HYDE CHESHIRE

Harry Rutherford's
Festival of Britain Mural




Wednesday 25 August 2010

Bankfield Hotel

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Thomas Middleton in his book The History Of Hyde said that most of the inns of Hyde had been either rebuilt, or had new fronts fitted, and were quite different in appearance to the old inns of his generations forefathers. One such inn was the Bankfield. The old Bankfield on Mottram New Road was a much less pretentious structure than the modern hotel standing on the same site and shown above. It was famous for its pleasure gardens which were known as Bowker’s Gardens, from the fact that Joshua Bowker was the proprietor. The gardens became a popular resort for the people of Hyde and surrounding townships. A band pavilion stood in the gardens, and in front of it was a spacious platform for dancing. At nights there were balloon ascents and illuminations, and the place was run as a sort of miniature Belle Vue.


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On the brook side behind the Bankfield Hotal and Bankfield Terrace, there stood for about an hundred years a Bone Mill, this mill was erected about the end of the 18th century, by Mr. Randal Hibbert; it had a picturesque appearance, which was enhanced by the lake-like reservoir behind it; and at one time it was a very busy place. It was demolished by the Calico Printers’ Association, about the year 1903. Randal Hibbert built Boston Mills, and it was at these mills that the Ashton’s first began cotton spinning.


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Alas this is another of Hydes lost inns now... it is such a shame but Hyde just cannot support the pub trade like it once did. There's two terracotta panels on the side of this building one on each of the chimney supporting walls..... these relate to the now defunct 'Kays' Atlas Brewery of Ardwick.

17 comments:

Hydonian said...

Lovely comparison pictures ,Tom. It's a really splendid building ,isn't it and whilst I'm sad it's no longer a pub I'm happy that it's been preserved in its original form.

Gerald (SK14) said...

I took a photo of it myself only last week. It does seem to have been nicely renovated though which is a good thing.

Isla... said...

Great post & pictures - esp' the panels on the side - never noticed those before. I remember some school homework from 198....that asked us to go out & draw features on old buildings. I drew some of the stone plaques on the old terraces around Godley, but would have done these instead - really nice.

Ditto what Gerald says. Compared to some of the other ex-pubs, the Bankfield has been done very well & kept its best features (except the beer pumps lol)

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

I was going to wait before posting my photo but have decided to do it sooner and link to your post here - see Hyde DP

Manchester Lass, Now and Then said...

Another great post and photos. Lovely building and I cannot believe I never went inside when it was a pub:( So pleased to see the building hasn't been altered during the renovations.

Unknown said...

sheila im not from hyde but have lived here so long i love it and anything with history so thank you this is a great blog

Anonymous said...

My association with Hyde is quite recent, c 1952 /3, I served my time as a fitter at Maiden & Co, Alexander St, at the end of Croft St. One of my sights when riding in from Hollingworth on my bike was a Biltons Pie sign on a gable end on the r/h side before you turned right in to Claredon Sq. latterly i worked at James Norths, and lived in Godley before i moved to Ireland,when i lived in Godley the Bankfield was my local, Hartley Shawcoss was "mine host". I would love to hear from any old mates from the past, especially ones from the double seats at the back in the Ritz cinema !. Tony Bacon

Ex Hydeonian said...

My Dad painted this pub! No, he's not an artist....he was a painter and decorator many moons ago! What a gorgeous building this is. All the intracacy of the brickwork and the different roof elevation....sheer beauty. It deserves no place in modern Hyde people...tear it down and build a car park I say. (Not really).

Ex Hydeonian said...

Also, I recall my Grandad taking me and my kid brother for walks, and I am sure we used to go down 'Bone Mill Steps' as he called them....a cobbled pathway down to a brook and grassland and a reservoir at the back towards Godley. Seem to remember also a brook running towards Vincent Park near the arches, you could go down a path over the brook and there were houses. Is any of that still there or am I deluded yet again?

Tom said...

Great comments everyone.. nice to see this pub as bought back memories to you..

Anonymous said...

Hi, my name is Aratoosh Bozorgnia, I am 14, I was born here but my mum and dad are from Iran. We are the proud owners of this magnificent building. We appreciate any comments or history with regards to this building, we are renovating it to a family home but we still have allot to do. It has become much better from the time we first bought the property and is turning out great. It is very spacious and fun for playing games such as football or hide and seek and I am very happy to be living in it.

Tom said...

Hello there Aratoosh
Thank you for commenting and letting us know what as become of this fine building... if you need to ask any questions about this building we will do our best to answer them... and if you need to contact me or Nancy personally our email is available but please make sure you get one of your parents to contact us to let us know that is OK. Maybe when your home is finished you could take a picture or two and we could up-date this posting. I'm sure it will be a beautiful home..
Tom

Anonymous said...

I live next door to the Bankfield and i have been doing some research on who used to live at my house.
I have the list from 1891 when the Lindley family lived here with their two daughters and servant Ann Smith.
I also have the 1901 census when the Stevens family lived here with 7 children and the mother in law.
Also the census from 1911 when the Butcher family lived here.
My question is when was the Bankfield built? as i cannot get any information before 1891.
Just wondered if they are the same age.
Thank you.
Andrea Mach.

Tom said...

Hi Andrea
Thank you for commenting... to be honest I've no idea when it was built.... maybe you could ask the family who now own it. If you noticed above there's a comment from Aratoosh Bozorgnia, who seemed very interested in his new home... maybe you could swop information... what I can do is check up on a few maps and see what turns up... another way would be for your to contact Tameside Local Histories and Archives who might be able to put a date on it for you.

http://www.tameside.gov.uk/archives#enquiries

Anonymous said...

The Bankfield was built in 1889 by the now defunct Atlas Brewery. This information is cited on the terracotta date panel on the side of the building itself! Andrea, the 2 adjacent terraces that are directly attached to the Bankfield were built also by Atlas in 1889 & have the same archtectural styling. The Atlas was eventually taken over by Robinson's Brewery. They in turn, after many years,then sold the Bankfield in approx 2005 to begin with& then later sold the 2adjacent terraces once the existing rental tenants had moved on. Hope that helps.

Unknown said...

I was the landlord of the Bankfield Hotel 1979 to 1982. We used to cater for wedding 21st parties etc.
Glad to see the building is in good shape.
I have fond memories, sadly things change but in my opinion not for the better.


Jeannette Millward said...

Hi...Peter Andrews. I had my 18th when you were in charge in 1980.....you took over from Spencer and inherited us rowdy lot ha ha...football team on Sunday with ham and cheese toasties. Spent a lot of time in the 'Banky' as lived just up road. Never lived my birthday down..i was a bit tipsy. You gave me a bottle and I still have the cork to this day...good times x