Today I visited the Sutton Community Centre to have a look at photos, many loaned from early residents up until the demolition of the last flats built in the 1930s in an exhibition organised by housing provider Clarion Futures.
In 1932 the Manchester Guardian reported that.
“The plans of a block of 256 flats which the Sutton Trust propose to build in the Seedley Road district of Salford for working class tenants was approved by the Salford Building and Improvement Committee yesterday.
“The five storey building will consist of flats of two to five rooms with all the latest domestic conveniences, and the living rooms will have balconies and will be so placed as to receive the maximum amount of sunshine.
In the centre of the block will be a large open playing space for the children, and accommodation will be provided on the ground level for perambulators.
The plans have been prepared by Mr S Fairhurst, the Manchester architect.”
I was born in nearby Hanky Park and had friends who lived on the flats in the wonderfully named Duncan Edwards House, I can only assume it had a previous name and was changed in 1958 after the Munich Air Disaster.
For me they were the lap of luxury with indoor toilets, baths and communal laundries on each block, not only that they were indoor football cages and playgrounds complete with swings, but for me the Jewel in the Crown was the children’s paddling pool complete with Mickey Mouse murals painted on the walls, later years saw Super Hero figures painted over the Disney figures.
However Sutton Estates employed Superintendents to patrol the estate and if they saw you and you didn’t live there you were turfed out.”
Memories of that came back to me as I browsed through the large collection of photos in the Sutton Community Hub which I remember being built in 1962 along with the nearby high rise, Sutton House which was demolished in 2004.
I was pleased to see a model of the names of the blocks of flats, you had to guess which flat was which by pressing a button which lit up if you were correct, 22 in total.
Sadly all of those flats have been demolished, not quite a 100 years old and replaced with brand new homes which do look really good it has to be said, and there is now a community garden dedicated to Albert Scanlon the late Manchester United footballer.
Our good friend David Hill from Leaf Bean Pod Cafe, Barton was on hand dishing out free, pies and mushy peas to people who attended, a nice touch.
Finally a big hand to Kevin McCloskey for the guided tour, a man who does so much unsung community work and has worked there for over 20 years.
