The Mancunian Way: The house with the red roses

The year was 1948 and in the aftermath of the Second World War British society was undergoing huge changes. Clement Atlee was Prime Minister, the NHS had just been launched.

And in Salford the controversial 'slum clearances' were getting underway. Vast swathes of the city were cleared and thousands of terraced houses were demolished to make way for new, modern council housing.

Among the first to be built was the new Duchy estate off Duchy Road. And a then 18-year-old Mary Jones, her mum Ellen and older siblings Eric and Agnes, were among the first families to move in.

But despite the relative luxuries it promised, at first Mary was reluctant to move in at all. "I had all my friends in Kersal and I didn't want to leave them behind," she said.

Her initial misgivings soon disappeared. Because of its immaculate garden the three-bed semi became known as ‘The house with the red roses’. And, in a perfect example of how important council housing is, three generations of the Jones family would call it home.

But after almost eight decades Mary, now 95 and a great-grandmother of four, is saying goodbye, having moved into a retirement village in Salford. It's a move tinged with sadness, but she looks back on her old home with much fondness. She said: "The best thing about living here has been the friends and neighbours I've made over the years – there was always a real strong sense of community."

Read more

England got their Euro 2024 campaign off to a winning start after beating Serbia 1-0 in a nervy opener. Chris Slater watched the match with 2,000 England supporters at Manchester’s latest park, Diecast in the Northern Quarter.

And while there was a lot of love for local lad Phil Foden, there was no doubt who the star of the