 Stockport
Road,
The Shops & Road Transport in the 50s and 60s.
This page is dedicated to the Stockport Road area of Levenshulme, and the shops that existed in the 50's & 60's. The above photograph, by Aidan O'Rourke, is contemporary and shows the shops opposite the Regal/Bingo Hall. When I was young these shops were L-R English's Fish & Chip Shop( later The Don ),a Grocers & a Butchers Shop. The Current look of these shops speaks volumes about the lack of "civic pride" and urban decay!! (photo 2003)
North Levenshulme boundary 1920s. Corner of Stockport Road and Matthews Lane. ( Via Ebay) The Crescent off Stockport Road I have always been intrigued by this Levenshulme Street! Apparently there was a Crescent Estate at one time. The Crescent consisted of The Crescent and Crescent Grove.
This picture supposedly shows the Crescent Estate Levenshulme in 1830 prior to the building of the railway. Were these houses demolished at some time in the 19th Century? ( Manchester Libraries)
This is the Crescent Garage on the corner of Stockport Road in 1965 (Manchester Libraries)
This photo shows Streets Removals on the Crescent. This corner is the start of the actual crescent, in the background is Crescent Grove which bisected The Crescent. It was in this area that Sir Norman Foster grew up! The white building to the left may have been a chapel at one time. (Manchester Libraries)
Do you remember these old hoses on Stockport Road close to the Crescent? They look to be mid-19th century or older. The photo was taken in 1959, and I think that they may have been demolished sometime in the 1960s. (Manchester Libraries)
This 1959 photo shows the old Mechanics Institute Building at this time serving as an M&S store, or to give it its full title The Manchester and Salford Equitable Co-operative Society Limited. Beyond is the Levenshulme Methodist Chapel, now The United Reformed Church. (Manchester Libraries)
A similar view to the one above. Possibly in the 1930s. A very busy scene. (via Ebay)
The church, 1970s,from Woodfold Ave. (photo Phil Auld) A view looking South from just north of Cromwell Grove. Early 20th Century. (via Ebay)
The House Of Music and other shops,1970s, Stockport Road. (photo Phil Auld)
Stockport Road looking south, near The Crescent. !970s (photo Phil Auld)
Another postcard view showing the west side of Stockport Road with the Church Inn in the background.
This photo shows the almost reverse view from the previous one. Taken from in front of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Bank Building? It shows people waiting for a parade, possibly the Whit Walks. You can gain some idea of the middle class nature of Levenshulme in the 1920s from the smart dress of the people. Sailor suits, straw boaters, smart suits and dresses. A far cry from today's "Scruffy" attire!!
A postcard view of Worsley Grove looking east to the LMS railway from Stockport Road.,early 20th Century. There were still cobblestones on Worsley Grove in the 1980s. Are they still there?
A Mercedes -Benz prototype lorry travelling north in Levenshulme in the early 1970s. This was the era when more trucks of foreign manufacture started to appear on Britain's roads. ( photo via stilltime.net)
A postcard view of a tram car in roughly the same location as the previous photo. Period would be pre-World War One.
This rather grainy Whit Walks photo relates to the preceding photo. The shops on the left background are the same ones to these! Note Coombes Boot Repairing Factory and The River Plate Fresh Meat Co! How fresh was that meat after travelling all the way from Argentina?? Albert Road/Stockport Road Corner in the 1960s
Some of the shops between South Street & Farmside Place 1960s.
The corner of Chapel Street & Stockport Road. Many changes her in recent times!
The shops opposite to the Railway Inn, butchers, chemists, Halsall's Newsagents, Trustee Savings Bank etc.
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Stockport Road, South Levenshulme on a gloomy day in 1994. This is the old Manchester & Salford Co-op store, which appears to be a burned out shell! This building, built in the 1920's, boasted a large grocery & provisions department & a separate butchers shop in the 1950's. It converted to a Supermarket in the early 1960s. The large hall upstairs was for many years the location of the "infamous" Browns School of Dancing! I lived nearby but never went to Browns. I would like to hear from anyone with memories of Browns. Did they have live groups? Did anyone famous ever play there?
