Stockport Road & The Shops |
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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/ 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 & Pendletons 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) 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 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.
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 Colin Irving)
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! The view is of same area to the photo preceding it! ( Photo via Ken Musgrave)
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 )
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, Brearleys 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 Hankinsons Ironmongers on the next block, and New Day Furnishings in the far background. ( Photo Manchester Libraries) 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, Hartleys, Holts 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 travelling 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 Bus Routes
This photograph shows a single deck motor bus on Route 19C travelling 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 Parrswood Road! The service later became to 169/170 route, which probably still operates to this day! ( Photo via Ken Musgrave) 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 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 MCTD service No 22 to Eccles. ( Photo by permission of Robin Pearson. Nynehead Books) 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 Halsalls, Newmarks & Pendletons. Many of the local newsagents also carried a selection of toys & games and the best one in South Levenshulme was Shaws, facing Clare Road. Halsalls. Halsalls 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. Halsalls closed in the mid 1970s, when Mr & Mrs Halsall retired to Wales. At the closure they sold off a lot of vintage toys out of their old stock.
This is Halsalls toy shop in 1959. Note how the upper storey is set back from the shop frontage. (Photo. Manchester Libraries). Newmarks. Newmarks opened in the 1950s, and was owned by Mrs Newmark. Her mother operated the well known bazaar next door. They were only a few doors south of Halsalls. 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 Halsalls. It sold a great variety of cheaper toys. ( Photo Manchester Libraries) Pendletons. Pendletons 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. Pendletons was the last "real" toy shop to operate in Levenshulme. For most of the time I went there it was managed by a Mrs Brown, whose son Kenneth went to Alma Park. Shaws. Shaws 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 Halsalls, 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. 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? 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) 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 Whos Tardis in the popular BBC TV series. When did this unique building disappear?? 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.
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 sevice 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!
