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Dear
Aidan As a Mancunian who has lived in the States for 30 years now,
I truly appreciate your newsletter and especially the photo's.
Your May 29th issue shows a marvelous picture of the Old Town Hall,
I worked in the New Town Hall in 1948/1949 (Markets Dept.) and then
at what was then the Mode Wheel Cattle Market (which you recently
showed a picture of the locks) in 1950/1951 until I was called up
for National Service (RAF)
I am curious about one thing in your 29th issue, you say the Old
Town Hall was cleaned up in the late 60's. Is this correct? My failing
memory tells me that on one of my infrequent visits to Manchester
in the late 50's early 60's I seem to remember that the cleaning
had taken place then and how everyone was surprised at the actual
sand stone colour and not the thick black grime we all knew.
Not trying to be picky and I'm sure you are right, just trying
to test this 66 year old Mancunian's memory.
Keep up the good work, yours is the first page I read when I get
your E Mail. it brings back many fond memories. As an example you
recently printed a picture of Alexandra Park. As a boy I lived in
what was then Heywood Street Moss Side and spent many happy hours
playing in the Park and fishing for "tiddlers" in the pond.
I drove round the area in 1999 and was sad to see how dilapidated
it has been allowed to become. In fact compared with the 30/40's
the whole area appears to be run down. What a pity Moss Side and
Whalley Range were ideal places to grow up in when I was a boy.
Sincere Regards F.E. Pearson
Manchester's
parks are in a very run-down condition - unlike parks in Harrogate,
Chester, or Hyde Park London. Whalley Range is improving though,
and Moss Side has shared something of the regeneration of Hulme.
As
for the Town Hall, it was 'stately but soot-grimed' in 1958 (the
year of my birth) according to 'Memories of Manchester'. I'm certain
that the cleaning took place at the end of the 1960's, but can anyone
confirm? E-mail info (at) aidan.co.uk
Hi there, as Mancunian who has lived in New Zealand for the past
40 years I just wish to express my thanks for the photo's and write-ups
you are making available. I enjoy them very much. As I was born
and bred in Didsbury - (I left in 1957) - I hope that you would
consider a photo-shoot in that area also. I would love the opportunity
to show my "Kiwi" family something of the place I lived in and loved
those years ago.
Many, many thanks for what you've done to date ! Ron Bridle.
Very
glad my pictures and writing are being appreciated on the other
side of the world.
Dear Aidan, Although I live thousands of miles
from Manchester, I was recently able to view the proposals for Piccadilly
Gardens on the BBC website, as well as on your own.
I
must say that, on the whole, I think the ideas are good. The idea
of what is essentially a large grass expanse with a pond/fountain
(it's hard to tell) strikes me as nice and simple. The clusters
of broad deciduous trees would seem to be an improvement and even
the pavilion building (which I have yet to see a clear drawing of)
might not be so bad - sometimes a controversial building by a renowned
architect (in this case, Ando) is useful simply in terms of putting
a city "on the architectural map".
I do absolutely agree with you about the new building, however.
It would be a shame to put a modern building - no matter how interesting
on its own - in the proposed location.
What bothers me the most is that it would block the view of the
old hotel building (is it the Portland?) from the Gardens. Is this
building going ahead for sure?
Are there any last-minute attempts being made to block it? What
are English Heritage saying? What about the Civic Society? Are you
planning any "vigilante action" of your own?:)
While I think the rest of the plan looks great, it would be very
unfortunate to allow this new building to go up. It would be out
of character and would block the lovely 19th century warehouse buildings.
By the way, would it be possible for you to post some of the displays
from the exhibit at town hall on your website? Living in North America,
I can't exactly hop over and see them for myself.
Thank you, Tim Wood Vancouver, Canada
The
City of Manachester local authority are resolved to implement their
scheme, irrespective of the views of many people. A look in the
guestbook of the exhibition indicates that there are quite a lot
of people who have reservations about the building proposal. The
reason why Manchester City Council will go ahead it is because they
are short of cash and need to sell off the land in order to pay
for their expensive redevelopment scheme on the rest of the Gardens.
The
public need to be better informed - the City Council should present
their proposals on their website - It's not up to me to do their
job for them, though in terms of presenting positive images of Manchester
on the web, I've been doing it for the past three and a half years!