The Co-op Store on the corner of Stockport Road and Manchester Street in 1959. Note the sign Co-operative Self Service! This was the first "supermarket" in Levenshulme. The store also had a seperate butchery department on the end. Manchester Street had no houses actually on it only the sides of houses, therefore no addresses!! ( Manchester Libraries)
This is almost taken from the same point as the above photo, but shows the railway bridge and all the shops on the west side of Stockport Road as far as New Day Furnishing. Also taken in 1959. ( Manchester Libraries)
The Co-op Store/ Browns site February 2004. Now occupied by a very modern block of flats. (Photo. Andrew Barber)
Shops on Stockport Road, opposite Crayfield Road & Levenshulme Town Hall. The corner shop, which was a newsagents for all the time that I lived in Levenshulme is in the course of re-construction. I believe that there was a fire here some time ago. Remember Summerhays Fruit & Flower Shop & Pendleton's Toy Shop. They were both on this block, along with Casemores Electricians and a host of other small shops. The road at the side was unadopted. Did it have a name? The two large houses before the bridge were, I think, owned by the railway. They were probably for the use of the original stationmaster of Levenshulme South.( Photo. Andrew Barber) Update:- The unadopted road was called Kevin Street.
A nice view of Levenshulme South Station, after it had been converted to a Wood & DIY shop. Note the lamp standard, converted from an original tramways power pole. ( Photo. Manchester Libraries) Postcard views of Stockport Road 1940s & !950s The following photographs were issued as postcards, and possibly sold in newsagents in the Levenshulme area.( All photos via Julia Wallace)
A familiar view of the corner of Stockport Road & Albert Road taken in the early 1950s. Clues to the date are mainly the absence of tram lines & overhead wires. Trams ceased to operate in Manchester in 1949. Note the signpost on the corner, and the Belisha beacons & bollards.
Almost the same view in the 20s or 30s. How busy the road looks & no cars in sight! Once again this scene is still familiar. Note telephone poles & tram poles. ( Photo via Les Cotton)
A similar view, perhaps at the turn of the 20th century. Levenshulme as we know it was already built at this time. Are the men waiting for the pubs to open? It could be a Sunday as they all look very well turned out. People certainly kept dress standards in those days!
Tram terminus Stockport Road early 20th century. Note the old Pack Horse Pub, rebuilt sometime after this photo was taken. ( Via Ebay)
A similar photo to the previous one. Note how tram passengers had to mount and alight in the middle of Stockport Road, ( Via Ebay)
Tram Terminus at the corner of Stockport Road & Albert Road. Note cobbled road surface. Still a very familiar view in 2004, all these building still survive. Probably taken in the 1930's or earlier. ( Photo via Les Cotton)
Tramcar on Stockport Road with New Day Furnishing store in the background. This view is postwar, but prior to 1949.Note shops in the background & white telephone box!
The Tram terminus earlier in the 20th century.
Tram Terminus in 1910. Note the original Pack Horse pub standing back on the right hand side of the photo. (Manchester Libraries)
There seem to be no end of images of the tram terminus at Albert Road. This one is similar to the one above. (Via Ebay)
This photo from 1959 shows the new Pack Horse pub, and further south the Beswick Co-operative Society Department Store. ( Manchester Libraries)
Stockport Road at the corner of Lloyd Road, early 1950s. Note bus station verandah & cobbles on Lloyd Road. The tram tracks were still there in the 1950s & early 60s! Isherwoods Garage is in the background with the spare land beyond at the corner of Cringle Road. A Shell filling station was built on this land in the early 1960s.
Manchester tram at the Lloyd Road terminus in the late 1940s. Note the ornate tram shelters, sadly demolished in the 1960s. Also the single decker bus in the background. This was probably a North Western Leyland Tiger on the 22 service to Eccles. This service was likely a joint service with Manchester in those days.
A Stockport tramcar heading down Wellington Road with Llyod Road terminus in the background. Stockport kept its tramcars until 1951! Note tram terminus & corner of the Monarch Laundry in the background. The building behind the wall is probably part of Blackbrook Farm. I don't really remember this wall! Was it demolished to make a laybuy for buses sometime in the 1950s? The Manchester-Stockport boundary lies just in the background. In the early 20th century this part of Stockport, namely Heaton Chapel, would have been in the county of Lancashire!
