Sharing Salford`s fantastic story

Sharing Salford’s fantastic story
LifeTimesLink
Issue No 23 May - November 2008
FREE
Useful contacts Phone
John Sculley,
museums and heritage
services manager
0161 778 0816
Heather McAlpine,
lifetimes officer
0161 778 0885
Amy Goodwin,
lifetimes officer
0161 778 0885
Caroline Mean ,
heritage development officer
0161 778 0817
Ann Monaghan,
outreach officer
0161 778 0881
Peter Ogilvie,
collections manager
0161 778 0825
Sarah Hughes,
acting exhibitions officer
0161 778 0819
Dave Robinson,
acting exhibitions officer
0161 778 0829
Ceri Horrocks,
learning officer
0161 778 0820
Luisa Guccione,
learning support assistant
0161 778 0821
Bev Davies,
Embrace Project officer
0161 778 0837
Tim Ashworth,
librarian,
Local History Library
0161 778 0814
Salford Museum &
Art Gallery
0161 778 0800
Ordsall Hall Museum
0161 872 0251
Useful contacts Websites
www.salford.gov.uk/museums
- for all museum related topics
www.salford.gov.uk/whatson find out about concerts, walks,
talks and other events in Salford
www.wcml.org.uk
- website for the Working Class
Movement Library
Welcome to LifeTimes Link 23, the magazine that provides
information, news and views on Salford’s heritage. Once
again, our grateful thanks go to all Friends, contributors
and readers for their lively interest and support of the city’s
history
Staff news Salford Museums now have
two LifeTimes Officers who share the
post. Heather McAlpine has been joined
by Amy Goodwin. Amy recently completed
her MA in Museum and Heritage
Exhibition Design at the University of
Salford. She is really excited about
working at the museum and learning
more about the city and the people
that live here. Carrie May has joined
the collections team as documentation
assistant. Carrie previously worked at
Manchester Art Gallery and The Imperial
War Museum North. She is looking
forward to discovering lots of strange
objects in the collection!
Ordsall Hall Since the announcement
last March that Salford Heritage Services
was successful in having over £4.3 million
earmarked from the Heritage Lottery
Fund, a lot of work has been undertaken.
Much of it has involved specialist surveys
into some of the unique features of the
hall, particularly those that go back to
its earliest medieval origins. For more
details, including the redevelopment of
the landscape surrounding the hall and
plans for the restored hall’s room layout
and exhibition design see p12-13.
To date, we have raised nearly £5.7
million for the Extraordinary Hall project
through the Heritage Lottery Fund,
Salford City Council, a range of charitable
bodies, public donations, and fund-raising
events. We have been delighted that so
many Salford people have got behind
the campaign and lent their support to
it. Buying a roof slate to raise cash for
the hall has won a lot of hearts – at only
£10 a go they make the perfect present!
Donating online has also proved popular.
The Friends of Salford Museums
Association have been wonderful
supporters and are currently helping us
find more of the money that is needed for
the hall - we still need almost £900,000! If
you would like to get involved in helping to
raise money to restore the hall and keep
it alive for the next 800 years, do please
contact us. We’d love to hear from you!
Contact the Hall directly on 0161 872 0251
or online: visit the Extraordinary Ordsall
Campaign www.salford.gov.uk/ordsallhall
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Heritage staff and colleagues across
the council have received a great
deal of support and enthusiasm from
stakeholders and partners for our longterm vision of Salford Museum and Art
Gallery, as a National Centre for the
appreciation, study and advancement of
industrial social history, 1750-2050.
Events and Exhibitions As always we
have an exciting programme of events
and exhibitions planned for the coming
year - see Link Listings, p 20-21. Salford
Art Club celebrates its 60th birthday with
a celebratory exhibition. Former member,
Colin T. Johnson, will be showcasing his
own work in the exhibition. Colin has lived
and painted mainly in St Ives, Cornwall.
However, his background is firmly based
in Salford which was his studio base
for 27 years. A University for the 21st
Century is a photographic exhibition
by the innovative local photographer,
Andrew Paul Brooks.
Other exhibitions coming up later in
the year include Salford by the Sea, our
summer family exhibition, and Quiffs,
Riffs and Tiffs, telling stories of the
Salford music scene from the 1950s to
the present day. This opens in October
and we are on the look out for all kinds
of music related memorabilia as well as
personal memories of the music scene.
Find out more in our special feature on
p10.
We have had a great response to
Retracing Salford, with Maria Murphy,
Lawrence Cassidy and Tim Garner using
their own special styles to represent the
changing city landscapes. Amy takes a
closer look at the exhibition and visitor
reactions to it in her feature, Retrace Your
Salford, on p14.
This is your magazine - please get
involved! Whether you are Salford ‘born
and bred’ or you are new to the area, we
welcome your features, poems, letters or
photos. And we have a new local history
happenings page (p9) - so tell us all about
your local heritage group or project too!
Heather and Amy
Basic large print versions of this magazine are available - ring 0161 778 0885
This magazine, and all of our back issues can be read or downloaded from www.salford.gov.uk/lifetimes-links
2
Contents
Coming soon ...
Editorial Useful contacts 2
2
Coming soon ...
Contributions Join the Friends 3
3
3
Collections corner
4-5
Teapot Hall update
6
Walkden Memorial
7
Meet Dina
8
November’s Local History Fair and Family
Fun Day at Salford Museum and Art
Gallery proved as popular as ever with
over 1000 visitors to the event. Thanks to
all the stallholders and exhibitors who
came along to this. Please make a note in
your diaries for the next Local History Fair
which will be on Sunday 16 November
2008 at Salford Museum and Art Gallery.
Local history happenings
9
Stallholders: If you had a stall last year
we will be sending out the booking forms
early September, but please contact us if
you did not attend last year and would like
to have a stall this year.
Journeys into the past 15
Salford Local History Fair and
Family Fun Day
A Small World in Salford
Each year Salford celebrates the great
contribution that refugees have brought
to Salford over the years during Refugee
Week. Join us for A Small World in
Salford on Sunday 22 June, 1.00-4.00pm,
for an afternoon celebrating our city’s
rich cultural mix in music, dance, art and
heritage.
Salford Food Festival
Our Delicious
International
Food Festival
returns on
Sunday 19 October
1.00-4.00pm.
Enjoy tasting food
that communities
from all over the
world have brought
to Salford, find out
about Salford’s
cultural diversity and pick up some
international recipes from our collection
to try at home!
Join the Friends of Salford
Museums
The Friends remain at the heart
of support for Salford Museums
including Ordsall Hall. The Friends
are always keen to welcome new
members. For further information
on joining The Friends of Salford
Museums Association, ask at
Salford Museum and Art Gallery or
telephone, 0161 736 2336.
All the pubs had music 10-11
Pilkinton’s fireplace
Ordsall Hall
11
Retrace your Salford
14-15
12-13
You Write ...
16
Dib, dib,dib - memories of
being a cub
17
Nasmyth in a nutshell 18
Ruth Frow
19
Link Listings
20-21
Mystery Pix
22
Local History Roundup 23
Venue map &
opening details 24
Contributions
Send your letters, articles and photographs to:
LifeTimes Link, Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Peel Park, Crescent, Salford, M5 4WU
Tel: 0161 778 0885 Email: lifetimes@salford.gov.uk
The deadline for Issue No 24 (November 2008/May 2009) is 22 August 2008.
Please note: we cannot accept any responsibility for the loss or damage to contributor’s
material in the post. We cannot guarantee publication of your material and we reserve the
right to edit any contributions we do use.
Cover photo:
Paddling at New Brighton,
1939
3
Collections Corner
Peter Turner writes:
As the collections
assistant at Salford
Museum & Art Gallery
I am responsible for
accessioning all the
objects in the museum
at Peel Park and also
at Ordsall Hall Museum.
We are continually being
offered objects for the
museum, but unfortunately
we are unable to accept
everything or we could fill
our museum three or four
times over! We therefore
have to comply with a strict
acquisition policy. Objects
must have a significant
association with the city or
they must be made here
or aid the interpretation of
Salford’s social history. We
may also refuse objects
if we already have similar
items in the collection.
However, with the donor’s
consent, some of the
items offered may be more
suitable for our handling
boxes and educational loan
material
The past few months have seen
an interesting mix of donations
to Salford Museum’s collections
reflecting the social history of
the city.
August 1917 saw the Worsley Urban
District Baby Week Campaign aimed at
saving the lives and improving the health
of thousands of babies. This was at a time
when one commentator expressed that it
was safer to be a soldier in France than
a baby in England. Mothers of children
under two years old were invited to bring
their infants to receive certificates from
Lady Katherine Hardy. One of these
certificates has been donated by
Keith Harriman (see below).
Glass negatives, taken by the nineteenth
century Salford photographer, Robert
Chadwick, have been donated to the
museum by Barbara Knott along with
other items of interest. These include
further photographic negatives and
photographs, many of local interest,
and two pieces of painted glass from
Pendleton Unitarian Free Church.