English
Heritage haven't put in any objection, the Civic Society have made
their views known, Manchester City Council have given themselves
approval for their own plan. What else can be done? I'm not sure.
E-mail info (at) aidan.co.uk
if anyone has any ideas.
I
noticed your photo in the Eyewitness in Manchester website.
The locomotive is 87003 "Patriot" Its home depot is Willesden,
north London, and was built in 1973.It has worked on the West Coast
Main Line all its life.
You mentioned the covering of insects. Don't forget that the train
has just travelled the best part of 200 miles from London, a lot
of the line in shady tree lined cuttings where insects like to live,
and has nowhere near the aerodynamic performance of a car, so insects
are far more likely to get splattered all over the front of a train
than a car on the motorway. I seem to remember a figure of 100 insects
on a train to 1 on a car, and don't forget that a train does 3 or
4 of these return trips every day, the best part of 1500 miles before
it can go into the wash...
Hope this helps. Jim Wilkie
I
stand corrected on the matter of insects, but I wonder if there
are any countries in the world where they have a policy of washing
the front of the train after every journey? - At least I wasn't
too far off with the year of construction. I love trains but I'm
not a train expert, so thanks very much indeed for your contribution.
From: John Berta
Piccadilly Gardens Redevelopment.
Firstly let me say that Piccadilly Gardens and the area around
Piccadilly Gardens including Piccadilly Plaza need redeveloping.
Secondly like yourself I was opposed to a building being built
on the Portland Street side of the Gardens. Unfortunately it now
seems inevitable that the building will be built.
So on Friday I went to the Town Hall to see the 10 designs for
the redevelopment of Piccadilly Gardens. After looking at all the
designs closely and comparing them I chose design number 3 for the
following reasons.
Firstly when you walk into Piccadilly Gardens via London Road the
building doesn't completely block off the rest of Gardens, unlike
many of the other designs. There's a Plaza Square on the right hand
side of the building which leads directly to the Gardens. You can
also walk underneath the building directly to the Gardens.
Secondly the building doesn't have a tower. A tower wouldn't match
the surrounding building's, plus a tower would cast a shadow over
the gardens.
Thirdly the building is an attractive design and it complements
the rest of the buildings around Piccadilly Gardens with it's size
and structure.
Overall I wasn't too impressed with many of the designs but at
least the City Council have given us an opportunity to see the designs
and comment on them.
The one grievance I do have with the design for Piccadilly Gardens
is the Visitors Centre opposite the Plaza. Firstly with the design,
it looks like a shelter and secondly because the building completely
blocks the Gardens from the Plaza and visa versa acting like a barrier
to a continuous Gardens.
I was wondering if you could add another category to your website?
The category being buildings which need redeveloping or demolishing
then redeveloping. A few example's are.
Redeveloping,
The Fire Station on London Road,
The empty warehouse opposite the new G.Mex lock's development.
The empty warehouse opposite the Malmaison Hotel on London road.
The empty Post Office building behind the Malmaison Hotel.
The empty building attached to the Ramada Hotel on Deansgate, opposite
the new Cathedral Street development, etc, etc.
Demolishing.
The Curry House outside Piccadilly Train Station.
The white office block opposite the old Bus Station on Canon Street,
behind Debenhams, etc, etc
Thanks
for your contribution - Yes, it would be interesting to look at
these forgotten buildings and feature them in a future Eyewitness
in Manchester update. Has anyone got any further suggestions?
As
for the proposed building for Piccadilly Gardens, I didn't find
any of the entries to be suitable, partly because they are all mediocre,
and partly because this site shouldn't be built on.
From John McGuire
I have to admit I was very demoralised at just how bad the entries
were. Still you should go just to see how bad they are!!!
I've researched the post-war plans for local government reform e.g.
the embryonic Greater Manchester County Council etc (which was far
bigger than it actually ended up) and the incorporation of Manchester.
This "Manchester and district" basically co-incides with
the Manchester postal area and would be somewhere in the region
of 1.3 million people now. I don't think anyone after war would
have believed that 50 years on Manchester is still waiting to have
all its districts incorporated.
