Griffith's Buildings, Salford

This is a note for genealogists who have encountered references in the censuses and parish records to Griffith's Buildings, Salford.  Griffith's Buildings are a series of side streets, which ran off Regent Street. Regent Street ran roughly parallel to Regent Road, and was situated between Oldfield Road and Ordsall Lane.

Manchester and Salford Map 1857

Ordnance Survey map of Manchester and Salford 1850

Griffith's buildings are numbered sequentially No.1 to No. 5.
The buildings had been erected sometime before 1828, and are mentioned in Pigot & Son's Directory (p.15). They were occupied at least as late as the First World War.

Wilkinson's Buildings are also located off Regent Street, forming two blocks adjacent to Edinburgh Place, next to St. Bartholomew's Church School.

Wilkinson's Buildings

Salford: a new era

 Salford: the 1990s

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1990

Digital Library on Salford

Always a work in progress...

The Manchester guide, a brief historical description of Manchester & Salford (1804)

Portfolio, second edition, with additions of fragments relative to the history and antiquities of ... Duchy of Lancaster  (1824) an early reference to New Bailey Prison.

Pigot and Son's General Directory of Manchester, Salford, &c. for 1829

Panorama of Manchester, and Railway Companion (1834) with many references to Salford.

Manual of Local Acts affecting the Townships comprised in the Boroughs of Manchester and Salford (1838)

Manchester as it is (1839) with numerous references to Salford

Mancuniensis, or an history of the town of Manchester (1839) references to the early history of Salford.

Annals of Manchester (1839) includes Salford

The Hand-book of Manchester (1842) with numerous references to Salford

Proceedings of the Manchester and Salford Draper's Association (1844) a resolution to improve the trade's working conditions.

Manchester in 1844 (1844) with references to Salford

Sewer Rivers (1856)

Cornishs' Stranger's Guide through Manchester and Salford (1857)

The Byrom pedigrees: i. Byrom of Byrom, ii. Byrom of Salford, iii. Byrom of Manchester (1858)

John Heywood's complete pocket Guide to Manchester and Salford (1869)

Handbook of the Public Libraries in Manchester and Salford (1877)

Black's Guide to Manchester and Salford (1868)

The History of Salford from the earliest times, chronologically arranged (1873)

The Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Old Trafford 1887

A Book of Olde Manchester and Salford (1887) Published for the Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Manchester 1887

Royal Jubilee Exhibition: official catalogue (1887)  See also: Photo gallery and map

The pictorial record of the Royal jubilee exhibition, Manchester, 1887

Every man his own art critic at the Manchester Exhibition, 1887

The Portmote Or Court Leet Records of the Borough Or Town and Royal Manor of Salford Volume 1 / Volume 2 (1902)

Manchester Streets and Manchester Men (1907)

A Hundred Years of Road Passenger Transport in Manchester (1935)

George Wragge Catalogue (1948)  Wardry Metal Works and The Crafts of 152, 154, and 156 Chapel Street, Salford.

See Your City : a review of post-war progress (1961)

Salford: 50 years a city, 1926-1976 (Golden Jubilee) (1976)

Salford: areas of archaeological interest (n.d.)

Hope Hospital Centenary, 1880-1980 (1980)

Greater Manchester Museum of Science and Industry (1982)

Salford in Print (1982) A collection of reprinted articles from Victorian newspapers relating to life in Nineteenth Century Salford.

Milestones: the story of Salford Quays (Salford City Council 2005)

The Exchange, Greengate, Salford: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (2008)

Greengate Towers, Salford (Archaeological Report) 2014

Greengate: the Archaeology of Salford's Historic Core (2015)

Archaeological evaluation report: Exchange Court, Greengate, Salford

Scenes of 19th Century Salford

Salford has a long and unabashed tradition of destroying its patrimony. This 1822 drawing depicts the Salford Cross (described elsewhere in this blog) two years before its demolition.  The illustration is based on the work of John Ralston (1789-1833) [1], who struggled to make a living as an artist. He was a cultured, gentle and retiring man, but lacked the art of self-promotion, and consequently died penniless in the workhouse. He was buried on 5 November 1833 at St. Stephen's Church, Salford, which, with the exception of  Sacred Trinity, was the oldest church in the city.  Now, before you dash off to pay homage at St. Stephen's Church, it too has been demolished, but there is a quiet garden, located between Lamb Lane and St. Stephen Street that was once the church's graveyard. This burial ground was consecrated in 1817.

Some of the best pictorial records of late 18th and early 19th century Manchester rely on drawings made by Ralston, including his many studies of Market Sted Lane (now Market Street).

