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A page dedicated to this film with a Levenshulme connection. More "on location" photos added 9th May 2009 Levenshulmes Railway Past
2001 Chapel Street Reunion Levenshulmes part in two World Wars The shops on the A6, Past & Present. Industries in Levenshulme Levenshulmes Part in Aviation History SPORTS & LEISURE& Education in Levenshulme
Memories of the Streets, Avenues & Byways of Levenshulme Personal Memories E-MAIL Contact Me. Links to other Websites that I have found useful in my research SITE UPDATED 26th June 2009 SEE NEW PHOTOS OF Early Levenshulme.
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A personal view of Levenshulme, South Manchester, during the 1940s,1950s & 1960s. Compiled by George Nixon. A resident of Levenshulme from 1949 to 1973. Welcome to Levenshulme Then & Now
My Website has now been operating for over 5 years. I have not had much time to add new information to the site during the last year, but I now intend to devote some time to updating and revising the site in the next few months. If you are new to the site and have any interesting memories of an historical nature, old photos or just memories please Email me at:-9631876@telus.net or nixonkg@telus.net LEVENSHULME PREFABS Did you live in a Prefab Bungalow after the Second World War? Due to shortage of housing for returning servicemen and their families a programme was set up to build cheap affordable housing. This consisted mainly of pre-fabricated homes which could be built and erected fairly swiftly. I remember these prefabs on Broom Lane and also off Mount Road. Were there other sites in Levenshulme? The Pre-fabs were only meant as a temporary measure, but they continued in use well into the 1960s. I would appreciate any information on these post-war icons. Do any still exist today in the Manchester area?
A typical bungalow style Pre-Fab. 1940s - 1960s
Pre-Fabs in Levenshulme. 1) Elsa Road 1965. 2) Broom Lane 1959. ( Manchester Libraries)
This postcard would appear to be from the period between the wars. Hard to date, but I would guess at the early 1920s. (photo via Brian Carter)
A very mixed bag of Levenshulme postcard views from the 1950s. Compare to the postcard below. (photo via Brian Carter)
The above postcard was sent to me by Graham Knight who found it on a recent visit to Levenshulme. "Lovely Levenshulme!!"
Some more postcard views of Levenshulme from the 50s and 60s. 1) Marley Road junction with Stockport Road. Much more ordered than this "shabby" area in 2009. 2) West Point and shops. 3) St Andrews Church, where I was married in 1973. ( photos via Brian Carter) My Christmas visit to Levenshulme, December 2007 I recently visited Manchester over Christmas and New Year 2007. During that time I took the opportunity to visit Levenshulme. I stayed with my friends Dave & Irene Irving in Cranmere Ave. The weather was not too co-operative, but I managed to take quite a few digital photos to use on this website. I was looking for comparison photos, plus evidence of wartime Levenshulme. Some of those images will be showing up on the site as I update over the next few weeks.
Dave & Irene Irving December 29th 2007. My old friends and charming hosts during my visit to Levenshulme.
Cranmere Ave 1960s. The Avenue has changed little since this photo was taken. Dave and Irene Irvings house is in this image. ( Manchester Libraries) Tony Fisher. A Levenshulme Celebrity Discovered I have recently been in correspondence with Tony Fisher, who was born in Levenshulme in 1936,and lived at 31 Station Road ( now Crayfield Road) until 1950. Tony, who is a world renowned trumpet player and session musician, was discovered by Carroll Levis as a teenager and went on to have a stellar musical career playing with some of the worlds top artists and bands. He is still playing professionally to this day!! I have included his memories on the Cinema & TV page. I also heard from Tony's sister Doreen Booth, and her memories will appear on the Levenshulme Memories page.
