Garden Lane (23)

Home Next

Before leaving Victoria Street take the first right into Garden Lane which was named after the Old Pear Tree Tavern Gardens which used to be just after Garden Lane. The lane serviced the backs of the burgage plots on Church Street. It is still a retreat from the traffic and contains some delightful houses and hidden gardens. Walk some of the way up to view the backs of the older and lower buildings on Church Street that as you will see originally had their fronts on this side.

Returning up Victoria Street, note the steep roof on the former Don Supper Bar at the top right indicating a previously thatched roof. It has medieval timbers but is mainly 17th to 19th century. Some of the Georgian buildings on the right from 10 to 18 and 26 to 32 Church Street are back-to-front with the fronts of the original houses on Garden Lane and the backs on the less pleasant Church Street. The low building (number 18) may be 17th century. The Workers’ Educational Association under the direction of the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit surveyed a number of the older buildings in Old Market Place in detail in 2000.

Finish back at Old Market Place

References

The author acknowledges his indebtedness to the following:

Altrincham in 1841, D Bayliss et al, Altrincham History Society, 1994
Altrincham Town Trail, Trafford MBC
Altrincham, a History, D Bayliss (Ed.), Willow, 1992
Altrincham, a Pictorial History, H Bayliss, Phillimore, 1996
Archaeology of Trafford, M Nevell, Trafford MBC, 1997
Beating The Bounds, Trafford MBC, 1990
Board of Health Survey Map and Book of Reference, 1852
Bowdon and Dunham Massey, Bowdon History Society, Tempus Publishing, 1999
Buildings of Central Altrincham in the Year 2000, D Bayliss, 2000
Buildings of Special Architectural or Historical Interest, Trafford MBC, 1990
Bygone Altrincham, C Nickson, Morten, 1971
Flame Still Burns, P Knox, Altrincham Garrick, 1994
Historical Atlas of Trafford, D Bayliss, 1996
History of Altrincham and Bowdon, A Ingham, 1879
Kellys Directories 1864 onwards
Looking Back At Altrincham, B Morrison, Willow, 1980
Making of Altrincham, Frank Bamford, 1991
Ordnance Survey Maps of Cheshire 1872-76, 6-inch
Ordnance Survey Maps of Cheshire 1877-98, 25-inch
Ordnance Survey Maps of Cheshire, 1900 to 1912, CD-ROM
Pigot’s National Commercial Directories for 1828 and 1834
Pigot’s Street Directories from 1821 onwards
Slater’s Street Directories 1843 to 1916
Story of St. George’s Altrincham, B Breton, 1999
Stranger’s Guide to Altrincham, C Balshaw, 1858, republished by E J Morten, 1973
Tithe Maps and Apportionments 1835-38

Home Next