Newton Mill & Newton Hurst

The Newton Mill factory which stood on the corner of Ashton Road and Lodge Street Newton, produced stationery and greetings cards, it was founded in 1895 by a Thomas Owen Jacobsen and  Stanley Welch (who later served as the Mayor of Hyde in 1914-16), it initially traded as “Jacobsen and Welch”.  

Newton Mill specialised in stationery and was renowned for it's early experiments with colour notepapers and other gift stationery. This company did quite a bit for the people of Newton and Hyde,..The War Memorials in Hyde Town Hall bearing the names of the dead were presented by Stanley Welch, when he was Mayor, and his partner  Mr T. Owen Jacobsen. They were erected annually for the duration of the great war, and the final one was unveiled by Mrs Evelyn Welch on "peace day”, 3rd August, 1919.These two also built the homes and playing fields known as Newton Hurst off Victoria Street Newton. The company had a very good Cricket Team who played at Newton Hurst, there was also an Athletics Club and Tennis Courts .

OPENING OF NEWTON MILL PAVILION

Reading from Left to right, Back Row: Mr J. Owen Jacobsen, J.P. (Chairman of Directors). Mr. C.R. Seddon (Director). And Alderman Stanley Welch. J.P. (Managing Director). Middle Row: Mrs. T. O. Jacobsen, Mrs. Stanley Welch, and Mrs. C.R. Seddon. Front Row: Master Teddy Welch, son of Alderman Welch.

Picture from the North Cheshire Herald of August 19th 1922.





Newton Hurst Cricket Pavilion

Newton Hurst lost it's cricket ground and tennis courts long ago..when houses were built on the land.. some of the roads do however retain a sporting theme with such names as Perry Avenue, Mallory Road and Charlton Avenue.

Ariel View from the 1920s, The homes on Newton Hurst are still there.. but the view as changed so much... for a start.. no ICI works .

Gala Day July 2nd 1921....

If you have anything which we could add to this post please let us know.... and we will gladly update this post and included it here.

Comic Post Card

I'd be interested in seeing any more comic ones.. I seem to remember a few from my childhood but this is the only one I can come up with...

Hyde United 1986 part 2

This shot shows the pitch being relaid at Hyde United in the Summer of 1986. Note there is just an empty space where the Leisure Centre now stands. The Welbeck Road estate can be seen in all its glory!


This is taken from Tinkers Passage End. Leigh Street Junior school can be seen to the right of the picture and James North factory can be seen on the horizon along with its iconic tower. Next to the tree in the middle you can just about make out the vicarage of St Thomas's church. I used to go there every week to the Brownies! Behind that is the field which now houses Leigh Primary school. This field used to be host to Leigh St and Greenfield St schools for sports use and used to have a running track, high jump sandpit and a great pavillion.


Another view from Walker Lane end and a different view of Leight Street Junior school complete with bike sheds! Many a happy rainy day was spent in here. The boys used to show off, swinging from the bars.



My personal favourite photo.
Leigh Street Juniors behind the Leigh Street Stand. When I attended this school children were for ever hitting the rounders ball over the wall into Ewen Fields so they could climb over to retrieve it and waste time. One boy, who shall remain nameless ,once climbed up one of the floodlights ,much to the chagrin of the teacher, Mr Armistead. Ahhh Happy days!

Thanks once again to Dave and Beryl Williams for the great photos and memories .

Hyde United 1986 part 1

These photos show the laying of the artificial pitch at Hyde United in the Summer of 1986. They also show the the Main Stand ,The Walker Lane End , Tinkers Passage End and the Leigh Street Stand.

Looking across at the Tinkers passage End from Walker Lane.


Looking towards the Main Stand and the Scrattin'Shed.


Tinkers Passage End.


The Leigh Street stand. If you look closely you can see Leigh Street Junior School behind it and the Leigh Street Seniors Gymnasium building.. Also note the lack of the Leisure Centre on Walker Lane.


