Mersey Square Stockport

Mersey Square Stockport

Well, we have finally got round to clearing out our loft, and what should turn up but a wonderful 15 inch x 12 inch black & white photo of Mersey Square, Stockport, so following on from my 'Stockport Corporation 16/07/63' gallery I thought you may be interested in seeing it. The photograph is still in reasonable condition although it had been lurking there in a cardboard box for about 30 years! The photo looks like a print from a contemporary article in the local newspaper, or maybe a publicity shot for the Chamber of Trade.

The date? Very frustratingly there is no date conveniently written on the back, but let's see what we can come up with. The Plaza Cinema is showing "The Solid Gold Cadillac" starring Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas. The film buffs' website IMDb.com tells us that the film was released in the USA on 22 August 1956. Not clear when it was released in UK but release dates in Europe run on to 13 May 1958. So earliest date would seem to be 1957. The Single Decker partially hidden but showing destination "Stockport Green End" is one of the Leyland Tiger TS7s of Stockport Corporation, disposed of in 1963. So there we are - 1960 plus or minus 3!

The buses. Starting from the right, the driver has just jumped down from the 27x New Mills, registration no DDB 260. Peter Caunt's book "North Western Road Car Company - A Driver's Reminiscences" tells us that this is one of the PD2's that the author actually drove. Behind this we have another Decker mostly obscured - probably another North Western. Next left is the Stockport Corporation TS7 with reg no and fleet no tantalisingly obscured. In front of this showing destination "Kingsway Parrs Wood" with the driver in the cab chatting to the conductress is Stockport Corporation CJA 782. It looks like CJA 762 on the photo but as that was never in the fleet I have assumed it's CJA 782. I've scanned the photo at high resolution and looked at the photo through a magnifying glass but the numbers on original photo aren't clear. Then there's a decker mostly obscured. Finally there is another Stockport Corporation on route no 74 with reg no CJA 770. Peter Gould's Fleet List identifies CJA 782 and CJA 770 as Crossley DD42/5 s delivered in 1948.

Immediately to the left of the buses, on the ground floor of Ormeshers Furniture Stores, you can see three windows. Behind these were various offices of North Western. These comprised a grandly titled "Conductors' Room" where Conductors signed on for duty and paid in at the end of the duty, a Cash Office and the Traffic Stats Office for the Depot. The Public Enquiry and Booking Office for North Western was over beyond the right hand edge of the photo, up a few steps to a building vaguely like a Greek Temple. In case you're wondering, the Stockport Garage of North Western, and their Head Office, was a mile away at Charles Street.

Stockport Corporation's Main Depot and Offices were at Heaton Road, just off Mersey Square and across the main A6 Wellington Road.

Richard Armishaw
09/2012

 

Link to my Stockport Corporation 16/07/63 gallery

Link to the film buffs' website IMDb.com

Link to the Peter Gould's website Local Transport Histories

 


14/08/14 - 10:18

Re photo of Stockport Mersey Square for which no precise date is available - "The Solid Gold Cadillac" is on show at the Plaza Cinema.
One diagnostic feature is the fragment of single decker visible behind the Leyland PD2/Weymann on the 27X service. It is clearly one of the ECW-bodied Bristol L5Gs of the series 136-192, the last of which was withdrawn on 24th March 1960. I'd put it as earlier than that, since the NWRCC livery had incorporated red roofs from late 1957, though there WAS one PD2/Weymann still with cream roof till 1961.

A Moyes


14/08/14 - 11:58

The Solid Gold Cadillac had its US release on August 22 1956. Annoyingly IMDB does not give a UK release date but the Plaza ran UK releases when first available. The first European release was in Portugal in November 1956 - it was released in Japan in October. Given that for both countries the film would have to be dubbed or subtitled it is reasonable to assume it was released in the UK in its original form in the late autumn early winter of 1956. Further clues exist. The clothing, the lack of vehicle cleanliness and the light all point to winter. From the sparse number of motor vehicles around, there isn't one from the 1957 onward catalogue of any manufacturer. Most daytime shots of Mersey Square of the late 1950s show far more private vehicles around. Petrol rationing due to the Suez Crisis was introduced in the UK on November 29 1956 and continued to May 14 1957. I would be reasonably confident in dating this photo as being taken in the winter of 1956/7

Phil Blinkhorn


15/08/14 - 06:07

At the end of this article there is a link to Peter Gould's Fleet History website.
If you click on it you go to a holding page.
I have tried to look at this excellent site a number of times now and not been able to get on it.
I was just wondering if anybody else is having trouble?
I am sure somebody on here will know the answer.

Stephen Howarth


15/08/14 - 06:20

I think the domain name is 'Parked' this usually means that the site owner has given up with the site.
If you look at the 'Source' code for the domain, the first three lines of code are:
$Id: index.html 106 2013-08-06 14:28:25Z CallumCampbell $
$AUTODEPLOY: root@sedo:/var/www/sedo/easyspace/holding$
$AUTODEPLOY: root@sedo2:/var/www/sedo/easyspace/holding$
If you break this up a bit the @sedo - @sedo2 - www/sedo stand out, so with a touch of Google you come up with this link
So the domain name is probably being held for sale sometime in the future although www.petergould.co.uk has a very limited market.
I doubt very much by the way that it is being held by Peter Gould.
Anyone know a Callum Campbell?

Peter


15/08/14 - 08:16

What wonderful pictures indeed, evoking admiring memories for a Yorkshire driver, me, who was always fascinated by the Greater Manchester scene in those days, and I admit overawed by the colourful complexity of the splendid transport operations - municipal and company individuality and pride everywhere !!
Digressing ever so slightly - one glorious item in the picture remains to this day, the magnificent Plaza Cinema/Theatre which apparently thrives thankfully. For those wishing to wallow in "Thirties" civility and atmosphere right now I can thoroughly recommend the beautifully preserved restaurant where light meals and snacks can be enjoyed in the best traditional way.

Chris Youhill


15/08/14 - 08:16

I tried to look at Peter Gould's website about a week ago and it had disappeared. It's a tragedy that all that work and information is now for naught and lost to us.

Chris Hebbron


16/08/14 - 05:54

There is an archived version of Peter Gould's website at:
web.archive.org/www.petergould.co.uk/

Peter Williamson

 


 

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