How Manchester Gained and Lost Two World Famous Showgrounds
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- A brief tongue-in-cheek history of two of England's most popular attractions in days gone by, both very close to my own heart. From their romantic births to their depressing and unfortunate demises - welcome to the chequered, rollercoaster histories of Belle Vue and Pomona Island.
The neglected island of Pomona to the south of the city is today a forbidden wasteland reclaimed by nature. Yet once it was a horticultural paradise, with the biggest show-hall in the country, nightly fireworks and crowds of visitors grateful to leave the smoggy industrialised city centre.
Likewise, the huge carpark and car auction site that is today Belle Vue, was not too long ago a major draw for millions every year. A gardens, a zoo, a theme park, a night spot, a concert venue for some of the biggest acts of the period... its still a place many people remember fondly and with love.
So... what happened?
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MUSIC CREDITS
Circus Marcus - "Valse du tout au fond"
Creative Commons Licence
The US Marine Band - "Rule Britannia"
Public Domain
John J. Kimmel - "Buck dance medley"
Public Domain
The US Marine Band - "Entrance of the Gladiators"
Written by Julius Fučík
Public Domain
I remember going to Bellevue zoo as a kid and riding on an elephant I was only 4 or 5 so late 50s it must have been but it’s still a strong memory for me. Shame it’s gone
Brilliant Ollie...great story telling mixed with great comedy.
I doubt any kid growing up in Manchester in the 1960's did not love Belle View. I got to know Pomona in the 1970's due to the ship/night club they had there for a few years.
Lots of info, lots of memories....thanks mate!
I grew up in belle vue, right in the middle of where the zoological gardens were. I could not ask for a better estate to grow up on and even now i only live 5 minutes away but growing up i was and still am obsessed with the areas rich history. So much so that im planning a 60+ illustrations project on the showgrounds and hopefully with every painting, capture the magic and feel of it all.
Really sad though that so many people, even around here don’t even know any such place even existed.
Great content, I'm 57 and remember going to Belle Vue as a kid, walking through the whales mouth.
What a shame nothings changed in 150 years except the name of the wealthy creating wealth for themselves. Salford, Trafforf and Manchester City councils have lost control of the stretches of land along the canal since the late 80's. I was involved with the developer from London building the first commercial office development on Manchester Ship Canal land in 1987 now called Exchange Quays. The powers that be should have stepped in to protect and preserve the heritage of areas like Pamona Gatdens.
Belle Vue had a strong hold on the imagination and affection of the people of Manchester and Salford. It was a popular venue for church and school outings. When I went there as a kid I saw an re-enactment of General Wolfe scaling the Heights of Abraham in the successful defeat of the French, always popular especially with much firing of muskets and cannon. The lake was used to enact naval battles with very large and impressive model boats, to the accompaniment of more explosions to everyone's delight. An elephant walked among the visitors. I kissed a girl I met at Belle Vue which I suspect was not a rare occurrence. I saw my first red squirrel among the trees there.
I visited Belle Vue with my parents when small. Remember riding on an elephant well, as it swayed side to side. I also remember a "Tigron", which was a cross between a lion and a tiger! I have a poorly exposed picture of it.
Later I went dancing to the Top Ten club in the King's Hall in the mid
sixties. Saw groups like The Animals, The Nash ille Teens, The Who, The Hollies, Dave Dee,Dozy,Beaky,Mick and Tich, along with Spencer Davis group. Jimmy Saville only did a short bit of DJ ING, Dave Eager was the main DJ. A cracking place when we were teenagers, happy days. 😊
Great job. Derelict Belle Vue in the 80's was my playground as a teenager. Underground tunnels, abandoned buildings and no entry fee.
Would of loved to had a wonder around a derelict belle Vue, closest our generation had was camelot
By coincidence I just found out that Sooty (as in Sooty and Sweep) started out in a BBC talent show at Belle Vue in 1952 which I thought was marvelous. Alas there is no photographic evidence.
