The Hobart Man: life as a travelling service engineer

Over the summer, Manchester Modernist Society put me in touch with a new acquaintance called Bill Mather, and suggested his father, Roy Mather, might be willing to share some of his memories of working as a 'Hobart Man' in mid-century Manchester and Cheshire. I travelled to his home in Stretford to meet Mr Mather, and the following is based on our conversation.

When Roy Mather joined the Manchester branch of Hobart in 1945, as a service engineer maintaining automated, labour-saving devices such a mixers, dishwashers, mincers, potato peelers and coffee machines, it was the start of a four decade career that gave him a behind the scenes view of how Manchester lived, worked and played as it emerged from the rationing and austerity of the war years to become a swinging modern city.

Like many of his generation, Mr Mather left school at 14. He spent two years at Lewis's department store on Market Street before joining Hobart, a working life which immersed him in the city's social life. 'The Hobart Man', as he was known, made regular maintenance calls to canteens, bakeries, butchers, grocery shops and coffee bars (and even Strangeways prison – anywhere that provided catering on a large scale). One chain Mr Mather remembers particularly well was Kardomah, which started in Liverpool and had branches in various other cities in the UK and internationally. Kardomah had a presence in Manchester at Albert Square, Market Street and Market Square. The art deco-style Market Street branch, illuminated with neon signs, was a glamorous sight, designed by the prominent industrial designer Sir Misha Black, and Mr Mather remembers that Kardomah was a popular meeting place, serving thirsty shoppers an exotic and sophisticated range of coffees, as well as live music.

These were the days of mass employment at places like Trafford Park. Cheap lunches – the main meal of the day – were provided to workers in huge canteens, and workers socialised together when the day was done at working clubs. The Hobart Man was a regular visitor to companies such as Kellogg's, Brown & Polson and AIG (later GEC/Metropolitan Vickers), which had bases in Trafford Park, making sure the giant mixers, potato peelers and dishwashers were running smoothly. Nearby, the busy Manchester Docks were still filled with big Manchester liners with names like Manchester City and Manchester Renown, which sailed as far as Canada. The Hobart Man serviced equipment in the ships' galleys; one memory which makes Mr Mather laugh is leaving a ship's galley with the machinery in bits, with the intention of getting spares and returning the next day, but climbing onto an identical-looking sister ship instead and having to jump off when the ship started moving. He reflects that this was a dangerous thing to do as, “in those days, if you fell in you wouldn't live long there was so much pollution”.

Initially, Hobart had a showroom and offices at 97 Oxford Road, Chorlton-on-Medlock, in between a shoe shop and a Boosey & Hawkes shop which repaired musical instruments (this was taken over for the production of aircraft parts during the war, Mr Mather remembers). There was a workshop in the basement and a philosophical society on the floor above. The premises was later demolished to make way for Manchester's highway in the sky, the Mancunian Way, and the street would be unrecognisable to today's the Hobart Man. Now the heart of student land, lined with takeaways and university buildings, Oxford Road and Oxford Street once had a reputation as being Manchester's entertainment streets, home to several cinemas and picture houses. Mr Mather also recalls calling on a number of restaurants when it still was a bustling high street, including the Palace Restaurant, next to the Palace theatre, and the Prince's restaurant on the corner, as well as Lyons cafe and Duncan & Foster, which had a restaurant at All Saints and bakeries on York Street.

At first, The Hobart Man had to carry his tools on the bus or the tram. Tyres were among the goods which had been rationed during the war, and a shortage of vans in the 1950s meant it wasn't until later that Hobart staff got Escort vans. Hobart moved on to Redgate Lane in West Gorton, and Mr Mather was allocated a 'patch' covering Stretford, Sale, Altrincham and South Cheshire – as far as Crewe and Nantwich. In the days of a reliable and predictable postal service, instructions were sent through the post each morning with the day's jobs. He recalls: “Every day was different. You didn't know where you'd be going in the morning.” There was a certain freedom, and Mr Mather made sure to time his jobs to where he knew he would be offered the best lunch! He also put his local knowledge of the roads to good use at the weekends, going on cycling trips around Cheshire with other members of Hobart staff and the then-burgeoning Youth Hostel Association.

