A Glimpse of the Mersey Valley 50 Years Ago - Hilda Broady's Journal

6th June, 1959

As there have been heavy showers all day I made a visit to the plot in the evening, still hoping to see the stream running, but there was merely a little mud in the bed. I found specimens of Shepherd's Purse and Bladder Campion. The ground was very damp underfoot, and the wet grass too long to search very far.

Shepherd's Purse - Capsella bursa-pastoris

Bladder Campion - Silene Cucubalis

Ed.'s Notes

As I type this out, on Saturday morning, 6th June 2009, it's pouring with rain outside - just as it must have been 50 years ago!

The scientific name for Bladder Campion is currently Silene vulgaris.

Posted by Dave Bishop, 6th June, 2009.

House Martins near Ivy Green Road

On Monday morning I happened to be walking down Ivy Green Road and at the entrance to the Meadows, on that road, noticed FoCM Treasurer, John Agar, leaning on the metal gate and staring intently down the footpath. Naturally, I joined him to see what he was looking at. At first all I could see was a puddle in the middle distance – but as we watched some small birds swooped down and appeared to be drinking from the puddle. John explained that the birds were House Martins (Delichon urbica) and they were, in fact, gathering mud from the edge of the puddle to build their nests in the eaves of nearby houses. House Martins are in the same family (Hirundinidae) as Swallows and Sand Martins but are much less closely related to the superficially similar Swifts (Apodidae)(1).

John told me that he had been watching House Martins gather mud from this particular area, at this time of year, for at least 30 years. He believes that they prefer this particular spot because it is very open and they have a 360 degrees field of view. For several years now John has been bringing buckets of water down to top-up this puddle during dry spells. He notes that there are far fewer of these little birds present now than in the past. He believes that this probably due to the ever increasing desertification and degradation of these migratory birds’ over-wintering grounds in the Sahel region of North Africa. Having said that, other local birdwatchers tell me that several House Martins’ nesting sites have been destroyed in the recent mad scramble to over-develop Chorlton.

This glimpse of these remarkable birds reminded me of one the strangest coincidences of my life. In the early 1980s I first encountered the works of the Edwardian natural history writer, W.H. Hudson – particularly his book, ‘A Shepherd’s Life’(1910), which is, in my opinion, one of the finest books ever written about the English countryside. The republication of this masterpiece seemed to lead to several other of his books being republished around this time. Among these revivals was a book of his essays entitled, ‘Adventures Among Birds’ (first published 1913). This new edition (2) came out in late 1983 and I remember ‘pouncing on it’ with glee! I recall travelling back on the bus, from the centre of Manchester, to Chorlton, with my ‘prize’ and a copy of the Manchester Evening News (10th December, 1983 – to be precise). I first turned to the newspaper and read (as was my custom in those days) the ‘Country Matters’ column by George Hawthorne who described seeing a Red Squirrel in West Wales. He also lamented the fact that the native Red was being displaced by the introduced American Grey (a process which is still on-going, of course). I recalled seeing a Red Squirrel, about 9 or 10 years before, in the plantation of Corsican Pines which back the sand dunes along the North Norfolk coast, between Well-next-the-Sea and Holkham. I then turned to Hudson’s book and opened it at random to a page in an essay entitled, ‘Autumn 1912’. Imagine my amazement when I found myself reading a description of the antics of a Red Squirrel in exactly the same place that I had seen mine – in the same pine plantation!

Later in the chapter Hudson described how, in the cold, wet autumn of 1912, some House Martins had raised a new brood of chicks and were still feeding them, “... in a nest under the eaves above a sweetstuff shop, within two or three doors of the Wells post office.” He speculated that this particular pair must have produced at least 3 or 4 broods that year. He feared for the survival of the chicks and, “... the women of the house compassionately offered to take them in and feed them, in the hope of keeping them alive until the return of warm weather”. Nevertheless, the birds continued to feed their young and tried, and failed, to lure them from the nest. Then one day the parents abruptly vanished. Hudson procured a ladder and found the chicks dead in the nest. He suggested that, in this particular case, the brooding instinct had over-ruled the migratory instinct – but once the chicks were dead the parents had no option but to set off for Africa.
Oh yes, and I’m pretty certain that the, “women of the house” were my grandmother and great-grandmother – who, at that time, owned a sweet shop near the post office! Sadly, my grandmother died in 1966 – so I never got to ask her about meeting one of my literary heroes.

