The Story of the Blues

Posted on by modernmoocher

The story begins – and almost ends here.

Aged five or six I was given a plastic Tommy Steele guitar for Christmas.

I was so excited, that I insisted on running down the road, to show it off to my pal Colin Fearns. Setting off apace, then within moments I fell head first onto the wintry flags, crushing the instrument beneath me.

Well, I never felt more like singin’ the blues
‘Cause I never thought that I’d ever lose
Your love, dear, why’d you do me this way
Well, I never felt more like cryin’ all night
‘Cause everythin’s wrong, and nothin’ ain’t right
Without you, you got me singin’ the blues.

This tragic toddler Tommy Steele related incident apart, my 1950’s childhood was relatively happy, nothing really to bring on or sing the Blues.

Some years later, I eventually got hold of a cheap boxwood acoustic guitar, bought from Jones’s Music Shop in Ashton.

Add a copy of Bert Weedon’s Play in a Day and we are away, though Bert chose to eschew the blues – is there still a tavern in the town?

The story begins here, possibly.

In our early teens, school pal Clive Gregson and I discovered a Chess songbook, probably in the Music Exchange on Portland Street Manchester.

It included this Sonny Boy tune, its title at the time completely shrouded in mystery, what does it all mean?

It tends to mean you’re doing something that only ends up helping somebody else and doesn’t end up helping you.

Having never ever heard the tunes, we attempted to play the blues in our own inimitable style. Rehearsing and performing at Albion Schools on Crickets Lane in Ashton. We had acoustic guitars, and a tape recorder microphone, which was sellotaped to a brush stale, and plugged into a small, yet unreliable amp.

The microphone belonged to a Fidelity Argyll Minor reel to reel, my dad had won it in a sales promotion at Mothers Pride, where he worked. Sadly, no recordings of our bluesy efforts were ever preserved on tape.

The story begins here, possibly.

The cover image of Chicago tenements was taken in April 1941 by Russell Lee, for the Farm Security Administration.

A CBS double LP which I purchased from the record racks of a newsagents in Stamford Square, Cockbrook, Ashton under Lyne – it’s no longer there, and the LP is long gone too.

Coincidentally, in 1972 I used Russell’s image, as the background to my A Level Art pictorial composition exam piece, painted within a stone’s throw of the Ashton College of Further Education.

It’s three thousand, eight hundred and ten miles from Ashton to Chicago, but the music reached out to me across the wide Atlantic Ocean. I listened intently to the bluesy grooves, picking up some fingerpicking from Mississippi John Hurt along the way.

Police officer, how can it be?
You can ‘rest everybody but cruel Stack O’ Lee
That bad man, oh, cruel Stack O’ Lee.

It’s four thousand, three hundred and fifty one miles from Ashton under Lyne to Mississippi.

In addition to Paul Oliver’s record compilation, I read his Jazz Club books, borrowed from Ashton Library, later buying his book which went with the LP.

In the late 1960s, there was no easy access to blues music, the TV shop in the Precinct had carousel which contained a variety of Marble Arch Chicago compilations, licensed from Chess Records.

On the radio there was Mike Raven and his R’n’B Show – mixing soul blues and such on Radio One from 1967 to 1971. Real name Austin Churton Fairman, disc jockey, actor, sculptor, sheep farmer, writer, TV presenter and producer, ballet dancer, flamenco guitarist and photographer.

Mike was then superseded by Alexis Korner who in 1978 started to present his Sunday evening blues and soul show on Radio One, which ran until 1982.

Manchester has always had an affinity with the blues – record collectors, promoters and buffs encouraging performers to fly over to perform at the Twisted Wheel and the MSG.

The story really begins here.

In 1970 aged fifteen I went along alone to the Free Trade Hall to see this show.

Sister Rosetta a force of nature slinging a Gibson around with righteous verve, a white Les Paul Custom, in 1961, Gibson redesigned the Les Paul model with a thinner, lighter body, a flat top, and beveled and pointed double cutaways. After Les Paul rejected the new design, Gibson rebranded it as the SG Solid Guitar Custom model, and it became the company’s high-end solid body of the early 1960s

Her guitar serial no. 3749, is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.

Larger than life in every sense, her soaring voice and hot licks filling the hall with love. It seems extraordinary now to imagine that these giants of Black American music were right here in our town.

Coincidentally and curiously Sister Rosetta had recorded a Granada TV show in Manchester, at the now disused Wilbraham Road Station on 7th May 1964.

The musicians boarded the ‘Blues and Gospel Train’ at Central Station. When the train reached Chorlton everyone alighted and the gig took place. right on the platform. Whilst waiting for the train to turn up it poured with rain, giving Sister Rosetta a chance to play an impromptu ‘Didn’t it Rain?’ 

Willie Dixon was the walking bass behind so many Chess sides, along with production and songwriting credits.

Fronting upon the band was Walter Horton known as Big Walter or Shakey, long lean and besuited he blew and blew, that wail, chilling and spare, his huge hands enveloping and vamping, with just a touch of reverb.

On drums Clifton James, that cool behind the beat rhythm section that typified the Chicago sound, laconic and lean sounding.

American Folk and Blues Festival Copenhagen 1964: Jan Persson/Getty Images

Lafayette Leake on piano, bending and twisting notes at will.

Lee Jackson on guitar, a player whose style pushed forward the role of the electric blues.

Photo: Alex Küstner

Champion Jack Dupree became a citizen of Halifax, during the 1960’s, Champion Jack and his American station wagon were a familiar, if unusual, sight around Ovenden. Jack had met and married a local girl, Shirley, and their Ovenden home became the base from which he continued touring.

Loved that Crescent City rolling piano style and his sonorous voice.

The stand out artiste for me was Bukka White, the sound of the Delta in downtown down-home Manchester. I was familiar with his recording of Parchman Farm Blues from the Story of the Blues. Along with Son House and Skip James, earlier still Charlie Patton, developing a high lonesome singing style, accompanied by a rhythmic resonator guitar, a chilling sound that cuts right to the heart of your heart.

Here was a sixty four year old man, miles from home, sitting alone on the stage.

His father John White was a railroad worker, and also a musician who performed locally, primarily playing the fiddle, but also mandolin, guitar and piano, gave Booker a guitar for his ninth birthday.

Back home in Aberdeen in October, he was arrested and charged with murder over shooting a man in the thigh. He was tried on 8th November, convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, to be served in Mississippi State Penitentiary, commonly known as Parchman Farm, he was released after serving two years.

In 1959, White’s recording of “Fixin’ to Die Blues” was included on the album The Country Blues, compiled by Samuel Charters for Folkways Records to accompany his book of the same name and a key element in the American folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Bob Dylan included a cover version of the song on his first album, released in March of 1962. Dylan’s cover aided a rediscovery of White in 1963 by guitarist John Fahey and his friend Ed Denson which propelled him into the folk music revival. Fahey and Denson found White when Fahey wrote a letter to White and addressed it to “Bukka White (Old Blues Singer), c/o General Delivery, Aberdeen, Mississippi”, assuming from White’s song “Aberdeen, Mississippi”, that White still lived there. The postcard was forwarded to Memphis. Fahey and Denson traveled there to meet him, and White and Fahey remained friends for the rest of White’s life.

Wikipedia

Miles and years apart in terms of time and life stories, we remain immensely moved by the music of long gone blues musicians, all of whom laid down the foundations of most popular music.

Queens Hotel – Monsall/Collyhurst Manchester

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Sedgeford Rd Manchester M40 8QU

I have been here before, notably, as recored on my Manchester Estate Pubs site.

The pub was open, but the Alan Boyson mural was in need of repair.

The missing panel, stored in the pub’s cellar was subsequently reinstated.

Then, following a Modernist crowdfunding project instigated by Richard Brook and Christopher Marsden, Alice Vincent-Barwood restored the work, during July 2022.

Sadly in August 2023 the pub lost its licence and remains closed.

Wandering from Town to Moston yesterday, I happened to pass by, so I took some photos, here they are:

Martins Banks and Modernity

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Martins Bank was a London private bank, trading for much of its time under the symbol of The Grasshopper, that could trace its origins back to Thomas Gresham and the London goldsmiths, from which it developed into a bank known as Martin’s Bank from 1890.[1] That bank was acquired in 1918 by the Bank of Liverpool, which wanted Martins to give it a London presence and a seat on the London Bankers’ Clearing House. The Martin name was retained in the title of the enlarged bank which was known as the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Limited. The title was shortened to Martins Bank Limited, without an apostrophe – in 1928, at the insistence of the directors of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank when it was bought by the Bank of Liverpool and Martins. The head office and managerial control remained firmly in Liverpool, cementing Martins’ place as the only English national bank to have its head office outside London. 