Main Stand view with great advertisement -

"Score Every Week with the North Cheshire Herald"!

This fabulous set of photos was given to us to use by Dave and Beryl Williams. We will do another post with the rest soon!
Thanks to you both for coming up with super shots time and time again! It's very much appreciated.

Flowery Field Bikers (Thornton and Minnie Marsden)

I came across this photo completely by chance and instantly loved it.... It really is a cracking picture... it holds so much interest.. I don't know the make and model of the bike... or the car seen in the background. If you like your motorbikes or cars and you can tell us anything about them I'd be greatful...  Just look at the Leather Gear.. how good is that...   

When I saw this on the internet I contacted the owner and thankfully he granted me permission to use it here... so I'd like to say a big thank you to Roger.. he had this to say about the picture.

 The picture shows my great uncle Thornton and aunty Minnie, their surname was Marsden. He along with his sister (Sade) were from Flowery Field, and he loved going on day trips on his bike, which he would often strip down.

It is always a pleasure to show off other peoples pictures... so if you want to see any of your old relatives feature here send them in to us.. our email is on the right hand side near to the top, and also seen when you make a comment.

Greenfield St School for Boys. UPDATE

This post just keeps on going
We will update as we get pictures and such like sent in.  

The above picture as been sent to us by John T. it's from around 1960,... ten years before I first walked through the school gate.. when I was a first year, I was one of only two wearing short pants.... I had more fights in the first two weeks than the rest of the years put together..  John's picture is also of interest as it shows the House Badges.. Anyone care to name them?

HOW THE SCHOOL LOOKED

December 12th 1929 saw the opening of Greenfield St School for Boys in Hyde. This was the school where the boys from Hyde, who were not going to Hyde Grammar School, usually went. Sadly, all that remains of the school are stories & memories. It was demolished to make way for the new Asda Store which was built around 2001 ,after Hyde Technology school was favoured as the school to send boys aged 11-16 to. A new Greenfield Primary School opened on Queen Street for children aged 4 -10.

The school motto was ASPIRE!

Great posting Nancy... here is a list of a few of the teacher that I can remember... it would be good to here any story's about and from them.

Mr. Christy Head Master
Mr. Evans Deputy Head Known as Grasshead
Mr. Pangbourne R.E.
Mr. Jenner History
Mr Howes Geography
Mr Wainwright Technical Drawing
Mr. Robinson Woodwork
Mr K.G. Jones Spent his days between the class room and Gus Demmy Book Makers
Mrs Casey English ( Cheers Duncan ) ;o)
Mr Swouter Maths .. Postmaster Gee Cross
Mr Hawkins Metal Work Peter & Paul Hawkins dad... and my uncle. Rough File, Smooth File, Draw File Polish.

Mr Grabner P.E. Played for Hyde United..... I used to go to watch him play so I could call 'HIM' useless for a change.

Mr Partridge P.E Ronnies Gradners Sidekick.
Mr Mellor Science
Dr Doom...? Science However he never killed someone is beyond me. Mr. Wedster
Mr Grimes Music Known as Porky Grimes
Mr Beasley English Drank in the Bush Inn
Mr Peace Art I thought he was great and I've had a drink or two with him since.

There was a lanky blond chap who was very fond of a sly and not so sly drink... Another English teacher who was excellent but his name escapes me.. he also taught at Strangeways Prison. ( Before you ask.. Yes he did teach me there )

I'm sure there's others I should know but can not think of at the moment.... It would be great to hear some storys about and from them..

Greenfield Street School Football Team.

Nick Hunter. Kong. Ian Gembelzyk(gemmy) Frank Fekete. Stuart Wainwright

2nd Row Brian Burgess, Graeme Morris. Neil Laxton Tony Leigh.Mick Frankish,

Front Row Graham Hancock. Gary Drabble.Sebatiano Rubicondo (RIP)

(Cheers John For the names.. )

Some old faces on here ..see who you can spot.



We have been lucky enough to have been sent this 1976 3rd year football team sent in by Peter Maugham....

