who was to serve pints for another three decades.

Not that I am going to repeat that story which is there for all to see on the blog.

Instead I am going to leave you with this image of the Crown from 1977 and reflect that the past
can still look better than the present

Today the pub’s outward appearance has not changed that much although  the boards announcing the latest offers along with the window display do make it look cluttered.

And there is the bus stop just as I remember it, open to the elements.

*Walking along Court Yard in the June of 1841, looking for John Martin and Hannah Simmons
http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/walking-along-court-yard-in-june-of.html

Picture; the Crown, in 2015 from Hayley Smith and in 1977 from the collection of Jean Gammons