Very well put together and presented, way better than any of the shite on the Tv these days. I remember going to Belle Vue back In the mid to late 60's as a kid, and later In the early to mid 70's to watch Speedway, Hyde road was the best track In the world, and the Aces team gave us 3 world champions, very sad day when they pulled the stadium down, and later moved back to the original track on Kirkmanshulme lane, the new Speedway track at the National Speedway Stadium is "Hyde Road" reincarnated.
In the 1980s, Belle Vue was bought by the Trust House Forte group, owned by Alex Politzi's parents. They ran it into the ground, asset stripped it and sold it off for building land. The lake was filled in and the budget hotel was, when I stayed there around 15 years ago, clean, warm and serving tasty food.
Very enjoyable as always , but this time with some extra humour that added to what could otherwise have been a very "dry" documentary.
Really well produced - the final result was well worth all your time and effort .
What a shame though that there isn't a lot of archived Belle Vue footage to use.
I remember visiting Belle Vue in the late 1940’s and early 50’s. The elephants alway fascinated me. 😊
Just about to go to bed, USA time, and saw this while turning off my computer. Well I'll be late for bed.....
You got there just in time to film the dog track - it's now been demolished meaning there's pretty much nothing left of the Belle Vue site.
BELLE VIEW . Could spend a full day back in 50s / early 60s. Rugby , Speed Way , Wrestling, Zoo , Dancing . Worked at Ferranti West Gorton part of training given by the company . The fire works special at the lake. I don't ever recall human exhibits. Left England in 66 but good memories of
I was from gorton too leesy my nickname use to go belle vue and speedway there with mates dave pirie Paul grithis Neil Herbert Steve frizpatrick janek stzala and his brother Karl we had such a great time gorton not the same it's violent 😮
I went on school trips to bell view from hull a cpl times - its was like a theme park/zoo . Spent most time in crooked house dark ride - even got to pull the rope that blew compressed air up girls skirt on way out lol - your vid s are very informative and easy to watch . Also you are slight nuts so i understand u perfectly cheers Rib
Manchester needs an all year round permanent fun fair attraction. The Trafford Centre would be the ideal place today too.
Some things not mentioned that I remember. Shoot the rapids. Basically, you sat in a cage and was released down a canvas conveyor belt. I also remember the Wax Works and the Caterpillar. I was around 7 (1969)
was always at Belle Vue we used to climb over the wall at the back , a lot of times we would get on the rides for free aswell, wagged school in there many many times and nobody ever asked why we werent at school .loved it in there it was so sad to see it go , i always felt bad for the animals they deserved better than what they had .
Hi, Great Video, went to Belle Vue as a kid with my Parents, and again later as a Teenager, to which I saw The Pop Band Supertramp at Kings Hall. Hence years later I brought a House on the old site, Lockhart Close, named after the Circus Master George. I lived there from 1986 when then this was a new Housing Estate, back in 1986 u could still c the old building's here and there of Belle Vue in general. Moved away from this area ,the back end of 2022 ,with so many memories... but live moves on.......
Good video that interesting about Pomona & belle Vue
Nice one I used to live not far away from Belle vue as a kid and went there many a time in the 60's. Although I knew about Pomona dock near Old Trafford I never realised it had been a big public attraction too I'm really surprised about that. Thanks for the insight.
One thing you forgot ... the Pomona pub on reddish lane .. and gorton house in debdale park ?????
Freddie "Pom"- landlord bent as a 9 bob note !!!.P.S. I know Debbie well -what was Gorton House?.
Top video! I remember visiting Belle Vue as a kid in the 70s. Mixed memories of a place well in decline. I love how you’ve dealt with nostalgia and that sentimental yearning we have for the past with a few home truths. Wickedly presented too. Bravo!