Tony Fisher world renowned trumpet player, and currently leader of the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra. Joe Silmon. Yet another of Levenshulmes Talented Musicians. I recently came across another Levenshulme musician, Joe Silmon, who I briefly knew in the early 1970s. Joe has kindly allowed me to use some of his biography and photos. I will be featuring this information in the near future. Interestingly Joe knew Tony Fisher in the early days! The Gretna Green Dairy. A Mystery Solved!! A recent correspondent, Trevor Irving, contacted me seeking information on a business that his great grandfather operated in Levenshulme. The business was called " The Gretna Green Dairy" situated at 193 Stockport Road. At first I thought that he had got the number wrong, but he sent me a copy of a business card which confirmed the number. I did some research and found his great grandfather on a list of Levenshulme businesses dated 1905. At some time after this date the numbers on Stockport Road were changed and the location of the shop is now 907 Stockport Road, and it is located on the South Corner of Stockport Road And Elbow Street. Trevors great grandfather moved back to Gretna Green in 1912, and I do not know whether the business continued under the same name. In the 1950s it was a grocers called Bradys. Later it became part of a large newsagents occupying three shop bays. Does anyone have any more information on the Gretna Green Dairy or when Stockport Road was renumbered
WG Davis business card for The Gretna Green Dairy 193 Stockport Road, Levenshulme.
Two views of the location of The Gretna Green Dairy, taken in the 1950s & 60s ( Manchester Libraries)
Two photos sent to me by Trevor Irving showing his great grandfather WG Davis at the front of the Gretna Green Dairy prior to 1912. Compare to the photos above. Also a photo of W G Davis and family taken at the rear of the Gretna Green Dairy. PAT KIRKWOOD Actress Does anyone have any memories of Pat Kirkwood, the stage and screen actress? She did not live in Levenshulme, but was a pupil at Levenshulme Girls High School on Errwood Road. I believe that she lived in Buirnage. Apparently she is still alive, and lives in Yorkshire. Update:- Pat Kirkwood sadly passed away on Christmas Day 2007. She was 86 years old.
The scenes above are from a British film called " After The Ball", starring Pat Kirkwood and a very young Laurence Harvey. The film is based on the life of Music Hall star Vesta Tilley, and was made in the early 1950s.The late Laurence Harvey also lived in the Manchester area during his early acting career, but I do not know whether he ever had any connection with Levenshulme. http://www.images.manchester.gov.uk/ Try this link to the Manchester City Council Web site for photographic images. There are over 77,000 images in total. Over 1400 images of Levenshulme!! A truly amazing site.
Levenshulme Then & Now, The story so far. Since launching this website in October 2003, I have received quite a few favourable comments & some suggestions from people who have found the site while browsing for information on Levenshulme. It is encouraging that I have been in contact with two teachers, one from Alma Park School. They have indicated that they may use this site for their local history studies. This is very encouraging, but it is also a reminder to me that this site can & will be viewed by all ages. Therefore I will ensure that the contents do not offend. If you feel that any of the images may be offensive please let me know. I have also had a great deal of help recently from Andrew Barber, several of his photos relating to Barbers Removals & Levenshulme in the 40s & 50s are now on this site. Andrew even went & photographed Errwood House, the location for"Hell Is A City", for me! Thanks Andrew! To those that have found this site, please visit again. I will be updating and adding to this site on a regular basis. If you find it helpful or just plain nostalgic, please contact me & let me know what you would like to see on these pages. Also please pass on the website address to anyone who you think may be interested, or who can help with information. Memories & unique photos or images of Levenshulme always needed! Enjoy! Best wishes, George Nixon. Sir Norman Foster. A Levenshulme Success Story
Sir Norman Foster, born in Reddish and raised in Levenshulme, must be the most successful public figure that Levenshulme has ever produced. As a child he lived on The Crescent in Levenshulme and attended local schools. After leaving school at 16 he worked in the Manchester City Treasurers Office. Following National Service in the RAF, in 1956 he attended Manchester School of Architecture and City Planning and graduated in 1961. He attended Yale University on a fellowship, returned to the UK in 1962 and set up an architectural practice. Find out more about Sir Norman Foster/ Lord Foster of Thamesbank at this link:- http://www.fosterandpartners.com
Fame at Last!! This letter appeared in the Manchester Evening News, Saturday 13th March 2004. I have already had some responses, including one from a friend of Roy Chappell. Roy Chappell is known as the North Wests "Bing Crosby". He also rode for Belle Vue Aces, Motorcycle Speedway Team. More on this later. I have had several responses to the above item in MEN. One E-mail mentioned a wartime aeroplane crash on the school field between The Blue Bell Inn & Levenshulme Library! Has anyone any knowledge of this incident? See "Wartime for a possible explanation of this incident!! Julia Wallace, sent me a series of postcard views of Levenshulme in the 40s & early 50s. Also some memories of her father "Jock Wallace", who was the local " Man From The Pru" in the 50s & 60s. Coincidentally, I became the Prudential Assurance Agent in Levenshulme in 1972 and for a while I was Mr Wallaces insurance agent!