The Church of St. Philip was built by Sir Robert Smirke in 1825. The illustration above is from a study by Thomas Allom (1804-1872), and engraved by John Pass (fl.1796-1829). It was originally produced for W. H. Pyne's ""Lancashire Illustrated", from original drawings... London: Fisher, Son & Co., 1829.

Also from Lancashire Illustrated are engravings of  the Salford Town Hall (page 100); the Irwell Street Methodist Chapel (page 84) and the New Bailey Prison (page 72).

The depiction of Salford Town Hall is the work of topographical draughsman, John Harwood, and was engraved by Frederick Rudolph Hay of Edinburgh.

Irwell Street Methodist Chapel,
Drawn by John Harwood, and engraved by Henshall [2]

New Bailey Prison

Engraved by J. Davies (i.e. John R. Davies (fl.1829-1843) ; Drawn by S[amuel] Austin.

The drawing above is the work of Thomas Ashworth, and is one of the illustrations included in his book, Sketches of old Manchester and Salford, published in 1877 for the Royal Jubilee Exhibition held in Manchester to mark Queen Victoria's 50th year on the throne. One particular area in the exhibition grounds was dedicated to "Old Manchester and Salford", consisting of full-scale replicas of buildings from the past.  Salford Cross was included, and visitors could walk through the reconstructed street.

Area in orange showing the Old Manchester and Salford Exhibition
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Photograph of the buildings that inspired Ashworth's illustration.
This area was demolished in the 1890s.

We are looking at the south side of Chapel Street, anciently known as Sergeant Street. It has been suggested that part of the building behind the two gentlemen, particularly the Fisherman's Hut, which can be seen in Ashworth's drawing, was a remnant of Salford Hall (not to be confused with Ordsall Hall). 

[1] Ralston is described as a 'drawing master', and lived at 26 Brazennose St., Manchester according to the Palatine note-book, vol. 3:54-5.
[2] This could be W. Henshall, engraver, active 1830-50, or J. Henshall, engraver, active 1828-50.

Salford's Post-War Progress

The following booklet was published by Salford Corporation in 1961. It is a review of the city's post-war progress. It can be read here.

City of Salford Science Museum, Buile Hill No. 1 Pit

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The science museum was housed in Buile Hill House, located in Buile Hill Park. It was converted into a Natural History Museum in 1906. Eventually, with the cooperation of the National Coal Board, a large-scale model of a coal mine was constructed in the building during the 1950s.   However, compared to the glittering glass and chrome of Salford Quays, the Buile Hill museum appears old-fashioned, the vestige of an age perhaps best forgotten, and certainly not in keeping with the city's progressive 'Brave New World' image.  In 2000, at the dawn of the new millennium, the Buile Hill Mining Museum was closed.

Report No. 39 presented at the Conference of The National Association of Mining History Organisations at Truro on the 30th of July 2000  

It has now been announced that this Museum will be closed due to “the
necessity of making financial savings”, yet at the same time opening the
Lowry Centre and investing in the Main Art Gallery in the Museum Department.
The Museum was the last survivor of a phase of mining museums in the 1950’s
whereby cellars of country houses already being used as museums were
converted to “mine galleries”.  Other examples included the museums at
Temple Newsum, Leeds and Bagshaw House, Batley.  There was even a mock mine
in the basement of the Science Museum, London at this time.  The gallery at
Buille Hall was opened in 1957, when Alan Frost, a geologist, was Director.
NCB fitters from Walkden Yard Workshops had been employed to transform the
cellar into a mock mine.  Visitors stepped into a pit cage, doors were
closed and the impression of travelling the shaft was gained (using
revolving walls with stick-on bricks) which was quite acceptable until the
passengers realised that they had seen the same bricks a few times!  During
the late 1960’s, material was collected from such closing pits as Brackley,
Sandhole and Mosely Common. In 1969, the ground floor of the hall was 

partially converted into a “pit top” using the old drift top from 

Old Meadows Colliery at Bacup (Yorkshire).

In 1971, the Museum had to close being declared structurally unsafe!  By
1977, however, the building had been “listed”, dry rot removed and the rest
renovated and the Museum was reopened.  During these years Frank Hacket and
Rick Bradbury had been successive Directors.  They were followed from 1974
by Geof Preece who proved equally enthusiastic in the development of mining
as a theme and by this time the Museum specialised in this.  Geof pushed out
into the field of Industrial Archaeology, adding much more material relating
to the coal industry’s past.  This led to the first floor being converted
into the History of Coalmining Gallery which opened in 1980.  Further
enthusiastic efforts led to a guide book being produced and an archives and
library section of the Second Floor.  He also developed a collection of
“mining art” which lead to a further gallery being opened in 1984.
Geof Preece left Buile Hill in 1985 and Alan Davies, the present Director,
was appointed.  Alan had been an assistant keeper for a short term in the
early 1980’s, but at the time of his appointment was working on the coal
face at a small mine near Wigan.  He was an obvious choice.  He had a degree
in art and an interest in collecting.  He had also worked in four collieries
and had studied mining.  With the decline of the mining industry thousands
of mine plans and documents were rescued, thousands more photos were taken
and numerous objects and drawings acquired.  The upper floors have had to be
refurbished to take them all and the remains of other earlier natural
history collections had to be transferred elsewhere.  Between  1989 and
1991, the Museum’s mining library expanded greatly with the acquisition of
the very important Wigan Mining College Collection and also that of the
former Wigan Library Mining Reference Collection as well as other material
from closing NCB/BC and private industry collections.

