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What does it mean to live at "Bk 1 Worsley Street"? My guess is that 1, 2 and 3 make up part of 40 Worsley Street somehow, as 1 Worsley Court etc., or whatever "Bk" stands for.

Does anyone know what "Bk"/"Ct" mean in this context? And how would these addresses would be set up - are they rooms in a house or houses alongside each other. These records are from Manchester in the mid 1800s.

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platyfish800
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  • Hi, welcome to G&FH.SE! If you have any questions about how the site works, you can find out more in the [help] and ask questions on our companion site [meta]. – Jan Murphy Dec 17 '23 at 06:40
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    Bk could simply be block, where blocks of flats surround a courtyard. – Judith Dec 27 '23 at 09:25

2 Answers2

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Bk will be an abbreviation of "Back" likely meaning that it's the rear part of a back-to-back house.

In some areas (particularly Birmingham) such houses were commonly built around courtyards rather than along streets and Ct will be an abbreviation of court - you will often see addresses like "1 Court 5, Something Street" in Birmingham for example and if you look at contemporary maps you'll see a series of numbered courtyards along the street.

TomH
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    I'd agree that "Bk" means "Back" but I don't think Back-to-backs are involved, given that "Court" appears to be an alternative in other years. I've seen Back used to simply mean "a house at the back of". Therefore my suspicion is that yes, it's a courtyard of 3 tiny houses, built at the back of number 40. Finding a large scale map, probably on the NLS site might help. – AdrianB38 Dec 17 '23 at 08:34
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    If it's the same Worsley Street that still exists in Manchester then https://maps.nls.uk/view/231274377 is the relevant 1:500 sheet - it's in the bottom right corner and the backs referred to might be the buildings between Worsley Street and Barton Street? Some are shown as Barton Place but other's don't appear to have a name. – TomH Dec 17 '23 at 14:36
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    Well found @TomH - so much of Manchester just ain't there any more when you compare old and new. Yes, there's a line of buildings btw Worsley & Barton St. As you say, Barton Place is named and the block at the western end is unnamed. If I had to take a wild guess I'd point out that halfway down Worsley St is an alleyway thru the buildings. Two, maybe 3, of the central block may be accessible via that alley - which makes them a good candidate for 1,3, 5 Back Worsley. I suspect that in the absence of house numbers to find no. 40, that guess is the best I can do. – AdrianB38 Dec 17 '23 at 16:41
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    Thanks for looking into it but I don't think that's the right Worsley Street. I think it's this one, as the streets on the same pages of the Rate Books were the ones next to this Worsley Street. Thanks for showing me that map though. https://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/maps002~1~1~415018~220741?qvq=q:%3D%22Project%3A%20Victorian%20Sanitary%20Survey%20Maps%20for%20central%20Manchester%22;lc:maps002~1~1&mi=14&trs=46 – platyfish800 Dec 18 '23 at 00:26
  • If it is one of those small squares in the back, what does that mean? Do you know what that house would look like, it seems too small to be a proper house. https://maps.nls.uk/view/231274248 – platyfish800 Dec 18 '23 at 00:57
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    The streets shown on the University of Manchester map can be seen on https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=20.0&lat=53.49176&lon=-2.22331&layers=117746211&b=1 - Osborne St and Victor St are still there. Most of the rest is flattened. There are various alleyways off this Worsley St, but without house numbers on the map, I'd just be guessing - nothing stands out as obviously some tiny houses at the back of number 40. – AdrianB38 Dec 21 '23 at 14:31
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Some resources to go along with the previous answer:

Jan Murphy
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