Turnstile at Maine Rd

[UUJblue]

I was at an auction in april in Lisburn Northern Ireland and there was a Turnstile, some director box chairs, a couple of very large Gents toilets signs and a couple of boxes of programmes and fan magazines. Some blue must of shipped them all over when he moved here. If memory serves me right it went for 550? but not sure, you could ring and double check, he may have been a bit higher and that 500 was the reserve.

If you facebook search "Altona Auctions" - go to photos/ albums and sale 26th April. There is some good photos in there and i just doubled checked and its def a W T Ellison & Co. Salford. Manchester with counter and all. It was really impressive in person and as a blue i had to get a look. You could contact them and see if they have the details of the buyer.

I missed out of the programmes on the day - they were really impressive aswell with basically every programmes from the 80s in official binders including loads of random things including dinners menus, timesheets, ticket stubs etc etc. A few weeks later the buyer must of passed them on and made a quick £100 to a lad who lived close to me and I ended up assisting him in selling and donating them for the Manchester victims. We managed to get £250.

 

[Gary James]

Kevin Cummins published a photoalbum of City's final year at Maine Road, called 'We're not really here'.

Photo 58 shows a turnstile which came from Hyde Road.

The plate with the makers details reads 'Patent push ------------ turnstile. Sole Makers. W T Ellison & Co. Salford. Manchester.

In Farewell To Maine Road (the official history of City’s grounds) I told the story of the turnstiles, including info on where they came from, who made them etc. I even had a page which told the story of how myself and a guy known as ‘Turnstile Ted’ Pearson went around the ground identifying and dating them. Combining historical research on when City bought turnstiles with Ted’s knowledge of turnstile production (he’d worked for Ellison’s) and what we could see we identified and dated quite a few.


The results were that there were 4 Ellison’s turnstiles made at Irlam which were from the 1890s and therefore from Hyde Road. They have to be marked ‘Irlams o’th’heights’ to have been 1890s and Hyde Rd. These were turnstiles numbers 48, 59, 75 & 76. City bought turnstiles in 1896 and 1898, so it could be either year.


There were nine other Ellisons Rush Preventative turnstiles and these were also likely to be from Hyde Road due to purchases made by City. We couldn’t work out specifically which ones were from what year but I know that MCFC bought some in 1904 and in 1910. So any Ellisons Turnstile from Maine Road would’ve been at Hyde Road.


The others….. Two Bailey’s Turnstiles were in operation in the Kippax wall in 2003 (and others in the Main Stand). Only those in the Kippax wall are likely to have come from Hyde Road but even then it’s difficult to prove whether those two Bailey’s did.


The Main Stand turnstiles were made by Mayor and some by Bailey – all were from 1923 or later.


NOW HERE’S THE SAD, FRUSTRATING, IT MAKES ME ANGRY MOMENT – Two of the original Ellisons Turnstiles were to be taken to the new stadium in 2003 to be housed as part of the museum. These were amongst the oldest turnstiles in existence and the King in 1920 may well have used one of them. Certainly AJ Balfour (later Prime Minister) did use one when he visited Hyde Rd. As they’d been at Hyde Rd, then Maine Rd, it would have been a great achievement for City to take them to the COM as it was. Everything was planned. Then on the day the 2 turnstiles were to be carefully removed from the Kippax wall, preserved and then taken to the new stadium, someone had already ripped them out. No one knows who stole them but if you do find an Ellison’s Turnstile from Maine Road ask for absolute proof that it was part of the auction and not one of the two stolen.

By rights MCFC should still have those two and legal proceedings should be taken but the change in ownership at City makes it difficult to follow through I guess.


If you want to know more about the turnstiles – or anything else connected with Maine Road – then please get hold of Farewell To Maine Road (you won’t regret it!).

 

[Gary James]

One footnote to the inspection of turnstiles by me & 'Turnstile Ted' is that he was also able to tell which turnstile operators had been on the fiddle and explained in detail how they had done it (see the book) plus he pointed out that the Ellisons turnstiles from Hyde Rd were much more reliable than the turnstiles in the North Stand - at this point some of the Ellisons had been working for about 107 years while the North Stand were 30 years old.