In 1974 Manchester was let down very badly with mickey mouse districts
like Trafford, Tameside and the new Salford coming into being instead
of a united Manchester. Note however that Manchester chamber and
Manchester TEC cover these districts. Clearly because this is what
Manchester actually is, how it works, plays even speaks etc. Manchester
districts have already been hived off to other councils. E.g. Prestwich
in North Manchester which is forced to pay rates to Bury of all
places. As I go to Prestwich most weeks I can assure you that Bury
Metro has allowed this once proud North Manchester district to go
to wrack and ruin.
Local councillors generally only seek self-grandisement. What Manchester
needs is incorporation not cutting up. In 1974 Leeds expanded 5
times to include every town and village for miles around, whereas
Manchester still doesn't even include the whole of the city centre
(how come the signs on Chapel street show "City Centre"
towards Manchester Cathedral? Where-else would you have one "so-called"
city having a sign for "city centre" pointing at another
city!!! It's non-sense and dangerous non-sense.)
If these districts acknowledged they were Manchester districts
and had an input into the governance of the city centre we might
be getting somewhere, but these small-minded councillors are too
interested in trying to pretend they're not Manchester.
Look at the new Imperial War Museum at Trafford Park. Every commentator
talked about Manchester's new museum etc. and the leader of Trafford
council becomes furious because "it's not in Manchester".
The Lowry, Salford Quays... Manchester?!?
Same with the Lowry, a centre dedicated to a Mancunian artist (not
my cup of tea but anyway), on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal,
in Manchester's docklands and councillors in Salford get upset because
it's advertised as Salford Quays, Manchester. By cutting Manchester
up in 1974 instead of uniting the city, the whole city (whether
that is Stretford, Gorton, Prestwich or Salford) has been at a great
disadvantage to smaller upstarts like Leeds and Birmingham.
Manchester city council has petitioned the government for a unified
Manchester, but it seems to no avail. I've written to John Prescott
about the idea of one city council for planning, leisure, libraries
etc. but five Manchester districts for education, housing, social
services etc. but never even got a reply.
That's why a body like the Manchester Civic Society needs to lobby
for a solution to Manhester's local government disadvantages.
I don't like the way the City council is so lax when it comes
to developers. A city like Birmingham, which I don't have much time
for normally, went over the plans for Brindley Place brick by brick.
Basically Birmingham covers most of Birmingham. It was only in 1911
that even Aston Villa was incorporated into the city and Manchester
should have done the same with central Manchester districts like
Salford and Old Trafford.
The point is that Birmingham has the luxury of the resources to
have the muscle and time to insist on the new developments going
the way they want them, even if that means no development at all.
The bulk of Mancunians have no chance of influencing the city council,
because the majority by 2 to 1 don't even come under the city boundary
- and no other city in the UK suffers from this terrible handicap.
The city council has governance over the largest office, finance
and shopping centre outside London, but with very poor resources.
It is far more interested in getting the investment than attending
to details like a design to be proud of. A consultation process
is pretty useless when all the options are fouth-rate and the land
should never have been built on in the first-place.
I feel sorry for the City Council - I too want to see Manchester
wipe the floor with up-starts like Leeds. How is it to do that when
the playing field is so stacked against it by it's non-sensical
municipal boundaries? It intends to do it by agreeing to every development
it is offered and the Manchester Civic Society is merely an irritant.
Manchester Town Hall- but "Manchester"
ends
5 minutes away at the River Irwell
Hopefully one day the councillors will see that good
design = added value in the long term. While Manchester is still
divided between mickey mouse districts like Trafford, Tameside,
Salford I suspect the councillors will be too worried about not
losing the investment to concern themselves (other than superficial
consultations) with insisting on top quality architecture!!
Manchester needs uniting and quickly! Maybe if the Manchester Civic
Society put its weight behind the council's attempts for full incorporation,
it would allow us more power and influence when considering schemes.
Both want to see Manchester be the best, it's just that the city
council are being a great deal more expedient and are blinkered
to the harm they may be doing by accepting any old rubbish.
I've just finished an MBA and having a deserved rest, but I'm thinking
of trying to join one of the consulting panels in the autumn, being
a bit of an architecture buff. I just hope I never see as poor a
group of designs as I witnessed for Piccadilly on Thursday.