Dave Bishop, June 2009

References:

1. ‘The Birds of Britain and Europe’ by Hermann Heinzel, Richard Fitter and John Parslow, 3rd Edition, Collins, 1974.

2. ‘Adventures Among Birds’ by W.H. Hudson, Breslich & Foss reprint, 1983.

Mersey Floods by Andrew Simpson

Below Chorlton local historian, Andrew Simpson writes about the history of floods in the Mersey Valley:

I can remember the very first time I walked the meadows. It was a warm summer’s evening over twenty-five years ago and during that long lost summer we followed the narrow twisting lanes explored the old water channels and pondered on how long the fenced off areas with their straight saplings would become woodland. And yet which ever route we took whether it was following the Brook or straight across the fields, the journey always ended at the foot of those towering banks of earth which so dominate the place and separate the meadows from the Mersey.

This was our first warning of the power of the river. They were built and added to over the centuries as the main defence against a powerful threat to the lives and livelihoods of all those who lived beside it. Generations of farmers have laboured to construct this natural wall to repel the flood waters of the Mersey.
The village and the isolated farms were all built beyond the flood plain. Even so this was not always sufficient protection. The Mersey has on countless occasions risen and breached these towering banks sometimes even sweeping away the defences themselves.
It was for this reason that the weir was built. Just beyond the point where the Brook joins the Mersey and at a bend in the river the weir was built to divert flood water from the Mersey down channels harmlessly out to Stretford and the Kicketty Brook (Note 1). Not that it always worked. Soon after it had been built flood water swept it away and during the nineteenth century neither the weir nor the heightened river banks prevented the Mersey bursting out across the plain (Note 2).In July 1828 the Mersey flood water transported hay ricks from the farm behind Barlow Hall down to Stretford only later to bring them back, while later floods proved to be even more destructive (Note 3). It was, wrote Thomas Ellwood the local historian:
“no uncommon thing to see the great level of green fields completely covered with water presenting the appearance of a large lake, several miles in circuit.” (Note 4)

These historic floods were quite sudden. One such event left a farmer just enough time to release his horses from the cart and stampede them to higher ground, while on another occasion one man was forced to take refuge in a birch tree till the following morning (Note 5). As destructive as these floods were they did deposit silt from the river onto the land which the farmers prized. In normal times it was the practice to “open the sluices or floodgates in order to get the advantage of such sewage upon the land as the river affords, thus saving the trouble and expense of carting ‘management’ there.” (Note 6)

It would be easy to think that all this was a thing of the past, but even now the river can present a real threat. Back in 1991 on a cold wet day in February or early March walking the uppermost part of the banks I was convinced that the river threatened to overtop even this high point. And much the same happened to my friend David earlier this year when after what seemed to be weeks of rain the river rose and topped the protective banks, leaving him scrabbling for safety (this was me - Ed.).
It is perhaps these two recent awesome experiences that reminds me that despite its pleasant and comfortable appearance the meadows remain as much a part of nature as they have ever been.


Notes:

1. After a heavy flood in August 1799 broke the banks where Chorlton Brook joined the Mersey, there were fears that the Bridgewater Aqueduct across the flood plain could be damaged by flooding it was decided to build an overflow channel improving the course of Kicketty Brook and build the stone weir. Lloyd, John M., ‘The Township of Chorlton cum Hardy’, Page 71.