Another snippet - the Ellisons turnstiles were designed to admit 4,000 per hour (or 3,000 if change was given). 100 years later the Taylor Report recommended that turnstiles needed to admit 660 people per hour.

 

[UUJblue]

In Farewell To Maine Road (the official history of City’s grounds) I told the story of the turnstiles, including info on where they came from, who made them etc. I even had a page which told the story of how myself and a guy known as ‘Turnstile Ted’ Pearson went around the ground identifying and dating them. Combining historical research on when City bought turnstiles with Ted’s knowledge of turnstile production (he’d worked for Ellison’s) and what we could see we identified and dated quite a few.


The results were that there were 4 Ellison’s turnstiles made at Irlam which were from the 1890s and therefore from Hyde Road. They have to be marked ‘Irlams o’th’heights’ to have been 1890s and Hyde Rd. These were turnstiles numbers 48, 59, 75 & 76. City bought turnstiles in 1896 and 1898, so it could be either year.


There were nine other Ellisons Rush Preventative turnstiles and these were also likely to be from Hyde Road due to purchases made by City. We couldn’t work out specifically which ones were from what year but I know that MCFC bought some in 1904 and in 1910. So any Ellisons Turnstile from Maine Road would’ve been at Hyde Road.


The others….. Two Bailey’s Turnstiles were in operation in the Kippax wall in 2003 (and others in the Main Stand). Only those in the Kippax wall are likely to have come from Hyde Road but even then it’s difficult to prove whether those two Bailey’s did.


The Main Stand turnstiles were made by Mayor and some by Bailey – all were from 1923 or later.


NOW HERE’S THE SAD, FRUSTRATING, IT MAKES ME ANGRY MOMENT – Two of the original Ellisons Turnstiles were to be taken to the new stadium in 2003 to be housed as part of the museum. These were amongst the oldest turnstiles in existence and the King in 1920 may well have used one of them. Certainly AJ Balfour (later Prime Minister) did use one when he visited Hyde Rd. As they’d been at Hyde Rd, then Maine Rd, it would have been a great achievement for City to take them to the COM as it was. Everything was planned. Then on the day the 2 turnstiles were to be carefully removed from the Kippax wall, preserved and then taken to the new stadium, someone had already ripped them out. No one knows who stole them but if you do find an Ellison’s Turnstile from Maine Road ask for absolute proof that it was part of the auction and not one of the two stolen.

By rights MCFC should still have those two and legal proceedings should be taken but the change in ownership at City makes it difficult to follow through I guess.


If you want to know more about the turnstiles – or anything else connected with Maine Road – then please get hold of Farewell To Maine Road (you won’t regret it!).

@Gary James Check out my post and navigate to that facebook page and see if that turnstile is of any relevance to above. I found it odd that someone shipped a turnstile from Manchester to Northern Ireland considering the weight of the thing. If you facebook search "Altona Auctions" - go to photos/ albums and sale 26th April. There is some good photos in there and i just doubled checked and its def a W T Ellison & Co. Salford.

 

[skiddypants]

In Farewell To Maine Road (the official history of City’s grounds) I told the story of the turnstiles, including info on where they came from, who made them etc. I even had a page which told the story of how myself and a guy known as ‘Turnstile Ted’ Pearson went around the ground identifying and dating them. Combining historical research on when City bought turnstiles with Ted’s knowledge of turnstile production (he’d worked for Ellison’s) and what we could see we identified and dated quite a few.


The results were that there were 4 Ellison’s turnstiles made at Irlam which were from the 1890s and therefore from Hyde Road. They have to be marked ‘Irlams o’th’heights’ to have been 1890s and Hyde Rd. These were turnstiles numbers 48, 59, 75 & 76. City bought turnstiles in 1896 and 1898, so it could be either year.


There were nine other Ellisons Rush Preventative turnstiles and these were also likely to be from Hyde Road due to purchases made by City. We couldn’t work out specifically which ones were from what year but I know that MCFC bought some in 1904 and in 1910. So any Ellisons Turnstile from Maine Road would’ve been at Hyde Road.


The others….. Two Bailey’s Turnstiles were in operation in the Kippax wall in 2003 (and others in the Main Stand). Only those in the Kippax wall are likely to have come from Hyde Road but even then it’s difficult to prove whether those two Bailey’s did.


