casualdeyna said:
We started on Vaughan Street, which becomes Bennett Street as the road turns to the right, on the left hand side is the Fujitsu car park which Gary states to be the first pitch St Marks played on. On the old maps it is impossible to pinpoint the exact location as it was the Union Iron Works, there is a few spaces there dotted between buildings so it could really have been any of them.
On the opposite side of Bennett St there seems to be a building that still exists from the St Marks days as it definitely appears older than the surrounding buildings has a fairly grand entrance, certainly compared to everything else in the area. On the old maps it is either Brook Forge or a nameless building next to it.
Bennett St is one of the few roads that hasn’t been diverted over the years, it follows the same layout in the old maps as it does today, so as you stroll down it you will be tracing the same footsteps as thousands of City fans going to Hyde Road, even if it looks very different today. Another building further down Bennett St that hasn’t changed is St Benedict’s Church, it is a pretty imposing structure, certainly compared to the picture I have seen of St Marks. Today it is the Manchester Climbing Centre which gives you an idea of the size of the building.
Carrying on down Bennett St on the right hand side is a fairly new estate, this was the site of the Galloway Boiler Works, that gave its name to one of Hyde Road’s stands. It’s hard to imagine now but it was a substantial complex when City used to play next door.
Carrying on, as the road bends slightly to the left you will see the shipping container depot on your right, this was Hyde Road, and as it is mostly empty space it is easier to imagine the ground then pretty much all of the other places of interest. Someone may correct me here but on all the old maps I have found I can only find one entrance in to the ground and that was on Bennett St opposite Rostron Street, which is now Rostron Avenue. As Hyde Road was surrounded on all sides it is likely Bennett St was the only way in, I just can’t believe they funnelled 30,000 – 40,000 fans in and out of just one entrance in the later days before the relocation. There were also houses on Bennett Street here so there could only have been a handful of entrances at most. Even if there was more than one way in I can imagine huge queues trying to get in the ground before kick-off stretching down Bennett St and probably on to Hyde Road itself, especially for big games.
Great to see you've done the walk. There's a lot to add of course, but not really got the time now. One of the reasons why I included so much on this area (including old maps and so on) in "Manchester The Greatest City" is so that people would go and have a look for themselves.
I'm delighted you've gone and seen it all. It would have been worth popping to Gorton Park - the site of the old Queens Rd/Donkey Common/Clemington Park/Clemington Downs pitch (the real name was Queens Road, but it was referred to by the other names occasionallly in match reports and/or by the fans/players).
The Gorton Park pitch is the only former site that still has grass on it - although it's nothing like it would have been in 1883.
A couple of other points - the Fujitsu car park I talk about is the one that can be seen on Wenlock Way (late Thomas St) not Bennett St, a little north of Clowes St. That street is more or less the same layout as it was a century ago (though buildings have vanished). The walk from the church to that site was by walking up William Street (part of which is now Penfold Walk).
You are right that the church wasn't exactly where the ACES pub (which incorrectly had the plaque attached to it until it was stolen about 18 months ago)/shops are. It was the eastern end of the parade. A walk straight down William St (Penfold Walk - no longer possible to go straight down it all the way) would have brought you to the corner where most of the St. Mark's photos have been taken from.
The site is really to the left of present day Beaumaris Close (former Robert Street) where the Working Men's Club and perhaps the grass is.
Hope this helps.
Hyde Road - it was officially called Hyde Road simply because the Club's offices were in the Hyde Road Hotel pub initially. Also the players changed their until the 1890s. Early football annuals talk of City's ground's address as 'Back of the Hyde Road Hotel'.
Some fans did call it Bennett St (my family did as well), but it's official name was Hyde Road.
There were 2 main entrances on Bennett St - as you say more or less opposite Rostron and then at the corner (main entrance). There was also entrances from Hyde Road - people often talk about the walk from the Hyde Rd Hotel, but there's evidence of another entrance that I'm currently researching.
There was no way in to the ground from the other sides and, yes, there were major problems on the streets when 40,000 were trying to get in. There's a famous game V Burnley in the 20s when gates were smashed down and the manager was criticised for spending too much time on football matters and not enough time sorting out ticketing and crowd control (We never blame Roberto for this these days!).
Hope this helps.
There are a few photos of pages from "Manchester The Greatest City" which show maps - <a class="postlink" href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150108375607816.281371.289818652815&type=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 815&type=3</a>
Also, my research folder includes photos of Hyde Road in 1905 and images from the Burnley game I mention above: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150135617717816.285215.289818652815&type=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 815&type=3</a>
In the new year I expect to announce some news about a City history book on my facebook. Should be interesting.
