The Hippodrome - Page 2

Wynonie Harris · 18-09-2007, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambutty

After the Hippodrome there were some buildings, either offices of the depot or houses, then at the end of those was the bus and tram depot across the bottom of the street as you can see from the photographs so thoughtfully supplied.

Nope, not convinced on this one, Jambutty. I reckon that below the Hippodrome was another backstreet that led directly onto Ellisons Tennement. Then below that was a brick-walled yard which fronted the righthand section of the bus depot. The offices for the depot were actually to the left of the large garage entrance that you could see from the top of the street. Tony, as a former resident of the street, could you settle this one for us?

WillowTheWhisp · 18-09-2007, 21:11

Yes come on Tony do please put our minds at rest. I thought the first photo in Atarah's thread showed a building but not terraced houses. What was it?

Wynonie Harris · 18-09-2007, 21:27

You mean the photograph with the strangely coloured bus? I can't see any other building - it just looks like the sloping roof of the bus garage to me.

WillowTheWhisp · 18-09-2007, 21:34

Oh yes, see what you mean. I was looking at it differently but now when I look at it again that is what it is.

Wynonie Harris · 18-09-2007, 21:38

Think we need our Ellison Street ex-resident to sort this one out, Willow!

WillowTheWhisp · 18-09-2007, 21:41

I can see me going on an expedition down there to have a look at where it isn't.

BERNADETTE · 18-09-2007, 21:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I can see me going on an expedition down there to have a look at where it isn't.

Might be a wasted journey if it has been pulled down

WillowTheWhisp · 19-09-2007, 05:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by BERNADETTE

Might be a wasted journey if it has been pulled down

There's no such thing as a wasted journey with me Bernadette. The street still exists so I can get an idea of the location by looking at the street and the back alley and the photo of the building. Sometimes I even take photos of places where things aren't.

I actually do vaguely remember when it was still there. I remember looking down Ellison Street and my Mum telling me that big old building used to be a theatre, but that was a long time ago and I don't remember if there was anything beyond it or not. I do remember the buses being at the bottom.

alan7554 · 19-09-2007, 06:32

i used to live a number 17, next to last house on right hand side and the hipperdrome was on the next block down after the back and just before the bus depot

WillowTheWhisp · 19-09-2007, 07:04

So there were no houses between the Hippodrome and the bus depot?

alan7554 · 19-09-2007, 10:09

no the last number house on the right side was 19 then the back alley which went round the back of the houses and up to the top and rear of the spread aegle were it went left up to king street or right to just behind theformer insurance building (swintons),the land after number 19 was called ellisons tenemant and used to hold the fairground and were the accy pals used to do there drill and fire exercises

Tony Ireland · 19-09-2007, 10:45

Alan has got that right ask a resident
the last house was a toffee shop when I lived down there it must have been a goldmine when the Hippy was open then as Alan said the back st which ran to albion st then when you went past the hippodrome down ellison st there was a backstreet (if that's what you would call it) it was a cinder/ash path the same surface as the tenement with an iron post in its centre at the Ellison st end the other end open onto the tenement, in the photograph in dispute the top of more of the bus depot is what is seen, if I am looking at the right one
hope that bit of info hasn't bored you
keep up the good work
tony

WillowTheWhisp · 19-09-2007, 10:51

I remember the fair being on Ellisons Tenement. So there were never any houses on there?

Tony Ireland · 19-09-2007, 12:47

No there where never any houses there just an area of cinder/clinker most of which is my knees from playing football.
The tenement stretched from the Hippodrome wall and the bus depot wall, to Fort street, and from Hyndburn rd at the bottom up to the bottom of Albion street at the other end of backstreet Alan had described. It would have been easier to draw it than to explain it. I know somewhere there is a photograph of the Old Pals lining up on there I don't now recall where
hop i am not putting you to sleep with all this
tony

jambutty · 19-09-2007, 12:55

Being aware of how memory can play tricks, particularly with we old codgers (and you young ’uns too for that matter) I decided to take some time out from surfing around and head for Accrington. En route I planned to call in at Whittakers’ butchers on Union Road in Ossy to buy some of the best meat around. The butchers is on the left going down Union Road about 50 yards or so before you get to the library on the corner of Bent Street. There is a Panda crossing right in front. Just under a fiver for half a pound of fillet steak might seem expensive but boy is it worth it. I will enjoy my dinner with some mashed spuds, peas and fried onions. Their other meats are also very good.

But I digress.

To mark the occasion I put a 50’s CD in the player, set off and listened to Johnny Ray, Frankie Laine, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Guy Mitchell, Wanda Jackson, Jo Stafford etc as the clouds rolled in and it started to drizzle. Driving down Union Road past my old school – the Accrington Secondary Technical School now known as Rhyddings – and listening to records of my youth as I progressed along Blackburn Road it was almost like being back in the 50’s. OK! So I’ve got a good imagination. But it really was a weird feeling.

The object of the trip was to find out how wrong my memory is, if it is wrong.

The first picture is of the top of Ellison Street. Don’t ask – I’ve no idea what happened except that it started to rain and I wanted to protect the lens and get under some cover.
The second picture is Ellison Street a bit further down. As you can see it isn’t a great distance from the top of Ellison Street and the back street.
The third picture is further down still and clearly shows the back street leading to the Tenament. Except it didn’t. It led to half way down Albion Street, which led to the top of the Tenament. The car park is where the Hippodrome used to be. The red brick wall is where there would have been a back street, if there had been one. But it would have led directly onto the Tenament. As you can see the wall was a decent distance away (25 yards or so) from the front of what was the tram and bus depot.
The fourth picture shows the bottom end of Ellison Street and where the tram and bus depot used to be. Between the wall and the current building is now a builder’s yard but back then it was a building and probably part of the garage not a row of houses.
Pictures 5 & 6 are what have been published already for ease of comparison.

The houses on the left of Ellison Street are no more.

My conclusion is that the Hippodrome straddled the half way point down Ellison Street, with, in those days, the Co-op grocers just above the back street where that house with ENTRANCE above the doorway is. Bear in mind I’m talking of 1948 to about 1952.

Tony if you were born at number 4 and then lived at number 7 before leaving that means there were houses on both sides of the street unless it was a street that had odd and even numbers on the same side of the street. I think that a brick by brick description is called for.

Alan the distance between the top of Ellison Street and the Hippodrome could not have supported houses numbered 1 to 19. That’s 10 houses. Even if each house was just 15 feet wide there just isn’t room. Now if you had lived at number 7 and memory has added a one that would be feasible. Or are you talking about Albion Street. Ellison Street did not lead directly to the Tenament – Albion Street did.