Notorious flats were haven for punks and poets
DUBBED the ‘Alcratraz of the North’ and a ‘huge livid scar on the landscape,’ it’s fair to say Rochdale’s Ashfield Valley estate didn’t have the best of reputations.
Derided and loathed by many it might have been, but what’s less known is that the vast estate was also home to a thriving counter culture of poets, writers and musicians.
Like the much mythologised Hulme Crescents 15 miles away in South Manchester, Ashfield Valley’s cheap and readily available flats were perfect for those living, or trying to make a living, out of an alternative lifestyle.
Completed in 1968 at a cost of £3.5m, the Valley was the largest of a series of apartment blocks, which also included the Seven Sisters, Freehold and Lower Falinge flats, constructed in inner Rochdale on a wave of mid-20th century ambition and optimism.
Influenced by the ‘brutalist’ European school of architecture, the estate’s 26 alphabetically named blocks and 1,014 homes and apartments were linked by aerial walkways dubbed ‘streets in the sky’ - and initially proved popular with tenants who were fond of the spacious, modern surroundings and state-of-the-art appliances.
Christina Wilkinson, one of the Valley’s first residents, told the Rochdale Observer in 1969: “In our old house on Merefield Street the kitchen was not big enough to swing a cat round in.
“But my kitchen is now marvellous and the central heating is quite cheap.”
But the honeymoon period didn’t last long.
Drugs and gangs soon took hold and tenants began likening the Valley to a prison camp or an army barracks.
By the mid to late 70s vandalism and crime was said to have reached epidemic proportions and caretaker George Cartshore described the estate as a ‘leper colony’ and a dumping ground for ‘hasbeens and never-will-bes.’
At this point just 19 of the original tenants remained and many of the flats were empty.
But the cheap rents and freely available homes meant many struggling creative types were drawn to the estate.
Among the artists who moved onto the Valley around this time was punk poet Andy T.
He lived in a one bedroom flat in the Wentworth block from the late 70s until 1984 with his girlfriend Pam.
“I loved the Valley and thought it had a friendly atmosphere, though it could turn nasty after dark,” said Andy, who used a picture of the estate on the front cover of Life at Tether’s End, a 2012 anthology of his work.
“It was a very creative period in my life. A lot of musicians and artists came to stay, we would put gigs on in pubs and community centres, in the punk era.
“Because the flats were readily available and cheap through the council, many young people interested in the counter culture gravitated towards Ashfield Valley. Bands, fanzines, the Valley.
“The Valley welcomed anyone and it had a fantastic community spirit.
“There were a lot of rough ‘uns and a lot of vandalism, but people generally got on with it and got on with each other.
“I wish I could go back there now - it was a brilliant time.”
Modernist architecture lover Sid Fletcher runs the website towerblockmetal. co.uk which sells Ashfield Valley artwork and memorabilia.
He grew up in Rochdale, used to live in Freehold and spent lots of time hanging round Ashfield Valley in his youth.
In a blog on his website he writes: “Unfortunately the facilities and amenities that are essentially required to service the needs of over 1,000 tenancies didn’t follow and the project rapidly fell into somewhat of a decline - the estate started to become scapegoated by most Rochdalians.
“I spent a lot of time in the flats in the years towards its demise and during the start of its demolition.
“It’s abundantly clear that despite its many problems a great number of people enjoyed their life on the Valley and look back on it with fond memories.”
But its many problems didn’t stop Ashfield Valley having a lasting influence on the north west’s arts and music scene.
Cult 1975 novel Rule of the Night, by Rochdale author Trevor Hoyle, is largely based on the estate.
Renowned poet Simon Armitage wrote Xanadu based on his experiences as a probation officer working on the estate and was recorded by the BBC reciting the piece as he wandered around the largely derelict blocks.
And punk band Untermensch, featuring author and journalist Mark Hodkinson, wrote the song Ashfield Valley Headkick after three of the group’s members were attacked one night on the estate.
At least two TV documentaries looking at conditions on Ashfield Valley were also filmed in the 70s and 80s and pop legend David Bowie is even rumoured to have stayed there following a gig in Manchester in the 70s.