Peter has this to say... " I've attached a pic of the football team, pretty sure this was the 3rd Year, probably taken in 1976. The lad with the question mark I remember now, he was called Roland Evans."

The Aspland Maternity Home.

THE Aspland Maternity Home on Higham Lane, Gee Cross was the pride of the area when it opened as a hospital on October 1, 1931 and for more than 40 years served the community.Its closure in November 1973 was a sad time for a lot of local people who held this place of haven in very high regard....even people who weren't fortunate enough to have been born there.

The grounds were first opened as a public park on 29th July 1922 before the house was converted into the maternity hospital.



In 1932, the fee for a 16-day stay and delivery at the home cost the family a staggering £4 and 10 shillings !



Sadly, the building was demolished in 1987 and the land was sold to make room for private housing.



These wonderful photos were donated by Nick Clarke who was one of the lucky people who can proudly call the Aspland their place of birth.
Thanks very much for sharing, Nick :)

Hyde In War Time (1914-16) Page 38-39 ( Continued )

“Forty Gang” Heroes Continued 

Sniped While On Duty.

After spending only a few weeks in France, Private Samuel Smally., of George Street Hyde, a well known member of the “Gang,” was shot dead by a German sniper on the 3rd November, 1915. His regiment was holding a wood that had been taken by the British in the heavy fighting of the Loos battle, and he and a few comrades were repairing a trench that had given way in consequence of the heavy rain. For those who have had no experience of trench warfare in rainy weather it is not easy to realise the various dangers that beset the men engaged in it. At the moment he was shot, Private Smally was in imminent danger of either being drowned or buried alive under falling earth. In order to escape this fate he made a spring. This caused him to be seen above the trench by a sniper, and he was shot in the head. Private Smally, before enlisting on the 28th September, 1914, was a crane driver at the works of Daniel Adamson and Co., Hyde Junction. He was a married man, and his wife had no fewer that 14 relatives serving in France including a son, who, curious to relate, was going up to the trenches when her husband was being carried out.

Private SAMUEL SMALLY

Shot Dead By A Sniper Whilst Doing His Duty

Another Member Missing

An official intimation from the War-Office was received on November 15th, by Mrs Walker, Bower Street, Hyde, that her husband, Private John Walker had been missing since the 3rd October. Private Walker was in the battle of Loos. Before enlisting, the previous March, he was employed at the Snipe Colliery

Privates Robert Hopkins and Joseph Hopkins, brothers both members of the loyal “Forty Gang.” Their home was Rochfort Street.

Private ROBERT HOPKINS

A Loyal Member Of The "Forty Gang"

Before enlisting they were employed at the engineering works of Messrs. Joseph Adamson and Co. Both joined the Royal Engineers.

Private JOSEPH HOPKINS
A Loyal Member Of The "Forty Gang"

Private Joseph Hopkins Commonwealth War Graves Commission
   RECORD
...

Floweryfield Church

FLOWERY FIELD UNITARIAN CHURCH.

This church was built in 1878, the cost was met by Thomas Ashton, Esq., J.P.,. It is a handsome stone building in the Tudor Gothic style, ornamented with a fine tower.

Inscription on the Church Tower

"To the Worship of God by a Congregation bound by no Creeds or Confessions of Faith who, under the guidance of Ministers equally free to follow Truth, humbly strive to love God and serve their Fellow men. This Church is dedicated by Thomas Ashton of Hyde and Elizabeth, his Wife.

A.D. 1878

The building is in the Perpendicular or Tudor Gothic style and is cruciform in shape. There is a separate though connected Tower which rises to 81 feet above street level. The building was finished towards the end of 1878 and the Opening Ceremony was held on Thursday 19th December 1878.

After the Opening Service a Tea Party was held.  Mr. Ashton then handed over the Trust Deeds of the Church to the Church Officers and returned the sum of £1000 which had been raised by the congregation. The condition of this was the money was to be invested and the interest used to found a Minister’s stipend.