Interesting early 1960s view of Stockport Road, looking south . Note the Levenshulme Hotel & beyond the building which in the 1950s was the "dreaded" School Clinic. Within those walls lurked the "Nit Nurses" and a horrible dentist of "East European" extraction. Pardon the pun!! The clinic was originally built as a police station for the Lancashire Constabulary & had stables at the rear.( Photo via Brian Carter)
A rather faded postcard view of the previous location in the early 20th century. Tram lines, but no cars. Happy days!!
The above photo, taken in the early to mid 1950's, shows a view of Stockport Road from approximately outside the Levenshulme pub. Note tram poles converted to electric light standards. I wonder what was playing at the Regal? Car looks like a Hillman Minx or Morris Cowley! The view is of same area to the photo preceding it! ( Photo via Ken Musgrave) Levenshulme Town Hall
The above photo is probably from the early 1950s. The clues are that there is no evidence of tramlines or overhead wires, plus the tramline power poles have been converted to electric light standards. Although this is a rather dark image it is possible to recognize The Council Offices/Town Hall and several of the shops, namely Pembertons Printers, Kitchings Hardware and Poysers Auto Parts. Also note the very neat pavements and curbs. These were probably recently renewed as the road surface was raised & the tram tracks were simply buried! They are probably still there to this day! The bus approaching is a Stockport Corporation vehicle, likely on the 92 service to Hazel Grove.( Photo via Colin Irving )
The shops next to the Levenshulme Town Hall/ Antiques Centre in 1986. Harold Poyser and Pembertons Printers still in operation. Kitchings Hardware had been closed for many years by this time, but the two brothers who ran the store lived on the premises. Kitchings was a very old fashioned store, dimly lit and full of stuff like an Alladin's cave.One of the brothers, I think it was Harold, once showed me an old car that was in a garage at the rear of the premises. It had been laid up since the beginning of World War Two, jacked up on bricks. A real time warp!! Antique store on the corner where the Royal London Insurance Society used to have offices. ( Manchester Libraries)
Delamere Road corner with Stockport Road 1959. Notice the single petrol pump on the corner. Hamiltons' had a garage on Delamere Road, and ran a taxi service. The two parked Ford Zodiacs are probably the taxis ( Manchester Libraries)
Taken just a few yards further south this photo shows some of the other shops in this location. Hamiltons, the Opticians (in the attractive bow windowed building), Nicholsons Sweet Shop and the Herbalist next to St Mary's Church (formerly The Grand cinema)
Two views looking North on Stockport Road The first is early 1970s, looking much as it did in my childhood. The second December 2007. Some changes evident. Notice how most of the chimneys have disappeared!
Stockport Road at the corner with Alma Road. Compare to the next photograph taken in 1959.
A very familiar landmark in the 1950s, Brearley's Cafe & Snack Bar. This whole block was demolished in the early 1960s, and replaced with shops & supermarkets. This view is facing north from Alma Road with the well known "Wool Shop" and Hankinson's Ironmongers on the next block, and New Day Furnishings in the far background. ( Photo Manchester Libraries)
These two views from the early 1960s shown Hankinson's ironmongers and the Wool Shop, with a view looking north including the recently built Lennons? supermarket and in the distance evidence of the demolition of the old Levenshulme Sporting Club near New Day Furnishers. (via B R Robinson)
The opposite corner of Alma Road at an earlier date. Note cobbles tram lines and planning annotations ! Believe it or not the cobbles and tram lines are still under the current road surface. They were just paved over when the trams ceased running in 1949!!
The two previous photos show the demolition of Alma Park Methodist Church. What was the date? The top photo facing south includes George Glass & Regal Cleaners on the corner of Alma Road where Brearley's Milk Bar once stood. These stores are now "pound stores" and the site of the church is a supermarket, Quiksave?, in 2012.
A typical newspaper advertisement, from MEN March 17th 1961. Ready Radio Levenshulme Branch, 893 Stockport Road. A 17inch Black & White TV to rent for only 52 1/2p a week. Does anyone still rent in 2008??
