Unusual Occupation?

[Top-of-the-hill]

  We called the council men who emptied ours "the ping-pong men" - well, us kids did!

[Ray T]

In case anyone's interested in "Back Piccadilly" you'll find it just SW of centre here - https://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/maps002~1~1~338859~123079:%3Ca-rel=-license--href=-http---creat?sort=reference_number%2Ctitle - that was in 1945 and, looking at Google earth, much of it is still there but, alas, not the house Elizabeth Kennedy lived in.

The night soil men were known in these parts as the "Midnight Mechanics" and, so I'm told, they emptied the cans of waste into a large tank on the back of a wagon. The story goes that, one night, one of them was seen leaning over with his hand in the tank and his mate asked what he was doing? "I've dropped me jacket" came the reply. "Well, you won't be for wearing that again" said his mate. "I know" came the reply. ".... but me dinner's in t'pocket".

[coombs]

In 1887 my 74 year old ancestor was a shoeblack. I heard that also occasionally was a euphemism for a prostitutes pimp. What at 74? 

[Viktoria]

Manchester is much changed from that map.
Tib St. is now the next street to Oldham St.
Intersected by Church St further up, at the intersection ( near Affleck’s there is a Banksie)
A little lane ran from Oldham St to Present day Tib St.
Not marked but perhaps also “Back Piccadilly “
The side of C&A one side Saxone on the other , it continued across Oldham St behind Woolworth’s to Lever St. There named as Back Piccadilly.
Yates’s Wine lodge on the corner of it and Oldham St. - a very funny sketch by Mike Harding re a “ Ten pound budgie”,a confusion between a turkey etcetc at Christmas in Yate’s Wine lodge.

The promenade in front of Piccadilly gardens was always a place for “ladies of the night - in inclement weather “ Lewis’s  Arcade.”
(Around Queen Victoria’s statue ,the  “ Ladies in waiting!” )
The arcade AKA “ The Fairy Grotto “ by Uni students at Rag Week
Complete with Father Christmas on Shrove Tuesday.

Many little streets have gone ,Bread street was the name of the street between Tib St and High St,not named on some maps.
Then also named as Back Piccadilly .
Viktoria.

[Ray T]

I was looking at t’other end of Back Piccadilly - near the Rochdale canal - where Elizabeth and the girls lived.

Theres a famous film in the archives somewhere, taken from the Tibb Street end of several people struggling to breathe and waiting to be rescued whilst Woolworths burned. That and the mention of Yates’s reminds me of the time somebody threw a petrol bomb into the wine lodge and, before it had time to go off, somebody had drunk it!

[MaureeninNY]

In 1901 she was  a General Servant (domestic)  -  3351/16/23

I'm sure that there were dressmakers who made dresses and those who didn't!

I assume that's her in 1901 - still showing as married, rather than widowed in 1911. It's really her husband George I'm trying to track down. He was born Shropshire c.1876 - never registered - and they married in Congleton in 1895. Where was he in 1901? I think he may have there died in 1903 - the info I have is all very sketchy. I can't even be sure I have the right Ann - this one was was around 19 years older than George

??

GRO Births
  BINSLEY, GEORGE      mmn   SIMMONDS   
 1875  J Quarter in OF NEWPORT IN THE COUNTIES OF SALOP AND STAFFORD  Volume 06A  Page 828


Maureen
 
 

[Ray T]

Thanks for than Maureen - definitely him. I’ve been looking on and off for several years.

Binnersley seems to be one of those names which either gets changed or mis-heard. I have one branch which moved from Shropshire to Wolverhampton and for some inexplicable reason consistently used the name “Billingsley”.

[Viktoria]

There used to be a very big church nearby ,St.Andrew’s .
Designated as The Cathedral should the Cathedral be destroyed in the blitz.
Demolished later and the many burials covered with a huge concrete raft ,
No building to be allowed ,but ——

My sister in law was working at Woolworth’s  when the fire started, do you know, the assistants  had to cash up and take the cash to the office!!!
No one would have had any idea of how bad it would be,the top floor had soft furnishings and the polyurethane foam was giving off the lethal fumes.
S in l worked in the food department in the basement .
People ignored the alarms,- customers , and got belligerent when she refused to serve them .Wanted loaves of bread.
Could not get her coat etc ,just had to get out.
With the cash which she handed to a Policeman with the till roll.
The office was upstairs as I understood it.

My M in L rushed down as it appeared on the TV news .
The bus stopped where Newton St. met Piccadilly ,so a short walk along Piccadilly ,but there were cordons etc preventing people getting near for obvious reasons.
However she was alright , we were in Belgium at the time and it was even on the news there .
On the BBC radio too.

That was a very sad day.
Viktoria.