more Manchester

The City of Manchester--located in northwest England and comprised of 25 districts/suburbs by 1938 (now 30+). Some background: Manchester dates back to before Roman times and been the setting of many British historical events through the medieval and industrial periods. {wiki} Manchester was an epicenter of manufacturing (beginning with the cotton mill); mobilization of its factories caused the city to be blitzed in 1940. During Turing's stay, Manchester would have been mostly restored and back to cotton/textile processing. Its port was growing into the 3rd largest in the UK (before closing down in the 80s).
[note: "Greater Manchester" is a county consisting of 10 boroughs, of which the City of Manchester is one.]

Modern Harpurhey, a Manchester district that has changed little since the 50s and is considered one of the most deprived neighborhoods in all England.

The Northern Quarter of Manchester is considered very hip these days with its cafes/bars, music, and clothing shops. The architecture, however, has changed little.

Manchester town hall in Albert Square.

Canal St. The center of what is now considered Manchester's Gay Village. Home to many bars and clubs that originally served canal workers, it became a "lesbian-oriented area" around the 1960s and is now one of the most successful gay villages in Europe. Queer As Folk is set here. Oh, the irony...

Brass band music has always been huge in Manchester, but one gets a better feel for the youth/music scene in the city from it's later products: the Smiths and Oasis in the 80s, Herman's Hermits and the Hollies, before them. Manchester is a rock'n'roll city.

And let us not forget the pride and joy of the city...

..its football teams! Manchester United and Manchester City. Both teams were formed in the 19th C. Man U is the former team of Beckham, and has been consistently ranked first amongst British and European club teams-a big deal! Turing would had been witness to football fervor during his time in Manchester.
and again, the University of Manchester.

manchester

University of Manchester: currently 3rd behind Oxford and Cambridge as a research institution and producer of Nobel laureates.

the Alan Turing Building on campus, completed in 2007, houses the mathematics and astrophysics departments as well as the photon science institute.
modern exterior of the Odeon Theater-likely architecturally unchanged since the 50s when Turing met " Ron" outside one such cinema.

Mainstage of the Odeon from "back when organs used to introduce the picture"
Another Manchester cinema circa 1956
"Teddy Boys" in their neo-Edwardian threads, Manchester, 1955. This look was popular among eccentrics in the UK.
St Peter's Sq,1956. Note the buildings blackened by soot.

Sherborne School

(Looks a bit like Hogwarts, eh?)

Founded in 1550, Sherborne is an independent school for boys ages 13-18 with heavy tradition that provides "An invigorating, intellectually sound and multi-faceted environment'' though it's also been described as "not always gentle." Sherborne has many notable alums in fields ranging from acting (Jeremy Irons) and academia (Turing and Alfred Whitehead) to international royalty. Though it used to concentrate heavily on the classics--like most British boys schools of the era.
Modern students dress as such on a daily basis.
Uniforms from the late 1960s--ah, the boaters...
Turing at Sherborne. He was considered "antisocial" and his work "messy" as a student. He seemed to focus on investigation beyond his level of mathematics rather than consolidating the basics. More accounts/details here .