It was taken over in 1969 by Barclays.

Wikipedia

To begin at the beginning, to begin in Sheffield – at Martins Bank Eyre Street.

Opened in 1961, Martins Bank’s branch at Sheffield Moor is new and purpose built, occupying space left in the Sheffield Moor area by the bombing of the second world war. Time flies however, and more than fifty years on, the building is empty and awaiting the next chapter of its life.

Martins Archive

Onwards to 38 Market Street Hyde – photographed as part of my Tameside Moderne book.

Seen here in 1963 – the year of its opening.

The rebuilt branch at 38 Market Street Hyde is typical of the clean lines and minimal fuss of Martins’ 60s rebuilds.  After a year or so in temporary premises at 25 Market street it re-opens in 1965, and a year later a smaller but remarkably similar looking branch is completed at Peterborough.

Martins Archive

Then last week in Burnley, I stumbled across another former branch, whilst on my Burnley walk – it is currently trading as the Real Food Hall, Vault Cinema and Above boutique hotel, having previously hosted a variety of retail outlets.

Architect: Mr J E Wadsworth of Samuel Taylor Son & Platt.

Discover Burnley’s premier destination for culinary delights. Nestled on Manchester Road, Real Food Hall offers a vibrant and diverse food experience that tantalizes every taste bud. Whether you’re craving gourmet burgers, delectable street food, or indulgent desserts, we’ve got something for everyone.

Enjoy top movies in a luxurious former bank vault, featuring high-end design, ultimate comfort, and a selection of premium snacks and beverages.

Indulge in next-level hospitality with Burnley’s largest, most intelligent hotel rooms — tailored for football fans, couples, and business travellers seeking a seamless, stylish stay.

Most people will remember Whitsuntide, 1963 as a weekend of blazing sunshine spent by the sea, or on the hills, or golfing, or just sitting in the sun. The staff of the two Burnley branches will remember it as a week-end of evacuation and invasion, Dunkirk and D-Day rolled into a lost weekend, the evacuation of Hargreaves Street and St James Street into the new Manchester Road premises.

Mr Jobling, who had controlled operations throughout, created a record that can never be beaten in working twenty-four hours’ overtime in one day! We welcomed our first customers at 10 o’clock next morning and a civic visit at 11 a.m., not only proud of our lovely building but very proud of and grateful to so many who had never spared themselves to achieve what at one time seemed the impossible.

In service from 3rd June 1963 until 19th June 1991.

Martins Archive

I was delighted to see that the Martins’ shield was still intact and in place.

This in turn lead me to the archival Designing Martins Banks.

Since the last war the uses of fibreglass have developed to such an extent, that there are now companies engaged solely in the manufacture of fibreglass products. Such a company is Carleton Russell Limited whose works at Loughborough. The company makes fibreglass signs and displays and has produced several of our Bank signs. At the time of our visit the finishing touches were being made to the huge sign, seen in the colour photograph below, which now gleams upon customers entering our branch at Digbeth, Birmingham.  

Why fibreglass – two of its advantages, light­ness and flexibility, have much to recommend it as the material for a wall sign, either inside or outside a building. The Coats of Arms carved in stone which once surmounted the two entrances to our Leeds office, have now given way to fibre-glass reproductions. Weather resistance is another valuable property of these signs and Hove branch, for example, exposed to coastal weather, is saved frequent cleaning and retouching costs by having its exter­nal sign made from fibreglass.

In addition to innovative materials, Martins began to employ Modernist Architecture, interiors and design to attract a younger customer base.

Particularly at their branch on 95 Wigmore Street London, where Ernö Goldfinger was commissioned to do away with the old and bring in only the newest of the new. 

Ribapix

The Manager’s Office.

And this is 95 Wigmore Street today.

© Diane Auckland / Fotohaus Ltd

New office development for Great Portland Estates on Wigmore St. Designed by architects ORMS, 95 Wigmore Street is a new office and retail development by the Great Wigmore Partnership, completed in 2013. The building occupies a prominent site in the West End, between the thriving restaurants and bars on James Street and yards from Selfridges on Duke Street.

Closer to home this is the Fishergate Branch in Preston, opened in August 1965.

Preston branch today is not merely impressive; it is handsome. The entrance porch is of clear glass but the windows are of hand-made tinted glass set in aluminium frames, the counter is of teak, faced with Sicilian marble, and the walls of the main banking office are of wide elm boarding with one large panel of silver grey marble. 

The management rooms are lined with cedar of Lebanon against a maple background and hot water coils in the ceilings warm all the office areas. Clearly the transformation has cost a lot of money and even the more humble rooms would not disgrace the London Hilton. Does the Hilton staff kitchen, for example, have built-in teak wall cupboards with magnetised catches? 

Now operating as a Barclays branch.

Maljoe Flickr

In the late 1950s,  Martins begins to commission works of art that can take pride of place in new branches, and in most cases reflect something of the local area – a kind of giving back to the people.  To begin with, this is neither a grand nor hollow gesture, and the character of many a branch is decided by its own unique internal décor and its artwork.

Such as the four elaborate carvings from Newbury Branch, depicting four local activities – Brewing, Weaving, Chasing and Farming.

Bristol Clifton 9a Whiteladies Road – the design depicts various buildings and landmarks in Bristol.

Designer – Philippa Threlfall 1966

Gloucester Branch 8-10 Southgate Street

Gloucester Cathedral, viewable from both sides: shatter-proof glass prevented hands from penetrating the fretted ceramic.

Designer Philippa Threlfall 1968

© Philippa Threlfall 

Philippa Threlfall has been making relief murals in ceramic since the 1960s. Together with her husband and partner Kennedy Collings she has completed over one hundred major works on sites all over the United Kingdom and overseas. Some of these were made for private clients, but most were commissioned for display in public situations – shopping precincts, banks, building societies, an airport, hospital and office developments.

Philippa studied Illustration and Ceramics at Cardiff College of Art and went on to qualify as an art teacher at Goldsmiths College London. She taught ceramics and painting part time for six years at North London Collegiate School in Edgware, and during this time began to receive commissions for mural work. 

Bournemouth 39 Old Christchurch Road, where sculptor Paul Fletcher’s creation exudes locality and security at the doors of the branch.

Where in the universe have we landed? Is this one of the wobbly sets from the 1960s episodes of Dr Who?  Even worse –  no need for LSD when paying in your £SD at the new Watford Branch – Bryan & Norman Westwood & Partners, architects 1962.

Ribapix – rear elevation.

The uneven cobbled effect on the floor, clashing with walls that look as if they might close in on you at any minute, must have made for an interesting visit to Watford.

The public space is comparatively dimly lit, with a black ceiling, slate floor and dark-coloured sculptural panels by Eric Peskett placed in echelon so that as you go into the bank the wall appears to be quite solid, but on leaving you see the street through the windows set between the slabs.

The counter top is a solid piece of Afromosia. The floor is of riven Delabole slate. The sculptured slabs between the writing desks have in parts a very smooth shining surface obtained by casting against glass and the insets are rough and dark, they were cast in rubber moulds. The ceiling is roughly textured Pyrok, dark grey in colour and intensely sound-absorbing. 

The Architect and Building News – 5 September 1962

Ribapix

And finally – welcome to dystopia 1967 – or Thornaby on Tees Branch, as it is known, an office drowned in its own grey drabness, a real nightmare in concrete. How many people were subject to trudging those awkward walkways with a pram, we can only guess. 

The in-house Martins’ magazine and archive may at times, have an ambivalent attitude towards Modernism, I myself, can only admire the optimism and originality, embodied in the work that the bank commissioned.

Many thanks Modern Martins, from thoroughly Modern Mooch.

Burnley Central Railway Station

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Burnley Central railway station is a stop on the East Lancashire Line, it is managed by Northern Trains, which also provides its passenger service.

Architect: RL Moorcroft of British Rail 1964-1966

Described by Claire Hartwell in the Buildings of England Lancashire: North as – of blue brick, bleak.

The station was opened by the East Lancashire Railway in 1848, as part of its route from Bury and Blackburn to Colne; here, an end-on junction was made with the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway line from Skipton that had been completed several months earlier. The service from Colne through the station to Manchester Victoria, via Accrington and Bury, was well used from the outset by the owners of the local cotton mills, who travelled from their homes in the area to make their purchases of raw cotton at the Royal Exchange several times each week. It was also possible to travel from the station by direct train to Blackpool, Liverpool and Skipton and even through to London Euston, via Blackburn, Manchester Victoria and Stockport.