One of many other perks to the job was being given a 'wrap' to take home after a maintenance visit – a bit of meat, perhaps, some sausages, cake, or a bag of sugar or flour (remember, rationing of sugar and sweets, introduced during the war, continued until 1953, and meat until 1954). Mr Mather's children still recall the excitement of him bringing liquorice and blackcurrant toffee home from Benson's sweet factory in Bury every July when the factory shut down and The Hobart Man was allowed access to the staff shop.

Hobart closed its Manchester branch in 1982, amalgamating with the Liverpool branch and moving to Widnes then eventually to Warrington. The company introduced pagers to notify staff of jobs, meaning that The Hobart Man no longer had the level of freedom enjoyed by Mr Mather earlier in his career. However, Mr Mather has fond memories of his time as a Hobart Man and still wears the engraved gold watch that was presented to him in 1970 to commemorate twenty years of service. Mr Mather's might seem an ordinary career, yet you could call him a flaneur, a wandering observer for the modernist era; his everyday memories bring to life Manchester's forgotten streetscapes and working history in ways that mere photographs could not.

With thanks to Roy Mather for sharing his memories, and his son Bill.

There wasn't space for this article to fit into the modernist magazine's forthcoming 'Cuppas' edition but the new issue, which will be packed with more cafeteria and cafe themed writing, is launched next Thursday at North Tea Power.

Revisiting the Irwell Sculpture Trail

Exercise, muddy feet and fresh air are among the less celebrated benefits of viewing works of art, but visiting the Irwell Sculpture Trail is a chance to experience all three at the same time as seeing works by locally and internationally renowned artists. The 33 mile sculpture trail, which follows the River Irwell from Salford Quays all the way to Bacup in Pennine Lancashire, has been around for over a decade now, but recent reinvestment means that, as well as restoring some of the sculptures to prime condition, new, interactive features make the experience far more than just looking at art and going for a walk.

The sculpture trail started in Rossendale in Pennine Lancashire following a lottery bid and gradually expanded to reach as far south as Salford Quays, with artworks leading the visitor through the history of the industrial towns and cities that grew up alongside the River Irwell and the changing uses of the river and surrounding areas. It's a story not just about the Irwell, and the trains, canals and mills that follow its course (the trail regularly meets other waterways such as the Manchester and Bolton and Bury Canal, and the clusters north of Bury can be conveniently reached on the East Lancashire Railway), but local people, incorporating memories and experiences into several of the sculptures. However, some of the artworks on the sculpture trail fell into disrepair over time, and have only recently been restored. Diana Hamilton has been project manager for the Irwell Sculpture Trail since 2007 and is setting the direction for its future. She explained: “It's a really unwieldy project as four local authorities are working together. In the past there was a lack of thought when commissioning and a lack of understanding who would be responsible for maintenance, and that's a problem right across public art. Now there's a new mindset when commissioning public art of making sure there's a maintenance plan.”

Working with the Arts Council, an audit of the trail was carried out, looking at the state of the sculptures, the pathways and the access to the trail, and a five year plan developed. Diana explained: “We discovered some sculptures no-one knew about and incorporated them into the trail. Some people had walked past a sculpture for years and not known what it was. Some of the sculptures melted back into nature and naturally disappeared. Some had been vandalised and some were never meant to have a longer lifespan than they have.” The lack of public information previously available had also meant that some sculptures were very hard to find, and some of the trail went through private land or land that flooded. Suggested routes have now been changed to avoid private land, and the Environment Agency is looking at the land that floods. Diana said: “The trail has gone through a real period of change. It all happened organically. We heard people's frustrations about not being able to find the sculptures so turned the trail from a linear trail into clusters.”

A consultation was also held and, while there had been opposition to some of the sculptures at first, Diana says the artworks are now part of their communities: “There was so much local opposition to Tilted Vase in Ramsbottom, and Halo in Halsingden when they were planned, but people love them now.” Each area has a steering group, including representatives from tourist information and community groups, and they have a practical role commissioning temporary artworks alongside the trail. Some of the sculptures came about through the Section 106 planning clause, and councils along the trail made a commitment to spend the money on the arts, often involving the community.