Hyde In War Time (1914-16) Page 38-39

“ Forty gang” Heroes.

Miraculous Escapes From Death.

For many years there has existed in Hyde an institution known as the “Forty Gang,” the leader of which is Mr. Herbert Shaw, of Clarendon Street. It comprises a large body on men who have no particular headquarters, but who are banded together in a spirit of genuine fellowship, and who, whenever there has been a deserving cause requiring support, have been among the foremost in helping it. Many a charitable movement in the town has been assisted by the “Forty Gang,” whose members have never failed to take a prominent part in public parades, mostly figuring in comic get-up. These young men have proved themselves as useful in war as they did in peace. The opening of hostilities was the greatest opportunity they ever had of showing themselves worthy of the town. In a very short time many of them had enlisted, and by the end of 1915 the “Forty Gang” had close upon a hundred members… an overwhelming proportion of past and present members… serving with the colours. All these had left their civil vocations for military service, voluntarily, and several have given their lives for King and Country, while others have been wounded, and many were in the fighting line.  Two of the earliest heroes of the “Forty Gang” were Private Joseph Broadhurst, of Elizabeth Street, and Private Tucker, of Foundry Street, who went through some terrific fighting together in the first few months of war. It was not until March, 1915, that Private Broadhurst attained his 18th year, though he had been in the Army since he was fourteen, and on attainment of his 18th birthday he was almost six feet in height. Both these young men took part in many fights following the Mons retreat, and each had been wounded in three places. 

Private TUCKER.

A Gallant fighter, wounded in three places

During this fighting, Private Broadhurst had a miraculous escape from instant death, a French watch that he had found, and wore in his coat pocket, preventing a bullet from piercing his heart. It was during the battle of the Marne that Private Tucker joined his pal, who had already been “in the thick of it.” Broadhurst was agreeably surprised at the meeting of his mate, after so many had been killed. Whilst on observation in one of the trenches, Broadhurst bobbed his head up to “see what the world was like,” when a bullet from a German sniper’s rifle grazed his nose. On the following day Tucker was hit while hurriedly proceeding to warn the supports that the Germans were attacking. Whilst at home in March, 1915, Broadhurst relate how on another occasion, he took a German officer prisoner; while later, when in charge of another German whom he had captured, he was shot in the hand, but held on to his captive. He had made these captures during a charge, which he himself led, his officer, Lieutenant Anderson, having being shot in the head. Privates Broadhurst and Tucker had a spell of seventeen days’ more of less severe fighting in the neighbourhood of La Bassee. The two also fought near Ypres. Private Broadhurst was once in the trenches 25 consecutive days, and he had no change of shirt for two months. He relates this experience with typical humour. “ It walked off my back then,” he  remarks. When we were firing, I was killing Germans with one hand and germs with the other. We killed thousands of German ‘spies’ in this way. They are as clever as the Germans in entrenching themselves. They entrench under cover of the seams of your tunic.

Private JOSEPH BROADHURST.

Experiences miraculous escapes from death.

Old Postcard series.

Bottom Row in the 1906 Flood


Hare and Hounds, Werneth Low 1900


Mottram Old Road


Hyde Market 1913

James North Demolition

This was taken looking down Stockport Road during the demolition of the James North factory (circa 1998) to make way for the new housing estate. It looks such a small area but dont be fooled- that's just the photo perspective. Notice Ashton Brothers Carrfield Mill in the background behind Chartist House Flats. Also see the tower to Floweryfield church on the left of the flats.


This one was taken from the top of Market Street showing the iconic tower coming down.

Old Street signs.

I love to see the old street signs. These are 2 that are set in stone rather than the traditional metal plates.

Around Bowlacre

The last time I walked these woods was around 3 years ago.... it was a bright spring morning around 10.30.. I was more or less where the 2 lady's are stood in the above pictures when something caught my eye in the hollow... it was a big male fox.... it was the healthiest and biggest I'd ever seen... it just glanced at me once or twice as it crossed the stream, climbed up the bank and followed the path.. I was lucky enough to get a few shots off with the camera... I showed these on my  Wiggers World  blog.. I would have included one here but they were among many I lost by my own mistake a while back.  If you get the chance to walk these woods try to go there when it as been dry for a while as it can be very boggy.