1964 Red Rose Collections.

However, the cutbacks of the 1960s affected the station badly, with through trains to Manchester via Bury ending in 1964 (two years before the withdrawal of the Accrington to Bury service) and those to Liverpool in 1969 whilst the line to Skipton was closed to all traffic in 1970. This left the station on a 10.5 km long dead-end branch line from Rose Grove to Colne.

The station was rebuilt in 1965, its ground floor is at street level and the first floor at platform level.

Wikipedia

1985

On the day of my visit the hourly service to Colne was almost due, there were two passengers on the platform.

A single track to a dead end town, the booking office and waiting room locked.

Barrow in Furness – Housing

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Second time around in Barrow in Furness, following round one.

Having also written about the Car Park and Telephone Exchange.

Following the rapid growth of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, the construction of the Furness Railway following the discovery of deposits of iron ore in the Furness peninsular, and the development of industries using iron as a raw material resulted in many commissions for the practice – the population of Barrow doubled between 1851 and 1861, and doubled again in the next decade.

There’s a tight knit group of roads, where the housing is redolent of Scottish tenements.

Photo Nick Hedges Glasgow 1972

These are the Ship Street Tenements brick built in 1881-84, for the Furness Railway Company, they are Grade II Listed.

Architects Paley and Austin of Lancaster, the main contractors Smith and Caird of Dundee.

They provided accommodation for the families of employees in the Furness Railway Company’s nearby shipbuilding works, they consist of two identical four-storey blocks of nine tenements, making eighteen tenements in total.

Historic England

The area has been revitalised and improved in recent years and rebranded.

This beautiful and inviting public realm has acted as a catalyst for renewal of this neighbourhood in Barrow-in-Furness. The inspirational scheme won the award for Best Commercial Landscape Design at the Northern Design Awards in 2017 as well as winning the Adding Value Through Landscape award at the Landscape Institute Awards 2018 and it’s easy to see why.

The newly named Maritime Apartments are now advertised for short stays, demonstrating the increased desirability of the neighbourhood. Lisa Hart Pearce, Manager of Maritime Apartments has said: “The new landscape has transformed Maritime Streets, not only visually but holistically. People now have a happy, modern, green space to enjoy; full of colour and beauty. There is no doubt in my mind that the wellbeing of the local community has been positively encouraged by the regeneration of the area and I hope it will continue through generations.”

Hardscape

Next door are the adjacent sandstone Devonshire Buildings of old, constructed in the 1870s for the Barrow Iron Ship Building Company, by the Duke of Devonshire at a cost of £50,000, to house local shipyard workers, and recently refurbished by Holker Estate.

They are Grade II* Listed also by Paley and Austin of Lancaster

The buildings are currently for sale for offers in the region of £4,950,000.

Having once provided homes for the traditional shipbuilders, they now offer lets to the employers of BAE Systems.

Home to our pioneering Submarines Academy for Skills and Knowledge, Barrow-in-Furness is a hub for learning and innovation. We’re not just building the next generation of nuclear submarines here. We’re developing the next generation of engineering talent.

We’re always looking for talented individuals to join our team in Barrow-in-Furness. Whether you’re looking to start your career, or you’re an experienced professional looking for a new challenge, we might have a job for you.

Pedestrian Tunnel – Collyhurst

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Passing between Dalton Street and Bromley Street is a pedestrian underpass, subway or tunnel.

Beneath both the Bury and Rochdale tram lines.

Once upon a time in 1807, it wasn’t there at all.

Then in 1848, it was there, as the L&Y had established a rail route.

Studying historical maps, we can see the development of dense patches of housing, matching the city’s industrial growth, this is followed by a thinning of housing up to the present day – matching the city’s industrial decline.

There is yet another twist in the tale, as the development of Collyhurst Village and Victoria North, are adding another layer of housing history.

I have walked this area for several years now, recording the relentless but gradual change.

Including the pedestrian underpass, subway or tunnel.

On my most recent visit there were works cleaning the pedestrian underpass, subway or tunnel.

All Saints Church – Rudston

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School Lane Rudston Driffield YO25 4UY

We were wandering by bicycle in the Wolds – we came to see All Saints Church in Rudston.

I was particularly intrigued by the Twentieth Century stained glass.

Grade II Listed All Saints sits in the grounds of the famous Rudston megalith , this alone clearly points to the area being of ritual use thousands of years before this Norman church was erected. At 26 feet high, it is the tallest standing stone in Britain. The megalith was set here around 2000 BC, after being quarried and transported from the Cleveland Hills, west of Whitby.

It is a lovely early Norman church built around the year 1100 by William Peverel, lord of the manor. Of that Norman church, the tower remains, and you can still trace the original west entrance in the stonework at the west end of the church.

The Norman building was extended in the 13th century when both north and south aisles were added, along with the name and chancel arch. In the sanctuary is a slightly later sedilia.

National Churches Trust

Most of the Stained Glass in the Windows is modern, designed by John Hardman Studios – 1954-56, and replacing 19th century glass by Capronnier of Brussels and Hodgson of York, destroyed by a land mine in the second world war. The various depictions speak for themselves and these pleasing windows are worth examining, particularly the east window above the altar. It has four panels, the left one depicting SS Peter, Paul, James, John, Ethelburga and the Venerable Bede, the two central panels show the Blessed Virgin Mary and the child Jesus, and the living Christ ‘Reigning from the cross.’ The panel on the right shows northern saints Wilfrid, Cuthbert, Chad, John of Beverley, Alcuin of York, Oswald, Edwin, and most unusually William Wilberforce, MP for Hull and then Yorkshire, who pioneered the abolition of slavery.

Rudston Parish Council

Birmingham Museum have digitised Images of original stained glass designs by John Hardman.

Design for Stained Glass Window for Notre Dame Church Fall River Massachusetts USA – 1921

Chancel North Window by Arthur Lucien Ward 1915

Depicting Sir Alexander Macdonald playing the organ surrounded by a choir – We Praise Thee O God. Sir Alexander gave the organ, and was organist and choirmaster for nearly 50 years.

He designed for AR Mowbray from around the time of the First World War into the 1930s.

Millennium Window by Ann Sotheran.

Having completed five years at York Art School, then work experience with Harry Harvey FMGP, Ann chose to specialise in stained glass. After working as Harry’s studio assistant for several years, she set up her own workshop in 1987.

The Sower window by Harry Harvey – 1956.

Harry William Harvey FMGP born 1922 died 2011, was born in Birmingham and received his initial training in stained glass from the local firm of Pierce & Cutler. After the war he joined Wippells of Exeter, before moving to York at the instigation of another Wippells old boy, Harry Stammers, with whom he worked until establishing his own studio in 1956. He also collaborated over many years with Joseph Fisher of Shrigley & Hunt. Two of his assistants, Ann Sotheran and Sep Waugh also went on to establish their own studios.

Visit Stained Glass

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 

Luke 8:4-8

There is something of Graham Sutherland in the thorny angularity of the design.

Along with the lighter touch of Edward Bawden.

Later in the week I discovered more of Harry Harvey’s work, in nearby All Saints Kilham – the chancel north window 1967.

Depicting on the right Orlando Gibbons, Henry Purcell, JS Bach, St Hilary. Whilst on the left there is John Dunstable, St Gregory, St Ambrose and John Merbeeke.

Market Stall – Halifax

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I was taking folks on a Modernist walk around Halifax – I aways arrive hours early.

Having time to spare, I took a slight detour through the Halifax Borough Market.

Visiting Halifax Borough Market for the first time feels a bit like taking a step back in time. This award-winning market was first opened in 1896 and has been the beating heart of the town ever since. Its Victorian splendour can be seen throughout – on the ornate clock-tower, in the glass roof and on the intricate carvings. Décor and atmosphere combine to create a shopping experience that just cannot be matched.

Calderdale Gov

The Markets and Fairs Committee decided in 1890 to replace the overflowing market place with a new structure. Local architects Joseph and John Leeming were engaged to draw up plans. A £50,000 loan was obtained by the Corporation the following year, with the final cost rising to £130,000, which was £20,000 over budget. Work began in October 1892 and progressed slowly, until the market was officially opened on 25 July 1896 by the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George V and Queen Mary.

Wikipedia

The life of the market along with the high street faces an uncertain future, the local authority are doing their best to ensure that both have a future.

Through UK Government funding, we’re updating this iconic Victorian market. We’re creating a warmer and more welcoming place for people to shop, eat, drink and spend time.

Future High Streets

I have very fond memories of shopping with my mam on Ashton Market, and use my local market here in Stockport. I love the conviviality and the stimulating visual displays, the overcrowded abundance, a florid cornucopia of goods and services.