This photograph shows "Jock" Wallace with some of his insurance clients, in Emley Street during the 1960s. The older lady is believed to be a Mrs Walker. ( Photo via Julia Wallace) Fame at Last, Part Two
This letter appeared in the October/November 2004 edition of Levenshulme Post. I have already had several responses, including some great "on location" photographs from "Hell Is A City". Fame at last, Part three
This article appeared in the South Manchester Reporter on 25th October 2007. I was contacted by them and interviewed over the phone. Some of the details were not quite correct, but it was a nice plug for my website.
About the Compiler George Nixon I was born in Manchester,7th September 1949. For the first 23 years of my life I lived in Levenshulme, South Manchester, England. During my first 3 years we lived on Windsor or Osborne Road, maybe both! We then lived for a year or so on Thorncliffe Grove. Around about 1953 we moved to 14 Station Road, later Crayfield Road, where I lived until I married Mavis Arnold in 1973. During my time in Levenshulme I attended Chapel Street School, leaving in 1961. I then attended Didsbury Technical High School until it joined with Chorlton Tech in 1965,and became Wilbraham High School. After 1973 I lived in Offerton, Stockport. In 1988 we emigrated to Alberta, Canada. Although I lived in Levenshulme during my childhood & young adulthood, I realized that I never really knew too much about the history of the place! This Website will, I hope, enable me and other people interested in Levenshulme to discover more about the place we called home. It is a work in progress, launched on October 30th 2003. It will be fascinating for me to see where it takes us in unlocking some of the stories of a place that, I believe, is unique in the World! Do you know of any other place called LEVENSHULME? What's in a Name?? Have you ever wondered what a person who lives or lived in Levenshulme should be called? Or do you know? Are we Levenshulmers, Levenshulmians, Levenshulmites? What do you think? I am curious!! Levenshulme. How do you pronounce the name? Over the years I have heard the name Levenshulme pronounced several ways. Phonetically it sounds like LEV-EN-SHOE-M. However, I have heard it pronounced Levenzoom, Levens Hulme Etc. The funniest pronunciation was the one used by the announcer over the Pearle & Dean advertisements at the Palace Cinema in the 1960's. He pronounced it Leevenshulme!! Very posh, it always elicited a ripple of laughter from the patrons!! When I was a child we often abbreviated Levenshulme to LEVY. For example:- Levy Baths or Levy High. Do you have any thoughts on this? Let me know. Levenshulme is a Surname!! While doing some research I have discovered that Levenshulme is a surname. I will try to find out more about this & its origins. Did you ever meet anyone called Levenshulme? Levenshulme Origins I recently received this information from David Johnstone, detailing the origin of the name Levenshulme. " Levenshulme,a district of Manchester whose name means Leofwine's island, with the personal name, followed by the old Norse (holmr) meaning island raised on ground in a marshland. The name was recorded in 1246 as Lewyneshulm. This is an extract from a book called, Dictionary of Place Names by Adrian Room. Is this where we get the Levy from?" ( information received March 20th 2009). |
