Shudehill By Night

Price = £490 P & P in the UK only

 

Comes with certificate of Authenticity

 

Painted using the croquis method in a free-flowing style using palette knife, brush and ink 

 

Expressionistic painting by Andrew Alan Matthews B.A ( Hons)

 

Size = 500mm width X 600mm High X 35mm deep

 

postage & packaging in the UK only

 

sent by recorded delivery 

 

14 day delivery time 

 

printed to order 

 

I can hand deliver if local to Manchester

 

returns accepted, you would need to return by recorded delivery at your expense in an undamaged state for a full refund, see terms and conditions 

 

use the contact me button for any enquiries and more details 

 

 

 

 

 

A story about an old Mancunian homeless man looking back on better days  

 

A bit of history

 

I painted this scene of shudehill with views looking onto the rear of the Manchester Arndale centre  near the shudehill exchange. I like this view and I used to ride my motorbike past here everyday to go to work and I love the old and new buildings and the area is steeped in history.

 

So In Medieval times, Manchester's growth was centred on the rivers Irwell and Irk, close by to shudehill and the earliest mention of Shudehill was in 1554. The name of the street may come from the word 'Shude' which means husks of oats,

 

Also back in the day Wythengreave Hall, was a country house at the upper end of Shudehill and was for sale in 1763 with eight and a half acres of land, 

 

Now Hanover Street which is just off shudehill was named following the coronation of King George III and Queen Charlotte in 1761, as were George Street and Charlotte Street on the other side of town 

 

Hanover Street was the site of an early Cotton Mill collapse in 1790 in which several people were killed.

 

Until the mid-18th century, the Shudehill area had been semi rural,

 

but by 1793 the whole of Shudehill was built up and included commercial property.

 

Manchester had no cotton mills until the opening of Arkwright's Shudehill Mill, on Miller Street in 1783. The mill was water powered and a Newcomen atmospheric steam engine was used 

 

It was built in 1782 for Richard Arkwright and his partners and destroyed by fire in 1854. It was rebuilt and finally destroyed during the Manchester Blitz in 1940.

 

My dad remembers sitting outside on great western street in moss side and a meshersmitt straffing the street with bullets when he was a young boy

 

A bit of history near the coop on miller street In 1785 a guy called James Sadler made the first balloon ascent in Manchester from a recreation ground attached to a house in Long Millgate and the alley behind the recreation ground became known as Balloon Street. 

 

The property was later converted to a pub, the Manchester Arms, which survived until it was  demolished in 1980.

 

Edward Mayes, died in 1621 and left a lot of  money to purchase land to support the poor of the City. Almshouses were built in 1680 on Miller Lane which is now Miller Street).

 

In 1794 however, the trustees secured an Act of Parliament which enabled them to demolish the almshouses, and in 1808 they sold the land.

 

Now Mayes Street, which is just off shudehill behind the almshouses, was named to commemorate the founder of the charity.

 

Now Springs in the Shudehill area were Manchester's principal water supply, hence the names Well Street and Spring Alley. 

 

Pits there which are now filled in, were used as water storage until Holt Town Reservoir was built in 1808. The Shudehill source ceased permanently when Gorton Reservoir was opened in 1826.

 

The early development on Shudehill and Withy Grove was small scale with narrow shop fronts and  By the 20th century large scale property was being developed along Corporation Street:

 

the headquarters of the Co-operative Wholesale Society was built and the buildings on the corner of Withy Grove and Corporation Street were built for the national newspaper publishers. 

 

Which is now the printworks, my dads first job as a copy boy was for the Manchester evening chronicle in the printworks 

 

Story By Andrew Alan Matthews

 

Streets of Shudehill Manchester by night  At the back of the Arndale  Trams passing by an old guy  hes seen some history over the years plenty of beers and cheers  in the lower turks head   a regular punter of Manchester pubs   been on pub crawls most of his life he had a life  a proper mancunian trudgin the streets  to a Manchester beat  yeah it’s the end of the night no pandemic is to be seen in this Manchester scene  it’s all a memory for  this Mancunian man  thinking back when days were better  freedom of movement pubs all open   fun and laughter with his mates   putting the world to rights  with no fights  but now hes trudgin the streets at night a homeless night awaits cos hes lost his job and home  hes got no phone lookin for his home a shop doorway awaits  wishes he could turn back time  to a better day  in his hayday  yeah hes a Mancunian Man  on the streets of Shudehill Manchester by Night  help him tonight