This stood at the corner of Cross Lane
and Broad Street from 1874 until it was
demolished in 1977 following the building
of a new church.
Worsley Urban District Baby Week Campaign
Painted glass from
Pendleton Unitarian Free Church
A 1967 domestic hardware catalogue
has been donated by Bert Cresswell.
It was produced by J. Atkinson & Co.
Ltd. of Blackfriars Road and was used
by Shuttleworth’s (tool factors and mill
furnishers) on Chapel Street who were
owned by the donor’s father-in-law. An
address label from Shuttleworth’s was
also donated.
Salford Charter medallion
If readers have any comments or further information on any of the objects featured, please write to
LifeTimes Link - details on page 3.
4
The 1930s saw alternative proposals
for the expansion of Salford Town Hall,
either as an extension to the existing
building or for new buildings on other
sites. Artist’s impressions of two of
these proposals have been transferred
to the museum following their discovery
at the current Salford Civic Centre. One
of these illustrates an extension to the
existing Bexley Square site and the other
a proposed new building at Peel Park,
which was to be built without interfering
with the existing museum building. None
of these schemes came to fruition and
the old town hall remained in use until
1974 when Swinton Town Hall became
Salford Civic Centre.
Proposal for Salford Town Hall at Peel Park
Objects from two events marking the
anniversary of the granting of Salford’s
first charter in 1230 have been donated
recently. This was when the status of Free
Borough was conferred upon the town. A
mug commemorating the 1930 Salford
Pageant was donated by Brian Barlow. It
depicts the Bull’s Head Inn at Greengate
and was given to the donor’s grandfather
by Groves and Whitnall brewery for whom
he worked as a stone mason.
James Carton also donated a Salford
Charter facsimile, two medallions and
a mug commemorating the Salford
Charter Festival in 1980 (medallion
featured on opposite page).
Salford’s Pilkington’s collection has seen
the addition of some historic Pilkington’s
tiles featuring a bull and a ram that were
formerly in a Co-op butchers shop. They
were rescued from a demolition site in
Holmfirth and sent to a specialist tile
conservator in Shropshire where they
were cleaned, restored and prepared for
display. The tiles will be on display in our
Pilkington’s Gallery later this year.
Other donations include a range of rent
books for a property in Seedley covering
the years 1961 to 1997, donated by Joanne
Boothman, and a small ceramic bowl
decorated with the Salford coat of arms
donated by John Taylor.
Pilkington’s tiles before and after conservation
5
Teapot Hall
More clues about this historic building by Heather McAlpine,
Lifetimes officer
We had an enthusiastic response
to Stan Andrews’ feature on
Teapot Hall in our last issue of
Link.
Some of you thought that the name could
well be due to the fact that the building
itself looks a bit like a teapot! The name
does seem to stem from the era when
the property was owned by tea merchant,
Thomas Binyon. Joseph Schofield wrote
to us to say that his friend who is 83
has lived on Radcliffe Park Road since
1933 and was told that Thomas Binyon
used to watch the boats coming up the
canal from the tower at Teapot Hall and
thinks this is how it got its name. It does
sound likely that this was the case before
Salford developed and the house had
an uninterrupted view towards the Ship
Canal.
Sue Brimelow also contacted us to say
that she had heard that the owner used
the observation platform to get a clear
view of his ship arriving at the docks and
could tell from the sails whether it was
his ship. Sue lives in Oakwood Drive and
on the deeds to her house some of the
documents refer to the land belonging
to Lord Radcliffe, hence the name of
Radcliffe Park Road. She told us that
Hillside House Lodge could be the large,
white house in the centre of Oakwood
Park on Swinton Park Road.
Lawrence Burton wrote to tell us about
the later history of the hall which is also
very interesting.
“I was very interested to see a
photograph of Teapot Hall in issue 22.
From 1930 until 1939 our family lived at
6 Radcliffe Park Road, known as Astley
House, and this is directly opposite Teapot
Hall. By strange coincidence we came
from Quaker stock, as did the original tea
merchant Thomas Binyon.
I remember being taken in my night
clothes as a small child one evening,
across the road to Teapot Hall after
falling at home and hurting myself. I was
efficiently dealt with by the nurses there
and taken home again. We never knew
the house as anything other than Teapot
Hall and indeed I didn’t know the name
‘Oakwood’ until I read it in your article.
6
Map from 1936 showing the location
of the hall
The hall was a nurses’
home then and was a
hugely impressive building
to look at across the road.
We moved from Radcliffe
Park Road at the beginning
of the last war and it was
not until I returned to the area in the
1950s that I discovered that an additional
nurses’ home had been built in the garden
of Astley House and is rather crammed up
against my childhood home!
Radcliffe Park Road was a quiet place
in the 1930s with milk being delivered
by horse drawn float and there was very
little traffic. The reference to Oakwood
being known as Pilkington Nurses’
Home must refer to the Pilkington family
who were prominent in the area and
indeed Major Edward Pilkington was
chairman of Salford Park Hospital. Many
members of my family, including myself,
worked at Pilkington’s Tiles Limited in
Clifton Junction which was owned by the
Pilkington family until the 1970s.”
Sarah Hughes, our acting
exhibitions officer at
Salford Museum & Art
Gallery, has a connection
with the hall as her
grandparents used to
work there when it was
a nurses’ home. Her
grandfather, John (Jack)
Boyd worked there as
a gardener some time
between 1933 and 1950
and her grandmother
Sarah (Sally) Boyd (nee
Edgar) worked as the
cook. They lived in a
house in the grounds.
Our thanks go to all of you who contacted us and helped to
fill some of the gaps in Stan’s research into the history of
the hall and the surrounding area.
Ed: If you are doing research into a historic building or
landmark in Salford, why not write to us about it - as you
can see it stimulates a great deal of interest from other
readers. Our contact details can be found on p3.
The Walkden Memorial
Restoration uncovered
Following on from the feature
in Link 20 on the restoration
of the Walkden Memorial,
Lifetimes officer Heather
McAlpine went along to meet
Walkden artist Brian Hewitt
for an update on further
restoration work, in which
local schools have played an
important part.
If you live in Walkden or have
visited recently and glanced up
at the Walkden Memorial you
can’t have failed to notice that
there are some new features.
Four new replica statuettes of Walkden
‘workers’ have replaced the ones that
went missing when the memorial
was moved to its present site in
the late 1960s. Artist, Brian Hewitt,
remembers how he felt when he
noticed they had gone all those years
ago: “I felt outraged and disappointed
as a kid growing up in Walkden, but
resolved to do something about it!”
He laughs when he considers that it
has only taken him 40 years to achieve
his ambition. He thinks the original
statuettes were probably removed and
stored somewhere for safekeeping,
then simply forgotten about or lost.
Today, Brian is vice president of
Walkden Rotary Club. The club has
raised the funds to carry out the
restoration of the monument and to
subsidise the cost of the replacement
statuettes. Brian says that the
monument is iconically and spiritually
the emblem of Walkden Rotary Club.
As the inscription says, it is a “public
tribute of affection to Lady Harriet,
Countess of Ellesmere”. She worked
tirelessly to improve the lot of the
children of Walkden with education and
improved housing. The club in itself
is an association of local business
people dedicated, as was Lady Harriet,
to using those business talents as
a means of service both locally and
internationally.
Above: original statuettes on the Memorial before they
went missing
Right: (top) Walkden School pupils help Brian to model
the figures, (middle) Brian at work
(image courtesy Tim Hetherington Photography)
(bottom) finished statuette of mill girl
Brian worked with pupils at three local
high schools in Walkden - Walkden
High, Harrop Fold and St. George’s – to
research, design and produce the replica
statuettes. The project took a year and
the process has been hugely beneficial
for all those involved. Brian admits this
was the first time he had worked with
schools, and despite the ups and downs
of the project, he says seeing their
confidence grow and taking control of
the development and remodelling of the
replicas made it very rewarding. There was
a great deal of interest in a recent display
on the statuettes at Walkden Library and
Brian has personally received plenty of
enthusiastic comments from local people
who have seen the replicas.
It has been somewhat of a diversion for
Brian from his day job as a modelmaker.
He has a studio in Walkden where,
amongst other things, he makes all kinds
of weird and wonderful props for TV and
stage. Coronation Street is one of his
more regular clients: “In the showdown in
Dev’s mini-market with Maya, where she
is hurling cans, I made the rubber cans
– real ones actually do hurt you know! I
made two dead bodies for Hollyoaks and
mummified skulls for Daziel and Pascoe.”
Brian is very keen that his example
of service to the community and the
schools of the area will encourage
others to join Walkden Rotary Club. If you would like
to know more about the club and its role in the local
community you can contact Brian on 07753 840 401
for further details.