2. This happened in 1840 and in the following year it was rebuilt by the engineer William Cubitt. After litigation the cost of repair was borne by The Bridgewater Trust £1,500, The Turnpike Commissioners £500, Thomas Jos de Trafford £1,000 and Wilbraham Egerton £1,000 and the cost of maintenance was agreed between The Bridgewater Trustees ½, Thomas Jos de Trafford ¼ and Wilbraham Egerton ¼. Lloyd, Page 71.

3. Ellwood, Thomas L., ‘History of Chorlton cum Hardy’, Chapter 1, November 7th 1885. Ellwood describes serious floods a few years later which destroyed a bridge across Chorlton Brook and six major floods between December 1880 and October 1881. The last time the weir took an overflow of flood water was 1915.

4. Ellwood, Chapter 1.

5. Lloyd, Page 71.

6. Ellwood, Chapter 1.

A Glimpse of the Mersey Valley 50 Years Ago - Hilda Broady's Journal

30th May, 1959

The grass has now become very tall and overgrown. The bluebells are fruiting and many are hidden in the grass.

All the vegetation is very dry. The stream is completely dried up, and there is a large amount of debris in it. Specimens of the following flowers have been collected today:

Bluebell - Scilla Nonscripta

Earthnut - Conopodium Denudatum

Common Sorrel - Rumex Acetosa

Greater Stitchwort - Stellaria Holostea

Snake Weed - large patch growing - Polygonum Bistorta

Editor's Note:

Plant names have been revised in the last 50 years.

Modern Names:

Bluebell: Hyacinthoides non-sripta

Earthnut (Pignut): Conopodium majus

Common Sorrel: Rumex acetosa (unchanged)

Greater Stitchwort: Stellaria holostea (unchanged)

Snake Weed (Bistort): Persicaria bistorta

All of the above plants are still in Barlow Wood where Mrs Broady found them 50 years ago.

Posted by Dave Bishop, 30th May 2009

Book Review: Collins Flower Guide

Collins Flower Guide by David Streeter, C. Hart-Davies, A. Hardcastle, F. Cole & L. Harper, Collins, 2009; Hardback (ISNB: 978-0-00-710621-9), 704 pp; £30.

There are, of course, many illustrated guides to wild flowers on the market; some are much better than others. In my opinion, ‘dumbed-down’ guides, such as those based on flower colour, are a complete waste of money. A good guide should be well illustrated, based on scientific principles of plant classification, be up to date in terms of nomenclature and should contain information on such parameters as: plant dimensions, flowering time, distribution, habitat and relative frequency of occurrence (i.e. ‘common’, ‘rare’ etc.). Keys should also be available so that members of the more difficult groups can be separated from each other. Even in terms of our relatively sparse flora, this is a lot of information to pack into a single volume. Until the last few years most guides excluded more ‘difficult’ groups, such as ferns and grasses, sedges and rushes – but some recent guides, including the present volume, have begun to include information on those groups.

This latest guide from Collins has been eagerly awaited, not least because this publisher has a very distinguished history when it comes to publishing field guides. Their guides to birds, flowers, insects etc. are legendary and highly regarded. In addition they have been publishing their famous and definitive ‘New Naturalist’ series, on British natural history topics, since the 1940s.

The book’s text is by David Streeter, who is Reader in Ecology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Sussex. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the ‘New Naturalist’ series mentioned above, has served on the council of the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) and is currently president of the Sussex Wildlife Trust. He also wrote the text for one of my favourite wild flower books: ‘The Wild Flowers of the British Isles’, Macmillan, 1983 – which was superbly illustrated by Ian Garrard. Although this latter book is a little out of date now, I still refer to it constantly.

The new Collins Guide has been illustrated by a team of four illustrators: Christina Hart-Davies, Audrey Hardcastle, Felicity Cole and Lizzie Harper. My first impression is that some of the illustrations are better than others – although all are adequate. I am biased, though, as I was practically ‘brought up’ on the illustrations of the redoubtable Marjorie Blamey – whose work I regard very highly.