The Main Stand turnstiles were made by Mayor and some by Bailey – all were from 1923 or later.


NOW HERE’S THE SAD, FRUSTRATING, IT MAKES ME ANGRY MOMENT – Two of the original Ellisons Turnstiles were to be taken to the new stadium in 2003 to be housed as part of the museum. These were amongst the oldest turnstiles in existence and the King in 1920 may well have used one of them. Certainly AJ Balfour (later Prime Minister) did use one when he visited Hyde Rd. As they’d been at Hyde Rd, then Maine Rd, it would have been a great achievement for City to take them to the COM as it was. Everything was planned. Then on the day the 2 turnstiles were to be carefully removed from the Kippax wall, preserved and then taken to the new stadium, someone had already ripped them out. No one knows who stole them but if you do find an Ellison’s Turnstile from Maine Road ask for absolute proof that it was part of the auction and not one of the two stolen.

By rights MCFC should still have those two and legal proceedings should be taken but the change in ownership at City makes it difficult to follow through I guess.

I started

If you want to know more about the turnstiles – or anything else connected with Maine Road – then please get hold of Farewell To Maine Road (you won’t regret it!).

One footnote to the inspection of turnstiles by me & 'Turnstile Ted' is that he was also able to tell which turnstile operators had been on the fiddle and explained in detail how they had done it (see the book) plus he pointed out that the Ellisons turnstiles from Hyde Rd were much more reliable than the turnstiles in the North Stand - at this point some of the Ellisons had been working for about 107 years while the North Stand were 30 years old.

Another snippet - the Ellisons turnstiles were designed to admit 4,000 per hour (or 3,000 if change was given). 100 years later the Taylor Report recommended that turnstiles needed to admit 660 people per hour.

Great information,Thanks for your input lads,will definitely get my hands on a copy of Farewell To Maine Rd.
What started out looking for an unusual garden ornament,has now got me wanting to find the missing two Turnstiles

 

[MCFCTrick]

Slightly off topic, but I will always remember walking through St Peter's Sq after the final game at Maine Road. And a guy walked past us with a ply board (pretty sad looking to be honest) sign about 5x4'' ... it simply had 'GENTS' written in black on a white background ..... Always wished I could have been a fly on the wall when he turned up with it and showed it to his missus ... :D

 

[ancoats]

One footnote to the inspection of turnstiles by me & 'Turnstile Ted' is that he was also able to tell which turnstile operators had been on the fiddle and explained in detail how they had done it (see the book) plus he pointed out that the Ellisons turnstiles from Hyde Rd were much more reliable than the turnstiles in the North Stand - at this point some of the Ellisons had been working for about 107 years while the North Stand were 30 years old.

Another snippet - the Ellisons turnstiles were designed to admit 4,000 per hour (or 3,000 if change was given). 100 years later the Taylor Report recommended that turnstiles needed to admit 660 people per hour.

i worked on the turnstiles at main road back in the 1990s on the old kippax turnstiles and defo remember there was guy that worked there for over 40 years and he said that the a couple old turnstiles had come from belle vue anyway the turnstiles was also updated in the 1960s or 70s and electric and 4 magnets on each arm of the turnstiles and each quarter turn would then send a electric pulse to the police headquarters in main road

but like all football grounds it was easy to fiddle the kappax turnstiles and both club and workers had there little earners always remember the headman dave matthews would hand pick the men on how they knew the score and not a greed so and so and also the old season ticket trick and kids with adults its so so on the fiddle even the paper work and the signing off your turnstile had to be signed in pencil and the numbers cooked up for the official attendance and some of them peter swales but out in the press was a joke

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Sorry for the bump and I appreciate I may be pissing in the wind given the value and sentiment of the item, but I don't suppose anyone has a spare Maine Road seat to sell or knows of anyone who does? Thank you

 

[whp.blue]

Bailey (Patricroft) previously from Hyde Road
Mayor (Sale) 1923 x 14
Mayor 1920
Baileys
Ellison (Salford) x 4
Ellison (Salford) circa 1910 previously from Hye Road x5
Ellison (Irlam) circa 1890 previously from Hyde Road x 2
Turnstiles No 14-26, no makers name.

How do people know this shit?

 

[Stevieatlasblue]

I've jumped over a couple of the Kippax turnstiles back in the day.