Top Of Joel Lane

I have heard this called Four Lanes End, Four Lanes Cross Roads,  and 'Top O' Joel Lane'... and it's by that name I call it.  I have seen as many pictures....old and new of this place than the Town Hall itself... If seems it as always attracted folks to it's benches... I'm not sure if that's to enjoy the views or to set a while and get your breath back.... I have sat there and done both.  The telephone box that is on view here was one of many that as shown up on pictures from around Gee Cross. At first I was not sure if they were AA or RAC boxes... and when it was mentioned on this   Gee Cross  I was happy to be told off a 'not' so old Hydonian ( Elizabeth) that her dad remembered these boxes. If you see any more on old pictures from around Hyde.... please let us know... and remember we are always on the lookout for information, articles and pictures to include in our postings. Our email is on the sidebar... 

The Ritz Cinema

The Ritz Cinema was situated on Travis Street. The site is now occupied by Iceland frozen foods. According to my Dad if you took a girl there she knew it was a serious date as it was the poshest of all picture houses in Hyde and on accounting that it cost more to get in than other cinema in Hyde. Unfortunately I haven't got a photograph of the front of the Ritz ,only the side as seen below. If anyone out there has a front view We'd be more than happy to show it here.

The Ritz cinema as seen from Union Street. 

The Ritz was built by ABC Cinemas ( Associated British Cinemas Ltd) and was opened on Monday February 21st 1938, the first film being “Double or Nothing” starring Bing Crosby.

It was about a dying millionaire who instructs his lawyer to drop four purses on the streets of New York City. Four honest people find them and return them to the lawyer. Under the terms of the will, each of them is given $1,000,000, which they must double within 30 days in order to claim his entire estate. However, the greedy relatives cut from the will are determined to thwart each one's plans 

The cost to get in was as follows, the stalls were 6d and 9d;, and the circle 1/- and 1/3d. The prices tie in with what Nancy's Dad said, and my friend Jack who both mentioned the cost made it the poshest cinema in town. There were daily matinees and performances twice nightly around the time the doors shut for the last time, but during its heyday (1940s-50s) performances were continuous from 1.30pm until 9.00pm.

What's On November 1946

I can recall going here when I was a small child and can remember even now it was considered more a treat to go to the Ritz than the Theatre Royal. I am sure I saw Mary Poppins here... Hyde saw the loss of the Ritz when it closed for good on Tuesday August 13th 1968. The last film to be shown was a 1963 film aptly called “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World”, starring Spencer Tracy, Micky Rooney, Phil Silvers, Terry Thomas... and many more well known names. The fact the film was five years old says a lot... it might of ended on a laugh but I remember it was a sad day for Hyde when the choice was gone. My mum had worked in one or two picture houses and always had an interest in films.. I recall her saying it was a shame. 

It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, After a long prison sentence Smiler Grogan is heading at high speed to a California park where he hid $350,000 from a job 15 years previously. He accidentally careers over a cliff in view of four cars whose occupants go down to help. The dying Grogan gives details of where the money is buried and when the witnesses fail to agree on sharing the cash, a crazy chase develops across the state.

As with a lot of old or disused cinemas it turned to a Bingo Hall.. I can not recall if it kept it's name or was known as something else. Knowing the folk of Hyde it might have changed it's name but I'm sure it would still have been known as the Ritz... in 1981 the building was demolished.

I could not have updated this post if it was not for information I gleaned from a scan I was sent, it came from a book called The History Of The Theatres And Cinemas Of Tameside, by David Owen. By all accounts a 'must read' book for anyone with a fondness for local history.

We would still like to add more to this post by including a picture of two of the Ritz... so please get in touch if you think you can help with this request.