The story of one house in Lausanne Road number 27 .......... failing the 11 plus or Andrew and Samuel Pepys Secondary Modern School

The story of one house in Lausanne Road over a century and a half, and of one family who lived there in the 1950s.*

Ready for the adventure, 1961

The one sure certainty of failing the 11 plus was that you went to a secondary modern school.

Not of course that this over surprised me.

My mother had been told by my year 6 teacher back in the January of 1961 “that I was not academic material.”  A sentence that burned deeply into my mother and condemned my father and me to endless evenings of 11 plus tests by the kitchen stove.

All to no avail.  I failed.  But not before I along with all the other also runs had to endure the class interviews where the hopefuls destined for a bright grammar school future would give a presentation to the rest of us, which were really rehearsals for the real thing in front of the head teachers of the local grammar schools.

To this day I remember my first introduction to Vasco da Gamma that Portuguese sailor who boldly went where no European had sailed before.  Even then I wondered why the cabin boy and cook as well as the man steering the ship never got a look in through the entire talk.

Years later teaching year 8s the European voyages of discovery, plunder and much else I was always pulled up by the mention of the said captain and taken back the twelve years to the upstairs classroom of Edmund Waller Junior School and the talk given by Barry Whatshisname.

Samuel Pepys, 1961-66

But enough of such bitter vituperation.  That was what the 11 plus was supposed to do.  Separate the elite from the rest of us, and while they went on to a bright academic environment we were destined for schools which specialised in more practical things, .......woodwork not Wordsworth, technical drawing not Tennyson and so much more.

Added to that our schools were not as well funded and led to one glorious episode where just before my O level history exam in 1966 we were given a world historical atlas published in 1938 which finished with the wonderfully optimistic comment that “it is hoped the leaders of Germany and Italy will see sense and rejoin the League of Nations in a profound desire to solve issues by peaceful means.”  

Now today I can see the dark humour in that, but at the time I pondered how we had to use a thirty year old text book which added to everything else got the next ten years of European history so wrong.

But my secondary modern school and many others across the country strived not to give us a second class education.

They were fully aware that a rigid test at 11 did not mean that those who failed to pass were failures.  And so many of us were entered for 0 level exams that badge of so called academic excellence while class mates were given the practical skills which enabled them to become tradesmen in a whole range of occupations.

Ready to leave, 1966

And these places attracted the talented and committed teachers.  I can remember many who I would have been happy to work beside when I started teaching in 1973.

Indeed in the years after I started I benefited from the advice, good humour and wisdom of those who had been at Oldwood Secondary School here in Manchester before it was merged with the local grammar school to form Poundswick High School.

But despite all their efforts secondary modern schools were just that.  They were a secondary form of education for those who judged unsuitable for the full academic experience.

Today as then selection at 11 has its supporters who in their advocacy of grammar schools focus on the poor records of some comprehensive schools and on a golden age of grammar school education in the late 1940's and 50's.

Now I can be both objective and generous in my recognition of the opportunities grammar schools gave to children of all classes particularly ones who like me came from a working class background.

But I was under no illusion at the time and since that what we who failed that 11 plus were offered was less than best.

Not for us that heady excitement of preparing for a new educational world with like minded bright young things.  In the September of 1961 I assembled with the majority of my male ex classmates from junior school in the playground of Samuel Pepys, and apart from the uniform and an absence of girls there was little to mark this off as any different from what I had already experienced.


*The story of one house in Lausanne Road, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20one%20house%20in%20Lausanne%20Road

The story of that shop at 105 Manchester Road .......... Slightman's newsagents and 50 years of sweets, cards and grumpy service

Looking down Manchester Road in 1958

Now for those of us who were not born in Chorlton, and didn’t arrive here until the mid 1970s there is a lot of recent history that will be unknown to us.

So I welcome the memories of those who have talked about  just one shop on Manchester Road in the 1950s and 60s.

This was Slightam’s of 105 Manchester Road.

I can’ be sure when Mr and Mrs Slightam opened or when they closed, but there is a record of them trading at Manchester Road in 1923, and Andy remembers visiting the shop in 1980.

“I too remember going into Slightam's when I first moved to Chorlton in 1980. It was like stepping back in time.”

And that pretty much is how many people remember the shop.

Slightam's on a November morning

It offered a full range of services from "Newsagents, Stationers, Fancy Goods [and] Tobacconists" but also acted as a “Lending Library [with] over 1000 books.”

Lorna remembered “that it was a shop with immense character. 

Mr Slightam always wore gloves with no fingers in. I don’t think the shop changed for many years, it was like Aladdin’s cave” while Dave added that “I remember, I even delivered papers for him. 
There was an old fashioned phone kiosk in the back of his shop that took old pennies”

And David O’Reilly who was also did  a paper round for them commented "the couple that ran the shop in the late 50's and sixties, they seemed old to me!

