- Richmond Grove to Kirkmanshulme Lane -
Above an aerial view of the area circa 1945
Below is that section of Stockport Road in the late 1960s
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Below you will see a
description of each section of the road. If you
click on the link below each section it will show you
an image from the Manchester Central Library
Collection. Note: This involves accessing
the Library site and sometimes it isn't
available. Once you see the opening page you can
click on the image to increase its size.
Richmond Grove to Kirkmanshulme Lane - East Side  The block begins on the corner of Richmond Grove with the Presbyterian Church. Next door was Longsight Motors and then the Longsight Post Office. Outside were several phone boxes and inside a long shelf on the north wall with pens on chains. I went here to phone my sister and to buy savings stamps with my pocket money. A few doors along was the Victoria pub. There were 7 shops in all ending with William Estall and Sons, grocers. ******
  A short terrace of
shops, including Coes, precedes the Ivy
Chapel.
 The twin spires of
the chapel sat on each corner of the front, set back
from the road within a boundary wall. The Ivy
Congregational Chapel opened its doors in 1853. In
its heyday it was Longsight's most fashionable
church but declining congregations led to its
closure in 1933. The building found a new home
as an amusement center but later a modern extension
was added to the front of the chapel bringing it out
to the pavement. The extension housed an
Auto-Union car showroom.
******
 At the Lime
Grove end of this block was a large detached
house that had become James C. Broome,
Undertakers.
******
 The BP
petrol station which stood on this
corner in the 50s was replaced over the
decades by other variations on the
theme.
******
 On
the small "island" between Newton
Avenue and Kirkmanshulme Lane
stands Overton House with a high
wall curving around the
corner. Once the home of a
succession of doctors, Overton
House is a care home today.
As children we speculated on what
exotic things were beyond the high
wall.
******
Richmond Grove to Kirkmanshulme Lane - East Side  This little clutch
of shops and businesses was an
eclectic mix even in the 1950s
including green grocers and up
the steps a feed merchant
selling hay and straw.
 photograph above shown with the permission of Chetham's Library   ******
 At the corner
with Birch Lane stood the
Waggon & Horses pub
seen here in its fake half
timbered phase. This
was without doubt the most
historic and famous of the
Longsight pubs. It seems
that there was a pub on
this site as early as
1690. The pub that stood
here in the 60s was not
there at that time,
although part of the
original cellar existed
and the mounting steps,
you can just make out at
the far corner, were
thought to be 200 years
old. The pub was a coach
stop for travelers heading
south out of the city. It
is also connected with at
least one of the
explanations of the origin
of the name Longsight. As
the story goes, Bonnie
Prince Charlie and his
invading Highlander army
stood outside of the
Waggon and Horses and
declared, while looking in
the direction of the city,
"What a long sight it is
to Manchester."
******
 Set back
somewhat from the
course of Stockport
Road on an "island"
position was the
Longsight Free
Christian Church. It
dates back to the
1880s and for a
while was associated
with the Rev.
William Gaskell,
father of the author
Elizabeth
Gaskell. After
the church closed it
was converted by the
BBC into a garage
for its outside
broadcasting
vehicles,
******
 This
triangular
shaped block
started with
W. E. Astill's
shop.
 Further
along
the block was
Highways toy
shop and the
the Ducie Arms
pub. I
also seem to
remember that
there was a
barber shop
near
Highways.
My Dad took me
there for
haircuts which
usually
involved me
getting into
trouble for
fidgetting too
much!
Only the Ducie
Arms remains
but it is
board-up.
******
 Longsight
Hall
dominates this
block.
 It
performed a
number of
municipal
functions.
 Behind the main hall was Longsight Public Library. The library moved to a new building on Stockport Road. Today the Hall is a Youth Centre and ironically the library has moved back into the hall while the new library is renovated. ******
 A
large Gothic
Westminster
Bank building
sat on the
corner with
Toll Gate
Lane.
 Beyond it was a long terrace accommodating a number of businesses and shops. This included: Castells; Wood's florists; Burgeon's grocers; Edwards the butchers; Janets; Coombes, the cobblers; and Jowett's taxis. ******
  The
adverts on
this page date
from 1952 and
were donated
by Bill
Bullock
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