Plans for Wythenshawe Town Centre

[wahablue]

By the time the first youth club opened on Portway we were refused entry,told to go to the pub.I was about 15 at the time.Still a great place to live for a “young un”

 

[threespires]

When Wythenshawe started to get the big influx of new residents, it didn't have enough schools (it still doesn’t!), doctors, dentists, shops… it was pretty much a mass of houses with nothing else there.

Even in the 60s and 70s it was still under provisioned for it's size I remember our docs seemed a long way away but maybe that's just because I was little. There was always a decent amount of community activity going on. What was always good was you could cheaply and pretty frequently hop on a bus into 'town' so I never felt like I was missing out and even though we were the southern most 'suburb' it always felt like part of Manchester to me, possibly at the expense to Wythenshawe's own identity?

 

[Dirty Harry]

Where the Barclays bank building is apparently...I only know that cos I know a few lads who grew up on the road at the back.

Ah right, no don’t remember that part really back then, I was ‘Southside innit’ back then ;-).

When Wythenshawe started to get the big influx of new residents, it didn't have enough schools (it still doesn’t!), doctors, dentists, shops… it was pretty much a mass of houses with nothing else there.

My Mam (her Mam and Dad, and her 4 sisters) moved from a 2 room cellar (2 rooms, NOT 2 bedrooms lol) under a cobblers in Fallowfield to Benchill back then, she still remembers having to walk to Timperley, Northenden and Didsbury to get food etc, funny thing is, her Dad didn’t want to make the move saying “I’m not moving to the fuckin countryside”, still tickles me that.

 

[davyhulme blue]

Ah right, no don’t remember that part really back then, I was ‘Southside innit’ back then ;-).

My Mam (her Mam and Dad, and her 4 sisters) moved from a 2 room cellar (2 rooms, NOT 2 bedrooms lol) under a cobblers in Fallowfield to Benchill back then, she still remembers having to walk to Timperley, Northenden and Didsbury to get food etc, funny thing is, her Dad didn’t want to make the move saying “I’m not moving to the fuckin countryside”, still tickles me that.

My dad always used to talk about the old days there . he would go out to castle mills open swimming pool easy to get to them days from Benchhill , was into his cycling and could get out into Cheshire easily. Picture house in northendon . Did his national service with loads of local lads .

 

[Djibrilshairdo]

We moved to WHP about 1970 before the M56 was built. We played football on what was the old Ringway golf course and a few times cows had wondered from the fields and ended up in the gardens and on the road in front of the houses.

 

[INDEEDY DEEDY]

I was clearing out my sisters house recently and I came across a few history of Wythenshawe things that were focused around WP, they were more pamphlets than books and obviously done by local amateur historians. Had stuff like the ww2 nissen hut that served as the local church and community centre before the likes of St Anthony's was built. Not had a chance to sit down and look at them yet but I will.

Ha, yea I remember the "Green Hut". We used to attend mass in there and watched cartoons on Saturday mornings. Would be interesting to see what is in the pamphlets.

 

[INDEEDY DEEDY]

When Wythenshawe started to get the big influx of new residents, it didn't have enough schools (it still doesn’t!), doctors, dentists, shops… it was pretty much a mass of houses with nothing else there.

in the early 1960s one of my teachers at Secondary School (St.Gregs in Ardwick) asked me where I lived. When I told him Wythenshawe, he just laughed and said "you do realise they threw away the plans when they built Wythenshawe". A fairly accurate assessment :)

 

[Dirty Harry]

What was always good was you could cheaply and pretty frequently hop on a bus into 'town' so I never felt like I was missing out and even though we were the southern most 'suburb' it always felt like part of Manchester to me, possibly at the expense to Wythenshawe's own identity?

We used to spend weekends and school holidays looking for money in gutters and grids just to make that trip into town, great days, remember once even taking a ferret (on a lead) to sell to the pet shop on Tib street.

 

[mexico1970]

My dad always used to talk about the old days there . he would go out to castle mills open swimming pool easy to get to them days from Benchhill , was into his cycling and could get out into Cheshire easily. Picture house in northendon . Did his national service with loads of local lads .

I used to go swimming in the river Bolin with my mates.

 

[threespires]

Ha, yea I remember the "Green Hut". We used to attend mass in there and watched cartoons on Saturday mornings. Would be interesting to see what is in the pamphlets.

For reasons I won't bore you with, it'll be a while till get to have a good look through them but when I do I'll post anything of potential interest.