Author Topic: Dusty old Ardwick  (Read 9713 times)

lenny

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Dusty old Ardwick
« on: 14:39:50, 30/11/14 »
A bath in a tin bath infront of a blazing fire was a luxury,,We didnt have Electricity and what we never had we never missed but our treat was a radio which was run off acid batteries and the acid was housed in a glass container with a handle,,we used to obtain this from the local shop on ashton old road,,I cant remember how long it lasted but i can remember my dad disconnecting it on a saturday morning and connecting a charged one,,
Living in a small community like Ardwick had its drawbacks  but as kids we didnt notice them that much,,being on the main fairfield street road we saw the funny side of life,,The trolley busses shunted past our front door on the hour on a daily basis,,we was bemused when the trolleys would come off the cables leaving the busses stranded untill the clippie hopped off the bus and pulled the long bamboo stick from its cradle which ran along side of the bus,,He held onto the waving trolley and very deftly connected them to the overhead electric cable,,there was usualy a cheer fron us kids as the bus ambled on its way,,Much was the same for the old Trams,,they were fondly known as  ( bone Breakers ),,they were not  as comfy to the bumps as the busses because they had the wooden  slated seats like the garden bench and if you were traveling from town to fairfield street,your bottom would be in great need of a comfy cushion ond reaching your destination.
Opposite our house was the big green gate  and offices of Yates Brewery,they took up the whole row to chancery lane and at the other end of the street was the mitre inn and further down just before the arches was my Dads  local,,The Bridge Inn.
For years we live our secluded lives in this district of Ardwick,,we felt safe,,we had a park,,we didnt have grass but we had swings and a dobby horse and a round about,,our park was known to the locals as Bungo park and i have no idea why it should be called so,,nevertheless we kids of the district played and grew up there,,Nothing bad ever happened,,Mr Greenalsh the parky the kindly bespectacled man with a false leg used to play rounders with us,,During the summer a band used to play in the old  bandstand but this was later abandoned and was pulled down and as we kids grew up and moved away the old district fell into disrepair and eventualy pulld down,,its life blood,,the people of Ardwick had all gone there seperate ways to rebuild there lives elsewhere.
Bank Meadow Scool,,The head mistress was a very formidable lady by the name of Miss Marsh ,Atilla the hun would have been more appropriate name for this lady,,she was a vert strict,victorian type madam with short white hair,thick lyle stockings with brogue shoes and she would have been worthy of the SS,,When you were unfortunately sent for her strap she would bring it down with such gusto that i'm sure that her feet would leave the ground,,Mr Roberts was another teacher,,he was also a bully and relished  beating us kids.
A weekly trip to the wash house with our mam,, My sister Barbara and myself would help her push the home made box with pram wheels attached loaded up with our weekly wash,,inside the washhouse were huge boilers,,big sinks and washing boards where our mam used to scrub the hell out of our dirty clothes,,it was then squeezed through huge mangles and finaly hung on great racks to dry,,our mams would be singing and laughing and catching up with all the local gossip,,The dear old wash house as obviously gone now and life then is just a fond memory but i am sure if you take a stroll over the land where it once stood you will hear singing and hot steem rising,,
Anyone with memories of Fairfield  street or the district please get in touch,,pictures would be great,,my name is Len Wall and my sister is Barbara,,Thank you for reading,,Len.xx

 
 

celeste

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #1 on: 17:45:36, 30/11/14 »
What an interesting picture you painted Lenny

thank you :)
All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

lenny

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #2 on: 17:49:21, 30/11/14 »
Your more than welcome,Lenny,xx

Em Louisa

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #3 on: 18:52:37, 03/12/17 »
hi, hope you don't mind me resurrecting an older thread. Google search bought me here.

I'm just after some info about Bungo Park? It may have been spelt a different way by different people. I can't find it on any map or search other than in forums. My late mum was from Manchester and  before she died, she spoke of playing in Bungo park when she was a child in the 50s,  but I can't seem to find it on Google Earth.

Could anyone well me where it is or was  or just describe it?

p.s I enjoyed the description of the area Lenny. My mum said she used to sing a song called 'keep in wherever you are' because of a bus or cab. I don't think her house was far from Bungo park as she went there with her siblings while her mum was doing housework. She mentioned a terrible event where a young boy died in a nearby waterway. My mum and her family were rehoused in a new council house in Openshaw when she was a teenager. I don't know the name of the road she lived on near Bungo park, but I'm guessing it's not there anymore.

Many thanks.

Jim44

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #4 on: 20:38:25, 03/12/17 »
Hi Em, and welcome to the forum.
   Bungo park was at the end of Helmet st. which was off Pin Mill Brow. The river Medlock runs beside it and is probable where the young boy died, though I don't recall the incident. I think the park was recently closed, so may no longer be on Google earth. Hope this is of some help to you.

Jim44

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #5 on: 20:58:09, 03/12/17 »
Hi Em, I've just checked Google earth satellite and I think what was the park is shown as a patch of grass between Helmet St and Gidding Rd. The area looks highly industrialized now.

