127 Chester Road Hulme - Watchmakers

[hillcroftmama]

Hello Everyone

I am looking for information or a map for the location of my g grandfathers shop 127 Chester Road where they had a watchmakers/ jewellers and later on opticians called Swifts in Hulme. demolished to make way for the old flyover.  As far as i am aware from my childhood recollections of being shown where abouts it stood from the bus it was on the same side as St Georges Church.  I found a picture on the Manchester images site with a shop that has a sign on the corner which could say Swifts but it is just too fuzzy to make out.  You can see St Georges in the distance but a map would help me to see if it is in the right position.  Here is the picture I am not too sure of the date perhpas the vehicle enthusiats among you might be able to shed some light on it.  Spookily the man crossing the road in front of the shop is a man that resembles my grandfather!!!  Any help would be gratefully received.

[ricky1]

Hi Hillcroftmama

welcome to roots
have you tried this site

http://www.francisfrith.com/

ricky

[hillcroftmama]

Thanks for the nice welcome.  I have looked at that site and it is great.  My grandads side of the Family moved to Chorlton on Medlock Manchester from Heckmondwike West Yorkshire around 1900.  My GG Grandfather was a cab proprieter called George Beaumont his daughter Annie (my G grandmother) married Carl Carltenbach a watchmaker originally from Germany.  He opened the watchmakers on Chester Road with another Man but then around 1913 changed their surname to Swift (a family maiden name) due to the obvious anti German feelings before the outbreak of the WW1.  I am lucky because my grandfather managed to do a lot of research up to his death in 1982 and I have taken up the mantle to try and add to his work!  I would just love to be able to show my children as much as possible.  The next step is to join Genes Reunited to find census information but I am waiting until I get paid!

Many Thanks in anticipation

[Barbara.H]

Hi and another welcome 

Manchester directory for 1909 has Carl Caltenbach , watchmaker, at 227 Chester Rd, Hulme - so maybe he moved along the road a bit.
Also there is a Samuel Beaumont, watchmaker, at 243 Chester Rd! Could he be Carl's partner in the business?

http://www.historicaldirectories.org    I searched for 'Watchmaker w/20 Chester' in the Find By Keywords option.  There are EXPERTS on Hulme in rootschat    I have to log off now but will post a map section later if no-one else gets there first

  Barbara

[Manchester Rambler]

If you look on the 1881 census (free at http://www.familysearch.org), Carl's father Carl was already a watchmaker at 227 Chester Road.

I can't see any Caltenbachs on earlier censuses/BMDs - shout if you want 1891/1901 census!


Rambler

[hillcroftmama]

Wow thank you so much!!  I did have a hand written note from my granfather deatailing a reference to Carl F Carltenbach being an apprentice to Ranks the Jewellers and he lived in until they moved to Regent Road in Salford and he stayed on to run Carltenbach and Co.  I think I might have got father and son confused a little.  I cannot wait to get my subscription to the documents now.

Many Thanks again

[emmsthheight]

Hi!

Welcome again to Rootschat!

I've just looked in Kelly's 1953/4 and Swifts was still going stron then.

The page was still iuncut after 65 years!

Entry under Watch and clockmakers and jewellers reads:

 "Swift, Chas. Beever, 204 and 206 Chester rd., H 15 _ Blackfriars 2821
Last part is the telephone number..

Does Beever mean something to you?

Good luck with your research.

Enjoy Rootschat!

Emms

[hillcroftmama]

Thanks Emma!!

Beever was a middle name handed down to the males in my grandfathers family.  It was a maiden name. This is a picture of Carl Beever Carltenbach later known as Charles Swift.

Many Thanks for your help.  I would never had found this!

Sharon

[emmsthheight]

Hi Sharon

Thank you for the feedback.  That's brilliant!  I love your photo's too!  Thank you for sharing them!

By the way, you're really lucky.  That photoactually says Ireland on it, so you know the baby was there at the time.  Does it give a photographer's name, or a town soo that you can pin them down?

Middle names are  strange to follow.  I've just discovered a ggggrandmother had two middle names I'd never heard of, but I haven't found where they came from!

Good night and best wishes.

Emms