Partnership of archive & local history organisations at Manchester Central Library. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Blogs by volunteers and staff. Visit archivesplus.org for events, visitor information and more.
As the lockdown begins to ease, many of us are still feeling some isolation from our loved ones. We hope Archives+ can help you to stay in touch by publishing our popular memory boxes online which can be used as a starting point in discovering your family history, finding out what your family’s childhood was like, looking back at the area where they grew up, discovering their fondest childhood memories and maybe uncover some hidden gems in your family’s story.
Whilst many children are off school and some adults are at home, why not take this opportunity to find out about those important stories thus ensuring this history is passed on to the next generation which can often get lost or put off for another day as we lead our busy lives. Sharing memories of days gone by can bring families closer together, listening to elderly relatives can be a comfort for families as they gain an insight into their life stories.
Each week Archives+ will publish a memory box for an area in Manchester, this week our archive collections cover Didsbury. Below you will find a collection of images from Didsbury, alongside 6 worksheets. The worksheets are set around 6 themes: Industry, Place, Health and Living Conditions, Pastimes, Radical Thinking, and Communities. Using the worksheets as prompts to start up a conversation, write down your findings on a piece of paper, or if you prefer type into a tablet or PC.
In addition to this blog, the online memory box will be published on the Archives+ Facebook page. Dig out your old photos too, these can also be a brilliant resource to trigger fond memories of family times.We encourage you to share your findings on social media, either as comments on our Facebook page or on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #ArchivesPlusMemorybox
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If you are unable to share your photos and stories online, when the libraries reopen bring copies of your family memories into your local library. In the coming year we will produce an exhibition in your local library of selected submissions, shared both online and in person.
Please make sure that if you share any information with us that the person you have spoken to is happy for you to share it with Archives+.When sharing your findings try to avoid sharing too much personal information such as surnames and date of birth as these details can identify your loved ones.
Resources:
Unlocking Your Sound Archive have produced a blog about conducting oral history interviews with family members. The audio clips included in this online memory box have been kindly supplied by Unlocking Your Sound Archive.
Burton Road, West Didsbury, Manchester 1908(1103/119) e01 Mr. Woodall recounts where he was born on Lapwing Lane and his father’s shoemaking business. “… it was a shoe shop and GPO office, Post Office, this part was called Albert Park.” Courtesy of Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre Didsbury Village, Wilmslow Road 1967Wilmslow Road/Parrswood Road, East Didsbury 1959Graham’s Garage, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury 1967Healds Diary, William Street, Didsbury 1959Didsbury Village, Wilmslow Road 1967(1103/119) e02 Mr. Woodall talks about his family connections to Didsbury “…there’s a chemist shop in Didsbury village, corner of Oak Street…his father, my grandfather, he built them…” Courtesy of Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre Didsbury Village, Wilmslow Road 1967
Didsbury Railway Station and Memorial Tower, Wilmsow Road 1895 The Parsonage, House of Fletcher Moss, Didsbury 1890Didsbury Library, Wilmslow Road 1915 (Carnegie funded library, opened Saturday 15 May 1915)Greystoke Residential Home for female students, Mersey Road, Didsbury 1974 (Marie Louise Bagshawe lived here before her death in 1891 – see Marie Louise Gardens)Ye Old Cock Inn, Didsbury 1900Police Station, Didsbury Village, Wilmslow Road 1974Tram Terminus, Palatine Road, West Didsbury 1910
Didsbury Carnival, Manchester 1926Marie Louise Gardens, West Didsbury 1906 (gifted to the people of Manchester in 1903 by Josephine Silkenstadt in memory of her daughter Marie Louise) The Capitol Cinema (ABC TV Studios/Manchester Polytechnic), Didsbury 1959Parsonage Gardens, Didsbury 1925Didsbury Library, Junior Library, Manchester 1972Didsbury Cricket Club, Wilmslow Road, East Didsbury 1967 Northern Tennis Club, West Didsbury, 1953 (One of the oldest lawn tennis clubs in the UK)