This view taken in 1959 show the shops on Stockport Road either side of Hume Street. Baileys sold cycles and all the latest "pop" records. Hylda Riddell was a posh ladies dress shop. Bryce's was a Radio and TV shop with several branches in South Manchester. On the opposite corner was Timothy White and Taylor a large retail chemist chain similar to Boots. Finally was the South Levenshulme Post Office. It had a Royal Mail pillar box outside with a machine that dispensed stamps. ( Manchester Libraries)
Lancaster's Butchers on Stockport Road. Next door was what we called " The Mucky Book shop" The shop sold second hand books and magazines. Some of the magazines were quite risqué girlie magazines! If you dared to look in the window the owner would appear and "shoo" you away. ( Manchester Libraries) Levenshulme Chimney Sweeps!! When I was born in 1949 most households in Levenshulme would have used coal or coke for heating their homes. Open fires were the order of the day, there was no such thing as central heating, and houses were exceptionally cold in the winter. The smoke from the coal fires would carry soot up the chimneys, and so it was necessary from time to time to have your chimney swept to get rid of the accumulated soot. Levenshulme had several sweeps in my time, and I remember Mr. Heathcote being the one we used most. Chimney sweeps were also considered lucky, and many a wedding was blessed by the presence of a sweep.
The two images above show a photo of Charles Longton, and his business card. This shows him to have lived at 6 South Street near the Town Hall. It also shows that he was contracted to H.M. Government and Lancashire County Council. South Street was a narrow entry like street next to the Levenshulme Pub, with a row of very old houses.
Stockport Road "On The Buses" From Matthews Lane in the North to Lloyd Road in the South, Stockport Road was part of the busy A6. In the 1950's & 1960's the sight of the buses operated by the local corporations & bus companies was part of the daily scene. Buses were operated on Joint services by Manchester Corporation Transport & Stockport Corporation i.e. 92 & 89 services. Also the 93 & 94 operated from Lloyd Road. Other services that operated through Levenshulme included the 19 & 19X and the 22 service to Eccles. Other operators that ran through Levenshulme included The North Western Road Car Company, Manchester/Buxton service No.28. It was also common to see local tour operators coaches, Hartley's, Holts, Hackett's etc. And also long distance operators such as Yelloways, Barton, Ribble, Midland Red Etc.
Manchester Corporation, Stockport Corporation & North Western buses now preserved in the museum at Boyle Street, Cheetham Hill. The Manchester 92X may be a Crossley. Note the destination blinds! The museum is well worth a visit.
More Manchester buses at Boyle Street. Typical of the types & colours operated in the 50's & 60's. The second picture is of the commemorative plaque from Birchfields Bus Depot. Birchfields was originally a Tram Car Depot opened in 1928. Now no more, this is all that remains! Birchfields was on the border of Levenshulme & Rusholme.
This very interesting photograph shows two tramcars traveling along Slade lane, in the late 1940s. Note the advertising hoardings, Belfast only 5 pounds & 10 shillings return by air!! Also good old "Andrews" Liver Salts.( Photo via Julia Wallace)
Levenshulme tramcar 1920s. Probably taken at Hyde Road Tram Depot.
This tramcar appears to be heading south on Slade Lane heading north on a service from East Didsbury to Kersall, Salford.
Bus Tickets and other Trivia. Manchester and Stockport Corporation Buses. It's amazing what people hang on to, but thank goodness they do. These are after all small pieces of history. And to think we just threw them away at the end of a journey! Shame!!
These ticket images were all found on Ebay, where they were being offered for sale!
Essential reading for any latter day "Anorak" in the sixties! Another Ebay find.
