1939 IN THE MANCHESTER AREA i<esearched b y CHRIS E MAKEPEACE, B.A., F.S.A., A.L.A 1939 IN THE MANCHESTER AREA This r esearch was commission b y Ms Pamel a Me n d ez on behalf of Mr K ~ o llet a nd l tt em ~ts to s how the ty e of life of and e vents attend e d by leading businessmen and of wealthy people in t he months l eading u ~t o the outbreak of war in Sep tember 1939. 'l'he main sources of informa tion hav e been The Manchester Ci ty News, t h e Alderlef Edge and Wil. s lov Advertiser and Cheshire Life. The ~erio d concentrated on has been the first eight months of 1939 , u~to the outbreak of war. The Manchester City Nevs was a weekly pa per wh ich included longer articles as wel l as news items. Its circulation wa s wider tha n Mancheste r. Wh en i t eventually c e ased t o be pub lished in Lhe 1950s; it was ~art of the ';Count./ newspaper" series. It contains d verts as we ll as news items. The Alderley Edge a nd Wilmslov Advertiser c o vered a l a r g e ~art of nortn Chesh ire around Wilmslow and Alderley Edge , but it also covered s ome Ma cclesfield news and some events in Stockport and the part o f Che s hire which had been absorbed into Manchester i n 1931 as the Wythenshawe Estate. Cheshire Life started in the mid 1930s a nd d ea lt with t h e activities and interests o f those with what mig ht be described a s "time o n t h eir ha n ds" or wh o we re in a p os ition to enjoy themselves or were part of "societj" . Re f erences in the Manc hester Ci Cf Ne ws Deans ate Hotel advertised on 7th January claiming tha t it was t he IIbest businessmen's lunch in town. Table d 'hote from 2/- or a ll la carte menu. Restaurant within a hotel. Small tables • rEh e a d vert then we nt on to s tate "We solicit a trial". he Deansg ate Hotel stood o n Deansg ate close to the Cathedral, o verloo k ing t he River Irwell. It was severely da ma ged in a fire d uring the war which some ha ve argued was started deliberately by l ift h Columnists ll Another important even t in " anches ter were t he Ha 11e concerts, he l d at the Free Trade Hal L rfhese usuall} took place on Thursdays and Sun d a ys a nd a ttracted udiences f rom a wide a rea. The programmes were trad i tiona1. For example on 18th February, there was a r e view of the performance o f the Dream of Ge rontious . The concert d eason end e d in May a n d usuall.! started i n mid ­ ... e ~t em ber. In t h e i s s ue ot 18th Febr uary 1 93 9, there is an a c count of t h e Lord Ma yor' s rece p tion at Ma n chester attended b y over 1 20 0 peop le, i ncluding l ocal policitcal l e aders, leaders o f industr y a nd c o mme r c e in the city, many of wh om would have lived outside t he city bo undaries a n other no table local ~ e o p le. The rece~ti o n wa s hel d a t the Town Ha ll. En tertainment was ~rovidea by the Ma nchester City Po lic e ' t ring rchestra. Da ncing was to the Eljsian Dance Ba nd . The Great Ha ll was also used for a concert. A e neral observation that is a p ~ arant from r e a d iny the p a ~ ers is that the leade r s of industrj and commerce we r e also involved i n or9anisations like t he YHA. For exa mp le E D Simon, head o f Simon En inee rin ] wa s the Re g ional President of t h e Manchester and District Grou o f t e YHA . ( thers a lso too k a c tive roles in thinkiw, a h ead to t h e effects of t h e outbreak o f war. For examp le, A E P i ggo t t , secretarj to the Manche ster Cr e matorium Compa ny, p rod uced pa per s o n th p. effec t of air-raids and the a c tion at should be t aken to deal with t he c a sulties. (Pi990tt wa s the head o f an e stab lished firm of accounta nts in the cit] a nd lived in Fallowfield.) It s houl d b e noted that alt o ug h ma ny of t h e i md ustrial and comme rcial leade rs o f Manchester lived outside the city, in north Cheshire i n place s like Wilmslow a nd Alderley Ed g e , t h ere were som2 wh o continued to l iv _ the the traditional suburbs such a s Fallowf ield, Withington and Didsburj. Me mntion should also b e made of organisations lik ~ the Northern Law n Tennis Club, b a sed in Didsburj, wh ich liked to think of itsel f as the "Wi mb l edo n of the North". Fred Perri started i s ~) I a yin care e r here. The r e wa s a 1 so a c r 0 ~ u etc 1 u b b a s e don t h e same. (See h otoco~j) In F e bruarj 1939, the J e wish c o mm uni t y held 3 ba n quet to mark the centenary o f Manches ter a s a b orouy h (1 9 38) and t h e ~ l a n t iny o f a 1000 t rees, d onated by t h e Ma nchester Jewish Communitj, a t Nazareth - called the Ma nchester Grove. e i s sue of t h e li th ~l a rch 1 ~39 reported the annual d inner of the Ma n c , e ster Societj of Architects. h is was attend e d b y all the I e diny architects in Ma nches ter and the surround iny area. Th e architects would have taken guests with t hem, usuall] clients. At the e nd of March (31st), an advert in the Ma nchester City News r efers to t h e sale of hou s e s at Parrs Wo od, o n th8 e d g e o f Ma ncheste r, ne ar t h e Capi tol .inema. r h ese we r e bo th semi­ d eta che d and d e tached houses a . the price wa s be t we en £55 0 and £1000 each. his area wa s becoming availab le f o r d eve l o fJ lnent with t he construction o f Kingswa y, a main road avoiding Di d s b ury. In April 1 9 3 9 , ther e was an a d vert f o r t he S i bby Line t o r holiday cruise s fr om Li v e r 0 01 t o London vin Antwe r , ~ o tter d am a n d Ha b urg on teSS; xford s hire (de a rting 2 7th June) a nd t he MV Worcestershir p. (de a rting 10th ,J une). Fare: 1 0 -1 guineas including 3rd clas s return rail fare. 22 A r il 1939 include ~ a report on th " T le Magic of the Builder" e xhibition at City Ha ll. ,This wa s also me ntioned in the Alderley Edge and wilmslow Ad vertiser. Houses being built i n Tim e rley at this time c ost from £427 2 includiny 3 beds , kitch e n, s eparate wc, bathroom, g arage and lar e ~ arden. Said t o be close to shops and on bus route into Ma nchester. Manchester Airt?ort (Rin way) had 1 6 scheduled f liyhts 8ach day d urin~ June and July. Destinations included Glasgow, London, 3 ristol, Southampton and Am sterdam In July 1939, the Duke and Duchess of Kent visited Whallej Range Hi gh School and Wy thenshawe , which was be ing d e velo~ e d a s a new town although with in the bounda ries o f Manchester, so that pe ople from the slums of Hulme, Ar d wick etc, could be rehoused and their old Victorian dwelling s demolished. during· t.he last week of August, t h e re wa s t he Buxton Drama festival. References i.n t~ , e Alderley ~ at d Wl1mslow Ad vertiser I n January 1939; Sandbach Conservative Association held its annual dance at Sandbach Town jaIl. Attended by a large crowd . A "Be lle o f t he Ball" was elected and dancing wa s the New Lyrical Band. The we din ot the month i n January wa s t.hat of t he d a u gh ter (?) o f Christie-Miller, a major hat manufacturer in Stockport, at Acton.