Victoria Avenue, Didsbury 1960Riverside Court, West Didsbury 1966Didsbury Park, Manchester 1965265 Burton Road, West Didsbury 1964Lansdowne House, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury 1959(1103/22) Mrs. Arnold looks back at her life in domestic service; she moved from one household to Lansdowne House in Didsbury “…the cook when she got married…I took her place as cook and got a bedroom to myself for the first time in my life.” Courtesy of Tameside Local Studies and Archives CentreClyde Road, West Didsbury 1906Grenfell Road, junction with Grove Lane, Eversley Road and Springdale Gardens, Didsbury 1973
John Edward Taylor, editor and proprietor of the “Manchester Guardian” from 1861 till 1871 and proprietor till 1905 – owned the largest residence in Didsbury, “The Towers”Shirley Institute, Didsbury 1900 (The first meeting to build the ship canal was held here, it was then called “The Towers”)Daniel Adamson, purchased “The Towers” in 1874. Adamson instigated a meeting in his home at which the decision to construct the Manchester Ship Canal was taken. Main champion of the Manchester Ship Canal, chairman of the provisional committee promoting it.In 1920 “The Towers” was purchased by the British Cotton Industry Research Association and named it the Shirley Institute after the daughter of a Stockport Member of Parliament, William Greenwood.Lawnhurst, Wilmslow Road west side, Didsbury 1959 (Built for Henry Simon, father of Lord Simon of Wythenshawe)Sir Ernest Darwin Simon, moved to Lawnhurst at the age of 13. Lord and Lady Simon purchased Wythenshawe Hall and park from the Tatton family and gifted it to the city of Manchester in 1926.
St James’ Church, Didsbury, Manchester 1901 (medieval origins, second oldest church in Manchester with parts dating back to 1275)Beaver Road School, Didsbury, Manchester 1967Synagogue on right of picture, Queenston Road, West Didsbury 1974St Catherine of Siena, Roman Catholic Church, School Lane, Didsbury 1962Hollies F.C.J. Grammar School, Mersey Road, Didsbury 1967 (School on Right in Fielden Park)Albert Park Chapel, West Didsbury, Manchester 1905Fielden Park Youth Centre,Barlow Moor Road, West Didsbury 1973(1103/474) e01 Mr. Lancashire is asked about the Palatine Road area; he recalls doctors, the school he attended – Broomfield – and the people who lived there, including Jewish and Armenian families, as well as synagogues in the area. Courtesy of Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre
We hope you have enjoyed looking back at the photographs of Didsbury. More areas will be covered each week and if you would like to see more images, don’t forget to check out the photograph albums on Flickr and the Manchester Local Image Collection .
My sister and I were amazed to hear our Grandfather Tom Woodall talking to the archivist on your website and his 3 great grandsons can now hear his voice for the first time.
Tom Woodall died in 1985 aged 91.
His son -another Tom Woodall is still alive and well – and about to celebrate his 95th Birthday.
Mark Down rings a bell. It was the John Williams the grocer chain’s first effort at a self service grocer (as they were known before supermarkets). I worked at the Burnage branch on Burnage Lane in the mid 60s. My mother shopped at the Fog Lane branch.
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Lovely memories for me , as I was brought up in west Didsbury and Didsbury. I now live in far North Queensland, australia.
Hi, we’re happy to help bring those memories back to life for you. Kind regards Siobhan
They are nice photos and bring back memories. Currently live in Sydney. Where in Qld are you, if I may ask?
My sister and I were amazed to hear our Grandfather Tom Woodall talking to the archivist on your website and his 3 great grandsons can now hear his voice for the first time.
Tom Woodall died in 1985 aged 91.
His son -another Tom Woodall is still alive and well – and about to celebrate his 95th Birthday.
Wow that is amazing! It’s so lovely to hear this.
What now occupies the site of the old dole office in the Burton Road area?
Mark Down rings a bell. It was the John Williams the grocer chain’s first effort at a self service grocer (as they were known before supermarkets). I worked at the Burnage branch on Burnage Lane in the mid 60s. My mother shopped at the Fog Lane branch.
We grew up in west didsbury in the 70s onwards our nanna and grandad smith lived on Claremont avenue