Manchester looks like a 'beautiful distant dream' in unearthed photos found following man's death

A small set of images taken by a Manchester man have only come to light following his recent death.

The photographs are believed to have been taken around 1962/63 are of the Piccadilly area of the city. The evocative photos show the rows of classic department stores such as Littlewoods and Paulden's, near to Piccadilly.

Paulden's was taken over by Debenhams in the 1920s but continued to trade under its original name until 1973. The photographer captures the bustling shopping street and the action filled moment pigeons took to the air around the Queen Victoria statue.

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There is also a photograph of the old Parker Street bus station shelter. The photographs were taken by John Knowles, who was born in 1939 and grew up in Northenden and later moved to Brooklands.

Mr Knowles' daughter, Sarah Parkin, told the MEN that her father left to start a new life in Yorkshire and hadn't seen him for over 30-years. Following his death in January this year, Sarah rediscovered some of her dad's photos.

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"To be honest I’m happy to share the photos and for people to know who photographed them," Sarah said. "They’re really great photos and should be part of the record."

Sarah uploaded the photos to Facebook which were soon shared to various Manchester history groups, attracting hundreds of comments and likes. The photos brought back nostalgic memories of Piccadilly for many, with people saying they couldn't believe how 'beautiful' and 'clean' it looked in those days.

One person said: "I remember this. Omg, look at it - now those were the days."

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