Monday 15 February 2016

Looking for the story behind the that gate post on Withington Road

Once a long time ago on a day not unlike today the inhabitants of Alton Towers would pass these gateposts ready for what ever an evening at home might bring.

Now Alton Towers has long gone although exactly when I am not sure.

That said there will be someone who does and I hope they will get in touch.

I know it was there by 1881 and over the next few weeks will crawl over the rate books looking to push that date back.

I also know that in 1911 it was home to Mrs Annie Sykes who was a widow living with  her two children and a servant in what was an eight roomed semi.

A decade earlier she had been here with her brother Sidney and there the story gets complicated.

I can trace him back as far as 1881 living in Alton Towers with his adopted father a Mr Bellinger.

Go back another ten years and the young Sidney aged 16 was living with his parents in Chorlton on  Medlock.

Nor is that quite all because Alice was living close by in Chorlton-cum-Hardy at what was then called Church Road and is now Chequers.

But to add to my confusion she was single living at home and called Sykes.

All very confusing and no doubt along the way I may have mixed my Sykes up a bit.

Well we shall see, such mistakes are common enough as all family historians will vouch.

For now I will just thank Iain Crowe who posted the picture under an earlier story yesterday and gave his permission to use it today.

Location; Whalley Range, Manchester

Picture; Alton Towers, Withington Road, 2015, courtesy of Iain Crowe

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