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Goodbye to what was once Blockbusters, E Boydell & Company and once a very...
June 2015Well by the time the sun has warmed the hats of the demolition gang little will be left of the building that was once Blockbusters, E Boydell & Company in once a very long time ago our...
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1968 Manchester centre of English Football another story from Tony Goulding
First Division 1967-68Tony is now a regular contributor to the blog and here he writes of a time when Chorlton could boast plenty of top footballers.1968 like 2012 saw both Manchester clubs at the very...
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The night watchman............ out on the strets of Manchester in 1896
Once the night watchman would have been a familiar sight sitting beside his hut keeping warm at the brazier and maintaining a solitary vigil over the road works or building site.They feature in much...
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The story of one house in Peckham number 5 ............ an adventure out...
The story of one house in Peckham over a century and a half, and of one family who lived there in the 1950s.*The river, 1977It is just one of those things that when I look back to the Peckham of my...
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Digging deep into the history of 35 Demesne Road ..... a house empty and...
Now there is something I don’t like about empty and abandoned buildings.On a practical level it is of course the waste of a place which could provide a home or set of homes.But it is more I guess about...
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Looking for a bit of lost rural past
There is nothing sadder than seeing old agricultural machinery sitting neglected and rusty and prompts the thought that someone somewhere could find a use for them.Added to which they look so ugly...
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Revealing the history of Eltham High Street behind its buildings in the...
I like this picture which was taken in 1977 of the northern side of the High Street looking down to the parish church.And the reason why I like it is that it is a good starting point to learning a...
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Remembering Joseph Thomas from Chorlton who died in the Great War
The replica, circa 1920sI wonder just how many of these small replicas of the Cenotaph still exist.They would have been made in their thousands and displayed on mantle pieces and in cabinets across the...
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Looking for secrets in Mayfield Road in Whalley Range part 1 ................
We are in Whalley Range on one of those bright sunny days in early December which seem just perfect to capture something of the splendour of the houses.Like Andy Robertson who took the pictures I have...
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In St Ann's Square with an ongoing debate and lots of people
Now if you are of certain age, let’s say old enough to have thought “She Loves You” was magic and yearned for a TV programme which was in colour then I guess St Ann’s Square full of cars will be...
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The story of one house in Peckham number 6 ............ of conkers, trespass...
The story of one house in Peckham over a century and a half, and of one family who lived there in the 1950s.*A village churchyard, 1870Even in daylight a cemetery can seem a bit of a scary place when...
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On Eltham High Street in the 1930s
I am back on the High Street sometime in the 1930s, and this is Joan Wilcox behind the counter of the newsagents run by her parents.The shop was at number 36 and I have to thank her daughter Lesley for...
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Milk from a local farm delivered by horse and cart to Edge Lane
It is not the best of pictures and the date is unclear, so I will start with what we can be certain of. It is Edge Lane and the road on the right in the distance is Kingshill Road. We are sometime in...
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So no more popcorn and Power Rangers from the shop that was Chorlton...
Happier timesNow most of us will have a memory of Blockbusters on Barlow Moor Road.If you are grown up it will be choosing the Friday night video while the take away was being prepared, and if you...
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The mystery collection part 4 ............. the portrait, the town and the...
Now I am back with that mystery collection of photographs of which we know very little about.In all there are forty-six images which were originally on 4x5 glass negatives showing everyday life...
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I am, yours sincerely, Miss Christine Arscott.... a story from Sally Dervan
Another story from Sally Dervan.As an ex pupil of Whalley Range High School ( I attended in the 1970s )I was delighted to come across a collection of old school magazines from the late 1930s and early...
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The story of one house in Peckham number 7 ............ the wine cellar,...
The story of one house in Peckham over a century and a half, and of one family who lived there in the 1950s.*Dad and Glenton's circa 1948Now I took for granted that we had a wine cellar in our house in...
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Wishing you were here.......Eltham in the past, Nu 1 walking up to Shooters...
An occasional series which is short on words and just lets your imagination roam.This is a section of the OS map for Kent First Edition, 1858-73.If like me you enjoy looking at maps and plotting...
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When did our brick works close?
I am on another of my quests and this time it is to gather up memories of the Chorlton Brick Works.*It was here from the beginning of the last century and was supposed to have just a short life.The...
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On Shooters Hill in 1872
I am on one of those journeys and I am pretty much going to let the map do the business. We are on Shooters Hill in 1872 and we are looking at the OS map of London for that year.Now maps especially...
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