Em Louisa

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #6 on: 15:08:16, 04/12/17 »
Hi Jim44 and thanks for the welcome :)


I found a patch of grass on Google earth, looks like some workers are enjoying lunch by the greenery. I see the river nearby too, it's nice to get an idea of the place. Mum recalled a steep brick wall following the curve of the river but I guess it's all be redeveloped now.


Thanks so much for helping me spot it, I notice it's not too far from the Ashton Old Road, which makes perfect sense, I know the Openshaw to Droylesden area well (or used to, it's changed now!) as mum and her siblings moved further and further along the AOR. I remember Gorton market being outside and going there to get boxes of broken biscuits, but it looks like it's move inside now. We left Manchester for Surrey when I was 8 so my understanding of the layout of the city is sketchy - but I still say bath not barth!


I'm trying to build up a picture of my mum's life for the grandchild she never got to meet so might pop back with random questions from time to time.


All the best, Em.

migky

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #7 on: 16:54:50, 04/12/17 »
Hi Em & welcome, could it have been called Bunghole Park & kids shorten the name as they do?

Migky  ;)
I'm a bit like Marmite

Manx

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #8 on: 18:07:07, 04/12/17 »
Re: Em Louisa's quote,

"Mum recalled a steep brick wall following the curve of the river but I guess it's all be redeveloped now"
 
Aye, a dangerous place indeed! - the wooden fence of the park, this shot taken (1955)...

http://images.manchester.gov.uk/web/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=66215&reftable=ecatalogue&refirn=60394

A more recent shot, the River Medlock still clearly visible around the park perimeter.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.4763881,-2.2195235,18z/data=!3m1!1e3

regards from Manx

john5647

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #9 on: 22:02:58, 17/05/20 »
I use to live on 96 Chancellor lane Ardwick  later change to  Chancery lane  Ardwick . remember Fosters toffee shop and Dolmers toffee shop,  played on the red wreck and  bunghole park   and the queens picture house on saturday to watch flash Gordon we went to Chester Street School  Play Center  . i went to saint Aloysius junior and senior school . we also played  in the park at Ardwick Green  and  in the summer some guy with a bugle and would march  around ardwick playing his  bugle all the kids would follow   him  like the pied piper .  was agreat place to live   our house was demolished  in 1957 and we moved to northenden  could not believe all the  apple and pear tree`s  there was none in Ardwick in fact there was no tree`s at all i can remember , The young lad who was killed in the 1950s  was  playing in an entry and a wall fell on him and killed him .

Tom

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #10 on: 22:36:11, 18/08/20 »
I grew up in Ardwick in  Old Elm ST. opposite the Apollo cinema. We had the park at Ardwick Green-very old -mentioned in The Manchester Man by Mrs. Able Heywood. Her book set around the time of the Peterloo massacre will interest any one who grew up near Manchester Centre. A number of her references still exist. Sadly the council destroyed what Hitler missed and then had to demolish and rebuild the new stuff because no one wanted to live in it. Whole communities thoughtlessly destroyed. I went to Ardwick schools, Ardwick Muni. on Devonshire street and later Ross Place before going to Central Grammar in Whitworth Street. If any one would like to swap memories of those please comment Sadly time marches on. Tom. H

BM123

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #11 on: 14:20:42, 28/10/20 »
Noting the reference to "Old Elm Street, Ardwick" within this forum, does anyone know where I can find an old image of this street, please, as my Great Grandparents lived for a while at number 23. I've tried the Manchester Local Images Collection, but nothing doing there. Thanks.

Tom

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #12 on: 19:17:22, 30/10/20 »
Re 23 Old Elm St. My list of occupiers in 1948 says the householder was William Ettery Moulder. Claytons at no.13 I remember. We Lived at 16. Many may remember the family of Poulton the chimney sweep at no. 53. Like us he had a motor bike and side car . During the week it had a cast iron bath on it and the sidecar was replaced for outings at the weekend.  The houses 7 ,9 and 11 were bombed in the blitz. I grew up looking at the ruins and you could still smell the burning. I was told the families survived. My father did ARP,later Civil Defence work.Certainly makes you think! B  W  Tom H.

tobo

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #13 on: 16:56:34, 08/12/20 »
 ;D arrrr!
Hi Lenny, lots of  memories mate! we lived in Alderman st  Ardwick  till 1971. Oh I remember Bank Meadow school and to be honest we were very happy with the place. Yep re Miss Marsh but do you or any body remember miss Roscoe (nasty) miss Crowther (lovely) . Mr Roberts was VERY dodgy cant say much here about him. 
At the mo i'm busy with kids and grankids  but will get back on here, I do  some war research  mainly concerning mcr coppers. just a thought, maybe you know of Robert Ackerman his mum had a shop on Pinmill Brow, poor lad died on the arctic convoys
Keep safe
Tony

celtictony

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Re: Dusty old Ardwick
« Reply #14 on: 21:07:11, 02/01/21 »
Hi all, I'm Anthony Smith, brother Bobby, sisters Dot(Dorothy) Val(Valerie) and Angela. Mum and dad were Dot and Bob. Schools: Bank Meadow, Chester St, St Thomas's and finally Nichols. I remember the trolly buses, Almonds bakery just across the road, Joe's Vimto lollies, playing in the Ardwick cemetery and being chased by 'Mick the monkey man' or did I just imagine him.