I remember going to belle Vue zoo and fun fair also went to watch David Cassidy therein early 70s thank you for the memory
Brilliant as always mate
I was living in Ashton in the early '70s and remember going to the motorcycle races at the Speed Way. It was fun and the riders were nuts. After the races we'd get fish and chips and ride the bus back to Ashton. Those were good times.
I was born and bred in gorton
Outstanding. I really enjoy your work.
Thanks
Another superb video, remember my dad taking me and little sister to watch the wrestling matches.
Loved this! Your humour, presentation style and quirkiness are odd the scale!
off the scale as well.
Another brilliant offering Olli. Great style and content as usual.. Expertly presented👍👏👏👏👏
Excellent presentation thanks, Salford
I am 66 and used to go to Belle Vue on a Sunday in the Summers with my girlfriend.
Another excellent video well done. It’s depressing how much has been let go. Time to start a campaign to bring back what’s been lost.
Born in Woodhouse Park, Wythenshawe (aka the reservation).Used to walk up to Ringway airport and pick ..steal..😉 rhubarb from the fields. Would love to see a vid on the development of this area if you can please.
Only found your channel recently but I've been binge watching everything. Love your enthusiasm for the history of Manchester, something I'm also a huge fan of. Seeing video of how Manchester looks presently is also quite remarkable, it's changed a lot in the 10 years since I moved away! Cheers :)
I've binged watched all of your videos since 3am this morning. This is me finally up to date with the channel. I love that you cover so much history about Manchester I just never knew about. I know more now about Manchester than I do of Glasgow where I was born and bred and Edinburgh where I've worked for many years. Very informative videos, nice to learn about lost UK history!
Newcomer to you videos mate, really engaging and informative, like your enthusiasm - keep it up!👍
Manchester needs these places back, just hammering the city with more and more apartments witout parks/leisure spaces, will lead to a poor life experience.
Hi Ollie, Another great and well produced video. When I was a teenager I used to go to Bellvue. I was once tricked to going on Bob's Roller Coaster. It scared the life out of me. My mate thought it was hugely funny. We used to the watch the speedway later on in the day, and feeling the grit which was kicked up by the bikes on our faces. Still a good day out. In later years after the park had closed (as far as I am aware) Showcase cinemas had a Multiplex cinema in Bellvue, but it's now closed. Very sad for a once vibrant area. I have never heard of Pomona, so that was very interesting to learn about. Loved the video. Take care.
Factual, entertaining, well presented and edited… thank you.
Love this channel. So interesting, enthusiastic and funny x
Very informative.thanks👍
Interesting video, I never knew that much about Belle Vue though I can disappointingly admit to having been to the greyhounds racing there once. It’s an interesting history, albeit one that’s in someways better consigned to the past. It’s a massive shame there’s not even a temporary green space created on the site for public access while they decide if housing is really going to happen. Thanks for these film Ollie, but scary to see two of you on the screen at the same time!!
Made of the good stuff you lad ...just subscribed 🤓
Brilliant Ollie. Used to go in late 50s. If memory serves me in the zoo they had a Tigon. Half tiger half lion. I wonder if that was a con.
Fantastic video thanks👍
My grandma worked at Belle Vue, so we had the run of the place. She ran the waxworks, and everyone knew us there. There was an old Italian bloke who had a dog and pony show out back. The pony would run around the ring and the dog would jump all over him. "Around za center of za middle!" the guy would yell. We would hang out with him in his trailer, and he would find sixpences behind our ears. He'd pull them out, give them to us, and tell us to wash behind our ears. Magical times. And now it's a car park. Oh well.
Pepino. I worked all my school holidays with him at The Miniature Circus. He sold programmes at Kings Hall during the Christmas season too. He taught me everything I know about clowning and I went on after leaving school to tour Europe with Dubsky's.
I owe a lifetime in entertainment to him. Plus the introduction to pasta.
Very very happy days.
Amazed that Pep is remembered on line. He would be proud. I am.