However, in this instance I was beguiled by an empty stall, the former home of Illuminate Electrical Supplies.

Gone now are the rich variety of shades, plugs, flexes, batteries and lamps, what remains are the bare bones of making do.

Odds and ends, fixtures and fittings, fitted in as and when.

Blackpool to Cleveleys Walk

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I have previously written about the Blackpool North Shore here and here.

Observing the shore from the promenade.

The shore was designated as a conservation area in 2018.

Yesterday, Wednesday 21st May 2025, the sun was shining and the tide was out, I decided to walk along the sands, and look towards the land.

To the right the Imperial Hotel – 1866-7 by Clegg and Knowles of Manchester, wing added 1875 by Mangnall and Littlewood. 

The hotel was established in 1867. Charles Dickens stayed at the hotel in 1869. In 1904, the hotel was extended with the addition of a large neo-baroque style dining room. In 1912, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll stayed at the hotel.In the mid 20th century, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and The Beatles stayed at the hotel. Queen Elizabeth II stayed at the hotel when visiting Blackpool. In 1985, Margaret Thatcher celebrated her 60th birthday in the hotel. In 2002, US President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair stayed at the hotel for the Labour party conference.

The hotel is Grade II listed.

Wikipedia

Join us at The Imperial Hotel Blackpool for an unforgettable experience where entertainment,  family fun, and group leisure come together. Book now and start creating memories that will last a lifetime. 

Grand Hotel – the hotel was built as the Pembroke Hotel in 1982, became the Hilton Hotel in 1999 and The Grand Hotel in 2017

The hotel was built next to the site of the Derby Baths 1939 – architect: John Charles Robinson who between 1920-1944 designed many of Blackpool’s landmark civic buildings including libraries, schools, swimming baths, leisure facilities and tourist infrastructure.

Sadly, the baths were demolished in 1990.

To the right the Savoy Hydro Hotel.

The Savoy Hotel, just north of Gynn Square, is one of the series of large red brick and red terracotta hotels built around the turn of the century. The architect was TG Lumb and the hotel opened in 1915; the sun lounge in Hathern’s cream faience was added in 1935 by Lumb and Walton.

Architects of Greater Manchester

The Cliffs Hotel started in 1921 – architect Halstead Best substantially rebuilt and enlarged the building 1936–37 and added an underground carpark

Castle Casino – architect: Arthur Hindle 1906

Arthur Knowles built the Castle at 64 Queens Promenade North Shore for his wife, who unfortunately stayed in France. The couple stayed in the house for a mere nine months during 1929. Apart from housing Belgian refugees during World War 1, it stayed empty until 1935. It then opened briefly as an old people’s home, before being bought by Lawrence Wright – AKA Horatio Nicholls, as his home.

Wright sold it in 1941, and after several years as the home of the Blackpool and Fylde Motor Club, it became the Castle Casino of today in 1965, first owned by wrestler Jack Pye, who moved to Blackpool in 1950. It has had various identities, and was last taken over in 2005, now being known as the Genting Club – part of a national chain of that name.

Former Miners Convalescent Home 1925-27 – architects: Bradshaw Gass & Hope, Grade II listed 

Converted to apartments in 2005 – trading as Admiral Point.

Norbreck Castle Hotel originally built as a large private country house in 1869, it was bought around the end of the 19th century by JH Shorrocks, who used the house to entertain friends and colleagues at lavish weekend parties. The popularity of these parties led to Shorrocks running them on a commercial basis by taking paying guests.

The S Block by architect WH Longworth 1912 – the N Block by Halstead Best 1933-34.

In the 1970’s the Motel wing was added along with, the large Norcalympia exhibition hall, the name was changed from the Norbreck Hydro to Norbreck Castle.

European Regional Development Fund cash of £450,000 was granted towards a regeneration project on Cleveleys Promenade. Wyre Council improved 64,000 sq ft of the promenade to create a more attractive place for visitors to the town. The latest work complements the £20m sea defence installation.

Broadbent Studio worked collaboratively from the outset with Wyre Council, Ferguson & McIlveen and Faber Maunsell in 2008, to create an exciting new promenade and sea defence scheme for the coastline at Cleveleys.

The Sea Swallow is a 10m tall structure that brings to life Wyre’s Mythic Coast storybook ‘The Sea Swallow’. The coated aluminium sculpture, has the feel of ‘a book coming to life’, with the two sea swallows symbolic of the town’s protectors emerging from the page. 

Granada Bowl Belle Vue

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Once upon many times ago we all went to Belle Vue – formed from John Jennison’s Victorian pleasure gardens and zoo, into an inner city funfair and entertainment extravaganza.

I went to the circus, competed in school sports days, watched the wrestling and music, I still go to the speedway – Belle Vue Aces now racing at the nearby National Speedway Stadium.

Then one day it all fell apart.

In 1979 the amusement park was leased to the main concessionaire, Alf Wadbrooke, although by then it was only open at weekends during the summer season. The long-promised restoration of the Scenic Railway had not happened and the Water Chute had closed. In August 1980, Wadbrooke was given notice to close down the park by 26 October 1980 and to have all his equipment removed by February 1981.

The Greyhound Stadium is now a housing estate.

In 1963 the Top Lake, formerly known as the Great Lake, was filled in and a 32-lane ten-pin bowling alley built on its site, just behind the Lake Hotel.

Known as the Belle Vue Granada Bowl, it opened in 1965, advertised as “the north’s leading luxury centre”. In 1983, after the rest of Belle Vue had closed, it was sold to First Leisure Group, and bowling continued for a time.

Wikipedia

The 32-lane Granada Bowl at Belle Vue, Manchester is believed to have been the first centre to be opened by Granada and the centre went on to become one of the most successful in the country. 

The centre was equipped with lanes and machines supplied by AMF and the rest of the centre was well appointed with a licensed bar and food operation. The centre was a joint operation between Granada and Belle Vue with two directors from each company on the board of Belle Vue Granada Bowl Limited.

UK Ten Pin

To mark the opening ceremony Lee Kates, with the support of the band of the 8th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and trumpeters of the Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry, introduced Granada’s Mr Chapman, who made a short speech and welcomed the guests. The golden ball was handed to guest Pat Phoenix, star of the TV soap Coronation Street, to roll the first ball.

Gala Bingo came and went too.

Buzz Bingo have announced plans to close nine of their 91 clubs across the country.

One of those earmarked for closure is the club at Belle Vue. Bosses are blaming the dwindling number of players following the Covid lockdowns as well as the ‘ongoing and challenging operating environment’ of increased energy bills and other costs.

MEN – March 2023

House has been called fro the very last time, the signage removed and the building tinned up.

I was cycling by today – 20th May so stopped to take a few snaps.

Blackburn Walk

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Arriving at the Railway Station

The station was covered by twin train sheds, an architecturally detailed canopy that covered all platforms. In 2000, due to its decaying state, it was removed, changing the nature of the station in a £35 million regeneration project. A new building was built on the main island platform. The Grade II listed original entrance built in the 1880s,including the station buffet and former booking hall, was retained and refurbished.

Wikipedia

Facing the station the 2015 development of hotel and office space.

Arriving by train into Blackburn Rail Station, visitors get the full impact of this carefully planned but ambitious regeneration project. Maple Grove’s aspiration was to offer something befitting of a city centre in one of the region’s largest towns.  Cathedral Square comprises a six storey BREEAM Excellent office building, designed by BDP, a Premier Inn Hotel, restaurants and cafes positioned around a new public square that acts as a link between the rail station, cathedral and beyond to the shopping centre.

Left onto Jubilee Street where we find the Telephone Exchange.

The site was formerly occupied by the Grand Theatre – in the 1950’s, Blackburn had no fewer than fourteen cinemas.  The Grand carried on being a live venue until its closure in 1956, before finally being demolished in 1958.

Blackburn Past

Further down the road the rear of another former cinema – The Olympia

The Olympia was opened on 19th May 1909 as a roller skating rink. It was a short lived venture and closed in November 1911. It was converted into the Olympia Theatre, presenting music hall/variety, opening on 12th December 1911. Seating was provided for 2,000, many on long wooden benches. The proscenium was 32 feet wide and the stage 50 feet deep. It was soon screening films as part of the programme.

It was converted into a full time cinema in 1921, although there were still some variety acts on the programme. All the original wooden benches used for seating in the theatre were removed and replaced by regular tip-up seats, reducing the seating capacity to 1,360. During the 1940’s, the Olympia Cinema boasted a café for the convenience of its patrons and it was operated by Jacksons’ Amusements, Ltd.