Mrs S. Always wore a hat and my mum says this was to cover a wig?!

Mr Slightam seemed to be a surly gentleman.  I delivered papers a few times for them, but not regularly. There was a cigarette advert on the wall behind the counter- high up, perhaps Capstan, a man on a horse.”

And that rather surly attitude was echoed by Lorna

Advertising Slightam's 1966

That surly attitude to his customers was echoed by Lorna who not only remembered the inside of the shop but was also on caught in the wrong side of Mr Slightam.

“There was a little alcove where all the greetings cards were kept in boxes on the left hand side of the shop? 
You would have to ask for the type of card you were looking for, and it was usually Mr S who sorted out a small selection accordingly. 

When I was quite young, I remember going in to the shop for a Christmas card one Christmas morning. 

Mr S asked who it was for, and when I told him it was for my mother he told me off in no uncertain terms about leaving it until the last minute, and that I should be ashamed of myself! Yes, surly gentleman indeed he was!"

Now Mr Slightam died in 1984 so I guess it will have been around then that the place closed.

Mr and Mrs Slightam's neighbours 1958

And as Dave commented “it's just a shame that there are no photographs, you could have taken his whole shop and put it in a museum, and inside it was probably unchanged since the 1930’s. 

Such a pity everything got 'skipped' when he passed away.”

And that pretty much brings me back to the beginning.

This was a place which was almost frozen in time and while I never went into the shop or knew Mr Slightam,

I can think of similar shops from my youth.

They all had that same dusty smell with heavy dark wooden counters and shelves that disappeared into the ceiling and no doubt had you rummaged at the back  there would have been the odd item which was sold as new when the old king died.

And what is all the remarkable is that such shops survived into the 1980s.

But in doing so they offer up a rich and seamless set of stories which roll back into our recent past and take you off on a whole path of new research.

So in time I will follow up on Anthony’s memories prompted by an earlier story on the Slightams and their near neighbour Harry Goodwin who in 1911 was at 103 Manchester Road selling and mending shoes and who may have been the father of the Goodwin brothers who were friends with Anthony’s brother.”

Well we shall see.  And along the way bring back out of the shadows a bit more of our recent past.

Which just leaves me to finish with David again and that "really grumpy man. I remember him in a dark,navy blue sweater, the sort a sailor might wear. Behind the left counter was the lending library, I think, or was that towards the back?"

Additional research Andy Robertson, and a thank you to Lorna, Dave, David and Andy for remembering so much.

Pictures; west side of Manchester Road on the corner of Kensington Road, 1958, m17960 and 18018, November 1 1958, A H Downes, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

Tony Goulding on Cricket clubs in Chorlton ........South West Manchester and Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Both of Chorlton's cricket clubs present difficulties for a researcher as both have similarly named clubs in the area with which they could easily be confused.

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Pavilion

As well the obvious problem posed by Chorlton-on-Medlock there was also a cricket club known simply as "Chorlton" who in fact played in one of first recorded matches in the Manchester area against "Manchester Clarence" in 1843.

Incidentally some earlier matches dating back to 1832 were played by “Manchester" (the forerunner of the Lancashire county team) against both Sheffield and Yorkshire at a ground on Moss Lane which became the site of St Mary's church, Hulme

South West Manchester could well be mistaken for not only the South Manchester club which played on Burton Road ,Withington but also South East Manchester whose ground was on Anson Road, Rusholme (not far from Chorlton/Chorlton-on-Medlock's ground on Upper Brook St---.further muddying the waters).

Both clubs were formed in the early 1880's S-W. M. C .C . in 1882 and  the board outside their old ground (sadly no longer used for cricket) states that C-c-H.C.C. were formed in 1885.

The origins of this club go further back, however as it was reported in "The Manchester Times", dated May 31 1884, that a Mr. William Buckley was sentenced at the Salford sessions to 15 months imprisonment and 1 years police supervision for breaking into the Chorlton-cum-Hardy cricket club's hut and stealing a quantity of cricket balls.

Again both clubs appear to have fielded quite successful teams in the late Victorian era.
"Chorlton----"s record for the 1890 season was won 13, drew 3, and lost only 1 whilst, in the 1893 campaign even more impressively "South West" won 15, drew 4, and lost just the 1 match

In common with virtually every other sports club in the land each of Chorlton's cricket sides suffered tragic losses during World War 1.

Below are just two examples.

South West's secretary Frederick William Barker was mortally wounded on 29/30 August 1916 on the Somme  (probably during an attack on Delville Wood ) just 2 days after his promotion to Company Sergeant Major, "A" company 21st battalion Manchester Regiment -dying of his wounds on September 8 1916.

Lt. John Clarke of Hartington Road, a stalwart of the Chorlton-cum- Hardy team, was invalided home after being wounded on the western front 24th May 1918.