50 years of Manchester Corporation Transport. A nice souvenir and a nice view of Parker Street Bus Station in 1953. Levenshulme Bus Routes
This photograph shows a single deck motor bus on Route 19C traveling between Droylesden & West Didsbury. The time period is probably 1930s. Ken Musgrave took this bus from Broom Lane/Barlow Road to Burnage High School pre-war. I used the same service to go to Didsbury Technical High School in the 1960s, Errwood Crescent to Parrs Wood Road! The service later became to 169/170 route, which probably still operates to this day! ( Photo via Ken Musgrave) The 169 & 170 ( earlier 19 & 19X) Bus route to West Didsbury
This is a preserved Manchester City Transport Atlantean sporting pre-Selnec colours. Note the route number 170. This was a one man operated service. The 170 & 169 service were originally known as the 19 &19X service. They ran from Abbey Hey in Gorton to West Didsbury/Southern Cemetery. In Levenshulme the 170 ran along Mount Road, Barlow Road, Cromwell Grove, Stockport Road, Albert Road, Alma Road and Errwood Road. The 169 service followed a similar route except that it carried on along Albert Road to Slade Lane where it turned south along Slade Lane and Burnage Lane. It rejoined the 170 route at Green End. One has to wonder why Selnec chose the awful orange and cream colour scheme when they could have retained this very smart livery!! SELNEC (PTE)? This was the start of the end of local towns operating there own services, and what eventually lead to the "mayhem" of the privatization of local bus services The letters stood for South East Lancashire & North East Cheshire. ( Passenger Transport Executive). Lloyd Road Bus Depot
The two photographs above show Lloyd Road Bus Depot in 1959. Originally built as a tram car terminus in the 1920s it converted to a bus terminus in 1949. It is situated on the Manchester/Stockport boundary, and the boundary sign can be seen in the foreground of the second photo. The island bus shelter is a leftover from tramcar days, as is the converted lamp post.( Photo Manchester Libraries)
A nice photo of a Manchester Corporation 94 bus leaving Lloyd Road terminus on its long journey to Southern Cemetery. This service ran right through Manchester City centre. Does a similar service still operate in 2009?
A shiny new looking Daimler on the 92X service to Heaton Chapel in 1957. This photo was taken at the bus pull in just beyond Lloyd Road and just over the Stockport Boundary. I would think that the 92X would go only as far as Manchester Road, Heaton Chapel, then turn around at School Lane and head back to Manchester!
The transport office on the corner of Lloyd Road December 2007.
The corner of Lloyd Road where the Monarch Laundry stood. There is now a McDonalds Fast Food location on this corner, but the low wall remains!! December 2007. ( George Nixon) Stockport Corporation Buses on Stockport Road.
A Stockport Corporation Leyland Mancunian coming out of Heaton Lane Depot on a Service to Hazel Grove. No route number is shown but this could be a 92. Note the old Heaton Lane Tram Depot, Stockport Viaduct and the George Hotel on the corner. Also the old style traffic lights, police call box and the safety barriers. Photo taken in the 1950s.
A Stockport Corporation Leyland coming out of Mersey Square on the 92X service to Hazel Grove. The bus looks freshly painted! This photo was taken from the opposite direction to the previous photo on a sunny day in the late 1950s or early 60s. Note old style traffic lights. Behind the bus, on the corner of Princes Street was the Stockport branch of Boots The Chemists where my father worked in the 1940s & 1950s
This photo shows a Stockport Corporation Leyland Titan ready to return to Manchester Piccadilly. It is parked at the bus pull on Macclesfield Road, just beyond the Rising Sun Hotel in Hazel Grove. Photo taken in the 1960s.
The Monarch Laundry on Lloyd Road1959. The bus stop was for the 22 bus service which ran between Levenshulme and Eccles. Note the road sign Wellington Road North marking the boundary between Manchester and Stockport. Also unofficially the border of Lancashire and Cheshire!! ( Manchester Libraries)
A really nice photo of an Express Dairies tanker,. turning into the dairy on Lloyd Road on a "drizzly" day, probably in the early 1960s. The lorry is an AEC Monarch. Note the North Western single decker in the background. Probably a Leyland Tiger on the joint North Western/MCTD service No 22 to Eccles. Also note the Monarch Laundry.( Photo by permission of Robin Pearson. Nynehead Books) Dobson's Dairies on Lloyd Road Before Express Dairies took over in the late 1950s, milk and dairy products in South Levenshulme were delivered by Dobson's Dairies using cream coloured electric milk delivery floats. I do not know how long Dobson's existed as a company, or if they had other premises. Update:-January 2013. I recently made contact with Peter McLoughlin whose father worked for Dobson's in Levenshulme & Chorlton both before and after World War 2. He sent me some photos from that period, some of which I am now adding to the site!