The Olympia Cinema was mainly independently operated, and closed in 1957. It stood empty for two years, then in 1959, it was taken over by Mecca Ltd, and converted into the Locarno Ballroom, later becoming a Mecca Bingo Club. It later became the Golden Palms Nightclub, Jumpin’ Jax, and since 2009 it operated as a trendy nightclub named Liquid & Envy.

Cinema Treasures

By July 2018 it was known as Switch.

Across the way The Central Hall.

Previous to 1900 the site at the corner of Mincing Lane and Mill Lane had housed a temporary circus, known as Ohmy’s Circus. The New Central Hall was built and opened in April 1900, and was used as a roller skating rink until November 1909, when it was converted into the 1,000-seat Central Hall Cinema.

Altered and enlarged to 1,372 seats in 1923, it was re-named New Central Hall Cinema. The proscenium was 20 feet wide, later enlarged to 22 feet.

The Central Cinema was closed in January 1957. Then in 1974, it was renovated and was converted into a Walkers Bingo Club, which remained open until at least 1995. It recently operated as a Riley’s American Pool and Snooker Club until early 2009. In November 2009 after a refurbishment, it re-opened as the VIP Snooker Club.

Cinema Treasures

Turn right into Darwen Street along to the former Barclays Bank.

Next door Lloyd’s Bank extension.

On Astley Gate the brown tiled remains of the Shopping Centre now known as The Mall.

The shopping centre was built in three phases, with the final phase opening in 1979. The centre was refurbished in 1995, during which the lower floor of the former Co-Operative Department Store was transformed into the Ainsworth Mall.

The centre was bought by Standard Life in 1993 and its name was subsequently changed to Blackburn Shopping Centre. Standard Life sold the centre in 2003 to Reit Asset Management.

In 2004, Reit Asset Management sold the centre to The Mall Fund. The centre was sold again in 2022 to the Adhan Group from The Mall Fund for £40 million.

Wikipedia

Around the corner the Mother and Child monument, created by Welsh sculptor Robert Thomas in 1974, who used his wife and child as models.

In 1974 the statue was placed in Lord Square, removed in 2007 and placed in storage, it was placed in Cardwell Place in 2012.

The Mall has been significantly remodelled, along with the adjacent Tower Block.

Above the Mall is a dizzying array of multi storey car parks – reflecting the various stages of development.

Next to the Central Library, the former Co-op Emporium by Walter Stirrup in Town Hall Street, opened in 1930, was converted into a £1m library by BDP, it opened on September 1st 1975.

Onward to 10 Duke Street – home to council offices and the NHS, the Tower Block is now no longer in use.

Blackburn’s former town hall tower block has over the years become one of our most recognisable buildings.  Sadly it is now starting to be given derogatory names, such as the ‘Big Empty’ and ‘Mothballed Monolith’.  But compared to how it looked some years ago, before being reclad in today’s design, it still impresses many visitors to our town.  Wouldn’t it be great if Blackburn’s ‘Big Empty’ could become full again.

Roving Mick

These tower blocks were the flats at Queens Park and in the background you can see the co-called ‘deck-access’ flats at Shadsworth.

Bowland House was one of three tower blocks built in 1963 and the only one still standing after the others, Ribble and Pendle, were torn down in 2001 to be replaced by homes.

In 2022 Bowland House was refurbished.

Former four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty was the guest of honour as Great Places’ Bowland House in Blackburn was officially unveiled.

Lancs Live

On the approach to Birley Street we walk through a mixed development of low rise housing, set in grassed and pedestrianised areas.

Birley Street Tower Blocks

Three thirteen-storey slab blocks built as public housing using the Sectra industrialised building system. The blocks contain 183 dwellings in total, consisting of 72 one-bedroom flats and 111 two-bedroom flats. The blocks are of storiform construction clad with precast concrete panels. The panels are faced with exposed white Cornish aggregate. Spandrel panels set with black Shap granite aggregate are used under the gable kitchen windows. The blocks were designed by the Borough architect in association with Sydney Greenwood. Construction was approved by committee in 1966.

Pastscape

1987 view of Birley Street development, with Trinity Court in the foreground: Tower Block

Back now into the centre – passing the now empty site of Thwaites Brewery, demolished in 2019.

Also missing in action is the 1960’s Market Hall – architect Tom Brennan.

The new Bus Station designed by Capita Symonds – replacing the old bus station.

The outward facing elements of the building are flat and orthogonal. In contrast, the underside of the canopy is free flowing and consists of a number of glazed slots cut in the canopy to allow daylight to penetrate onto the concourse area. Directly below each of the slots is a hanging loop which appears to be pulled down from the canopy to reveal a glazed opening. The composition of these draws inspiration from the cotton weaving looms, and drying cotton bundles, a reference to the town’s industrial past.

There are four loop types (A, B, C & D) which are arranged to alter the scale of the concourse and create a rhythm of peaks and troughs along its length. Loop A is designed to provide support to the whole canopy allowing the canopy to appear as one floating unified element.

Archello

Tucked away this mosaic panorama of the town.

Newspaper House – once the home to the Lancashire Telegraph, converted to apartments in 2017.

Finally to the Garde II* listed Blackburn Cathedral church – since 1926, formerly parish church, 1820-6 by John Palmer of Manchester.

Central concrete corona by Lawrence King 1961 – it was rebuilt in stone by Brian Lowe in 1998.

The Healing of Nations in steel and copper by Mark Jalland 2001.

It is a reflection on the opening of chapter 22 of the book of Revelation, new Jerusalem, and ‘the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations’.

Traditionally a stained-glass window at the east end of a cathedral would reflect a spectrum of light into the building but this sculpture projects the light out in a kaleidoscope of colour reminding us of Jesus the light of the world and the hope that we have in him. 

Annunciation and Christ in Majesty sculptures by Siegfried Pietsch 1965.

Crown of Thorns by John Hayward.

Lantern stained glass 1999 by Linda Hadfield, formerly Walton.

Further work by John Hayward.

Josefina de Vasconcellos

Haley Hill Flats Halifax – Again

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Here we are again making our way beneath Burdock Way and up to Haley Hill, the New Bank Development – aka Range Lane.

Built in 1964 – Architects Leonard Vincent and Ray Gorbing.

Tower Block 1987.

Subsequently overclad

Sadly the Beech Hill Flats in the centre of Halifax have been demolished.

Rhodar

It was a slightly overcast day, flattish light on the flats, so the photographs became monochrome.

St Clare’s Church – Higher Blackley

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186 Victoria Ave Manchester M9 0RR

Architect: Weightman & Bullen 1958

Thy were also responsible for St Mary’s Leyland.

This is the result of my two visits to St Clare’s – an urban church which is kept open each day. I urge you to visit as and when you can, you will be rewarded by an uplifting experience – the most refined, calm and spiritual space.

A striking example of post-war church design built for the Franciscans, combining original modern forms and references to historic ecclesiastical architecture. The church predates the Second Vatican Council, and is of traditional basilican plan. Apart from the original sanctuary arrangements, the interior is well preserved, with furnishings of note – the large mosaic over the high altar, depicting St Clare of Assisi raising the Blessed Sacrament by Georg Mayer-Marton, stained glass by Joseph Nuttgens, Stations of the Cross by David John.

Taking Stock

Mayer Marton was also responsible for the fresco and mosaic mural at the Church of the Holy Rosary, Oldham – which is currently under threat.

There is a large west window grid, continued at the base, where it is angled out, to form a canopy over the entrance. Mosaics in this position have been overpainted or lost.

Southport Walk

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Beginning with our arrival at Southport Railway Station – noting the striking internal structures.

The redevelopment of the station in the 70s, along with the attached retail elements was the work of Richard Seifert & Partners.

The applied mosaic identical to that used on the architect’s Hexagon Tower.

The Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway line was extended on 5 August 1851 to the current station which opened as Southport Chapel Street. At its largest, Chapel Street station had eleven regular platforms and two excursion platforms. Now six truncated platforms are in use – platforms 1-3 for Liverpool trains & 4-6 for Manchester, the rest having been demolished and the land used for car parking. In 1970 the former terminal building was replaced with a shopping centre.

Wikipedia

Exit the station to your right and proceed right along London Street to the concrete footbridge

Backtrack along London Street turning right into Haweside Street, where we find the Telephone Exchange.

Next to the Southport College buildings of formerly the Southport School of Arts and Crafts, former students include Frank Hampson and Marc Almond.

Architects Cruikshank & Seward 1935

Turn right into Hoghton Street and left onto Manchester Road where we find the Fire Station part of a body of buildings which includes the Police Station and Magistrates’ Courts, the approved designs were unveiled on 19th May 1936.

Photo – Kevin Hale

The original fire station was demolished and this iteration constructed.