7
Meet Dina…
You’ve been a volunteer for a long
time now. What is special about the
volunteering programme here?
At the Heart of Salford Awards with fellow volunteers
From left: Bajram, Dina, Jean-Claude
Since April 2006,
Salford Museum
and Art Gallery
has worked with
18 volunteers from
all over the world.
This volunteer
programme is part
of the Embrace
Project, which has
been providing
opportunities
for learning and
cultural sharing
with refugees,
asylum seekers,
people for whom
English is a second
language, and new
communities in
Salford for over
five years.
Dina Dawood,
originally from Iraq,
came to Salford in
November 2005 and
started volunteering
at Salford Museum
and Art Gallery in
January 2007.
8
How did you come to be a volunteer at the
museum?
Well, the idea came to my mind to be a
volunteer or work in some way to fill my
spare time and to mix with people. Many
people said to me: “Why do you want to do
that for free? Why not just stay at home
doing nothing?” But I like helping people,
so I asked Refugee Action to help me
find a place to volunteer with. A couple
of months later there was a space at the
museum and I was really happy because
I wanted something where I could find
out how English people work. I really
wanted some experience for my CV to
get a good job in the future. It’s great to
work with other cultures too. I had an
absolutely different idea about Afghanistan
for example and when I met Nadia, a
volunteer who is Afghani, that really
changed.
How do you manage to balance college,
children, and all your other commitments
with volunteering here for a morning
a week and helping out with museum
events at the weekend?
Obviously it’s easy, because if you want
something you can do it! Last year, for
example, I was at college on Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday, but I needed
to come here on Tuesday as that was
the only day there was space for me,
so I agreed with college to come here
instead of going to class. I learnt a lot and
my English skills have really improved
because here I can listen to lots of
different people with different accents. It’s
real life English! All my children are now
at school in the morning, so I can manage
to leave them at school and then come
here.
I enjoy coming here and doing something
special for me and for others, like when
we did our diversity and equality art
project. We interviewed all the museum
staff about what these words mean to
them and then created a beautiful book
full of art work about their and our ideas
which was fantastic (you can download
the booklet from www.salford.gov.uk/
embracevolunteer). We are an amazing
group from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka,
Albania, Congo, and England.
You know, it’s difficult when you are new
in a country. My youngest daughter was
under 3 so really I had to stay at home
a lot until she was old enough to go to
nursery… so I had no understanding about
real life in Salford. Then in 2007, I had
started college and volunteering here. The
volunteer manager then really helped me:
she was like my guide in many things that
I needed to know. She is still a real friend
to me. It’s like a breath of fresh air, part of
coming back to life gradually.
Why is the volunteer programme good for
the museum?
I think this is very important for the
museum. People from everywhere visit
the museum; it welcomes everybody and
makes a link between the present and the
past, a connection between people and
Salford.
People from other cultures, refugees and
asylum seekers, are a fact in Salford now
and it’s important that the museum has
taken the responsibility to identify people
from other countries and cultures and
gather real-life evidence with them. The
museum has taken the responsibility to
ask me about the reality of being Iraqi and
I have created a handling box of objects
that I have donated, and history and
personal accounts that I have written here.
I feel my box is connected to me and
connected to the Iraqi people. If you see
the handling box, it is really sad because
my country is invaded and is a victim
right now. Each Sunday, I light a candle
in church for all Iraqi people and pray to
keep them safe. I am safe here now, but
all my thoughts are with people in Iraq.
To find out more about the Embrace
Project please contact Bev Davies on
0161 778 0837 or email
beverley.davies@salford.gov.uk
Local History Happenings
Dig for Victory!
‘Dig for Victory’ is a group project
running at Tindall Street Allotment.
Members of the Chalk History Group at the Local History Day
The Chalk History Group
A new group of budding local
historians is having fun exploring
the history of their area of Salford.
The Chalk History Group for over
fifties is supported by New Deal for
Communities (NDC) and Age Concern.
The group meets at St. Sebastian’s
Community Hall in Douglas Green,
Salford, fortnightly every other Friday
from 12 noon. The group is trying to
find out more about the Lower Kersal
and Charlestown area.
Fay Wall has been an enthusiastic
member of the history group from the
start, and is keen to tell more people
about the group :
“Everyone is made to feel welcome. We
have had really enjoyable days out, one at
Eden Camp, another on the Bridgewater
Canal and one to St. Thomas’s church.
Some of the group even tried their hand
at bell ringing! Hazel Blears MP was with
us on one occasion. Other events include
the Jewish cemetery on Brindleheath and
a trip to Agecroft Cemetery. Some might
think it morbid to wander round these
places looking at graves, but these are the
people who made our history. Last July
a few of us went out for a meal then had
a trip to Salford Museum and decided to
research the history of Lower Kersal and
Charlestown. With the help of the NDC and
an artist we made a calendar with pictures
of places as they are and as they were;
it was a great success. We also made a
DVD. We found it funny to see and hear
ourselves. This year we have no artist to
help us, but we are hoping we will manage
to produce something and I know we will
enjoy ourselves whatever we do.”
One of the members was inspired to
write a short poem about their activities.
‘What we want to know’
by Connie Crompton
All this local history,
what’s it all about?
Searching here and
searching there
Trying to find things out.
But where have all the
landmarks gone?
That we remember well
Memories of our
childhood
We all have a tale to tell
The old Town Hall that
had steps to climb
Churches and chapels
caked in grime
Those are the gems we
used to know
Now gone forever like
the melting snow
Tindall Street Allotment group is made
up of local people working on a number
of projects to benefit the whole of the
community. Raised beds for disabled
people and sensory beds for people
with visual impairments are just a few
examples of the work they carry out at
the allotments.
A current project, Dig for Victory, will reconstruct a wartime allotment growing
a variety of vegetables. Pre-war seeds
have been used for authenticity; the
Home Guard potatoes are one example.
Hens will provide eggs, which was
common during the war as eggs were
rationed and the allotment even features
a reconstructed Anderson shelter, which
were used from 1939 to protect the
population from bombings during the
war. The shelters were free to those who
earned less than £250 a year and were
made from corrugated steel sheets.
Soil was piled on top of the shelters
and provided a suitable plot to grow
vegetables.
If you would like more information about
the project at Tindall Street Allotments,
or you would like to get involved or visit
the allotments, then please contact
Don Booth, Project Leader on
0161 789 8874 or e-mail him on:
dbooth@fish.co.uk
So let us find out all
we can
And solve the mystery
For what we find out
from today
Will be tomorrow’s
history.
To find out more about
the group, what they
have found out about the
history of their area, and
when the next meetings
are being held, take a
look at their new website
at www.chalkhistory.
colsal.org.uk
Or you can contact
the group by e-mail:
chalkhistory@yahoo.
co.uk
Are you part of a local history
group or involved in a project that
you think Link readers would find
of interest? Why not write in and
tell us more - see p3 for contact
details.
9
“All the
pubs had
music …”
Museum volunteer, Ashley
Harper, interviews local historian
and Salfordian Roy Bullock about
his memories of the music scene
in Salford and tells us more
about Salford Museum and Art
Gallery’s forthcoming music
exhibition.
Roy Bullock
The Grosvenor c.1960
Roy Bullock is a frequent visitor to Salford
Local History Library. He’s grown up in
Salford and we asked him to tell us about
his memories of Salford’s music scene.
The music Roy listened to was just a
short walk from his home. “All the pubs
had music”, he said, and when asked
which night Roy enjoyed listening to
music he replied, “Every night.”
From the late 1950s to 1970s Salford’s
pubs were the only places he would go
to hear good music. Among his favourite
places were the Horseshoe, May Pole,
Grosvenor, Nor’West, Fusiliers and
Jollies. In these pubs, concentrated
around Regent Road, Cross Lane, Broad
Street and Oldfield Road, you could find
all sorts of sounds.
He remembers how his first
experiences “started with crooners, then
there came bands like skiffle.” There was
so much music around that “in those
times you just followed the different
styles.” Throughout the years, going to
pubs in Salford, Roy has heard balladeers,
country & western music, banjo bands,
rock ’n’ roll, disco and karaoke. But the
music scene didn’t stop there because
what was going on in Salford “was going
on everywhere.” Roy saw Salford as
connected to a bigger music experience
and this year Salford Museum and Art
Gallery is creating an exhibition that will
showcase Salford’s music history.
10
The Paddock (formerly The Fuseliers), 1975
Quiffs, Riffs & Tiffs is
set to open on Saturday
18 October 2008. This
exhibition will celebrate
Salford’s popular music
scene from 1950 to today.
There are so many bands,
venues, photographs,
records, tickets, films
and types of clothing that
make the memories of
your music experiences
so unique. Recalling
those nights when a good
time changed into an
unforgettable experience
is something we can all
share.
Donations, local memories,
history from Salford’s archive
and local music experts will
be the driving force behind
the visual display, which will
be on view in the LifeTimes
gallery on floor 1 of Salford
Museum and Art Gallery.
