Our Beginnings in Manchester, England
In the 1940s and 50s era of Irelands history, the vast majority of the population in Ireland, were living in the countryside, or in country towns and villages. At this time Ireland was a very poor country. The levels of poverty in many rural areas was very bad when compared to western standards. The living conditions in Ireland had become so bad, due to lack of work opportunities, they became intolerable and unacceptable to many of Irelands citizens / people; which was the case with my own parents. Once my parents had been informed by relatives already living in England, in Manchester, that there was widespread availability of work, to do with the recovery and reconstruction of Britain, after the devastation of the 2nd World War. This was a great incentive for my parents, who had a young family to think about and keep alive, to make the decision to emigrate, which they thought would enable them to survive and hopefully achieve a better standard of living and quality of life for the future. I have covered the above more extensively in the other booklet I did entitled “The Lawlor Family Our History & Heritage Mainly In Ireland”.
It was against this background and set of circumstances that the Lawlor family consisting then of my Father and Mother and four children arrived in Manchester, England from the small rural village of Virginia, County Cavan, Southern, Ireland, on a mid summers day in 1948.
The pages in this 2nd Booklet, as far as my memory serves me, contain a factual and nostalgic account of the districts of Manchester in which we as a family lived in, covering the years from 1948 to 1978, with recollections of: the people, places, and events, which became an integral part of the history both myself and my family; starting with the first area of Manchester we settled in, Chorlton-On-Medlock, an inner city area of Manchester.
The image of Manchester Central Train Station on Page 2 is of particularly significance to us, because it represents the point, at which our history as a family, taking up residence in Manchester began, when my Mother and Father arrived in the city, with four of their children on a wet early summer’s day in 1948. Their decision to leave Ireland and to go to Manchester, as their Chosen destination rather than America, Australia or any other country was due to the fact that two of my Mothers sisters were already living in Manchester in the area of Chorlton-On-Medlock. It was from this Train Station that they made their way into the City, after the arduous journey from Ireland to stop with my Aunt Lily, who was living at an address on Angle Street, close to Grosvenor Square. There is a picture of Manchester Central Train Station, on page 2.
As my Parents Rose & Jack Lawlor entered the city, all those years ago, they must have been worried and apprehensive about what lay ahead of them as they trudged their way down the wet cobles of the station approach, one can only guess at the thoughts and feelings Mam & Dad were experiencing at this time. What we do know is they had very little in the way of money and sparse belongings as they were entering a City that had suffered greatly throughout the duration the 2nd World War. The war had only ended three years previously, evidence of this was all around them and obvious to see.
Many fine public buildings in the centre of Manchester had been completely destroyed as the result of enemy bombing raids. Besides the destruction of many buildings in and around the city large numbers of people had been killed and thousands more seriously injured and large numbers rendered homeless. Inversely, this meant men like Dad were wanted and needed. There are a number of pictures on page 2, which shows graphically the destruction caused by the German blitz on the City involving 200 German bombers, which took in December 1942.
It was against this background and set of circumstances that the Lawlor family consisting then of my Father and Mother and four children arrived in Manchester, England from the small rural village of Virginia, County Cavan, Southern, Ireland, on a mid summers day in 1948.
The pages in this 2nd Booklet, as far as my memory serves me, contain a factual and nostalgic account of the districts of Manchester in which we as a family lived in, covering the years from 1948 to 1978, with recollections of: the people, places, and events, which became an integral part of the history both myself and my family; starting with the first area of Manchester we settled in, Chorlton-On-Medlock, an inner city area of Manchester.
The image of Manchester Central Train Station on Page 2 is of particularly significance to us, because it represents the point, at which our history as a family, taking up residence in Manchester began, when my Mother and Father arrived in the city, with four of their children on a wet early summer’s day in 1948. Their decision to leave Ireland and to go to Manchester, as their Chosen destination rather than America, Australia or any other country was due to the fact that two of my Mothers sisters were already living in Manchester in the area of Chorlton-On-Medlock. It was from this Train Station that they made their way into the City, after the arduous journey from Ireland to stop with my Aunt Lily, who was living at an address on Angle Street, close to Grosvenor Square. There is a picture of Manchester Central Train Station, on page 2.
As my Parents Rose & Jack Lawlor entered the city, all those years ago, they must have been worried and apprehensive about what lay ahead of them as they trudged their way down the wet cobles of the station approach, one can only guess at the thoughts and feelings Mam & Dad were experiencing at this time. What we do know is they had very little in the way of money and sparse belongings as they were entering a City that had suffered greatly throughout the duration the 2nd World War. The war had only ended three years previously, evidence of this was all around them and obvious to see.
Many fine public buildings in the centre of Manchester had been completely destroyed as the result of enemy bombing raids. Besides the destruction of many buildings in and around the city large numbers of people had been killed and thousands more seriously injured and large numbers rendered homeless. Inversely, this meant men like Dad were wanted and needed. There are a number of pictures on page 2, which shows graphically the destruction caused by the German blitz on the City involving 200 German bombers, which took in December 1942.
Above left: Manchester Central Train Station and
Above right: The midland Hotel which is located directly opposite the Train Station. The Hotel escaped serious damage and is still in use today.
Above right: The midland Hotel which is located directly opposite the Train Station. The Hotel escaped serious damage and is still in use today.
Above: These pictures show the damage and havoc caused by German bomber raids on the city December 1942.
The two images above are of particular interest and significance to me and I am sure to other members of my family, because they represent the first two places we resided at when we first arrived in Manchester in 1948, when I was six years of age. The top image below shows the first house we lived in on Angle Street, Chorlton-On-Medlock, All Saints, which was owned by our Aunt Lily and Uncle Jack Neary. Overcrowding soon caused tensions which eventually resulted in a “fall out” and my parents deciding to hastily leave, with no alternative accommodation having been arranged. At this time, as far as I can remember, our family consisted of Mam, Dad, Jacky, Carmel, Danny and Myself.
After leaving Angle Street, it was to here, nearby on Pritchard Street, that we found emergency, temporary accommodation in what was a derelict terraced house shown on the left as you look into the picture. We had no beds or furniture and had to make do with sleeping on old mattresses which were placed on the floor. Pritchard Street is located just on the edge of the city centre close to the Refuge building on Oxford Road. As a young child living there I remember being fascinated by the overhead rail viaduct, built to take trains at high level across the city to and from London Road Station.
The Lass O'Gowrie pub is located at the bottom of the picture of Pritchard Street, just to the right on Charles Street. (Still in existence and being used today)
After leaving Angle Street, it was to here, nearby on Pritchard Street, that we found emergency, temporary accommodation in what was a derelict terraced house shown on the left as you look into the picture. We had no beds or furniture and had to make do with sleeping on old mattresses which were placed on the floor. Pritchard Street is located just on the edge of the city centre close to the Refuge building on Oxford Road. As a young child living there I remember being fascinated by the overhead rail viaduct, built to take trains at high level across the city to and from London Road Station.
The Lass O'Gowrie pub is located at the bottom of the picture of Pritchard Street, just to the right on Charles Street. (Still in existence and being used today)