Architects – SN Cooke, I Wynne Thomas & R Dickinson of Birmingham. The complex was constructed from 1938-40 by Messrs Tyson Limited of Liverpool.

The magistrates’ courts opened in February 1941 without a formal ceremony due to the country being at war, and also concerns that the building might be requisitioned for the war effort. An extension was added to the front west corner of the magistrates’ court building in the 1970s and all the windows were replaced in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

Heritage Gateway

The former courts are now home to Access Point.

There is also a group of contemporary houses on Court Road.

Around the block we arrive at Sandown Court – my extensive research shows the flats were a location for the Norman Wisdom film What’s Good For the Goose, a saucy serving of seaside slap and tickle.

Across the roundabout another residential tower.

Heading back along Lord Street to The Grand a Grade II listed building – originally built in 1923 as a garage and car showroom, it was converted into a luxury cinema in 1938 by architect George E Tonge. The Grand Cinema opened on 14th November 1938 with Arthur Tracy in Follow Your Star. 

The Grand Cinema closed on 2nd July 1966 with Sean Connery in Thunderball and Peter Cushing in Hound of the Baskervilles. It was then converted into an independent bingo club, it was last operated as the Stanley Grand Casino, and from 2007 became the Mint Casino, but this was closed by May 2016.

Cinema Treasures

It currently operates as The Grand Brasserie

Dress to impress

We have a ‘smart casual’ dress code in our bars and restaurants at The Grand, so we kindly ask that you refrain from wearing caps, ripped jeans, sportswear, trainers, or shorts after 6pm.

Next to the substantial War Memorial.

The memorial was designed by the local architects Grayson and Barnish, and the carving was executed by Herbert Tyson Smith. It was unveiled in 1923 by the Earl of Derby. Following the Second World War and subsequent conflicts further inscriptions and names have been added. The memorial is designated Grade II* listed building.

Turning into London Street we encounter this Art Deco delight – This newspaper advert is from the Formby Times, dated 21 October 1950, when the building had been taken over by Hepworths. According to them it opened about 1931 as Parkhouse, men’s tailors, later Hepworths. By 1958 it was a hairdresser’s – Andre Bernard, which lasted at least until the 1970s.

Back at the railway station we can see the shops which embrace it.

Architects Richard Seifert & Partners 1970

The following the pedestrianised retail area – we pass the Marks & Spencers next to a formidable slate frontage, and inevitably a Burton’s.

Southport Co-operative 1930 architect – WA Johnson

Ribapix

Turn right into Eastbank Street and back to Lord Street.

Garrick Theatre 1932 architect – George Edward Tonge

The Garrick Theatre was sold to the Newcastle upon Tyne based Essoldo Cinemas chain in January 1957 and the follow-spot box was converted into a projection booth. It opened as a cinema on 21st January 1957 with Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender and Maureen O’Hara in Miracle on 34th Street. It was briefly re-named Essoldo in the late-1950’s, but the Garrick Theatre name was soon re-instated. There were occasional stage shows, but these were not a success and from May 1962 it screened films only. During 1963 bingo was introduced on Sundays and Fridays. On 16th November 1963 it was closed as a cinema with the film Tom Jones starring Albert Finney. It was converted into a Lucky 7 Bingo Club – from 1984 a Top Rank Bingo Club and finally Mecca. It was closed in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cinema Treasures

Ribapix artist Cyril Arthur Farey

Redevelopment of the grade two-listed Garrick building on Lord Street in the town centre will include 12 apartments. Change of use plans for the venue, submitted by developer Garrick Southport, and approved by Sefton Council’s planning department, also include a pool, retail units, gym, box office, and a bar and restaurant.

A theatre area and performance space are at the heart of renovation plans for the mixed-use scheme.

Place North West

Back along Lord Street, turning left into Nevill Street – site of the former Thorps Café.

Onwards to Southport Pier and Funland.

Southport Pier opened in August 1860, it is the oldest iron pier in the country. Its length of 1,108 m makes it the second-longest in Great Britain, after Southend Pier. Although at one time spanning 1,340 m, a succession of storms and fires during the late 19th and early 20th centuries reduced its length to that of the present day. Grade II listed building, first listed on 18 August 1975.

Wikipedia

Sadly lost from Lord Street the ABC Regal Cinema 1938 William Riddell Glen.

Ribapix – John Maltby

Sunderland Museum

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Burdon Rd Sunderland SR1 1PP

In 1879, the Museum moved to a new larger building next to Mowbray Park including a library and winter garden based on the model of the Crystal Palace. US President Ulysses Grant was in attendance at the laying of the foundation stone by Alderman Samuel Storey in 1877, the building opened in 1879.

During World War II, Winter Garden was damaged by a parachute mine in 1941 and demolished the following year. A 1960s extension took its place, but in 2001, a lottery funded refurbishment of the museum created a new Winter Garden extensionand improved facilities.

Wikipedia

Built in 1879 by local architects J & T Tillman, the museum building is Listed Grade II and was the first civic museum to be purpose-built outside of London.

I have been unable to find any attribution for the 1960s extension, built in the Festival of Britain style.

The panels, on the rear elevation, were by Walter Hudspith, then Senior Lecturer at Sunderland College of Art. They were the first examples of public art to be commissioned in Sunderland and were made for the building’s 1962-64 extension; they represent music, art and literature. The panels were restored by Lesley Durbin at the Jackfield Conservation studio in 2000-01.

Twentieth Century Society

The tiles represent literature, art and music

The distinctive waved concrete canopy was constructed by council worker Fred Davis in 1963.

One day I was travelling south from Tyneside and I realised this was what I had always been looking for.

LS Lowry 1960 The Wear

Montagu Court – Gosforth

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Montagu Court Gosforth Newcastle upon Tyne NE3

I walked across the Town Moor toward Gosforth, then along Kenton Road and left onto Montagu Avenue.

Coming to Montagu Court – facing north, in shadow from the spring sun – constructed in 1963 by local architects Waring & Netts.

Modelled here by Northumbria University.

I took a look around, many thanks to the amiable resident, who gave me the lowdown on this high rise.

By the main entrance to the tower is this delightful concrete relief.

Rather circuitously I wandered around the adjoining streets – finding myself on the edge of the grassland facing the southern elevation.

I suggest that you take the footpath by the side of Ferndene Court, I didn’t.

Should you fancy a flat with a view house prices in Montagu Court have an overall average of £456,667 over the last year.

Then you can transform your home in the George Bond style.

Swan Hotel – Birkenhead

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Dock Road Seacombe CH41 1DG

Opened in 1878 as a West Cheshire Brewery pub, a Whitbread pub in the 1980s.

At one time named the Royal Swan, in the later years its name was changed to the Blazing Stump and before closure became a night club known as Bonkers.

A lost venue once loved for being the “wackiest fun pub” in the 1980s.

Date of closure unknown but thought to be late 1980s or early 1990s.

On the Dock Road was the ‘Swan Hotel which also opened in 1878. The nickname of the Swan Hotel was ‘The Blazing Stump’ and the story goes that an old seadog with a wooden leg used it to poke the fire. In those days pitch was used as a wood preservative, which is probably why his wooden leg caught fire when poking the fire one time too many – hence ‘The Blazing Stump.’

Due to its location near the Wallasey Docks majority of the customers who visited the pub came off the grain or ore boats. The pub would be thronged with Norwegians, Greeks, Germans, Swedes and Arabs and local people. When the pub was full the place had an unusual and interesting flavour because of this rare variety of people.

The ‘Stump’s’ days were numbered when less and less ships visited the Wallasey docks. The building still stands but remains unused, with the owner looking for a big payout sale. Or who knows, the doors may just open once more.

Wallasey Days Gone By

According to The Move Market, it last sold for £400,000 in 2022 – since then, its value has dropped by £37,000.

The talk of the town is now conversion to a go to destination.

Now construction company AP Mitchell and Evoke Architecture have submitted plans to Wirral Council to completely turn the site around.

The plans include outdoor seating areas with benches, an outdoor event space, food and drinks vendors, and a large bar. A private function space will sit inside the new building which will be called the Dock Road Food Hall.

Birkenhead News

The design works carefully to balance modern design with reminiscent character features, sympathetic to the original building and surrounding historic buildings of similar style. The result is a contemporary structure that aligns with the evolving character of Dock Road and the Wirral Waters masterplan.

Place North West

The character of the area is changes with the construction of modern housing and warehouse conversion – such as Redbridge Quay.

This is how the site looks, as of March 7th 2025.

Ellen Wilkinson Humanities Building

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Second time around, following my post in 2019.

A terminal halt on the Campus Capers walk.

Taking a walk around town on an overcast and intermittently showery Friday, we’re all here again.