The exhibition team is
currently on the lookout for
merchandise, memorabilia
and memories to form part
of the displays. They are
especially looking for:
• musical instruments
• records
• clothing
• tickets & programmes
• posters & flyers
• photographs
• films
The Maypole, 1961
The Nor’West, 1961
If you would like to add your memories
or material to our research for Quiffs,
Riffs and Tiffs, then please send them
to: lifetimes@salford.gov.uk, or call
Heather or Amy on 0161 778 0885.
Another part of the project is
the production of a Salford
Music Map which will be free
to pick up at the exhibition
later in the year. You can join
in the debate and suggest
venues that should be on the
map at www.myspace.com/
salfordmusicmap
From the 1950s to the
present day music will
always be a part of Salford.
Commemorating this is
something we invite the
community of Salford to take
part in and experience. Hope
to see you there!
Memories
of a punk
music fan
Wendy Goodwin
has emailed LifeTimes with
her memories of the punk days.
Sounds like she had a great time!
“From the end of 1976 to early 1980 I went
to lots of punk gigs in Manchester City
Centre, mainly at a club called Rafters
which was on Oxford Road. I saw Siouxsie
and the Banshees, Generation X, XTC, The
Stranglers, The Buzzcocks and many more
that have been lost in the sands of time.
I remember going along to see
Generation X and their front man, Billy
Idol, with a friend who had a serious crush
on him. I knew one of the lads who worked
at Rafters as an unpaid roadie and used to
bat my eyelashes at him to get to sit on the
side of the stage. She was very starstruck,
especially when Billy invited us backstage
afterwards! We also did this for XTC. I
would be interested to know if anyone
remembers them; they were around
during the punk era but were much more
of an indie combo, before indie arrived!
My main memories of these types of
things are travelling on the bus from
Winton where we lived, getting lots of odd
looks from fellow travellers - well there
weren’t many punks in Winton! And the
great atmosphere at the gigs; despite
the reputation of punks at the time in the
press, I can never remember any trouble,
fighting etc. although sometimes you had
to make sure you weren’t too near the
front or you got covered in spit!
As for Salford, I remember going to
see The Trend quite a few times at The
Wellington in Pendlebury - they had a
great song that went “Polly is trendy and
so is her sister Wendy!” Unfortunately it
wasn’t written about me!!”
A sneak previewthe Pilkington’s fireplace.
The Pilkington’s fireplace once stood
out of sight behind boards in the
LifeTimes Gallery. Museum staff have
moved the large tiled surround to its
new home where it will sit alongside
other objects from the museums
Pilkington’s collection. This end of the
LifeTimes Gallery has been the home
for the collection for quite some time
now. The refurbishment means that
the area has been separated from the
rest of the gallery, creating a more
permanent home and emphasising the
importance of the collection.
Museum staff would like
to thank Angela Corbett
and Judy Sandling for
their hard work and
express their appreciation
to the friends of Salford
Museums.Here’s a sneak
preview ofthe fireplace,
but visit the museum to
see it in all its glory!
Email your memories to: lifetimes@salford.gov.uk
11
The building There will be a fabulous, new education room in what is
Education Room
Extraordinary
Ordsall Hall
– an update
Caroline Mean explains what has
been happening at the hall over the
past year, and our plans for it up
until its grand re-opening at
Easter 2011.
For more information on the
Extraordinary Ordsall campaign,
to get involved, or to pledge some
money you can call into the hall in
person, telephone 0161 872 0251 or
visit www.salford.gov.uk/ordsallhall/
extraordinaryordsallcampaign
The Great Hall
currently the under-used west wing of the hall. This part of the hall was
built in 1639 by Alexander Radclyffe and was largely used as the service
area for the hall and servants’ quarters. The room that will be used as the
education suite has never been open to the public before, despite having
many original and interesting features.
The external oak beams on the north face of the hall, currently stained
black (as was the fashion in Victorian times) will be stripped back to
their original colour of grey/brown. This will include the quatrefoils on
the exterior of the hall. The whole of the hall will be repointed in a lime
mortar more in keeping with its Grade 1 listed mansion house status.
Extensive work will be done to the roof, to make it safe and durable for
the next 800 years. The terracotta mouldings that surround many of the
windows, particularly on the south side of the hall, will also be repaired.
Two lifts will be installed, one in the west wing and the other in the
medieval east wing, enabling all of our visitors to access all parts of the
hall. The lift in the west wing will allow access to the roof space, which
has never been seen by visitors before.
The landscape The grounds will be as attractive as the hall itself,
providing free opportunities for outdoor play, picnicking, promenading,
events, and learning.
Current plans include the creation of a picnic area within an orchard,
formal Tudor-inspired gardens, a herb garden, and the planting of trees
and plants to reflect all periods in the hall’s history. There are plans to
create a ‘Dig for Victory’ garden reflecting the grounds’ use in wartime,
and the installation of signage and interpretation boards.
Part of the landscape plans also include ideas for public art. An artist
is looking at ways to highlight the site of the moat around the south side
of the hall. One proposal is that this could be done via the use of light
and different coloured stones set into the ground. Another is to have
a timeline pavement, located just in front of the south face of the hall,
where the visitor can take a chronological walk through the history of the
hall and its grounds. Public art ideas will be developed in consultation
with local children, young people and adults.
Paintwork Ordsall Hall is full of nationally significant paintwork,
some of which dates back to early medieval times. Survey work has
been done, and one of the most interesting findings is that relating to
medieval paintwork on the arch braces in the Great Chamber. Tests on
the paintwork on the south facing arch braces have revealed the presence
of some elaborate design work on the timbers. These are only just visible
to the naked eye - some are partially exposed while others are almost
entirely covered. One design revealed during the survey, was that of
what looks like a highly stylised pomegranate. Pomegranates can have a
secular connotation; the many seeds within a tough case symbolizing ‘the
unity of the many under one authority’. Other designs on the timbers are
more organic in form, perhaps representative of stylised wings or scales.
There is evidence that the wall painting was done in contrasting colours,
predominantly ochres, whites/creams and blacks.
One option put forward by paint specialists is to paint a replica of these
designs on to the north facing arch braces, which will allow visitors
to appreciate how the original decoration would have looked. Another
element of the paint restoration will be to replicate some of the missing
stars on the ceiling of the Star Chamber – reputedly the most haunted
room in the hall!
Plasterwork Specialist reports have revealed its national significance,
so it is essential that we take steps to conserve and preserve it for future
generations. Tasks include work to the sixteenth century overmantel in
the second floor Privy Chamber, and repair to the damaged seventeenth
century plaster ceiling in the first floor Privy Chamber. In addition there
12
Sixteenth century overmantel
will be exposed panels in certain rooms
of the hall showing the techniques used
in the manufacture of wattle and daub,
wattle and lathe, and lime work plaster.
Stained glass Ordsall Hall has two
types of glass of a historic nature.
The panels of St Catherine and St Mary
the Virgin date from the early sixteenth
century and were conserved and put on
display several years ago.
The armorial panels (at present six
trays of loose glass fragments) also date
from the sixteenth century and are each
composed of coats of arms of gentry
families associated with the history of
the Hall. One of these is the shield of
Robert Radcliffe who was the cousin and
companion-in-arms of Sir Alexander
Radcliffe (1475-1548).
The panels will undergo conservation,
framing and fixing, to allow them to be
seen through natural daylight. In order to
achieve this, the panels will be mounted
in bronze frames and attached to present
window frames. Sites around the hall
have been chosen that are as close as
possible to their original locations.
In all cases, seventeenth century lead will
be retained as much as possible.
Training The hall will be used as the
location and stimulus for a variety of on
the job training for local people of all
ages and abilities. Training will range
from paint and plaster conservation, to
heritage construction, landscaping and
horticulture, to art and design. There
will be a mixture of accredited and
non-accredited courses to suit every
learner’s needs. The programme is due
to commence in September 2009. Contact
the hall for more details.
The shield of Robert Radcliffe, Lord Fitzwalter, 1st Earl of Essex.
Photo © The Revd. Gordon Plumb
club and World War II bomb detection
centre, before concluding with the story of
the nearby Salford docks and Ordsall as it
is today. This exhibition will be hands on
and fully interactive, with something for
everyone, including multi-media games,
a virtual tour, a play area for the under
fives and a range of tactile and sensory
activities.
The rooms of the hall will be designed
to instantly transport visitors back in time.
The Star Chamber will reflect the man’s
world of the 15th and 16th centuries,
the kitchen will be as it was in its Tudor
heyday of 1568, the Great Hall will be
set as if a great feast is about to be held,
and the Great Chamber or Solar Room
will recreate the 15th and 16th century
domestic world of women and children.
Ordsall Hall - north face
Exhibition and room layout
The room on the first floor, currently
used for the Tudor Galleon, will house
a semi-permanent exhibition on the
history of the hall. The exhibition will be
designed chronologically, starting with
the hall’s early Anglo-Saxon beginnings,
through the medieval, Tudor and Stuart
ages, taking in the building’s use as an
artist’s studio, Victorian working men’s
Seventeenth century
plaster ceiling
Repairs to be undertaken include
drainage outlets
13
Retrace your Salford
‘Retracing Salford’ brought
together the work of three artists
- Maria Murphy, Tim Garner and
Lawrence Cassidy. Their work
explores the regeneration of the
city and captures fragments,
memories and fleeting glimpses
of ever changing Salford.
Amy Goodwin interviewed the
artists about their work and their
thoughts on the exhibition.
Maria Murphy Maria uses photography
to capture the present essence of areas
of Salford. Her images depict places that
were once people’s homes, mostly in the
Higher Broughton area, where rows of
terraces were demolished to make way
for regeneration.
“One of the things that has really stood out
about the exhibition has been the number
of people I have met and spoken to who
all have a connection with Broughton.
Although a lot of people no longer live in
the heart of the area, they have taken with
them and maintain a very strong passion
for the area.“
“With my photography I have captured the
harsh realities of the current situation,
a handful of houses lived in on streets
awaiting demolition, people no longer
having neighbours to speak to, only
bricked up doorways to look at. Although
the broken and exposed houses create a
depressing picture, they are what is left of a
time now gone. In the 1970s these streets
were once all play streets, busy with the
presence of children buzzing around
making a good nuisance of themselves,
people sat out on their doorsteps in good
weather catching the sun”.
From top: Maria Murphy (detail), Tim Garner, Lawrence Cassidy
“Judging by the comments left by visitors
to the exhibition and comments I have
received personally, it all appears to have
gone very well. The exhibition has had a
broad appeal; I have been delighted by the
number of local people who have taken a
look and reminisced about days gone by.
As well as visitors from out of the area who
have been reminded about somewhere
they know. The last time the area saw such
a process of change was during the slum
clearances of the 1960s and 1970s. Some
forty years later, it is now the ‘noughties’,
and it is termed regeneration. Perhaps,
I may be back before the next forty year
cycle comes around documenting the
decline of what is currently new”.
Tim Garner Tim works on large
scale mixed media images depicting
Salford’s urban landscape. He combines
photography with painting, to explore the
instant moment and its contradiction.
“My work is neither photography nor
painting, but their combination. The mirror
of the immediate and real created by
the camera, combined with the sensual,
individual expression afforded by the plastic
manipulation of physical material”.
“My pieces are photographic prints on
archive paper, reworked with burnt lime,
plaster, ash, graphite powder, ink, acrylic,
water based oil paint, lacquer, aerosol,
varnish and liquid varnish. I take all the
photos on 35mm film. I do my own printing,
but all of the prints used in the exhibition
were made in a professional lab”.
Lawrence Cassidy Lawrence’s body
of work for the exhibition was entitled
‘Salford 7’. He has been collecting
memories, photographs and stories
from ex-residents of the Salford streets
demolished over the past thirty years.
This exhibition turned out to be one to
remember for Sandra Kirk. Sandra visits
Salford Museum and Art Gallery about
twice a year but was in for a surprise
when she visited during March. She came
across the Retracing Salford exhibition
and it caught her eye as she had seen
some of the work in a similar exhibition
at Salford Lads Club. Whilst talking to
Lawrence she spotted a familiar person
in one of the photographs on the wall
- herself! She features in one of the
Thornton family collection photographs.
She remembers a few people in the
picture and it brought back memories for
her. She also found her street and house
on one of the maps and has taken a copy
of the photograph she is in. People who
found their houses on the maps have
been encouraged to leave their contact
details so other visitors can then find old
neighbours, friends or relatives.
“It’s a way of getting people back in touch
with each other and provides visitors with
a chance to talk about the old times with
each other”
“The inspiration for my project
comes from the District 6 Museum
in Cape Town, South Africa, which I
visited as part of my PhD research in
December 2006. This museum was
made to commemorate the District
6 area in central Cape Town that was
demolished in the 1960s as part of
the apartheid government’s policy of
declaring areas for different races.”
“I have compared Salford 7 and
District 6 by using related techniques
for memory projects, collecting
street signs, oral histories and using
maps. Both areas are located next
to big cities and both areas have
suffered depopulation. I hope the
Salford 7 project can be extended
and can involve retracing related
areas of demolition such as Salford 6
and Salford 5, all areas that are now
gone.”
“We have to date (April 2008) traced
over 500 people, who have placed
stickers on the map where they lived.
The response to the exhibition has
been fantastic. Lots of people have
brought family snaps in from all
over Salford, Australia and I’ve had
calls from Canada. The exhibition
has even reunited two former
neighbours of Johnson Street in the
1950s, one of whom has emigrated
to Australia.”
”I have worked with Mike
Scantlebury and Jane Wood from
Salford LIDS, Local Initiative Design
Skills, on the exhibition. They have
recorded hundreds of people as oral
histories and are currently making
CDs of the recordings they have
made. Also many thanks to Leslie
Holmes from Salford Lads Club who
has collaborated on the project. We
would hope to develop the project in
some way at Salford Museum and
Art Gallery in the future, as well as
to extend the project as outreach to
related communities.”
Did you visit the Retracing
Salford exhibition? If so
we would like to hear your
comments on whether you
think Lawrence’s project is
a worthwhile activity to keep
going.Get in touch and let
us have your thoughts - our
contact details are on p3.
Journeys into
the past:
we need your
help!
Since late January, a group
of young refugees and
asylum seekers from Iraq,
Somalia and Sri Lanka has
been working with us every
week on Salford Routes, a
project especially funded
by Their Past Your Future
and set up in partnership
with Refugee Action.
We have taken inspiration
from the museum’s migration
timeline, researched and
created by Laura Dixon for the
exhibition What would you do
if …? in 2006. Did you know
that Salford Docks opened
in 1894 to massive success
and brought workers from all
around the world, including
Ireland, Africa, Poland,
Hungary, Malta, Turkey and
Yemen? Did you know that
Salford has been a place of
refuge since the Napoleonic
Wars in the 18th century to
World War One and Two in the
last and the Iraq war in this
century.
Project members have
found out so much about the
different reasons why people
have left their countries and
the routes they have taken to
Salford, that they have used
this as the basis for a board
game with a difference. The
difference is it’s about Salford
and our city’s story!
Now, we need your help to
complete the story: Would you
like to share your memories of
war time Salford or evacuation
from the city with us? Could
you add a personal insight into
what life was like at that time?
Please contact Bev Davies on
0161 778 0837 or beverley.
davies@salford.gov.uk if you
would like more information
about the project.
15
Dear Editor,
You Write
If you’d like to tell a story, ask ‘where are they now?’
or share your memories - send your letters in to:
The Editor, LifeTimes Link,
Salford Museum and Art Gallery,
Peel Park, Crescent,
Salford, M5 4WU.
email: lifetimes@salford.gov.uk
Tel: 0161 778 0885
Due to space limitations we reserve the right to
edit any letters that we do include.
Thank you for my truly welcome copy of LifeTimes Link
issue 22. The front cover brought back a few memories
for me as I used to live at Thorn Court with my nana and
granddad (Hilda and Joseph Hackett) in the 1960s. I don’t
know which floor this little girl would have been living on, but
my nana used to take me down on the lift to a lower floor to
play with a friend – I think her name was Tracy.
These flats and others around the Thorn Court area were
where most of the people from Ordsall were moved to during
the massive demolition. Nana and granddad used to live in
Croydon Street and they were truly happy there – everyone
knew each other.
From that 18th floor flat I could see for miles around. The
small white building across the road (on the cover photo) was
the Corporation pub where granddad used to go for a pint
and a chat with his old mates, some from the docks where
he worked all his life.
I attended New Windsor Primary School – I think it is where
McDonalds now stands. If anyone has a picture of this school
that I could look at I would be very grateful.
Gwendoline Crook, Higher Broughton
Ed: Thanks for writing to us and telling us about your
memories of Thorn Court. It is lovely to think that the little
girl could be the friend you used to go to play with.
Dear Editor,
Dear Editor,
In your last issue, Link 22, there was a letter referring to a speech day
held at Salford Hippodrome. Salford Grammar School held three speech
days at Salford Hip in the late 1940s. Attached is a photograph of the 1949
speech day. I wonder if the Saturday night Hip audience were as attentive or
bored as the SGS pupils appeared to be!
Stan Andrews, Winchester, Hampshire
Ed: I think one of the teachers on the sixth row back might be having forty
winks!
16
Reading page 6 of LifeTimes Link
Issue No 22, Mrs Ann Arnold said she
couldn’t recall how she asked for a visit
from her doctor.
I am 72 years old and remember that
my mother used to send me or either
of my two brothers to ask for the doctor
to visit; the other alternative was to
ask one of our neighbours. In the early
1940s the doctor used to charge 2/6 for
his visit.
I also remember some ‘home-made’
remedies, one of which was when my
father had sardines in oil. My mother
used to drain the oil out of the can and
save it in a small bottle. If anyone had
earache or needed the wax softening in
their ears, the oil would be warmed on
the mantel shelf above the open fire.
‘Bran bags’ were also used. They
were roughly 12” x 12” x 2” thick and my
mother made them from an old blanket
filled up with bran and sewn up. These
could be warmed up in the warming
drawer above the oven and would be
placed on an ache or pain.
Charles Finch, Worsley
Ed: Thank you for telling us about these
delightful home remedies. Perhaps
other readers can remember others?
“Dib, dib, dib!”
Memories of being a cub by Colin Hill
We appealed in the last issue
of Link to those of you who
remember being a cub, scout,
brownie or girl guide. Colin Hill
took up the challenge and has
written in with his entertaining
memories of being a cub scout.
My two friends’ accounts of cub life
were intriguing: games, practical skills
and crafts, and what with the smart
dark-green jersey with the crisp, red
neckerchief, I was keen to join.
Passing a cub test was a somewhat
anxious process but the reward of a tiny
cloth badge, to be sewn onto the green
sleeve of a woollen cub jersey, was a
momentous event. Deciding its exact
position was a matter of lengthy debate
and the needlework, though taxing for
an eight year old, was enjoyable. Even
my older and more experienced friends
seemed to take hours at it.
Cub rituals seem bizarre now. We
squatted in a circle, supposedly imitating
young wolves, with the first two fingers
of each hand (paw) touching the floor
between bent knees. Then, like wolf cubs
again, we ‘pawed’ the floor, reciting,
“We’ll dib, dib, dib”, to which the pack
leader would chant, “We’ll dob, dob, dob”.
Even then this seemed to me to be very
unlikely animal behaviour.
Following this ritual, things got more
lively. We’d play some energetic game
such as ‘British Bulldog’ which was a
sort of handball with the aggressive aim
of planting a tight bundle of socks in the
opposing team’s goal – a chair at one
end of the room. They equally violently
attempted the reverse but injuries were
remarkably minor and few.
To cool off and get our breath back,
we then split into packs of six to learn
woodcraft, knots, Morse code, simple
cooking and such. In the absence of a
kitchen, evidence of having successfully
boiled an egg had to be produced usually a signed note from a parent or
other adult. Forgeries were common but,
to a latchkey kid like me, this presented
no difficulty - I could peel and boil spuds
and make tea too.
Meetings on Wednesday evenings took
place in the Methodist chapel schoolroom
on Fitzwarren Street, Seedley. Only years later did I realise why my totally
non-religious parents insisted on my attendance at Sunday School for an
hour each week!
Cub sins were venial at worst, like forgetting to bring the weekly penny
subscription or cheating in tests, but one deplorable (to Akala) offence
persisted. Cub meetings began at 7.00pm prompt, which to us was a
tragedy. ‘Dick Barton, Special Agent’ began each evening on the radio at
6.45pm on the BBC’s Home Service, and finished at 7.00pm.
Listening to the cliff-hanging ending of an episode of this popular crime
drama and arriving on time at cubs was impossible. The temptation at
times was too great and the tickings off from Akala were excruciating.
For some misguided reason the cubs were expected to entertain chapelgoers with a choral performance each year. A less likely choir than ours is
hard to imagine and the appallingly inappropriate choice, by the straightlaced chapel choir master, of a long funereal Victorian piece, guaranteed
disaster. We accordingly delivered it, moving the audience, verse by verse,
to agony, boredom and ill-concealed hilarity. Even the most dedicated cub
mums were quick to escape immediately after the last tuneless notes.
More enjoyable was our rare training trip to Worsley Woods (on
the bus of course - nobody had cars except the doctor and the
news agent). A senior scout, god-like in khaki shirt and shorts,
with tabs at his stocking tops, was to lead us in woodcraft. We
collected dry kindling and tinder and were issued one solitary
match to light it. “Expert woodsmen”, he lectured us, “need only
one”. But the blustery wind did not agree. Mine blew out as soon
as I had struck it. I was a little comforted when the matches of
all the other cubs blew out also, and, like the rest, maliciously
overjoyed, when the senior scout succeeded only after his
embarrassed seventh.
For me the cubs was part of a post-war childhood which was
unremarkable. The bomb sites on Highfield Road and Fitzwarren Street,
which lined my route there, were adventure playgrounds and part of the
normal landscape, not legacies of Nazi aggression. Strangely the events of
that time are now taught as history!
17
Nasmyth in a Nutshell
by John Aldred
walking from Liverpool, where he had
been to see the Rocket on the Liverpool to
Manchester railway, to Manchester that
he saw the site at Patricroft and thought it
a wonderful place to build an engineering
works. It was another five years before
James was able to set up in business
there, having rented the land from Squire
Trafford.
Most people regard the Steam Hammer
as being the most important of his
inventions but, as always, not everyone
is certain that it was completely his own
idea. There was a Frenchman of the same
period who also claimed some credit.
Anyway, his works built and sold 500 of
these sometimes massive machines by
the year 1836.
He was invited to give a lecture about
the moon, another of his hobbies, to
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert when
they visited Worsley Hall in 1851, and the
Queen’s diary of her visit says how much
she had enjoyed the occasion.
Eccles History
Society, with the
help of a grant
from the Eccles
Community
Committee, are
publishing a book
on James Nasmyth,
marking 200 years
since his birth in
1808. We asked
author John Aldred
to write something
for Link about its
subject: ‘James
Nasmyth, the Steam
Hammer Man, of
Patricroft’.
18
18
When I ask people have they
heard of James Nasmyth a
silence usually follows and then
someone says “Who does he play
for?”. No, he was not a footballer;
he was a very well known and
important Victorian engineer and
inventor who lived and worked in
Green Lane, Patricroft from the
1830s onwards.
He was born on the 19 August 1808, so
this year marks the bicentenary of his
birth. He was born in Edinburgh and
decided early on in life that he wanted
to be an engineer. By the time he was 17
years old, he and his brother had already
built small steam engines and a steam
carriage which could carry eight people.
He learned much of his skill from Henry
Maudsley in London, but it was when
The works in Green Lane made railway
engines for the Great Western railway
in England and others were exported
all over the world. He was constantly
at loggerheads with the unions of the
day and all in all he was a very colourful
character. He was only forty-eight when
he retired, having made a great deal of
money and he went to live in Kent. He
also found time to have an extra-marital
affair and an illegitimate daughter – but
that is another story!
He died in 1890 at the age of eighty and
was one of the first people in England to
be cremated. If you want to know more
you will have to buy the book!
The new book will be on sale at £3.00
per copy and can also be referenced
in all Salford libraries.
Please contact Andrew Cross on
0161 778 7263 for more information
on how to purchase a copy of the
book.
Ruth Frow
(1922-2008)
by Veronica Trick
Wherever Ruth Frow went she
was always very proud to tell
people that she lived in Salford,
although she actually grew up in
London in St John’s Wood and
Mill Hill.
As the daughter of a Jewish father
who was a concert pianist and an
Irish Catholic mother, she had quite a
privileged upbringing with a nanny and
a private education which, she claimed,
was meant to develop her into a young
lady, but “failed miserably”. Instead she
developed into a political activist and a cofounder of an internationally acclaimed
library of labour history.
She left school in 1939 and, altering
her age a little, joined the Women’s Royal
Air Force where she met and married
her first husband Dennis Haines. She
acquired her political outlook during the
war, campaigned for Dover’s Labour
candidate in the 1945 election and then
joined the Communist Party. After the war
the couple went back to London where
Ruth became a trained teacher.
It was in August 1953 at a Communist
Party Summer School in Hastings that
she first met Edmund Frow. The subject
was Labour History and as the week
went on they discovered that they had
much in common. Each of them had a
deep commitment to socialism, a passion
for books and a failed first marriage.
They took a bus in to Brighton to look
at secondhand bookshops. With the
conference over, Eddie filled in some time
before his train left by going with Ruth
to her digs in Fulham for a meal. While
Ruth prepared the food, Eddie looked over
her books. Since their two collections
complemented one another perfectly it
was inevitable that they should decide
to combine their lives as well as their
libraries.
A year later they moved themselves and
their books into a small Didsbury flat.
Within two years the books had outgrown
the flat and they had to move to a semidetached house in King’s Road, Trafford.
Here, in 1972, the charitable trust ‘The
Working Class Movement Library’ (WCML)
was born and immediately began to
grow rapidly in volume and reputation.
Eventually this home too was literally
overflowing with books, archives and
memorabilia.
Photo of Ruth Frow courtesy of Salford Star
Fortunately Salford City Council came to the rescue in 1987 by converting
Jubilee House on the Crescent into a new home for the WCML and
becoming its major funder.
The sheer productivity of the Frows was breathtaking. Ruth had a huge
fund of energies together with superb organizational skills and perhaps
this is what made it possible for them to combine their library activities with
active membership of their respective trade unions as well as the CND, the
Communist Party, the North West Labour History Group and the Eccles and
Salford Local History Societies.
One of Ruth’s special gifts was for making every visitor to the library
whether an academic or a casual enquirer feel warmly welcomed and
totally at ease.
Eddie died in 1997 but Ruth carried on the work of the library. She was
delighted to know that the library had received a Heritage Lottery grant and
was active right up to her last committee meeting two days before she died
on 11 January. She leaves behind an invaluable Labour History resource
and a dedicated team of supporters who will ensure that the library she and
Eddie founded will flourish and survive for future generations to enjoy.
19
Link Listings
A taste of
forthcoming
heritage events
A full programme
of events and
exhibitions can
be found in our
twice yearly
(approx January
and July) Events
and Activities
publication. Pick
up a copy from
our museums
or any Salford
library.
ON, the listings
magazine for
what’s on in
Salford is
published
bi-monthly and
carries full
listings for events
and activities in
the city.
You can also find much
more at
www.visitsalford.info
At Salford Museum and Art Gallery
EXHIBITIONS
Salford Art Club 26 April – 20 July 2008
Over 100 works in a variety of mediums.
The exhibition marks the club’s 60th
anniversary.
Colin T Johnson: A Personal View
Until 13 July 2008
Colin T Johnson has lived and painted
mainly in St Ives, Cornwall; however his
background is firmly based in Salford.
Includes work from his four principal
themes.
Salford by the Sea
19 July – 30 October 2008
We all love a holiday so pop over to the
museum for a seaside experience in
Salford!
A University for the 21st Century
17 May – 17 August 2008
An exhibition by the innovative local
photographer, Andrew Paul Brooks.
Sea and Shoreline
by Judith Trescatheric
23 August -16 November 2008
Watercolours and oils of the northwest
coastline.
Riffs, Tiffs and Quiffs
From 18 October 2008
See our special feature on page 10.
STILL SHOWING …
Shop Till You Drop
Until 7 September 2008
Plenty of activities for all ages, including
our popular children’s play shop.
HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES
All holiday sessions are £1.00 per child
unless otherwise stated.
Whit Half Term
• Copy Cats – Tuesday 27 May
Choose a painting in our Victorian Gallery
and create your own version.
Drop-in sessions at 10.30 & 11.30am, 1.30
& 2.30pm
• Summer Door Hangers –
Thursday 29 May
Create a personal door hanger with a
summer theme. Drop-in sessions at 10.30
& 11.30am, 1.30 & 2.30pm
Summer Holidays Lots of events to tie
in with our ‘Salford by the Sea’ exhibition.
Join artist Isobel Pickup every Tuesday
and contribute to a big picture which will
become part of the exhibition!
20
• 29 July, 5 August, 12 August, 19 August
& 26 August. Morning session: 10.30am
- 12.30pm, afternoon session: 1.30 3.30pm. FREE event.
Every Wednesday afternoon join Mrs
Brown as she shows you how the Victorian
washday is done and have a go yourself!
• 30 July, 6 August, 13 August, 20 August
and 27 August at 1.30 & 2.30pm. Free
session but places are limited - tickets
will be issued at the reception desk on the
day.
Every Thursday during the summer we
will be holding seaside themed activities.
• These sessions will be held on 31 July, 7
August, 14 August, 21 August & 28 August
at 10.30 & 11.30am, 1.30 & 2.30pm and
cost £1.00 per child.
October Half Term Tuesday 28 & Thursday
30 October - celebrate Black History
Month by having a go at crafts from around
the world. Ring 0161 778 0821 for details
and times.
FAMILY FUNDAYS
• Arts and Crafts – Sunday 25 May
Family activities at the museum. 2-4pm.
This is a free drop-in event.
• Musical Sunday – Sunday 29 June
Relax in the tranquil surrounds of the
Victorian Gallery and enjoy the sounds
of a talented musician + arts and crafts
activities. 2.00-4.00pm.
This is a free drop-in event.
• Family Craft Workshops take place on
the following Sundays between 2.00 &
4.00pm: 27 July, 31 August, 28 September,
26 October, 30 November
Please ring 0161 778 0821 for details of
events taking place
At Ordsall Hall Museum
EXHIBITIONS
Shiver Me Timbers! Pirates at Play …
The giant Tudor galleon is still docked at
Ordsall Hall, if you haven’t made it along
to fire the canons and hoist the sails get
down to the hall! Until 30 March 2009
History revealed Ongoing exhibition.
Some of the best archaeological finds
from the Ordsall Hall site are now on
permanent display. Artefacts include
animal bones, pottery and building
remains.
HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES
OTHER EVENTS AT ORDSALL HALL
Whit Half Term
• Pirate Treasure Chests – Wednesday
28 May Make a treasure chest to store
your loot in and then go and sail the
seas in our pirate ship. Drop-in sessions
at 10.30 & 11.30am, 1.30 & 2.30pm.
• The Tudor Kitchen – Friday 30 May
Learn all about herbs and cooking in
Tudor times in Ordsall Hall’s kitchen and
herb garden, and make a nosegay. Dropin sessions at 11.30am, 1.30 & 2.30pm.
Craft Fair – Sunday 12 October
Snap up a handmade bargain. This is your
chance to get some Christmas shopping
done early and pick up some bargains!
11.00am– 3.30pm
Summer Holidays
Lots of holiday activities are on at the
Hall over the summer. Activities will be
held every Wednesday and Friday at the
following times: 10.30 & 11.30am, 1.30 &
2.30pm. All holiday activities cost £1.00
per child. Please ring 0161 872 0251 for
further details.
Archery will also be available over the
summer – please ring 0161 872 0251 for
dates and times. Cost: 50p for 3 arrows.
Teddy Bears Picnic Wednesday 13
August Bring your teddy to Ordsall
Hall for some Olympic themed fun and
games. Bring a picnic with you and set
it up in the grounds! There will also
be activities taking place in the hall.
11.00am-1.00pm. Free drop-in event.
October Half Term
Wednesday 29 & Friday 31 October
Spooky Crafts at Ordsall Hall. Sessions
cost £1.00 per child at 10.30 & 11.30am,
1.30 & 2.30pm.
FAMILY FUNDAYS
Eco Arts – Sunday 4 May
Make your own art out of willow as
you learn all about this ancient craft.
1.00-4.00pm. Free drop-in event.
At Home with the Tudors – Sunday 1
June Learn how the Tudors lived and
try your hand at Tudor crafts led by
costumed guides. Free drop-in event.
Re-enactors Weekend – Saturday 5
& Sunday 6 July 17th Century Life and
Times are setting up camp at the Hall.
Join them for a weekend of historic fun
and games! 11.00am – 3.30pm
Family Fundays on the following
Sundays between 1.00 & 4.00pm:
3 August, 7 September, 5 October
2 November, 7 December
Please ring 0161 872 0251 for details of
events taking place on these dates.
Heritage Walks
Exercise your body and mind and discover
the hidden history of the city on our
friendly and informal Heritage Walks
-£2.00 for adults, children free. Please
wear appropriate shoes or boots. All
distances given are approximate.
For further details contact Caroline Mean
on 0161 778 0817 during office hours.
• Roe Green Amble Sunday 18 May
A gentle stroll around Roe Green.Meet
at Beesley Green Community Centre,
Off Greenleach Lane, Worsley, M28 2QW
1.30pm
Walk Leader: David George Approx 1 mile
Contact - 0161 778 0817 during office
hours.
• Coal Mine to Country Park Sunday 8
June
Explore Wet Earth Colliery with ranger
Ian White and discover more about the
engineering genius of James Brindley.
Meet at Clifton Country Park Visitor
Centre, Clifton House Road, Clifton
M27 6NG. 10. 30am Approx 2 miles
Contact Clifton Country Park Visitor Centre
on 0161 793 4219
• Water, Coal and Chemistry in Walkden
Sunday 20 July
Stroll around Blackleach Country Park and
the surrounding area.
Meet at Blackleach Country Park Visitor
Centre, John Street, off Hill Top Lane,
Walkden, M28 3QR 10.30am
Approx 2 miles
Contact Clifton Country Park Visitor Centre
on 0161 793 4219
• Ellesmere Park Thursday 7 August
Explore this Mid-Victorian ‘Housing
Estate’, created by the Earl of Ellesmere
Walk Leader: Chris Whitefoot Meet at the
car park behind the shops on Monton
Road. 7.00pm Approx. 2 miles
Contact - 0161 778 0817 during office
hours
• Worsley and
Bridgewater Canal
Sunday 7 September
Worsley’s industrial past,
including Old Warke Dam,
the Bridgewater Canal
and Worsley Green. Meet
at Worsley Court House,
Barton Road, Worsley
1.30 pm Walk Leader:
David George
Approx 2 miles, circular
Contact - 0161 778 0817
during office hours
Looms and landslides
Sunday 21 September
Kersal Dale Local Nature
Reserve. Come along and
see the remains of the old
tram lines and discover
what the great landslide
of 1927 meant for this
area. Meet outside Garden
Needs, Radford Street, M7
0NT, off Bury New Road
10.30am Approx 2 miles
Contact Clifton Country
Park Visitor Centre 0161
793 4219
• Broken Bank to Salford
Spa Sunday 12 October
Discover the fascinating
story of Salford’s spring
water supply and health
spa. Meet at Salford
Museum and Art Gallery
Walk Leader:
Tony Frankland
1.30pm
Approx 2 miles
Contact - 0161 778 0817
during office hours
21
Mystery Pix
Salford Local History Library has over 50,000 photos in their collection - unfortunately we can’t identify
some of the donations. Drop us a line or pop into the Local History Library if you can help (open Tuesday
to Friday 10.00am-5.00pm with a late night closing on Wednesday 8.00pm).
From the last issue:
Now for this issues Mystery Pix……
Deborah Collins told us that picture number 2 was taken
in Irlam. It shows Victoria Road with Baines Avenue at the
top and a private road leading to farmland at the bottom
with Irlam Primary School’s sports ground to the left. This
was confirmed by a caller from Irlam who added that the
road going off the picture to the right was Rose Avenue.
June Jones (nee Davies) recognised herself in picture 3 as
the girl in the middle with the black and white dog. She is
wearing her guide uniform in the picture and has worked
out that the year must have been 1948. She thinks it could
have been taken at Broughton High School but can’t be
sure of the location.
We still haven’t received any information about picture 1,
(below) so if you recognise it, please get in touch.
Still a mystery!
Picture 1: We know this was taken in 1986, but does
anyone know where this house was?
Picture 2: Do you recognise anyone playing catch or
recognise the school?
We had a few responses from our second appeal about the
Mystery Pix from issue 21. Thanks to Margaret Carr and
Harold Heyes for identifying Winton Cottage on Worsley
Road in Winton. This building was situated near the
junction to New Lane, close to Winton Post Office. Harold
used to pass this house four times a day when he went to
school nearby.
Picture 1, issue 21 has brought back memories for Jenny
who attended Claremont Open Air School. She remembers
a rest shed, seen in the picture behind the children, where
they used to have a sleep on camp beds after dinner.
Send us your information and comments:
LifeTimes Link, Salford Museum and Art Gallery,
Peel Park, Crescent, Salford, M5 4WU
Tel: 0161 778 0885
Email: lifetimes@salford.gov.uk
22
Picture 3: We know the gentleman on the right is John
Barnes, Salford director of education at the time, but
does anyone know where or when this photograph was
taken?
Local History Round Up
Boothstown & District Local History
Group Our informal meetings are
held in the main hall of Boothstown
Community Centre, Stansfield Drive,
on the third Wednesday of the month.
Contact - Ann Monaghan
0161 778 0881 during office hours or
0161 799 6091 evenings.
• Wednesday 21 May
Salford Pubs Roy Bullock
• Wednesday 17 September
‘Well I Never knew That’ Salford
inventions and ‘firsts’ Ann Monaghan
• Wednesday 15 October
The East Lancashire Railway, its History
and Development David Wright
• Wednesday 19 November
Agecroft Hall, the House that Emigrated
to America Chris Whitefoot
• Wednesday 17 December
To be announced
Talks start at 7.45pm • Price £1.50
Broughton District Local History
Group Meet at Broughton Library
Contact Mrs P Dimond 0161 798 6382
Talks start at 7.30pm
Visitors welcome - £1.00
Eccles Heritage Meet at The Links
Centre, Chadwick Road
For details contact Ann Humpage
0161 789 2820 Website:
www.ecclesheritage.colsal.org.uk
Talks start at 2.00pm • Price: £1.50
Eccles & District History Society
Meet at Alexandra House, Peel Green
on the second Wednesday of the
month. Contact Andrew Cross
0161 788 7263
Website: www.edhs.colsal.org.uk
• Wednesday 14 May
Annual General Meeting
Report and presentation on the Eccles
Digital Photographic Survey 2008
• Saturday 14 June
Summer excursion.
Details to be announced.
• Sunday 17 August
James Nasmyth Trail - Monton to
Patricroft. Details to be announced
Irlam, Cadishead & District Local
History Society Meet at St. Paul’s
Church, Liverpool Road, Irlam
Contact Deborah Yates
0161 775 8708
Website: www.icdlhs.colsal.org.uk
• Wednesday 21 May
Dating old Photographs Debbie
• Wednesday 18 June
Lancashire Dialects Mr. H. Liptrott
• Wednesday 19 July
Day trip to Merseyside, and the new
Museum of Slavery Cost to be confirmed
• August 2008
No Meeting. Stand at the Summer Show
instead at Prince’s Park Irlam
• September 2008
A.G.M. (plus speaker)
Talks start at 7.30 pm
Visitors welcome: £1.00
Salford Local History Society
Meet at Salford Museum & Art
Gallery. Contact Roy Bullock
0161 736 7306
www.salfordlocalhistorysociety.
colsal.org.uk
• Wednesday 28 May
Manchester Cotton Mills
An illustrated talk by David George
• Wednesday 25 June
The Visit of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
to Salford, 1887-1878
• Wednesday 30 July
Through Glass Brightly An illustrated talk
by Margaret Curry, revealing the beautiful
and the unexpected in English stained
glass windows
• Wednesday 27 August
The History of Ordsall Hall and its former
occupants
Talks start at 7.30pm
Visitors welcome: £1.00
Some societies have their own
websites and details of all talks
supplied to us are also listed on
our web page at
www.salford.gov.uk/museum-talks
Swinton & Pendlebury Local
History Society Meet at Pendlebury
Methodist Church, Bolton Road
Contact John Cook 0161 736 6191
Website: www.splhs.colsal.org.uk
• Monday 12 May
Coach Trip details to be advised
• Monday 2 June
“Down Forget-me-not Lane”
A talk by Brian Hallworth
• Monday 16 June A.G.M
Talks start at 10am
Price: £1.00
Walkden Local History Group
Meet in the Guild Hall, Guild Avenue
on the second Wednesday of the
month. Contact Ann Monaghan
0161 778 0881 during office hours
Talks start at 2pm
Price: £1.50
Worsley Methodist Church &
Community Association Meet at
Worsley Methodist Church, Barton
Road. Contact Kathryn or
Charles Ogden on 0161 790 2125
• Friday 16 May
The Royal Manchester
Children’s Hospital
Pamela Barnes
• Friday 13 June
Worsley and the Bridgewater Canal
David George
Talks start 7.30pm Cost £3.00
including tea and biscuits (proceeds
in aid of the church)
This calendar of local history/
heritage activities is based on
information supplied by the individual
organisations and is believed to be
correct at the time of going to press.
It may be advisable to confirm details
in advance of attending an event.
Note to programme secretaries.
For your group’s talks to be included
in this listing please send your
programme to us before the deadline
as shown on p3.
Talks start at 7.30pm
Each year Eccles and District History Society offers an award for work in local history.
The late Frank Mullineux was a founder-member of the society and he made a wonderful contribution to local
history. So it is fitting that we remember Frank in making this award each year.
The award is given for the work which is considered to have contributed most to the study of local history. This
work may take various forms: it could be a publication, an essay, research, an exhibition or anything at all which
promotes the study of local history or contributes to our knowledge of local history in some way. All entries
must be submitted by June 30 2008 with an accompanying letter.
The winner(s) will be presented with a suitable award of their choice of a value specified by the awards panel.
They will also receive a certificate signed by the president and committee members of the society.
23
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Ordsall
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Museum
Salford Museum & Art Gallery
Peel Park, Crescent, Salford M5 4WU
Tel: 0161 778 0800 • Fax: 0161 745 9490
Email: salford.museum@salford.gov.uk
Open: Mon-Fri 10.00am-4.45pm and
Sat-Sun 1.00-5.00pm
Free parking, disabled access, gift shop,
café .
Salford Local History Library
at Salford Museum & Art Gallery:
Open: Tues, Thurs and Fri 10.00am-5.00pm
and Weds 10.00am-8.00pm
Closed weekends and Mondays
Ordsall Hall Museum
Ordsall Lane, Salford M5 3AN
Tel: 0161 872 0251 • Fax: 0161 872 4951
Email:ordsall.hall@salford.gov.uk
Open: Mon-Fri 10.00am-4.00pm and
Sunday 1.00-4.00pm
Closed Saturday
Free parking, gift shop,
limited disabled access
Designed by Marketing & Communications • 0161 793 3761
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