Painting a picture of the past

Reporter: Jan Harwood
Date online: 04/01/2007

Readers that have visited the community gallery on the Rochdale Online site recently may have noticed an addition to the archives. Denise Pilling has donated some sketches of old Rochdale that were drawn by her grandfather, Albert Greenwood, for use on the site so that people can get a taste of what the town looked like in the early twentieth century.

Born in Shipley in 1897, Albert grew up on Red Lane in Rochdale and he went on to become a well known artist, both within Rochdale and further a field. Albert was married to Emily Buckley in June 1922 and the couple went on to have three children; Harry, Albert and Audrey. Audrey was Denise’s mother and she has asked that the page of sketches in the gallery be dedicated to her life.

Albert’s granddaughter Denise spoke of how his talent for drawing was discovered whilst he was still at school. She said: "When the children were asked to draw an apple at school that was when my Granddad’s talent was discovered. His apple was different from the other children’s; it was the right scale and shape rather than just a circle. When we grandkids were little he asked us to draw apples to see if his talent had been passed down to us!"

Albert made quite a name for himself in Rochdale with his drawings and paintings. Denise said: "He was quite a renowned artist in Rochdale and I know there are even some of his drawings as far away as Canada. However, he was never a professional artist – he never charged people for his drawings, he just did it out of sheer enjoyment."

To view the sketches click this link: Sketches of Rochdale by Albert Greenwood

Click on the individual sketches to view larger copies and to read about the buildings.

If you can assist Rochdale Online with the history and location of any of the buildings please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone, 01706 523583, or email, news@rochdaleonline.co.uk. In particular we are looking to identify the Victorian houses in sketch six and the location of the Humpback Bridge in sketch eight.