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Norgate Street, MANCHESTER, M20 2DG

A small, traditional public house on Wilmslow Road. Across the road is a much larger modern drinking establishment Image

The Station public house in Didsbury.

Next to Domino's and Casa Italia

The old railway station existed across Wilmslow Road from The Station pub. It has a sign which reads Station Hotel. The sign depicts a man on the platform with a bowler hat, clouds of steam from a train (?) and a youthful, neatly uniformed hotel porter in old-fashioned uniform, carrying the traveller's (?) luggage. A nostalgic gaze into the past. Anecdotally, I heard that today The Station is largely visited by Manchester United supporters. It stands on the corner of Norgate Street and Wilmslow Road. Under the sign for Norgate Street is North Street, its former name. This is confirmed by a sandstone plaque engraved with the name of the street high up near the roof on the right. How small it seems today and hard to make out, yet it was sufficient when the building was raised and speaks to an age when local people knew where they were and those coming and going were brought to and from their destinations by Hansom cabs or walked on foot from the railway station. The brickwork is an interesting decorative bond using three rows of headers to one row of stretchers. This is unorthodox and is purely decorative, I think. English garden wall bond uses three rows of stretchers to one row of headers. So it was expensively built. It may have been designed to withstand plenty of vibration on the corner as headers laid that way make very strong walls. There are metal frames under the window sills which would have once held window boxes and flowers. Next to The Station is Domino's the ubiquitous pizzeria.

West side Wilmslow Kitchen Shop. Didsbury Pharmacy, which is certainly an essential service.

The Didsbury War Memorial is located on Wilmslow Road, in front of Didsbury Public Library (Image]) and opposite the Rhodes Memorial Clock Tower (Image]). The Portland stone memorial, which was unveiled on 4th July 1921, is enclosed within a small railed garden. It is in the form of a three-stepped stone base surmounted by a tall, two-stage square plinth, bearing the shaft, which is topped by a small cross. The names of the fallen are inscribed in white lettering on black, rectangular, metal plaques fixed to each side of the plinth. The names of those who died in the Second World War were added later on a plaque on the base. The inscription reads: DIDSBURY WAR MEMORIAL 1914 – 1919 TO THE MEMORY OF THE SACRED DEAD OF THIS VILLAGE. WHO HAVING LEFT ALL THAT WAS DEAR TO THEM ENDURED HARDSHIPS, FACED DANGERS AND FINALLY/ PAID THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN DEFENCE OF KING AND COUNTRY. LET THEIR NAMES BE EVER REMEMBERED WITH GRATITUDE MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN PEACE (Image]) The memorial is Grade II-listed (Historic England List entry Number: 1270517 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1270517 ).

The Didsbury War Memorial is located on Wilmslow Road, in front of Didsbury Public Library (Image]) and opposite the Rhodes Memorial Clock Tower (Image]). The Portland stone memorial, which was unveiled on 4th July 1921, is enclosed within a small, railed garden. It is in the form of a three-stepped stone base surmounted by a tall, two-stage square plinth, bearing the shaft, which is topped by a small cross. The names of the fallen are inscribed in white lettering on black, rectangular, metal plaques fixed to each side of the plinth. The names of those who died in the Second World War were added later on a plaque on the base. The inscription reads: DIDSBURY WAR MEMORIAL 1914 – 1919 TO THE MEMORY OF THE SACRED DEAD OF THIS VILLAGE. WHO HAVING LEFT ALL THAT WAS DEAR TO THEM ENDURED HARDSHIPS, FACED DANGERS AND FINALLY PAID THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN DEFENCE OF KING AND COUNTRY. LET THEIR NAMES BE EVER REMEMBERED WITH GRATITUDE MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN PEACE (Image]) The memorial is Grade II-listed (Historic England List entry Number: 1270517 https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1270517 ).

Casa Italia is next to Domino's and has a wooden verandah. It sits close to the war memorial outside the library. It does not seem so long since the URLs with ending "uk, com" etc. would have been incomprehensible, but now they are as well understood as the old "Limited", perhaps better understood. We don't have to go anywhere or phone up to discover the menu and the prices, it will be there in a moment and perhaps we shall be able to book a table, too.