So is the present book any good? This is a difficult question to answer as such a book needs to be used for at least a couple of seasons to be sure, but it certainly meets the criteria for a good guide listed above. Having said that, I’m not sure that I would want to take it ‘into the field’; it’s not particularly portable and it’s too handsome a volume to get wet and muddy. Perhaps the paperback, scheduled for the autumn, will be more suitable for this purpose?
Should you buy it? Well, if you only want one book, and you’ve already got, ‘Wild Flowers of Britain & Ireland’ by Marjorie Blamey, Richard Fitter and Alastair Fitter, A&C Black, 2003, and are happy with that, you probably don’t need it. But if you want the very latest, super-dooper, all-singing-all-dancing plant manual, with all the trimmings (and I so desperately needed it!) you will just have to ‘shell out’ 30 quid for it (luckily I had saved a Christmas book token – ha!) ... or wait for the paperback, of course.

Dave Bishop, May 2009.

A Bumble Bee Bush for Your Garden

We hear a lot these days about the loss of Bee species - both Honey Bees and Bumble Bees.

As more and more of our countryside, both rural and urban, is subject to either industrialised agriculture, inappropriate 'over-management' at the wrong time of year (see my previous article, 'Why is Springtime the Killing Time Around Here?", 15th May 2009 ) or benign neglect, the Bees have less and less flowers to visit for sources of pollen and nectar. The least that we can do, then, is to ensure that our gardens are Bee friendly.

A few years ago I planted a shrub called Deutzia (prononced 'Doyt-zee-a') in my garden - and I can't help noticing that, not only is it a prolific flowerer, but when it flowers, at the end of May/beginning of June, it absolutely swarms with Bees - particularly Bumble Bees. I've just counted at least 30 on it, on this overcast Bank Holiday afternoon - but when the sun shines there can be even more.

There are several species of Deutzia - mostly from China, Japan and Korea. They are in the same family (Hydrangaceae) as Hydrangeas and Philadelphus ('Mock Orange'). Unfortunately, I don't think they're scented - at least mine isn't. I think that mine is the species, D. scabra - although I'm not completely sure about that. Whichever one you choose, make sure that it has single flowers, not double ones (these will probably not have any pollen and may have less nectar). Double flowered varieties will usually be labelled 'Flore Pleno'.

Dave Bishop, May 2009

Doomsday: Metrolink Will Devastate the Mersey Valley

In my recent post, ‘The Great Mersey Valley Revolt of 1990’ (08.05.2009) I related how, recently, I had seen contractors drilling in the old UMIST Playing Fields at Hardy Farm. I’ve since received some more information on this from John Leech MP and, at the instigation of Councillor Val Stevens, from Jane Archer who works as Regeneration Co-ordinator for Manchester City Council.
The land is currently owned by the University of Manchester and a potential purchaser is interested in bringing the land back into use as playing fields. The potential purchaser is carrying out site investigations to check if the ground conditions are suitable. There appear to have been some preliminary discussions with the Planning Department. So, thank you to our local politicians for providing this information.

Nevertheless, my thoughts are: do we really need any more playing fields? There is a huge area of playing fields at Hough End, the University has vast acres of playing fields at Kenworthy, on the other side of the river, and just across the Manchester/Trafford border, at Turn Moss in Stretford, there are playing fields so vast in extent that you could probably fit the entire population of Greater Manchester on to them - with room to spare. And all of this open space is empty, most of the time. Occasionally (very occasionally), at weekends, you might glimpse a few lads playing football on them but at other times they are empty and unused. Such ‘urban deserts’ are useless for wildlife and they don’t seem to do much for the majority of the human population either. They seem to exist just so that they can be obsessively mowed. By contrast the so-called ‘derelict’ fields at Hardy Farm are very rich in wildlife. For example, I have found five species of orchid on them (plus hybrids).

It is also worrying that I am picking up vague hints and clues that the refurbished playing fields at Hardy Farm may be floodlit. This will be very bad news for the (currently) healthy population of bats which live in this area.