I
agree with most of what you've said. We should definitely be moving
towards a bigger, better Manchester, but at the moment, hardly anyone
even recognises there's a problem.
AIDAN
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ROCHDALE CANAL? IS IT TO BE IMPROVED
AND MADE NAVIGABLE FROM LOCK # 92 THROUGH TO ROCHDALE AND BEYOND,
I HAVE HEARD ROMOUR TO THAT EFFECT, BUT I AM SURE IT WOULD NEED
A LOT OF MONEY AND COMMITMENT. DEREK PARR (EX MIDDLETON AND MANCHESTER)
PS KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK WITH EWM
DEREK PARR 550 WOODGATE DRIVE MARIETTA GEORGIA 30066-3540 USA 001-770-422-9703
I'm
not aware of a plan to restore the Rochdale Canal. It's currently
silted up to a few inches below the surface. The Huddersfield Canal
is currently being restored, thanks to millions of pounds of lottery
funding. Maybe the Rochdale Canal will be given the same treatment.
Dear Aidan,
I am sure you get many personal requests but on the off chance that
you are able to find something out for me, I am sending you some
background info.
Up until the
early 50's (I believe) there was a Dairy in or near Ancoats. It's
name was Brough & Wilds. I can't remember the street address but
an old City Register would likely list it.
I was curious
whether or not the local area had been knocked down and rebuilt
on. My Grandfather, Arthur George Sands was a Director of the firm
for many years. He died in the late 1950's. He used to live at 2
Ingoldsby Avenue, Richmond Grove, Longsight.
In the Longsight
History Page, I was able to locate the house in one of the aerial
photos. I have been led to believe that this particular area is
no longer a desirable address. Also, his pub was the Shakespeare
near Ardwick Green where, among other things, he was a lawn bowling
expert.
One of his many
prizes, a barometer, now hangs on the wall above my computer. In
1938, I was sent to England by my parents to attend boarding school
in Heaton Moor. It was Heaton Moor College and I understand it has
disappeared and a housing estate built up on the site. I attended
this school from 1938 to 1943 when I joined the Royal Canadian Air
Force and I used to live with my Grandparents during the school
holidays.
If you can find
any evidence of the Dairy and/or any info about the Richmond Grove
area, I'd be most appreciative.
I enjoy the
photos you publish. While the street names are somewhat familiar,
the buildings have nearly all changed. Incidentally, I remember
"hearing" a few shift changes in Ancoats when the workers wearing
clogs walked to and from the local factories. It was quite a racket,
I recall.
I have enjoyed
your efforts for a few years now. Thanks for continuing to include
me on your mailing list. All the best, Don Child --
Donald A Child
I'm
sorry, I don't know. It's all part of the 'lost Manchester' that
most younger people nowadays have no interest in rediscovering.
To find this information would take some time, looking in local
records and registers and on maps. Unfortunately, I can't do this
do to work commitments - Can anyone out there help? Thanks for your
supportive comments. I enjoy publishing the pictures and reports!
Hi, my name is Tony Marshall, but the majority of people used
to know me as Anthony throughout my seventeen years growing up in
my birth town.
I
used to live on Royley Crescent and when I left school in the summer
of 1984, I briefly worked at the Elk Mill as a junior labourer.
My family and friends have a history of cotton mill experience especially
my late Grandmother and Grandad, Mary and Ellis.
Mary had worked at the closeby Shiloh in her courting days with
Ellis, who was doing his time in the army. On his return to civillian
life after accomplishing many jobs, Ellis finished his working days
at Her Majesty's Stationery Office in Chadderton and in conjunction
was the acclaimed concertina player with the Royton Morris Men for
many years playing such venues as the Royal Albert Hall. Mary died
in January, 1986 and Ellis passed away in October, 1993.
They had one daughter, Sheila, my Mum, who now lives in Feltham,
Middlesex who hopes to achieve her dream of visiting Philadelphia,
where distant relatives resided for some years.
Me....Well, I left Royton early, 1986 with a view to seeing the
big wide world...and that I did. I spent 12 years in the entertainment
business, primarily as a Disc-Jockey, working Europe and most recently
residing near Miami in South Florida for a short time. I now work
in customer service/IT and I've lived near Hampden Park in Glasgow
on and off for the passed decade.
