Ardwick isn’t just a word on the tongue of some green trainers, it’s a real place where real people live and work. Often overlooked in favour of snootier zones like Chorlton, Didsbury and the like, it’s nonetheless an integral cog in the Manchester machine. It was once the hub of the industrial revolution, it was the site of ‘the Manchester outrages’ and it’s the birthplace of Bill Tarmey AKA Jack Duckworth.
I wandered around Ardwick for a while and here are the photos to prove it.
The Eccles cake factory is in Ardwick. Does this mean the Ardwick cake factory is in Eccles? We can only hope. This building is NOT the Eccles cake factory though.
Ardwick train station is a bit of a gem — it only gets five trains a week and has no wheelchair access. It’s probably not that great for actually getting anywhere, but if you like iron bridges and steep stairs, then it’s a real hoot.
This photograph was taken a year or two ago as builders were in the process of ripping down a lot of the older houses in Ardwick. People use their garden sheds for all sorts — this one was used as a shrine to glory-era United players.
That delightful young scamp Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol was apparently based on the son of a mill owner in Ardwick.
Not a lot of people know that Simon Templar of The Saint fame now resides in Ardwick. Nice to see he’s kept the Volvo in good condition.
This man has been working in Ardwick for 8 years. Did he have any interesting stories about the area? “No — I just work here.” Fair enough.