But all of this pales into insignificance compared to the havoc that will be wrought on the whole area if Metrolink is driven through. Following an article in the South Manchester Reporter (14.05.2009) this is now looking more likely than ever. The front page article headlined: “Two tram lines: No congestion charge” states that: “Two new Metrolink lines are to be created in south Manchester. The tracks, which will link Chorlton with Didsbury and Withington, as well as Manchester Airport, are part of a £1.4 billion transport bonanza across Greater Manchester.
The package will be brought in without the need for a congestion charge and will finally see the completion of the Big Bang of the Metrolink network.”
Much of the rest of the article appears to be about various local politicians congratulating themselves on achieving this coup (although, if they’ve achieved it this easily, why did we need the congestion charge?).

Anyway, I suppose, on balance, the Metrolink is a good thing (although anyone who uses the existing lines at rush hour may not agree with me!). In addition the links between Old Trafford, through Chorlton to Didsbury will use existing old railway lines. Sadly, though, these old lines have become rich in wildlife since they were abandoned and much of this will be lost – at a time when we can’t afford to lose much more wildlife. Nevertheless, as an ardent conservationist and environmentalist it’s hard for me to argue against improvements to the local public transport network.

But the line across the Mersey Valley to Wythenshawe and the Airport is a very different matter. To build this new line will require massive and intrusive engineering works which will completely change the character of this central part of the Valley and the surrounding area. Let’s look at some of the implications behind this scheme – although, in the absence of detailed plans, there are more questions than answers. Much of what follows is semi-speculative, but is based on vague maps published with the literature on the TIFF bid and even vaguer maps published in local newspapers.
Somewhere around the Hough End area a spur will branch off the Old Trafford to Didsbury line and go down the centre of Mauldeth Road West. Anyone who knows this road will know that it is blessed with dozens of fine, mature trees – but, presumably all of these will need to be felled. It will then cross Barlow Moor Road and proceed down Hardy Lane. It is then supposed to cross the area known as Lower Hardy Farm (that area of semi-mature woodland between Hardy Farm and Chorlton Golf Course). This will represent a really major loss of biodiversity; Lower Hardy Farm is one of the richest areas in the central Mersey Valley and a Site of Biological Importance. Then a bridge across the river will be required and this will need to be a substantial structure. On the other side of the river the line is supposed to proceed on to Sale Water Park. But the burning question is: where will the crossing be, exactly? One possibility is Sale Golf Course – but this is unlikely – golfers tend to be influential people and won’t take kindly to the prospect of losing a chunk of their playground. So, the most likely crossing point is Jackson’s Boat and Rifle Road. And this will be a major tragedy: the footbridge and the Pub are in many ways the focal point for the Mersey Valley and the Metrolink threatens to remove that focus. Next to the pub is a fine grove of beech and sycamore trees and these will be threatened, as will the mature trees along Rifle Road. At Sale Water Park a Park & Ride car park and station are indicated, which implies more loss of open space and more disturbance. According to the Reporter article the line then turns south east, running parallel to the motorway, before eventually crossing it into Northern Moor. According to the TIFF bid literature it then takes a somewhat circuitous route to Wythenshawe centre and the Airport.

Is this is all really to do with Airport expansion, I wonder? In that light the Metro seems a lot less environmentally friendly, doesn’t it? In fact it looks more and more like the same old, same old trashing of the environment for profit (surely not!).

And just building the line won’t be an end to the matter. Let’s just think back to those old sports pitches at Hardy Farm. I’m thinking a floodlit, all weather sports centre, with all the facilities, just a short walk away from the proposed Hardy Lane Metro stop, perhaps? And how many flats could developers cram into that end of Hardy Lane, do you think? I’ll leave you to work it out!
And what about the enormous loss of biodiversity implied by all of this. Never mind. No doubt the Council and the developers will promise to plant lots and lots of trees for all of those that they chop down. Don’t be fooled, though. Tree planting is pure tokenism and has very little to do with conservation. In Oliver Rackham’s words, “tree planting is a sign that conservation has failed”.

Dave Bishop, May 2009