This is probably an NCB Electric Float. Dobson's had their own workshops and probably built the bodies onto NCB supplied chassis. The second photo shows a young Peter McLoughlin sampling a 1/3 pint while standing next to a Dobson's lorry at Lloyd Road, early 1950s.
An interesting photo of a bottle marked " Dobson's Dairies, Lloyd Road, Levenshulme" When would this type of bottle have dated from? (via Brian Carter)
Peter McLouglin was a popular kid around Lloyd Road! Here he is seen, with his posh pedal car, alongside a Dobsons articulated van. Also with some of the dairy staff. Late 1940s & early 50s.
Two more photos of peter at Lloyd Road. One with two dairymen & sitting on a milk churn with Madge!
Here we see Peter with Jack the dog. The Dobson's watch dog? Second photo shows Peter, Madge and a gentleman by the name of Peter Lamb.
Peter McLoughlin's Dad delivering milk in Chorlton in the 1920s? The horse is called Ginger!!
This photo from 1959 shows the shops on the boundary of Manchester and Stockport, Crossley Road on the left. (Manchester Libraries) Local Private Hire Coach Operators in the Levenshulme Area. Hubert Hackett, #3 Chapel Street, Levenshulme.
As can be seen from the above letter head Hubert Hackett originally operated out of 19-21 Carter Street, Manchester 15. They moved to premises at # 3 Chapel Street, Levenshulme, taking over the facilities originally occupied by William Hartley (Tours) Ltd.( via Geoffrey Hubert Hackett) I recently came into contact with Geoffrey Hubert Hackett, the son of the late Hubert Hackett who has very kindly sent me a biography of his father, plus some very interesting photos of the Hubert Hackett coach fleet and operations. Hubert Hackett ( A brief biography) "My father was born in Greenheys, Manchester in 1907, the youngest son of Tom and Leticia Hackett. At the age of 12 he started washing and cleaning hackney carriages, both motor and horse drawn at 5 am on his way to school. On leaving school at 14 he took an apprenticeship at Manchester Garages on Fords, but he also kept up the cleaning work. This following completion of his apprenticeship allowed him to save for and buy his first lorry. He was able to use his to get a contract with Beatty's coal merchants to take coal from the sidings to Gaythorne gas works. Shoveling three loads a day from the floor instead of two, as most did was, it was by this effort that he was soon able to buy a demountable coach body. This allowed him to continue to deliver coal in the week, then on Friday night to take the lorry body off the chassis, put the coach body on and on Saturday and Sunday take people to the seaside, mainly Blackpool and Southport. Thus was born Hubert Hackett Transport. Continuing to work in this way he was able to buy another coach and then another and by the mid thirty's had a substantial fleet (circa 25 vehicles). Throughout the Second World War he was on essential services moving troops and supplies between various army, navy and air force stations with regular runs to Scotland and Southampton, and at weekends taking parents to areas like Market Drayton, North Wales etc. to see their evacuated children. He was also in charge of the fire watch for Moss Side, and the demolition of bombed property He married my mother Ruby Wimpenny in 1941 After the war he concentrated on passenger transport acquiring several South Manchester coach businesses including Timperlys coach subsidiaries, Timperlys Blackpool, Wilmslow Petrol Co. and William Hartleys tours, and operated Manchester and Stockport taxicabs. He loved the passenger business over haulage because of the pleasure he got from seeing peoples smiling faces after a trip out. As important as the vehicles and the locations were in those days the essential acquisition was the licences to operate, and every operator was restricted to the number of journeys and passengers that they could carry to destinations like Blackpool or Llandudno etc. These licences were to protect the nationalised railways in the early days. After the war my father was taking a thousand people a day to Blackpool, and he had more than forty new coaches on order and was rivaling the North Western Road Car Company! Then a series of not unrelated, and some under hand events took place with a planted general managers corrupt accountants, and some other maneuverings. In the same period my father was hit by super tax that was nineteen shillings and sixpence in the pound, 97.5 percent. This meant him selling his garage, and several of his businesses. He became very ill and bedridden with a heart attack. On recovery, some six months later, he moved his much reduced business operation mainly into number 3 Chapel Street, Levenshulme. This was the old base for Hartley's, and from where he operated his diminished business until 1969, when through a protracted deal he eventually sold bits of his business to several of the other South Manchester operators and to Smiths of Wigan.
