CHRISTMAS 1959 MARKET ST, MANCHESTER
The last Christmas of the decade sees unmissable festive bargains tempting the pedestrians from every shop front
It’s Saturday 19 December 1959, with crowds of Mancunian shoppers donning their duffle coats and braving the rain to make those crucial last-minute gift purchases. For father, it might be a 6/2d bottle of Old Spice, for mother a copy of the latest Queen magazine, and for the older sister a 45-rpm disc of Marty Wilde singing Bad Boy. And for younger members of the family, there was hope of finding a Corgi Renault Floride (with ‘independent suspension’) in their stocking
Chances are plenty would be heading into Henry’s, the department store on the right of this shot. The site’s now been demolished to make way for the city’s Arndale shopping centre, and the array of Brit family favourites sweeping their way up Market Street have been replaced by pedestrians hunting for the nearby Metrolink tram station.
Closest to the camera is a Morris Oxford, with the fluted bonnet of the Series III. At the time this picture was taken, the Series III saloon had recently been superseded by the Pininfarina-styled Series V, although the Traveller Series IV would remain in production until 1960.
Behind the Morris is a Ford Thames 300E van, the light commercial version of the Anglia 100E which, according to Dagenham at any rate, was ‘Sparkling With Good Points’. One point that was lacking was a second windscreen wiper, as this was on the extensive list of optional extras. That spotlightequipped Austin A30 behind would have represented one of the 300E’s major rivals, with its ‘60 cubic feet of goods’ space!’ and manoeuvrability in transport. Both the Ford and Austin were often fitted with a rear seat, converting a van into family transport that was usefully exempt from Purchase Tax.
Bringing up the rear is another Oxford Series III sporting a jaunty duo-tone paint, and what appears to be a Standard Super Ten. The Fordson Thames ET6 lorry would have been a ubiquitous sight in the late 1950s while the double-decker in the distance is one of Salford Corporation’s fleet of Daimler CBG6s, with Metro Cammell Weymann coachwork.
In the far left line of traffic is the tail fin of a Ford Consul MkII and, behind it, an Anglia 100E. The new 105E was busy attracting press and public attention in 1959 with its dramatic ‘Breezeway!’ rear screen, but Ford would continue to offer sidevalve small cars until as late as 1962. The Morris Minor Series II four-door further back arguably represented the benchmark for small cars in the UK during the decade, although its recirculatory heater would have been hard-pressed to cope with a wet winter afternoon. The following Fordson Thames E83W was powered by the same 1172cc engine as the 100E saloons, which put it among the UK’s slowest vehicles. The thought of one of these sturdy vans with its top speed of just over 40mph on the new M1 – which opened the month before this snapshot was taken – is moderately terrifying.
But it’s the smallest of details that date this image; the headscarves, the trilby hats and the grumpy gentleman with the Teddy Boy haircut on the right of the frame. But in the main, the mood seems generally upbeat and I am willing to hazard a bet that many of the people seen here would be anticipating watching the BBC’s Christmas Night
with the Stars (starring Jimmy Logan and Charlie Drake) on their rented TV set.
But we conclude as we began, with the car that makes the end of the 1950s seem particularly distant – that Morris Oxford’s trafficator is extended to signal a left turn…