The rise and spectacular fall of the 'Bird' tower blocks which once had a playground on a roof
13.08.2023 - 06:57
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Described as "paradise" by one former resident, four high-rise tower-blocks that overlooked great swathes of south Manchester for nearly 50-years were brought crashing down.
Named after birds – Falcon, Osprey, Raven and Eagle – Old Trafford was once dominated by four 'brutalist' high-rise towers built in the late '60s and early '70s. Alongside three other towers on the Tamworth Estate that still survive today – Clifford, Pickford and Grafton – they were known as the 'Seven Sisters'.
Not to be confused with Rochdale's 'Seven Sisters' that, for now, remain standing, construction on Old Trafford's 'Seven Sisters' began in the 1960s as part of a project to clear Manchester's slums. Joyce Maddocks was one of the estate's first residents.
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Joyce used to live in Osprey Court, which along with Raven, Falcon and Eagle, made up the 'bird blocks'. With two of the towers having already having fallen victim to the bulldozer, Joyce spoke to the Manchester Evening News in 2013 about living there.
Joyce, then 76, who still had every weekly rent card she received, said: "I moved in with my mum in 1970. They were luxury flats – it was great to have everything on one floor and a separate toilet and bathroom. I’ve kept all my old rent books, I suppose I’m a bit of a hoarder.
"We had a good view of Moss Side market and the flats were really nice."
She added: "In 1970 I was paying just over £3 a week rent – which wasn’t bad value. I was a young woman and working at a local printing firm. I went to the pictures six nights a week, and church on Sunday.
"The estate has changed a lot in recent years. There are definitely less drugs around and there’s