Wightman Rd 1908

Comment by StephenBln on March 26, 2008 at 0:41

I think No.57 is probably the postcard number and has nothing to do with the Wightman Road house numbers.
If you look more deeply into the photograph.. imagine no shops anywhere near.. no cars.. everything has to be carried up that hill.. it wasn't that perfect back then.. or was everything delivered??

Comment by Hugh on March 26, 2008 at 8:25

I think Steve is right. 57 is likley to be the number of the series. What happened to the first 56.........and those after! If you click on "Show Map" below the photo, you'll see that my guesstimate put it just south of Mattison. But happy to be corrected.

What's quite nice is that this completes a trio of three photos in this album which now cover pretty much the whole length of Wightman about 100 years ago.

Comment by alistairj on April 8, 2008 at 20:04

Taken during a brief and rare lull in the rush hour traffic. The road on the right where the van is trying to U-turn is Pemberton.

Comment by StephenBln on April 8, 2008 at 21:25

Well I never... great job Alistair !! Did you get any strange lÖÖks?? :o)

Comment by alistairj on April 9, 2008 at 0:02

Not sure if I got any strange looks - too busy avoiding being run over. BTW this photo is not taken from the traffic island (didn't have such things in 1908)!

Comment by Arthur Astrop on December 11, 2008 at 19:36

StephenBin is quite right. The hill in Wightman Road was steep not just for those carrying shopping home but also for young legs when, in 1928, I had to walk from No 257 to school (Mattison/Pemberton roads), and back twice a day, as a 5-year old in 1928. On the other hand, my best friend lived at No 108, and he had a super scooter with a platform large enough for two little lads to stand one behind the other. So then, going DOWN the hill, from his house to mine, was wonderful. We must have reached quite high speeds some times, and doubtless were regarded by pedestrians as 'young hooligans'. The 1908 photo (above) is exactly as I remember Wightman Rd in the late 1920s. Not a car in sight, and only the odd horse-drawn baker's van. I sometimes wonder who lives in No 257 today, because I remember its interior so well. Also the bank at the foot of its garden up which I would clamber to reach New River.
Arthur Astrop

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