In 1994, in recognition of the Museum’s vast regional collection which now
surpassed all other local (and most regional) collections and its embrace of
the whole coalfield, the decision was made to change the name to The
Lancashire Mining Museum, Salford. Without doubt the Museum has a fine 

collection which is very interestingly laid out and easily accessible. 

Its loss will be great to children and students who appreciate its “hands on”

 and “experience” style and to more serious visitors. These can park easily, 

carry out research comfortably and take breaks in the well maintained 

parkland which surrounds it. The writer, for one, will miss the Museum greatly.

Wigan Metro Borough has made a formal approach to Salford to take over the
collection with a view to developing Astley Green Colliery as a new
Lancashire Mining Museum. Most of the collection will go into store but
will remain accessible.


Dr. I. J. Brown

Since its closure, the stately home has been boarded up, and its future remains uncertain. One of its outbuildings caught fire in October 2016, much like the ill-fated Monks Hall Museum.  The old bandstand was demolished in 2001 (Salford Council's cheap alternative to maintenance), and the greenhouse continues to disintegrate.

Shell of the greenhouse

 

See: Timeline

Salford Library

Salford City Reporter
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The Liberal politician, and Salford's first member of parliament, Joseph Brotherton, took the opportunity provided by the passage of the Museums Act of 1845 to further his ambition of providing his constituents with a public library and museum.  His energy eventually led to the opening of the Salford Borough Royal Museum and Library in Peel Park on 9 January 1850. 

Joseph Brotherton  
(22 May 1783 – 7 January 1857)

Corporation of Salford. Annual Report 1849
click to enlarge

Lark Hill Estate and Peel Park

Peel Park itself was opened on 22 August 1846, and named after Sir Robert Peel, the Lancashire aristocrat who had served twice as Prime Minister,  The park was built on the Lark Hill Estate, which included a Georgian mansion, constructed in 1792. [1]  Originally, the house and grounds had belonged to Colonel James Ackers (1752-1824). Ackers, known as the 'father of the silk trade', was appointed high sheriff of Lancashire in 1800, [2]. Upon his death, the property was sold to William Garnett, who in turn sold it to the Committee for the Formation of Public Parks in Manchester for £5,000 on 29 March 1845. [3]  

Lark Hill House and grounds overlooking the Irwell (1825)
 © Salford City Council

                   

                          Col. James Ackers
                      Salford Museum & Art Gallery
                          painting mentioned in 1860

William Garnett (detail) 

Lark Hill House as part of Salford Museum, prior to its demolition in 1936. 

 © Salford City Council

Lark Hill House: postcard of the 'Museum'

Lark Hill House
Illustrated London News 1868
Christening a lifeboat in Peel Park

With the opening of the park, Lark Hill House was converted into a "Refreshment House", which dispensed food and drink to the visitors. Eventually, space was allocated in the building to the library and museum.

1848

The Leisure Hour (1857)

Peel Park
"tastefully laid out in walks"
Source: Salford Local History Library

Langworthy Wing of Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Photo credit: Alfred Brothers (1878)

Royle & Bennett, Architects, Manchester, Builder's News 1870

Leisure hour 1857 (page 135)

Early Librarians

Major John Plant

In 1849, Major John Plant was appointed librarian and curator.

Greenwood's Library Yearbook (1897)

Benjamin Henry Mullen

Of Interest

Friends of Peel Park

Notes

[1]   Some sources erroneously date the construction of Lark Hill House to 1809, but Ackers was living at Lark Hill before that in 1798, 1799, 1800 and 1803.  Recent works date its construction to 1795, others around 1790.
[2] Colonel of the 1st Regiment of the Manchester and Salford Volunteers (Napoleonic War).    He died on 23 May 1824.  He is commemorated in Manchester Cathedral. Terms of his will.
[3] Garnett generously returned £500 as a donation to the Peel Park project.  Ironically, Garnett was Brotherton's parliamentary opponent.