I certainly remember the laundry in Summer Road, and the row of terraced houses that ran adjacent to Summer Road. I am quite sure the houses were pulled down around the time they demolished the laundry. I can remember the houses being empty; a magnet for kids like me.
You could look in the place through the open door and see all the industrial washing machines spinning around, driven by line shafts and belts form the roof. There are some machines just like these in Manchester museum.
There was also another laundry just as you turn into Goosemore lane from Gravelly Lane, Cousins the furniture store was built on the site. I am quite sure it was called ‘The Snow Drift laundry’. At the front was the coin opp laundry, was quite a modern place with a coffee bar and electric steam irons. My mom used it quite a lot.
Also at the rear there were still air raid shelters we would play down when we were kids.
Both these laundry’s had a delivery and collection vans that came around each week, along with milk, bread, beer at home, insurance, provident man, a mobile grocery shop, news papers, cigarette machine man, window cleaner....
Mom would put the sheets etc in a pillow case, and they would come back the following week in a brown paper parcel ties with string. The Council house we lived in did not have a hot water system, so with out a washing machine, washing large items like sheets was quite difficult.