Sat at home on an overcast and intermittently showery Monday, I took a walk around online archives.

1962 to 1963 Photos: Local Image Archive

The inner courtyard was originally paved, subsequently grassed over.

The lack of sunlight has resulted in the grass becoming both waterlogged and moss-bound.

As a former TMBC maintenance gardener I recommend raking out, aeration and a top dressing of light river sand as a remedy.

Ribapix 1964

The William Mitchell concrete panels are of a modular design, rotated to form distinct groups of horizontal and vertical rhythms. A number of the buildings elevations are clad in linear, diagonal and vertical forms, though the majority are curvilinear and organic.

Local Image Collection 1972

The Ellen Wilkinson building, home to Education and Communication, is one of the few buildings on campus named after a woman. She gained the nickname of ‘Red Ellen’ in her political career, due to her socialist politics and vibrant red hair colour.

Wilkinson was a successful Labour party politician and feminist activist, and a passionate and bold personality in the Houses of Parliament. She was made Minister of Education under Clement Atlee’s government, making her the second woman to ever get a role in the British cabinet. She was brought up and educated in Manchester, making her legacy on the Manchester campus even more significant.

Mancunion

Ellen Wilkinson is a large sized building with three blocks. There are six floors in C Block, five floors in B Block and seven floors in A Block.

There are three lifts and six main staircases within the building.

The floors are signed as Ground, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. This is slightly different inside the lifts where control buttons are marked as 0 instead of Ground.

There are link passages from A and B Block to C Block on levels Ground, 1 and 3.

The building was the work of George Grenville ‘GG’ Baines and Building Design Partnership.

This scheme pre-dates Wilson Womersley’s appointment as masterplanners for the Education Precinct but exists harmoniously with the later series of buildings. This is most likely due to the method of development before any ‘grand concept’. The incremental expansion of the University, following WWII, was largely dictated by the progress of compulsory purchase orders; this group was no exception. At the planning stages, the lack of a masterplan led to organising the wings of the buildings in an open, orthogonal arrangement. This would allow expansion in a number of directions, according to the next available site in ‘the dynamic situation’. The result was the creation of a small courtyard flanked by two five-storey blocks and a two-storey structure. All three buildings use the same pink-grey concrete. The plastic qualities of concrete were explored in both cladding and structural panels and the textural qualities exposed in the bush hammered columns, to reveal the Derbyshire gravel aggregate. The sculpted and moulded panels on the two-storey block and on the gable ends of the larger blocks were designed in collaboration with William Mitchell. The only other materials in the external envelope were the windows of variously clear and tinted glass. The window modules were set out against a basic geometry in three standard patterns and applied across the façade. This resulted in a clever interplay of vertical and horizontal expression. Phase II, a seven-storey teaching block, was not as refined in its details.

Mainstream Modern

if you have a moment to spare, why not ascend and descend the spiral stairway.

The seating area is almost intact.

This trio of abstract concrete forms, a B&Q Barbara Hepworth, has defied attribution, I adore it.

Similar curved panels have also been used at The Bower – Old Street London.

Roscoe Building

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Local Image Collection 1964

The Roscoe Building is to the University of Manchester what the Renold Building was to UMIST; its purpose was the unification of disparate lecture rooms into one building. In this instance it was a central hub for the Faculty of Science. Both buildings are by Cruickshank and Seward and share traits, though the Renold has arguably more flare. In the Roscoe Building the ground floor houses the smaller of the two main lecture theatres, the larger is an appendage to the main building, but both are accessed from the main foyer. As one ascends, the five upper floors are served by a central corridor flanked by smaller offices and laboratories on one side and larger flexible teaching and seminar rooms to the other. The glazed stairwell is expressed as a separate element.

The appraisal of the scheme in the AJ Building Study made claim that, ‘aesthetically the relationship of this staircase with the main tower is scarcely resolved, but the design has achieved the aim of making this an exciting staircase to use’.

This was the aim of the architect – if all the seminar rooms and lecture theatres emptied at the same time, there was not enough capacity in the two lifts to move everyone. The climb up the stairs is rewarded with a good view of the city centre, a photograph of which was illustrated in the same pages. The clear expression of the component parts of this building is a functional response to the demands, but also the part of the formal language developed through Cruickshank & Seward’s practice. Strong volumetric forms became something of a motif in the work of both John Seward and Arthur Gibbon.

Mainstream Modern

The open entrance area has subsequently been compromised.

Photo: Richard Brook

Performance Electrical Limited was employed to carry out the full electrical refurbishment to the new reception at the University of Manchester’s Roscoe Building on behalf of Armitage Construction.

In common with the Renold Building the Roscoe has an elegant glazed staircase.

So I walked it up and down.

Tram Trip To Altrincham

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The Trams

Cornbrook

Turn left out of the station, under the track and right onto Chester Road.

426 Chester Rd Old Trafford Stretford Manchester M16 9HD

The Veno building, was once a pharmaceutical company founded by William Henry Veno. He established a company in the US before returning to Britain and founded the Veno drug Company in Manchester in 1898. In 1925 the company was sold to Beecham Estate and Pills Ltd. In the 60s the building was under the name Progress House and was home to the Co-Operative Press Limited, later to become Trafford Press.

Derelict Places

The front elevation was originally in red brick, with a later faience facade applied.

Mr Veno was also responsible for Germolene.

Continue along Chester Road.

Westpoint 501 Chester Rd Old Trafford Stretford M16 9HU

Located in the heart of Trafford, Westpoint provides residents with a modern and stylish living experience, with views over Manchester United’s football ground and the city centre. Featuring an on-site gym, co-workspaces and a residents’ lounge, Westpoint is one of our most popular buildings and utilises energy-efficient technologies that provide a sustainable living experience.

Trafford Bar

You have reached the next station on foot – rather than retreating to Cornbrook.

Turn left into Seymour Grove.

Paragon House 48 Seymour Grove Old Trafford Stretford M16 0YH

Paragon House is located in the heart of the Trafford Civic Quarter which benefits from a 5 minute drive into the centre of Manchester and only 3 minutes away from Trafford Bar Metrolink station. The Paragon House scheme involve the conversion and full scale refurbishment of an existing office building to create 115 one and two bed apartments.

Back to the station.

Old Trafford

Oakland House 76 Talbot Rd Old Trafford London Stretford M16 0PQ

Oakland House is a landmark building providing high quality office space at the heart of Old Trafford. The property has an impressive entrance and reception area which includes brand new signage and contemporary seating, along with recently refurbished toilets and common areas throughout. The building also benefits from an onsite multi storey car park at the rear to provide an excellent car parking ratio as well as an onsite café.

97 Talbot Road former British Gas HQ originally developed for Norweb in the 1980s.

The sitefeatures a two-storey 5,730 sq ft building, making it ideal as a training centre, as well as a separate storage/workshop facility.

A recent refurbishment upgraded the accommodation to provide excellent floor heights and communication infrastructure, collaborative working areas, a staff canteen, cycle stores, showers and a biomass boiler with back-up generator to ensure a constant energy supply in the event of a power loss.

Kinetic Apartments 92 Talbot Rd Old Trafford Stretford M16 0GS

We identified a long abandoned office building with a perfectly located home on Talbot Road, close to Old Trafford Metrolink, and just minutes from the City Centre. Surrounded by celebrated suburbs, our development story in Trafford was born.

Trafford Town Hall Talbot Rd Old Trafford M32 0TH

Built 1933 with 1983 extension, designed by Bradshaw Gass & Hope of Bolton and built by the main contractor Edwin Marshall & Sons Ltd. Built of red Ruabon brick in Flemish bond on a steel frame, with gritstone dressings, and a mansard roof with slate on the lower part and plastic above. It has 2 storeys plus attic floor and basement, and is set in landscaped grounds with a sunken garden to the west. The 1983 extension is not of interest.

Grade II Listed

Duckworth House Bruntwood Works Lancastrian Office Centre Talbot Rd M32 0FP

Beautiful views across the Lancashire Cricket County Club and an exclusive roof garden promotes wellbeing and calm, brightening every day.

Located on Talbot Road, Lancastrian is a convenient 10-minute drive from Manchester and Salford via Chester Road. On-site parking is available for you and your visitors, and the Old Traff ord tram stop is less than half a mile away.

Electrical Sub Station Longford Road/Chester Road

Stretford Essoldo junction of Edge Lane and Chester Road.

Keep walking down Chester Road.

The Longford Cinema was opened on 12th October 1936. Designed by Henry F Elder of Roberts, Wood and Elder of Manchester, it was operated by the Jackson & Newport Ltd. chain.