During the middle part of the last century significant developments took place Hardy Lane not only hosted some of the first official Lancashire Women’s cricket matches; against a Yorkshire XI on 15th. July 1933 and Middlesex 2 years later in May 1935 but also developed a multi-sport use of the ground with Tennis and Lacrosse sections of the club. The lacrosse team re-located to Timperly Cricket Club in 1970
     
This multi-use had not always been the clubs policy,however, as back in 1898 they had "evicted" Chorlton-cum-Hardy Hockey Club from their ground, causing that club to disband.

South West Manchester's score box and dressing rooms

South West 's ground is now on Ellesmere Road ,however some early reports indicate an entrance on Egerton Road  -- but the existence of a "Chorlton Congregational Cricket Club" whose pavillion , on this road ,was broken into ( and sporting equipment stolen) during February 1905 makes this a matter for conjecture .

The land it occupies was once part of Hobson Hall farm and according to John M.Lloyd  " ----- South West Manchester  Cricket Club now occupies the site-----" of the hall.

Other uses had been made of this open area from time to time ,notably a Whitsuntide gathering of Moss Side Unitarians on 19th May 1893 and "Volunteer shooting" practice on  2cnd October 1905.

The parent cricket club like the Hardy Lane one developed another sporting use of the site but here it took the form of a thriving Bowling section and the provision of snooker tables.
   
The post World War 2 history of these two venues  also includes some very interesting changes and events ; perhaps to be written up another time.

Finally ,and completely unrelated, but showing how one historical enquiry can so easily lead on to another  I uncovered this fact whilst looking for background on Hobson Hall. In the 1861 census one of the labourers on the farm was Henry Hayson who was to give evidence against the Habron brothers  in the P.C.Cock murder trial

© Tony Goulding, 2015

Picture; courtesy of Tony Goulding

Walking through Levenshulme’s history part 3 ............. the railway and the Town Hall

This is one of those images I wish I had taken.

We are on the on the railway line and behind the row of houses is the old Town Hall.

I could say more but I think the picture does it all.


Picture; Levenshulme July 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Another of Chorlton’s corner shops, number 2

Once the corner shop was a familiar and important feature of most of our towns and cities acting as much as lifeline to the late shopper as a place to pick up the gossip of the street.

Many have gone converted into residential use or left empty waiting for better days.

But those that survive against the competition of the big stores and convenience outlets are well worth recording, so here over the next few days courtesy of Andy’s pictures are some of ours here in Chorlton.


Picture; from the collection of Andrew Robertson, 2014

Remembering the Battle of Britain in Southern Cemetery

Now for many today the Battle of Britain is a piece of history, but for those of us who grew up in the 1940s and 50s it was an ever present event celebrated in countless films and still vivid in many people’s memories.

More so for those of us born in southern England who had ready access to the RAF aerodromes, and could pull on the stories of friends and family who saw the vapour trails over the Kent countryside.

But 75 years on and here in the North that all seems a little more remote so I welcome the exhibition of Battle of Britain memorabilia in the Remembrance Lodge at Southern Cemetery.

The exhibits are part of the much bigger collection belonging to David Harrop who has had a presence in the Lodge for years displaying material from both world wars.

The exhibition is unique for not only is it the only such collection on show in a cemetery but many of the items relate to men from the two world wars who rest in Southern.

The current display will last until the much bigger exhibition which is planned to commemorate the Manchester Blitz of December 1940.

Picture; items from the Battle of Britain courtesy of David Harrop

Walking through Levenshulme’s history part 2 ............. a police station, and some Victorian antique lace

Now somewhere I should be able to find the name of the architect who designed the police station in Levenshulme and with a bit of digging discover the exact date it was built.

I have passed it loads of times but it has taken Andy Robertson’s picture to focus my attention on the place.

It resembles pretty much the one on Beech Road which was built in 1885 and I guess will have been part of Lancashire Constabulary’s push to modernise its police stations.

The answer will lie in the archives of the Greater Manchester Police of the Lancashire County Archives, which will also offer up a date for when it closed.

That said there will be someone out there who knows and I hope supplies the answer.

For now it is just another of those buildings in Levenshulme which have long since become something else.

It’s neighbour the imposing old Town Hall deals in all manner of antiques and the bits and bobs that once were popular, then became unpopular and are again much sought after.

I should know on many a wet Saturday in the winter we have wandered through its many rooms.

For Tina who is Italian much of the stuff is fascinating and attractive, while for me the items bring back a shedful of memories and a realisation that what was once banal or commonplace has achieved collector’s status.

Who knows perhaps buried deep inside the cellars of the old police station will be some treasures as yet undiscovered.

Pictures; Levenshulme Police Station, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson, and the station in 1959, H Milligan, m39759, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass