Return to Archive List
This was positioned roughly 300 yards below Openshaw Bridge (the branch of the Manchester to Ashton canal passed under this bridge, starting at Clayton finishing at Stockport near to Lancashire Hill - there were no locks it being level) on the north side of Ashton Old Road, the street at the side was West Bank The building itself had been a billiard hall in earlier days. There were several dotted around Manchester; I remember one in Gorton on Hyde Road alongside Park Avenue. The Olympia Cinema was next door.
A few alterations were made inside and outside the building. The front had white marble steps leading to the pay box. One could go right or left from here, having paid for your ticket (admission), up several more marble steps leading to a flat surface to an entrance to the Cinema itself. Here one had to pass through a thick heavy curtain. This served several purposes. It kept the light out, the noise of the traffic out and last of all the draught, especially in the winter or cold weather. An attendant would take your ticket from you, tear it in half, giving you back one half The layout inside the cinema was as follows - a small room high up at the back where the operator would show the films through one of several apertures on to the large white screen at the front of the audience.
On entering through the thick curtain the floor sloped downwards to the screen, there were two gangways leading to each side of the screen. Another gangway came across the centre intersecting the dearer seats in the rear from the cheaper ones in the front. The other gangway was in front of the screen. There were four exit doors, one each side of the gangway in the centre and one each side in front of the screen.
In the 1920's it was normal to have twice nightly performances so the people would use these exit doors to leave the cinema quickly; the people waiting to enter for the later show would be queueing up outside. The seating was the tip-up type, not much about them, they served their purpose. Each side of far left and right were rows of about 10 seats going down towards the exit doors, each row going up to the wall of the cinema. The bulk of the seats would be in the middle part, the cheaper seats entrance was in a passage on the left of the outside of the cinema. There were toilets in the rear and toilets in the front section toward the left in srnall rooms. These seemed to me to get used by a lot of people going in and out especially during the intervals. A girl used to come round with a tray slung round her neck with toffees etc. for sale. People used to bring monkey nuts, oranges, apples etc. The cleaners would have some rubbish to sweep up next day!
On the outside of the building which was one storey high a semi-rounded roof, the front had two billboards each side of the entrance. The left one advertising the main film to be shown Mon - Tue - Wed., the one on the right the film Thurs - Fri - Sat. There were no Sunday shows. Films were silent - a pianist would make the sounds as they watched the film.
At the entrance of the cinema was a metal collapsible extending type of gate which was pulled to the centre from each side then fastened with a strong padlock. Across the road from the cinema was Wellington Street. On the left was the Malcolm Inn, a public house, on the right I believe was an Undertakers. The houses in this street were terraced. It was only a short street. Intersecting it was Whitworth Street East. Carrying on Wellington Streetwere the houndary walls of Gorton Tank - built 1848 closed 1963 - on the left. On the right were the running sheds for the railway - Great Central in the earlier days then L.N.E.R. took over. Robert Peacock designed and planned the layout of this site. The area was chosen because it was fairly flat and was in easy reach of Manchester Centre. This place in those days was mostly fields. I would think this was the start of all the industries which came to this and surrounding district. Gorton Tank built and repaired locomotives, the running sheds section served London Road Station with some locomotives. They were fired up, steamed etc. ready for service drivers, firemen and maybe guards would be on board. This place was opened in 1848 and closed in 1963. It was always known as Gorton Tank but its in Openshaw. A small door on the right near to the end of Wellington Street was a lodge where train crews hooked on and off duty. Two large double doors one at each side a little further down for motor traffic. At this point Wellington Street came to a dead end except for a footbridge allowing people to cross from here in Openshaw to Gorton. It was built on pillars of metal. A concrete path with shallow channels each side with grids to allow rainwater to escape, large inverted 'u' shaped metal hoops or brackets were made secure each side of the path at equal distances. A strong metal wire type of netting (wire mesh?) was fastened to the roofs enclosing the path from the sides and roof thus the name bird cage. Eleetric lamps were positioned at regular points coming on at dusk and going off at dawn. The footbridge was roughly 12 ft. wide and some 9 feet high. This is just guess work, It started at ground level in Wellington Street then rose fairly steeply till it reached the height of the gutters of a building on the right. This was I believe the erecting shop, a fairly high one storey building. One could see the glass windows in the roof with duckboards in between each rise and fall of the number of roofs with here and there large movable ventilators. The footbridge came level at this point. This changed to a flight of wooden steps with handrails at each side plus one in the centre. At the bottom of the steps a short concrete path sloping gradually downwards led to a railway bridge crossing the L.N.E.R. main line from London Road Station to London Marylebone via Sheffield - first stop being Guide Bridge.
I can remember when I went to Varna Street school in 1920's. I used to wait in a passage overlooking Gorton-Openshaw station about 1.40 pm. waiting for the train to pass on its way to London Road Station. Valour was a favourite. I have since learned it was 6165 4.6.0. These expresses were all namers. The engines were clean painted in apple green colour. There was one called Sir Sam Fay. I often wondered who he was. In recent years I discovered he was a Chairman of Great Central Railway.
Referring back to the railway bridge there were gaps in the floor - narrow ones - young children liked standing on them when a train passed underneath being enveloped in stearn or smoke. Having crossed the bridge there was a stair of stone with handrails each side leading down to Railway Street. At street level on the left was a stone built wall separating the railway from the street ending at the road bridge over the railway lines at the junction of Cornwall Street and Chapman Street. On the right from the bottom of the steps was Beyer Peacocks locomotive builders etc. Their main offices were at this point. The works covered 12 acres of land, all fields to begin with. Charles Frederick Beyer designed the layout. 1854 - closed 1966. He was 41 years old. R. Peacock 34 years old. The third partner Henry Robertson 1816 - 1888. The boundary wall from Railway Street turn right into Froxmer Street to Gorton Lane then along Gorton Lane to turn right Preston Street, up to the railway bridges. Just across the road from here was another running shed, this was the L.M.S. Railway going under the name of Befle Vue Loco. This also served London Road Station so one can see the railway played a big part in forming Gorton and Openshaws history.
Alongside Belle Vue Loco was a football pitch and many semi-finals and finals were played here. The crowds that used to flock to see them were really something. My father was on a cornmittee for one team that used to play there regularly. It was their home ground. They were called "Gorton Wednesday". They played in the Wednesday League. They mostly worked in Cross Street. It was their half day.
Going back to Beyer Peacocks they closed down in 1966 having made 8,000 locomotives amongst other things. At the corner of Railway Street and Froxmer Street stood a large brick tower with four clock faces. One faced to the railway so it was handy for rail crews and passengers travelling close by. Beyer Peacock had an Open Day in 1930. I remember going to see the locomotives they had on show. It was the first time I had seen them from ground level. They looked so big.
A book in the local library - Beyer Peacock Locomotive Builders to the World by R.L. Hills - 0. Patrick - is crammed full of interesting facts. The archives of Beyer Peacock Ltd. are now lodged at the Science Museum in Castlefield in their archives. To visit this part of the museum permission is sought by telephone - 0161 - 833 - 0027 - Education Service.
Another local light engineering firm in Froxiner Street - Follow & Bates now closed. There are two catalogues of their manufactured goods on show in the Archives Section in the museum. In the other part of the museum itself there is a glass framed display hung on the wall with numerous medals awarded to Follow & Bates for their prize-winning manufactured goods.
Leaving Froxmer Street and going along Railway Street on the right is Albion Street. Terraced houses on both sides it is a short street. At the corner stood a public house - the Albion Inn - more terraced houses in Railway Street, atiother short street, terraced houses on both sides. This was Manchester Street. Moving along another short street, terraced on both sides, this was Sheffield Street, more terraced houses in Railway Street then an open space. Gorton Cricket Ground stood here some 300 yards from Railway Street. We now come to Chapman Street. On the corner was a flat piece of ground. Large wooden hoardings stood here full of posters. Part of it was in Railway Street, part in Chapman Street. Me and my friend used to climb up it leaning over the top from the back part. Across from here was the Railway Hotel. The first Railway station in Gorton was built close by. The approach was by the side of this public house. It was named Cornwall Inn in those days 1842.