He lived at his house in Highfield Park, Heaton Mersey with his wife Ruby, his widowed sister Doris, my sister Stephanie and I until his death in 1984. My sister and I each having married and moved in the 1970s. Mother sold the family home in 1988 and moved to a smaller house in Heaton Moor, her sister in law moved there with her. Aunty Doris died in 1990 aged 90, my mother died in 2000 aged 80." Geoffrey Hubert Hackett. Some Photos of the Hubert Hackett Fleet and Operations Etc.
Bedford QB29 Seat Coach, circa 1950, location unknown. A very familiar sight to 1950s day trippers!
Off to the seaside!! Location, Adlington maybe!!
Outside the Denmark Hotel. Can anyone tell me the make of coach and the location. Maybe Denmark Road, Moss Side!
Early 1960s Plaxton Bodied Bedford. Making a comfort stop?
Coach being operated during wartime. Notice the cowelled headlights. Not sure of the make. Is it an AEC Regal?
Some of the drivers at Blackpool. Post -War. The driver on the left appears to be wearing an ex-RAF uniform!
Hubert Hackett Booking Office at All Saints, Manchester. These premises were later occupied by the Johnny Roadhouse Music Store.
A recent photo of the Johnny Roadhouse Store.
Hubert Hackett, wife Ruby, daughter Stephanie and son Geoffrey on the occasion of Geoffrey's 21st Birthday. ( All above photos via Geoffrey Hackett)
This Half-Cab Maudsley Marathon 2 (60093) Coach Reg JNB 416 was originally operated by Hubert Hackett Coaches, Manchester in the 1950s. It passed on to other operators in the Coventry area, and is now preserved at the Museum of British Road Transport in Coventry. William Hartley (Tours) Ltd, #3 Chapel Street, Levenshulme.
William Hartley (Tours) Limited operated out of garage premises at #3 Chapel Street. The business ceased operations in the early 1960s, and the premises were taken over by Hubert Hackett Transport who operated coach tours from these premises until 1969. (See Above).
The William Hartley ( Tours) Ltd booking office on Stockport Road between Cromwell Grove and Chapel Street. Apparently there was a passageway connecting the booking office to the garage at #3 Chapel Street. These premises were eventually taken over by Hubert Hackett. ( Photo Manchester Libraries) Stockport Road Toy Shops. 1950s & 1960s
Of all the shops on Stockport Road my favourites, as a child, were definitely the toy shops. The three main ones that I remember were Halsall's, Newmark's & Pendleton's. Many of the local newsagents also carried a selection of toys & games and the best one in South Levenshulme was Shaw's, facing Clare Road. Halsall's Toy Shop. Halsall's had two locations on Stockport Road. A newsagents next to the Trustee Savings Bank, opposite Albert Road, and a toy shop further south near to Elbow Street. They sold toys, bikes & prams, and at one time had a railway layout in the window that you could operate by placing a penny in a slot! I once joined their Christmas Club & saved all year to buy my first electric train set. Halsall's closed in the mid 1970s, when Mr & Mr's Halsall retired to Wales. At the closure they sold off a lot of vintage toys out of their old stock.
This is Halsall's toy shop in 1959. Note how the upper storey is set back from the shop frontage. (Photo. Manchester Libraries). Newmarks Toy Shop. Newmarks opened in the 1950s, and was owned by Mr's Newmark. Her mother operated the well known bazaar next door. They were only a few doors south of Halsall's. They sold cheaper toys & games, but you could always find something to spend your pocket money on at Newmarks.