I don't know why I laughed so hard when you appeared on the chair, but I did. Great video, perhaps a mention of White City in a future one? It's so true that despite being such a great city, there is a real lack of green space in Manchester. The opportunities to right that wrong are somewhat thin on the ground now, I imagine it probably won't happen and we'll get more residential towers. Keep up the good work.
A wee nod to Martin Zero there, with the comfy chair??😁
He Influences a lot from Martin, but puts his own takes on it, Would love to see them do something together.
I didn't plan on it but the chairs were there and it would have be rude to ignore them 😁
For me two old weathered red chairs makes me think of.. "This history of Manchester is all around us. You can smell it in the air. Taste it in your fish and chips. You've been living in a post dirty industrial dream world.
been to Belle View a few times to watch banger racing!
Pomona dock in the. 1960s was very busy with the vessels being unloaded mainly barges 70s Westwood Ho an old sailing boat converted to a niightbclub was berthed also a plane for evenings use has night venues very popular with young people large ships also used the docks , Guinness barges delivering booze I did hear that the canel waters was full of empty Guinness bottles and the Bates got stuck from time to time
I worked there at Belle Vue circus around 1970. and we had our caravans there, fabulous times. i also remember George Lockard the ring master, i believe he was in his early 90s, we also had the wrestling in the building, i even remember a flee circus. oh and jonah the whale was stored there in a huge articulator, my mate Michael Austin used to drive it around the country.
LOCKHART. I was there for the final performance wandering backstage after the show and saw Georges podium with his name on. My mate said "Lets take it!", but I wouldn't. To me it would have been theft.
I have always regretted that. It most likely ended up in a skip. That makes me really sad.
As a sentimentalist. It would have been saved.
I find consolation in the fact that The Manchester Museum has a huge Oil painting of George Lockhart. It was displayed last I knew. He was a big part of Manchester history.
And seemingly both share the same fate and future. With the dog stadium being pulled down to be replaced by housing and eventually Pomona being developed and turned into apartments. Nothing will be left of either site. Meanwhile a new theme park last year was given planning permission. Now if only we didn't scrap the zoo/theme parks we had we wouldn't need to build a new one near the Trafford centre.
Top job that Man.
Love your vids mate
Interesting video. Thanks. Sadly I never spent much time exploring the history when I was living up there.
I’m from old a
Ham
I’m from Oldham. Mum and dad used to go to kings hall for NUT dances in the 60s. I was taken to the Circus every year - Christmas treat for kids from my dad’s factory. Loved the clowns and acrobats; Hated the animal shows. I went in the 1980s to see Portishead - it still had a funny smell
Oh dear it is such a long time ago but I remember the elephant ride ,I was sat on the left side and my mother kept telling me to hold on.I was only about 4 . Also can remember the sea lions clapping their flippers and horror of horrors...the snake pit.
We went to the circus also. Such a shame it all went.
Ideally should turn it into a public park
Very entertaining. Love these modern archaeology videos, More water towers, please.
Encountered Savile a couple of times. Struck me as a amusing in small doses and decent enough oddball, even if his eccentricity seemed a little forced and his mood could swing from kind to vicious (and back again) without warning. My next door neighbour actually knew Myra Hindley and regarded her a nasty piece of work. Guess the lesson there is my neighbour's a better judge of character than myself.
Hahaha. Yeah sounds like it. Saville was good at "being likeable" though.
m8 i was born in greenwood house right next door to belle vue 1966 used to go to roller skating every sunday and as i got older practically lived in the place 👍
I remember when I was about 5 years old when we would go to Belle Vue with my mum and Dad and cousins ... Dad liked the stock car racing .... Dad took me and my cousins on the Waltzers at Belle Vue funfair and I remember being so terrified when the cars started to spin I think I screamed it to a stop !