It was taken over by the Newcastle based Essoldo Chain in August 1950, and renamed Essoldo. It was closed in September 1965 and was converted into an Essoldo Bingo Club, later becoming a Top Rank Bingo Club.

This closed in the 1990’s.

A resource for those wishing to know about the building.

Grade II Listed 28th March 1994.

Stretford Post Office 1931 – Architect: Charles P Wilkinson

Stretford Arndale

Stretford Mall has been at the heart of the town. Opened in 1969, it replaced the traditional shopping district centred around the former King Street. At the time of its opening, it was the sixth largest indoor shopping mall in the country. 

Stretford Mall, or the Arndale as it was known at the time, was opened six years ahead of the Manchester city centre location, and was the sixth biggest shopping mall in the country at the time.

Over the years the story that Mohammad Ali opened the centre has been ingrained into the fabric of the community, although he actually visited to promote malt-based bedtime drink Ovaltine!

The masterplan proposes to reconnect the town centre. To integrate residents, parks, public transport and the canal with the existing shopping centre for a safer, cleaner and greener Stretford. A series of smaller projects will put this into action. Re-invigorating the 1969 shopping centre and high street, greening the centre, opening up routes along the canal and delivering up to 800 new homes.

FCB Studios

Stretford House Chapel Ln Stretford Manchester M32 9AZ

Completed in 1968 at twenty three floors, Stretford House on Chester Road was for many years one of Manchester’s tallest residential buildings. The architects Cruikshank and Seward are also known for some of the city’s ‘s best twentieth century architecture, including the Renold Building at UMIST.

The Modernist

Back to Stretford tram stop.

Dane Road

Turn left out of the tram stop onto Dane Road

Dalton House Cross Street Sale M33 7AR

The building has been refurbished both inside and out and offers flexible floor plates, on-site car parking and a dedicated customer service team to ensure the smooth operation of the building. The ground floor of the building is occupied by two prominent retail units occupied by Majestic Wine and Ducati Motorbikes, with office accommodation on the upper 3 floors.

Manchester Offices

Continue walking along Cross Street.

Sale Pyramid/Odeon 22 Washway Road Sale M33 7QY

Designed by the famous British cinema architectural firm, Drury & Gomersall, the Pyramid Theatre is a classic example of an Egyptian-style cinema in Britain and had a 1,940 seating capacity.

Modern Mooch

The Pyramid Theatre was designated a Grade II Listed building in November 1987.

The circumstances in which the Pyramid at Sale in Cheshire was built were far from simple. The scheme was instigated by local entrepreneur John Buckley, who, having spent £5,000 on the site and commissioned a striking Egyptian‑influenced design from Drury and Gomersall, was not going to be put off from erecting the building by such a minor detail as the refusal of a licence. The refusal was brought about by protests from local churches, the police and rival cinema owners.  The building was ready to open by the start of 1934, but still the local authorities refused to grant Buckley a licence to open his Egyptian dream palace. The disgruntled showman responded by organising a massive publicity campaign and a petition, which eventually garnered 18,853 signatures. This stratagem finally forced the hand of the urban district council, who claimed that they had refused the licence because they had no evidence that another cinema was needed. Now they had no such doubts, the licence was granted.

Architects of Greater Manchester

Further along Washway Road on the corner of Oaklands Drive.

BT Open Reach Telephone Exchange.

The extension of 1966 is by Turner & Benson of Stockport overseen by the Ministry of Works NW.

Further along Washway Road.

Sale Lido 1934-35 Architect: Arthur Edward Lancashire

Opened on 10 July 1935, the Lido complex included a covered swimming pool, 130 feet long; domed solarium with facilities for natural and artificial sunbathing; café/restaurant; and lock-up shops. The pool could be covered over to form a dance floor during the winter months. The front elevation was clad in cream and green faience. In the sixties The Lido was taken over by Mecca and re-named the Locarno Ballroom, later Mecca Bingo – since closed.

Architects of Greater Manchester

Back track to Sibson Road – where we find these inter-war homes.

Turn right into Springfield Road where there are further inter-war homes.

Back tracking along Springfield Road to the Stanley Square Car Park.

This sits atop and adjacent to the recently refurbished Stanley Square.

A Simpson Haugh design project

Dine at fan favourites, and remember, good times aren’t just for weekends. Whether you’re after a caffeine fix, bar to prop up or even a pop-up gallery space, we’ll keep you busy any day of the week.

And if shopping’s your bag, we have it all. You’ll find household names rubbing shoulders with indie traders, alongside a curated mix of nail bars, barbers, greengrocers and all sorts in between.

Stanley Square is a unique take on the traditional shopping centre. We’re creating an eclectic destination where a-bit-of-anything goes, and the people are pride of place. You’ll come for the culture, and come back for the community vibe.

Walking back toward Sale tram stop.

Sale Town Hall 1913-15 Architect: Charles Thomas Adshead

The building was hit by a series of German incendiary bombs on the night of 23 December 1940 during the Manchester Blitz, a part of the Second World War: there were no injuries but the building was badly damaged. A programme of restoration works, which included the installation of a new clock tower with cupola, was completed in 1952. 

Brooklands

Turn left onto Marland Road, then left onto Washway Road.

Turning right into The Avenue, where we find at Wincham Road Sale M33 4PL

Avenue Methodist Church 1963 Architects: Halliday and Agate.

Return to and continue along Washway Road turning left into Park Road.

Bridgewater House 90 Park Rd Timperley Altrincham WA14 5BZ

Bridgewater House is an urban village development of 55 luxury apartments in the heart of Timperley.

Continuing along Park Road to Holy Cross Church 2001 – 97 Park Rd Timperley Altrincham WA15 6QG

Architects: Nick Rank and Mark Pearce from the architects firm of Buttress Fuller Alsop and Williams 

Reverse along Park Road to Timperley tram stop.

Altrincham

Turn right out of the station and along Barrington Road, turn right into Grosvenor Road.

Beneath the A56 you will discover this concrete Haçienda Hazards.

Take the wet steps to the right ascending to Woodlands Road.

Where you will find the Altrincham Methodist Church.

Barrington Rd Altrincham WA14 1HF

Continue along Barrington Road to Station House.

Stamford New Rd Altrincham WA14 1EP

Station House is a welcoming workspace in the centre of Altrincham situated adjacent to the Metrolink, rail and bus stations, and is just a couple of minutes walk from the retail amenities of the town centre. It boasts a newly refurbished reception and lounge area which is ideal for collaboration space. The building offers secure car parking, a manned reception and on-site building manager.

Manchester Offices

The Shopping Precinct of 1966-69 Architects: AH Brotherton & Partners.

This has been much reworked including the former Rackhams store, and the precinct rebranded as the Stamford Quarter

Bruntwood and Trafford Council have converted the building into Foundation, a 75,000 sq ft workspace and leisure destination in the town centre.

Place North West

Continue along the road to Ferrious – housed in a former Burton’s.

47-49 Stamford New Road WA14 1DS

With the desire to have a more public face, Ferrious took on the present showroom in 2018 and after extensive restoration the new showroom opened in March 2019. Ferrious is still led by Jeremy and Paul and in 2021 it will be thirty years since they first joined forces. With those thirty years of experience, along with an incredible team of talented Interior Designers who live and breathe design, Ferrious will ensure every part of your experience, either long or short, is professional, enjoyable and filled with exceptional knowledge.

Turn right into Regent Road, then left into New Street, sadly these flats are due for demolition.

To make way for the new apartments and townhouses off New Street, Trafford Housing Trust will have to demolish six 1960s-era apartment blocks. The apartments have structural issues and need new windows and doors.

Place North West

Continue along New Street turn right along the Higher Downs, right again into Woodville Road.

Our destination the BT Open Reach Telephone Exchange.

4 Woodville Road WA14 2AF

Joint Post Office and Ministry of Public Buildings and Works Research and Development Group – JRDG.

The JRDG’s aim for the Altrincham Telephone Exchange, was to ‘design a scheme based on a simple form of construction capable of erection within the ordinary resources of the normal run of building contractors, and entailing the minimum of maintenance and running cost’ [3]. The structural solutions were carefully evaluated with regard to both operational efficiency and the economy of layout and construction. The apparatus room was formed from a light streel frame, a simple timber joist roof and non- loadbearing cavity brick walls. The external walls to the ancillary accommodation were formed of loadbearing cavity brickwork, and the heating chamber and fuel store fitted with a concrete roof as a fire precaution. Continuous windows at high level on all sides of the apparatus room were designed to provide the best daylight conditions and the butterfly roof, designed to lead daylight into the centre of the apparatus room, formed a distinctive architectural feature. 

Lisa Kinch