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Remembered Today:

Drill Halls 2nd VB Manchester Regt


themonsstar

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Hi All

This is the Drill hall of the 2nd VB Manchester Regt around 1904

1. Drill Hall.

2. Parade Ground & east view.

3. Officers Mess.

4. Sgt Mess.

5. Members' Room.

6. Plan of the Stalls for the Open days.

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Hello Roy

Thank you for sharing the pictures. I enjoyed seeing the internal ones of the rooms, which seem to be very comfortably furnished.

I'm a bit confused, and wonder whether you can help.

Numbering the top row of pictures 1 - 3 from left to right, and bottom from 4 - 6, L - R:

Numbers 1 and 2 seem as if they are not the same premises, though Number 3 is probably inside Number 1 because the windows apparently match. Number 1 is a distinctive three storey building and Number 2 is very different, with two storeys and a different style of window. So, if Numbers 1 and 2 are on the same ground, are they different parts of a quadrangle, with the parade ground in the middle? Have you got a plan anywhere?

The picture of Number 1 seems to adjoin a fold in the book. Does the photo continue across a two page spread? If so, would you be able to scan the rest of the picture, to show the building which is just at the left hand side of the facade - the right of the picture?

And can I just check what you're saying in your other posts?

- That there was both a military bazaar and an open day held in the St James Hall on Oxford Street, the plan of which is shown in Picture Six here?

- This was not a drill hall?

- The HQ of 2VB was at Stretford Road, which is somewhere near where the Mancunian Way is now, but continued towards Oxford Road? (The HQ might not have been a drill hall.)

I can't somehow get a handle on where Burlington Street fits into this. It isn't near Stretford Road and it doesn't link to Oxford Road or Street (Oxford St becomes Oxford Rd).

I'm not criticising, but because I don't really know what I'm on about I'm getting in a muddle. I just take pictures; I don't think that deeply.

I might get in touch with the City Conservation Officer and ask him to give me more information, if he has it. If so, I'll let you know. I looked all this up in my copy of Pevsner on Manchester, which didn't really help.

Gwyn

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Surely the plan of the stalls relates to an event - presumably the one Roy has posted elsewhere as taking place in St James Hall (which makes sense of the Oxford Street referecne). It appears unconnected with the earlier pictures of the barracks.

And, similarly, the first picture (of a headquarters building) is completely different architecture from the following photo. Although the windows in photo 3 may be the same as photo 1. Presumably the building in photo 1 could be behind the photographers position in photo 2. Although they are so radically different in style they could be different places.

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Gwyn

the 6th battalion were based at Stretford Road

the 7th battalion were based at Burlington Street

both are close to Oxford Road and Burlington St may well have linked it prior to the university building (but i don't understand why that is relevant)

all were in walking distance of each other and would have been in close contact

chris

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Thanks, Chris. I've sent you a PM about Burlington Street.

So, specifically what are the locations - the addresses - of each of these photos?

Is the plan of the event at St James' Hall?

Gwyn

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Hi Gwyn

The book do's not say were the location's are at. The floor plan is the St. James Hall. The Drill Hall is the same as the one at Ardwick Green you go up to it. Cheers Roy

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Ardwick was built for 5VB... wasn't it?

So you're saying that all these photos are Ardwick?

I'm confused. Sorry.

Gwyn

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  • 3 weeks later...
Gwyn

the 6th battalion were based at Stretford Road

the 7th battalion were based at Burlington Street

both are close to Oxford Road and Burlington St may well have linked it prior to the university building (but i don't understand why that is relevant)

all were in walking distance of each other and would have been in close contact

chris

Burlington street did indeed link to Oxford Road and a small pedestrian section of it can still be seen in between the university/museum buildings and the students union

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Chris

Am I right in thinking that nothing of the Stretford Road building exists?

Any idea where I might source a piccie for an article I'm writing?

John

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Chris

Am I right in thinking that nothing of the Stretford Road building exists?

Any idea where I might source a piccie for an article I'm writing?

John

No.3 Stretford Road? gone a long time I think,

surely the pics at the start of this thread are Stretford road?

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Chris

The reason I was sort of trying to get a new lead is because of the above confusion. The first two piccies in Roy's post appear to be different buildings. In post 9, Roy then says that it's "the same " as the one at Ardwick, but doesnt indicate which (or whether) one is Stretford Road.

The Manchester Library on-line photo archive has loadsa piccies of Stretford Road, but zilch that looks like a drill hall.

Yours

Confused of Stockport

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Chris

The reason I was sort of trying to get a new lead is because of the above confusion. The first two piccies in Roy's post appear to be different buildings. In post 9, Roy then says that it's "the same " as the one at Ardwick, but doesnt indicate which (or whether) one is Stretford Road.

The Manchester Library on-line photo archive has loadsa piccies of Stretford Road, but zilch that looks like a drill hall.

Yours

Confused of Stockport

I think your best bet is the pictures, they come from the 2nd VB publication, printed underneath it says Headquarters, Front view... which is 3 Stretford road

the second i think says parade ground, i don't know from which direction it's shot but i'd think the mess pictures are from the HQ

Roy is saying the drill hall it's the same design as Ardwick (unless I've got it wrong as well)

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Chris, thanks very much for checking.

John, what exactly do you need? At one stage I was in contact with someone at Owens about the Burlington street premises. Still have the contact name. (By Owens I mean Mcr University as it was before it amalgamated with UMIST.) Graeme also has shedloads of photos in his database.

I still think there are two buildings pictured... but then when I was photographing Grantham DH for Graeme's database, there is the toy fort sort of barracks with a low brick drill hall across the quad.

Gwyn

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Gwyn - What I was after was a piccie of Stretford Road - i.e. where my researchee would have reported on mobilisation.

But Chris has a good point. Regardless of where the second piccie may be, the first one seems as though it's my building. So, it'll do.

Now.....back to the article writing for the learned website.

John

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