A glimpse of Sedgley Park in the 1960s

2:11pm Thursday 3rd January 2008

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THIS week we feature a set of photographs from a 1960s postcard depicting Sedgley Park.

The top left picture shows Bury New Road with the Odeon Cinema on the right. This was originally named the Astoria and opened on September 3, 1931.

The Odeon closed in 1961 and the site is now occupied by the Lidl supermarket.

In the distance can be seen the white-painted villas at the entrance to Sedgley Park Road. The site is now occupied by an office block.

The top right shows the stone facade of the District Bank on the corner of Kings Road. The area was developed from what were the grounds of Sedgley Hall.

The two lower photographs show views of the former Sedgley House in Queens Drive. This gothic structure was built in the 1850s in the grounds of Sedgley Hall.

It is a Grade Two listed building.

The census of 1861 records the owner as one William Pearson who shared the house with his wife Anne and their six daughters together with staff.

The next owner was Themistocles Petrocokino who lived in Sedgley House from 1875 to 1900. He was a cloth merchant and became a leading member of the Manchester Greek community.

He transformed the interior of the house and placed his monogram on ceilings, the staircase balustrade and in the hall chimney piece.

In 1903, the house was bought by the teaching order of nuns, the Faithful Companions of Jesus.

The first major extension followed in 1905 and by 1906, there were 86 students in residence. With the closure of the training college in 1979, the site was bought by Greater Manchester Council for the police training college.

Photograph and information provided by local historian Ian Pratt.