Through Time
2 total works
There have been some fine histories of Didsbury compiled over the last 150 years since the publication of A History of the Chapels of Didsbury & Chorlton by Revd John Booker in 1859. But now it is time for a new book, which does not attempt to revisit or repackage what already has been published but to do something different, viewing the history of Didsbury from another angle. Local painter and author Peter Topping and author and historian Andrew Simpson invite readers to dip into the pages of Didsbury Through Time to discover the changes that have occurred over the last century. Through a mix of old images paired with new, along with a selection of paintings by Peter himself, the lives of the people who lived behind the doors of Didsbury's fine buildings are uncovered.
In the suburbs of the city of Manchester, a few miles southwest of the city centre, lies Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Known locally as 'Chortlon', the area is made up of the ancient settlements of Chorlton, Hardy, Barlow and Martledge, whose characters have all altered over the centuries; the closure of the railway station and, in the 1970s, the construction of flats and social housing in the southern areas changed the area's make-up. In Victorian and Edwardian times, the rural setting of the town made it a popular spot with the middle class, while today Chorlton is characterised as one of Manchester's up-and-coming 'bohemian' suburbs. The leafy suburb is increasingly popular among young professionals, boasting a mixture of cosmopolitan cafes, trendy bars and boutique shops.