Newmarks Toy Shop was the store next to the Army & Navy on the corner of Elbow Street, only a few doors away from Halsall's. It sold a great variety of cheaper toys. ( Photo Manchester Libraries) Pendleton's Toy Shop[. Pendleton's was a sports & toy shop. They were originally located next to Martins Dry Cleaners near Albert Road, but later moved to South Levenshulme opposite the Town Hall. Pendleton's was the last "real" toy shop to operate in Levenshulme. For most of the time I went there it was managed by a Mr's Brown, whose son Kenneth went to Alma Park School & later Didsbury Tech. Shaw's Newsagents & Toy Shop. Shaw's Newsagents was located on Stockport Road in South Levenshulme, opposite Clare Road. It was primarily a newsagent, but also had a large toy section at the back of the shop. They sold lead & plastic toy soldiers & also Corgi Toys, amongst many other toys & games. I remember that if you only bought one toy soldier they would still wrap it in tissue paper & put it in a paper bag. What service!! Babyfair. Babyfair, as its name implies, sold mainly prams & baby supplies. However, they did carry some toy lines, such as Spot-On cars and Tri-ang Toys. My sister Rosemary worked there for a while & I ended up with some great Christmas presents that year!
The above photograph shows my brother-in -law, David Arnold, playing with his Tri-ang Train set. This was a Christmas present in 1955. It was probably bought at Halsall's, as they were the local stockist of both Tri-ang & Hornby Dublo trains. I am now a collector of these old train sets, which were widely exported around the world. Tri-ang Trains Catalogue 1964. A Levenshulme Connection!
Although it is a very tenuous connection, the Blue Midland Pullman train shown on the front of this 1964 Tri-ang Railways catalogue, did pass through Levenshulme South station in the early 1960s. The real trains were based at Reddish Sheds, and made the daily transition from there to Manchester Central Station. They then operated a service between Manchester & London, St Pancras. I vividly remember the trains stopping at the Levenshulme South Station, while waiting for a signal, and the rumbling sound of their diesel engines. Does anyone have , or know of any photos of these trains at Levenshulme or Reddish? See my Railways page for more detail and photos. If anyone can remember any other toy shops that I have missed, please let me know. Also photos of Levenshulme toy shops would be appreciated.
This postcard view from the early 20th century is a scene showing the northern end of Levenshulme. It features the Levenshulme Congregational Church & the Mechanics Institute. This scene remains much the same in 2004. ( Photo via Les Cotton)
Stockport Road, North Levenshulme, looking south. This view is much the same in 2004, although some of the buildings on the west side may no longer exist. This view probably dates from the 1920's. ( Photo via Joy Mercer)
This photo of Stockport Road was taken from the corner of Carrill Grove. The period seems to be the early 1930s. Note the John Williams store on the corner, a well known name in grocery well into the 1960s. Also note the St. Peters Lytch gate in the background. The Police in Levenshulme As Levenshulme grew into a thriving community the need for a police presence was established and a fine stone faced police station was built on Stockport Road. This adjoined the new Levenshulme Town Hall. The station was under the control of the Lancashire Constabulary, and its coat of arms were emblazoned over the side gateway. There were very likely stables at the rear of the building. When I was a child this building was the local school clinic.
An early photo of Levenshulme Police Station.
This photograph shows Constable Irving, Levenshulmes first policeman 1890.
An interesting photo showing a police call box situated at the corner of Cringle Road and Stockport Road. This would be a refuge for patrolling police constables, and it also had an emergency phone for the use of the general public. Were there more of these boxes in Levenshulme. The box was painted blue, and was the Manchester equivalent of the Metropolitan Police box made famous as Dr Who's Tardis in the popular BBC TV series. When did this unique building disappear? Were there any other such boxes in Levenshulme? In the 1950s and 60s, Levenshulmes police needs were administered from the small police station on Stockport Road, near Crowcroft Park. Now the nearest police station is in Gorton.
This is the small police station in 1959. It later became an insurance office. (Manchester libraries)
Gorton Community Police Station.
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Yet another preserved Stockport 92X bus. Stockport operated a varied
fleet, and this may be a locally built Crossley. The coach next to it is a
Bedford OB, operated by Warburtons Coaches on a service to Blackpool. In the
50's day trips to Blackpool & Southport were typically operated by this
type of vehicle. Quite a long and interesting journey before the advent of
motorways. The buses passed through just about every town centre on the
journey. They even made comfort stops at pubs in both directions!
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