Snow Scenes in Postcards

For the last ten days or so, the nation’s weather forecasters have been addressing us in their self important faux-demotic on the subject of snow. In ever more apocalyptic terms we have been warned to expect unprecedented extremes of freezing temperatures and snowfall. If it was their intention to induce fear and dread, their success is demonstrated by reports of panic-buying of basic foods and supplies. TV newsgatherers have been out and about in the snow covered uplands in anticipation of blood curdling tales of human suffering – you can sense their disappointment when their interviewees respond with stoic acceptance of the tribulations of winter. In the meantime, the red tops have reworked the weather event as The Beast from the East in a phrase that neatly evokes the national paranoia over immigration that has poisoned political discourse in recent years. As a reminder that winter hardship was, and remains so for many, a routine event, we offer a selection of vintage postcards from winters past. To see some illustrations of snow scenes posted in 2010, please follow this link.

Swing Time

Excavating through the Cheshire countryside to build the Manchester Ship Canal between 1887 and 1894 involved repeatedly slicing through existing lines of communication – all of which had to be maintained. With a need to provide clearance for ocean-going shipping the favoured solution for roads was the provision of swing-bridges to allow free passage with the minimum of delay. In all there were six plus an audacious swing-aqueduct that carried the Bridgewater Canal across the waterway at Barton. The Barton Road and Barton Canal swing-bridges pivot on an artificial island in the canal – all the other swing-bridges pivot on the bank. They are all very similar in design and with a single exception they pivot on the north bank. Designed to prioritise the needs of shipping over those of road traffic, they must be a constant source of irritation to road users kept waiting while cumbersome ships pass slowly by. What we see in these photographs are detached sections of roadway, temporarily devoid of traffic and rotated through 90 degrees. The Barton Aqueduct is laden with some 800 tonnes of water from the Bridgewater Canal. The photographs that follow show all the swing-bridges on the Manchester Ship Canal from east to west, bracketed by a pair of vintage postcard views. 

Barton Aqueduct

Barton Road Swing Bridge

Knutsford Road Swing Bridge

London Road Swing Bridge

Chester Road Swing Bridge

Moore Lane Swing Bridge

Old Quay Swing Bridge

North Country Arcadia

This is a tale of two arcades in the north of England, either side of the Pennines in Manchester and Huddersfield. Two multi-level Victorian shopping arcades that display some striking contrasts in the contribution they make to local distinctiveness. The Barton Arcade in Manchester, built in 1871, is an “h” shaped arcade constructed in iron and glass with two octagonal glass domes. The two balconies are graced with handsome ornamental balustrades with mahogany handrails. The paintwork is a dazzling white, with ornamental detailing picked out in gloss black and a tiled floor (not original) in shades of grey. The Byram Arcade in Huddersfield was built in 1881 within the interior of the Byram Buildings designed by local architect, William Crossland (who would later design Royal Holloway College). Like the Barton, there are two upper levels with decorative ironwork. The glazed roof is of simple pitched construction.

The eye is drawn upwards to the complex roof structure in the Barton Arcade and a cool and airy sensation is created. The upper levels are given over to office accommodation and access is via large plate glass doors making them feel like private space. The retail activity includes a travel agent, a sandwich shop, a wine shop, and a restaurant as well as menswear and fashion shops; not as high-end and exclusive as it appears at first glance. The fabric of the building is in excellent external condition but it feels as if the presence of a plethora of glitzy outlets in surrounding streets make it difficult to attract much footfall into the rarefied atmosphere of the arcade.

The Byram Arcade has a warm and enclosed feeling. The upper levels are all retail with an eclectic mix of shops selling art materials, leisurewear, musical instruments and haircuts. There’s a superb restaurant (The Oak Rooms) on the ground floor that attracts a lot of custom but there’s no through traffic, the entrance and exit being one and the same. The Byram has fine spacious architecture and wonderful decorative detailing and the excellent condition to which it has been restored is a joy to behold. Both arcades offer a special experience but seem to fall short of their full commercial potential, but for the disinterested observer, therein lies their charm.