We have John and his friend Mark to thank for these two pictures I have seen the first one but the second I'm not sure if I have or haven't... anyway both are perfect to show here.
John says "The photo of Hyde Market is a great shot; I wonder what the policeman was saying to the children on the right where the present bus shelter would be. It's just typical of the two trams, you wait ages for one then two come at once! Nothing's changed has it? It looks as though the first tram is going to Edgeley, was this the forerunner of the old 30 bus route?"
John says "This photo of Market Street is a fantastic snapshot of life, I presume around the First World War. It looks as though there is a parade march past of troops marching down the street. Note that there is a Union Jack hanging off what was the Co-op. Also note the group of people outside the bakers; I’ve assumed that it is a bakers shop because I think there may be a Turog sign on the wall above the shop, please correct me if I’m wrong. It’s interesting to note that there doesn’t appear to be any overhead cables for the trams. The house to the left are still there but those on the right have since been demolished."
Same view of above photo taken 2011
I noticed Hepworths shop in the top picture..... I showed a view of Hepworths with my Grandma marching past with the British Legion. The other buildings to catch my eye are the old supermarket and the main Co-op on Greenfield Street, that must have been a 'newish' building when the picture was taken.
Greenfield Street/Market Street Co-op
In the second picture my eyes are drawn to the posts for the overhead lines... they look very ornate... but those scrolls and fancy curves mask the strength wrought iron work can take. The Co-op on the corner of Market Street and Queen Street is a nice building... the round corner is a pleasure to look at still.
Queen Street/Market Street Co-op
Thank you John for this post... and thanks for the recent pictures that Dave as supplied
10 comments:
I've noticed on a lot of these old pictures that the overhead lines themselves aren't usually visible but the supporting bits and pieces usually are (remember the ones of Godley Arches where it looked as if there were a couple of jet fighter planes in the sky?), the odd thing to me here is that they ARE visible of the first picture. I don't fancy the idea of trying to take photos showing the views as they currently are, particularly the first one. I imagine that in attempting to photograph from that position a 330 bus on its way to Stockport you'd be hit by a 330 going the other way! Interesting to see there's a Co-op shop in both of the pictures - I'm sending you photos of the stonework at the top of both of them.
Can anyone give an accurate date for these two photographs? Obviously the first one is before the grade 2 listed tram shelter was erected (when was it erected) and the second would be after 1908 from the photograph that Dave took.
Hi John..
I was trying to do that last night but drew a blank... I wondered about the second shot if it was from around the first world war... maybe the troops marching back after a funeral... It is something for us to look into.
I can't make out what the car is in the first picture, but it's certainly from the early to mid 1920s so the picture's later than that.
Just a few more thought about the pictures. On the first one Market Street is still paved with stone setts - when was it first tarmaced? The following link says that the Stockport to Hyde tram service commenced in 1927 and the Edgeley link ceased to operate in 1931:
http://www.petergould.co.uk/local_transport_history/fleetlists/stockport1.htm
In the second picture I'm not sure that the marchers are troops - the white belts across the back of the marchers remind me of what was the fairly common sight in my youth of the local Boys' Brigade. And, as Beryl has pointed out to me, the dress of the ladies and children is definitely of a celebratory type rather than for a funeral or a 'troops off to war' occasion. I thought the occasion could have been connected with celebrations at the end of the First World War:
'The Hyde Borough Band appeared, and began to play on the Market ground, whilst several Boys Brigade and Boy Scouts' companies turned out, and to the music of bugles, paraded the streets.' - The History of Hyde by Thomas Middleton
But that was in November 1918 and again the type of clothing being worn suggests that it's not winter.
My bet is that the occasion is part of the celebration for either the coronation of Edward VII (which was actually in 2 parts - fixed for June 1902 & was postponed because of his illness to August 1902, but they still went ahead with the celebrations on the original date) or for that of George V in June 1911. It could just be part of a Whitsun procession, but the Union Flag suggests that it's more of a National celebration.
How about it being from the Jubilee celebrations which marked 50 years of the incorporation of the borough of Hyde ? That was in June 1930 so fits with not being winter and before the tram to Edgeley ceased?
Thank you Dave... and Beryl for this... I admire your thinking and wish I could have thought of this... ;o)
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Ha! I missed Nancy's comments... we now need a fashion expert, and the date the main Co Op was built.. ;o)
'On March 2nd, 1929, the new Central Emporium and offices at the corner of Market Street and Greenfield Street were opened.'
'The History of Hyde' - by Thomas Middleton (page 199)
I'm no fashion expert, but the clothing in the first picture seems to belong to the late 1920s/early 1930s, and in the second picture late Victorian/Edwardian.
I've only just realised that the second picture couldn't have been either of the Coronation celebrations for Edward VII in 1902 as the Co-op on the corner of Queen Street wasn't built till 1908! So the 1911 Coronation of George V seems the most likely.
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