Wondered what happened to Belle Vue.....and Ollie, you explained it brilliantly. Went there when I was about 5 years old with my aunt, must have been 1957 or '58. We went by train from Liverpool to Eccles, where my uncle and his family lived. He had a brand new car, so we got to ride there in style. I believe it was a 1957 VW Beetle with the tiny rear window, and I also believe that he was the first member of the family to own their own car. Posh, eh? Anyway, when we got there, we experienced what Manchester did what it is best at - it began chucking it down with rain, so we spent only a short while. Really can't remember much about it at all except that I got drenched and was probably cold and really, really whiney. Bah humbug!!!
I was born on kirky lane in early 40s so Belle vue was down the street for me went there many many times had everything to entertain you l loved the zoo and the lake where there were fireworks and played out stories of early ships soldiers and Canada buses in parking lots everyday filled to brim saw eartha kitt “ in the round “ at the hall my sister worked as a dog trainer at the dog track. I remember going to see the puppies in the nursery
Great video as always
Hey Ollie mate, I've just become a fan of your mint channel, absolutely loving it and the obvious hard work you have put in to our town and area and history.
Even one of my daughters is already in on it too.
I have a great interest in everything you have done and are doing, love these hidden gems.
And I do have a little bit of local knowledge.
I'm south side of town.
And I recently found out about wythenshawe airport.
Just something I stumbled across by accident.
But where it was is brilliant.
Kinda running alongside wythenshawe road and sale road, where northern moor is heading to northenden.
And I actually found a wiki page and pictures of it.
Manchester aerodrome.
You should definitely do a video on it Ollie.
Keep up the fantastic job squire..
Cheers thanks so much for your nice encouraging words. I'm planning on doing something soon about old airports so that's a great suggestion, thank you!!
I remember blacking out on the waltzer. My first off world experience. Also after watching the speedway got home to find half a pound of gravel in my hood. About 1969 I think. Just before the Bobs was demolished. Sadly missed and Unforgettable.
How did I miss this? Four month and I'm only just aware of it. Belle Vue has always intrigued me. Apparently I went to the zoo when very little but by the time I was old enough to visit there myself the entire park except the speedway velodrome was gone.
Your sense of humour is awful and I very much enjoy it. Excellent video as usual. If you have some tall bloke in town shouting after you, it may just be me saying hello 👋
I thought it was unfair to apply modern judgement to people who lived in different times. No context of the lives and upbringings of people who were subjected to attitudes and ideas out of their control. Context.
Thumbs up.I remember riding on a camel at belle vue,the whole place was tacky.
Cheers mate.
Went to Bellevue just once as a wee lad in the early seventies. Very run down by then, and to be honest, whoever took the decision to knock it on the head (pronounced ‘ead) made the right choice. Not sure whether the (still existing) greyhound course and the multiplex cinema makes up for the lost amenities. Ahh well…
Wow, the cinema’s no loss, but that greyhound course has some serious history.
Aye, I was always traumatised when the greyhounds caught the hare.
Grew up in a street on the Pomona Dock map.Was a Spider Lady in a side show at Belle Vue. My fiancée at that time rode the Globe of Death with his mate.
Saw spider lady at Belle Vue were you from Wythenshaw ?
@@samahdi6972 No.Hulme.
Very interesting, was that Leeds Town Hall I saw at the beginning?
I'm getting Deja vue ....... again! ;0)
I have made a comment a few days ago and you kindly answered, problem is I cannot find my comment and your reply. Could you please tell me how I can find these. Thank you, and you are videos are great.
Edward Watkin provided the people of Manchester with 3 public parks
Peel ,Phillips and Queens.
Funniest idea yet 👏👏👏🤣🤣🤣
You are friggin hilarious 😂
"Are humans still on display today?" Well - yes - they are called 'celebrities' ... You don't have to look past Big Brother and Jungle to see that.
Is this a re-upload?
Yes it is
I love to go on a adventure with u
Hated the place hated the circus