Many of the artists lived in the area where their contribution to the trail is based, and artworks reflect local stories. In Whitefield, near Bury, the artist talked to park rangers and discovered there used to be 'fancy birds' in the park in Victorian times, leading to a simple but effective artwork entitled Canaries in the Park, which comprises still, hard-to-spot model birds sitting still on the railings, and acting as silent spectators in the bowling green. The colour scheme was drawn from tropical sweets from the local sweet factory. Some of the birds have also been adopted by the community and adorn the town's rooftops.

Other artworks give a sense of place. Diana describes Lee Quarry, near the Stacksteads cluster, where bikers interact with the sculptures and use them to perform tricks, as “an amazing performance space”, saying: “It's like being on the moon. You can use the sculptures to find your way around. They give you a sense of where you are.”

New signs and interpretation will help visitors make the most of their visit to each cluster, and QR codes have been added to the sculptures which anyone with a smartphone can scan to hear local stories as well as recordings of the artists and videos of events which have been held alongside the sculpture trail. Diana gives a macabre example: “An old mill owner used to throw children into the river in Salford when they were no longer needed and you can still see the gravestones along the river. There are little nuggets of stories like this to bring the trail alive. Children love gruesome stories; it adds another layer to the experience.” Visitors can also take part in a monster hunt in Rossendale and a geo treasure hunt.

However, you won't need a fancy phone to enjoy the trail. Diana says: “It's all very well if you have a smartphone to use a QR code but we also want to satisfy the rambler in their sixties and seventies. There's a really wide audience, from families with small children to ramblers on their annual expedition. We're keeping all these audiences happy.”

The Irwell Sculpture Trail works closely with other venues along the trail, and sculpture trail activities will tie in with events such as Bury Light Night and the chocolate festival in Ramsbottom, as well as the Olympic torch passing through Rossendale and Bury. An exhibition in light boxes at Piccadilly Station is currently linked up with the Ghost Cam at former stately home Ordsall Hall in Salford, one of the attractions which hosts sculptures along the trail, and performers from Salford's DIY Theatre Company have been bringing alive the Salford section of the trail. It's hoped future events will also include guided walks.

Diana said: “The sculpture trail is a free day out that gets people out and about and walking outside. Because each cluster of sculptures is part of a bigger project, people visit other areas they might not have been to before. Visitors might pick up a sculpture trail leaflet in Salford and end up in Rossendale in Lancashire to see more sculptures. Some people just go to visit a particular sculpture, but others might want to make a day of it and go for a walk.” Among the most popular sculptures are those at Clifton Country Park in Salford, which draw on the park's past as the site of a colliery. Diana said: “So many people don't know there's a country park in Salford, but the park treats the sculptures as an asset.”

With the relaunch of the sculpture trail website, and publication of a free, 32-page brochure in March, there's no better time to visit. The brochure, which will be available from local tourist information points, features information on each sculpture, including road names, parking, bus stops, toilets, places to eat and nearby attractions such as museums, and the website will host a route planner, ordnance survey information, news about events around the trail and resources for schools.
The sculpture trail works with other organisations involved with the environment and public art, and Diana is looking forward to collaborating with the Environment Agency. She said: “We want to experiment and challenge the idea of public art and public art commissioning. The Environment Agency is working on the Irwell and getting rid of the weirs, but they're not allowed to get rid of any of the material from the site so it needs to be reused, which gives us an opportunity to work with environmental artists. There is so much potential along the trail.”

Plan your visit to the Irwell Sculpture Trail at www.irwellsculpturetrail.co.uk.

This interview with Diana Hamilton took place during the writing of an article on the Irwell Sculpture Trail for Creative Tourist, which makes more detailed recommendations of some of the highlights along the trail in Greater Manchester: www.creativetourist.com/features/get-dirty-look-at-art-the-irwell-scupture-trail