Thanks
for sharing that with us! Amazing the memories a picture of an old
building can stimulate. Buildings are definitely more than just
bricks and mortarl. Elk Mill is now well and truly gone - in May
00 they've already started building on the site.
What I think
is that by the time I have my green card and am able to bring my
wife to show her Manchester, I am going to need a map to find my
way around. I lived in Manchester for 34 years and it seems it has
changed more in the last 2 years than it has in the previous 30
years.
I knew virtually
every street in Manchester city centre. I'd give it less than a
year before the new place is vandalised, so what's the point? Paul
I
sympathise with you - Too much change can be traumatic - But after
a massive terrorist bomb, the city had to be rebuilt. However, I
think the original Manchester should have been reconstructed - the
Victoria Buildings, the Shambles on it original location, and other
buildings that were destroyed by 1960's redevelopment. Thank goodness
there are streets in the city centre that have hardly changed at
all, like St John's St (right). Thanks for your comments.
Dear
Aidan,
Thanks
so much for your email giving me the details on how to get that
photo of Phillips Park Cemetery.
I have
now added this to my photo gallery of my family research. Just to
say I really enjoy all your pictures in Eyewitness in Manchester,
a lot of times it's like going down memory lane, or looking at how
Manchester is changing.
On
the photos of flight path coming into Manchester Airport, the last
one, showing Shadow Moss Road, the cream brick houses, right at
the front of the photo, was actually a photo of my mother-in-law's
house, the very end flat. It was such a surprise seeing this, and
so there was another one for my collection.
We've
been in Aussie for 30 yrs now so you can understand just how much
we love looking at all your photos of our old home town.
Thanks
again, and keep up the good work. Kind regards, Lynda Jones, Adelaide,South
Australia, ex. Mancunian.
Lynda Jones
Thank
you very much indeed for your message - The things people here take
for granted and often don't even notice are the things I like to
photograph. A picture can mean so much, especially if you're far
removed from the person or place in the photo!
Dear
Aidan
I am
writing to you just to say thank you for your Eyewitness in Manchester
and the pictures which go with it.
I regularly
have a look at the web site. I am a French person who lived in Liverpool
three years ago and is a lover of England and the North West.
I particularly
enjoy your photos which I use as backgrounds on my computer at work
.
One
month ago I had the opportunity to come back in the region and in
Manchester and contemplate for "real" the views I can see on your
web site. Eyewitness is also read by some of my friends who are
part of the British community in Rouen. Both of them are Mancunians.
It helps them to keep in touch with their city.
So,
thank you again Au revoir ! Nadege Tillier (a froggy who loves North
West England)
Merci
beaucoup de votre message. J'espère que vous continuerez
à visiter Eyewitness in Manchester. S'il y a des endroits
que vous voudriez voir, veuiller me renseigner.
Saw
your article about Ancoats. Never lived there - I come from Stretford.
They
are changing Manchester too much. I get there every few years, but
I don't know way around any more. It is losing its charm - it does
have some.
Sorry
about the mistakes, someone gave this machine and I am ttrying to
fathom it out. It's a whole new world to an old geezer.
Joe
Rick 15 Lavender Lane, Levittown, Pennsylvania, 19054 USA.
No
problem, I've corrected your mistakes - You are right, they are
changing Manchester too much, destroying its original character
and substituting mostly a sterile, characterless and mediocre environment.
Piccadilly Gardens is a good example. Very glad to hear from you
and hope you'll return to Eyewitness in Manchester often.
Hi
Aidan, I e-mailed you last year, I live in Calgary Canada and use
to work at the Salford Bus Depot in the 60's. I have a number of
photos of Old Lancashire buses, but I have lost the one I had of
Salford City Transport, you know the old green and cream colour
I know you did a article a while back, on buses, which I enjoyed,
However I don't remember seeing one of Salford City Transport ?
Do you know where I could obtain one ? Thanks a lot and once again
you do a great job, I know a lot of ex-pats who go to your site
and enjoy it. Cheers Ron Taylor
Thanks
for your favourable comments.
Try doing a search for "Salford buses" or "Lancashire
buses". A local writer called Ted Gray specialises in this
subject, do a search under his name too.
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