Views Around Hyde (7)

After reading Ex-Hydonian's comment on Dunc's great picture.... see below.

An absolute gem of a photo. Love this shot.....makes me feel hydesick. Am stuck in the Australian desert a million miles from anywhere, no green grass, no rolling hills....just mile upon mile of red dirt. Brilliant photo Duncan. 

I thought I'd treat him to another great shot..... this one has been sent in by JohnT and he says:

Following the post today showing the photograph from Werneth Low taken early morning I attach a photograph I took from Werneth Low looking over Manchester. It makes you appreciate how lucky we are being so close to beautiful countryside with such fantastic views.

Thank you John... great view and I'm sure Hydonians across the globe will look at this view and yesterdays while feeling a little bit homesick..

Tinker Or Shenton Family Request

On the outskirts of Burnley, a town once dominated by the textile industry, much like Hyde, lies Harle Syke, the home of Queen Street Mill, the last surviving, operational steam powered weaving mill in the world. Owned by a workers co-operative “The Queen Street Manufacturing Company” the mill is a time capsule of the late Victorian age, which produced cloth using Victorian steam driven power looms until its closure in 1982. You might recognise the name of the mill from the film 'The Kings Speech'  We have been contacted by the Museum for help.... lets hope we can. 

Hello,

Here at Queen St. Mill Textile Museum we have two boilers supplied new by Tinker – Shenton Ltd. Of Hyde. One boiler was supplied in 1894 (now decommissioned) and the boiler that we use daily was supplied  in 1901. The makers test stamp gives the date 27th July 1901, so this year we wish to commemorate its 110th birthday on that date. I was thinking it would be nice if we could find and contact anyone from either the Tinker or Shenton families and invite them to attend the celebrations. Therefore through your site I was wondering if you could put feelers out to try and find anyone.

I hope you will be able to help.

Kind regards

Alwyn

Queen St. Mill Textile Museum

 

Tinker and Shenton Steam Boiler

So if you think you know someone who is related to either the Tinker or Shenton families let them know about this and tell them to contact the Museum. 

Views around Hyde (6)

Todays view around Hyde is the Sunrise from Werneth Low.
Most people aren't lucky enough to see this as they are working and dont get to go for walks this early.



Thanks to Duncan for this great photo !

Newspaper advert from 1958

The following advert was in the "Reporter" newspaper on 3rd October 1958



I wish floor coverings were still this inexpensive !



The site of R.Deans shop - Now K&C Autofactors.

Thanks to Helen Hodkinson who kindly lent us the newspaper cuttings.....more to follow.

Views around Hyde (5) - Hyde Park Woods.

 The Woods in Hyde Park.

Looking really nice after the recent good weather which has brought it to life after the long winter.



A great early morning capture by Joshua Morris.
Thanks Joshua  :)

Boy and Barrel (Disappeared pubs)

The Boy and Barrel public house stood at 93 Stockport Road in Gee Cross. It was one of the original Inns in the area built circa 1776.
In Thomas Middletons book "History of Hyde" he tells us of a strange building that was situated behind the pub and near to Gee Cross Fold. It was a type of dungeon used by the law enforcers to keep petty criminals in until they appeared at court. Inquests were also held at the Boy and Barrel, the most famous being for the murder of Thomas Ashton Mill Owner and  the victim of the infamous Apethorn Lane Murder.

The pub was demolished in 1909.

 
The Boy and Barrel on the right hand side of Stockport Road. The Grapes is at the top of the hill.

 
Demolition of the Boy and Barrel

Thanks to Paul Taylor for the information.

Kingfisher On Wilsons Brook

Pictures

By

Peter Parrott

There's been a Kingfisher around this brook for a few years now... both me and Peter whose pictures these are... have seen and caught it on camera. Yet we have never seen it with young or any signs of them.  I wanted to show these today to let others know Hyde as some great wildlife to be seen... if only we have the time to stand and stare awhile.

Memories Of Hyde Hospital

After showing the Old Lodge on Mottram Old Road ,Stephen contacted us about the time he worked at Hyde Hospital in the 1970s and would we like to hear how he spent his working day. So ,with the help of some photo's from the hospitals past sent to us by Paul Taylor, I will turn the post over to Steve..... Seeing the pictures of the Old Lodge at Hyde Hospital has brought back some happy memories and I would like to share a few with you . I started work at Hyde hospital in 1977 as a hospital porter. The buildings consisted of THE LODGE , THE ADMINISTRATION BLOCK & KITCHEN & NURSES HOME , 4 WARDS , THE PORTERS ROOM , THE OLD LAUNDRY BLOCK AND  THE MORTUARY. Some of the staff were MR PRITCHARD HEAD MATRON  he lived in the lodge WARD 1 SISTER HUGHES WARD 2 SISTER MURPHY WARD 3 SISTER BEELEY WARD 4 SISTER MORGAN HEAD CHEF MIKE PERRIN ADMIN MANAGER SUSAN GREAVES OTHER PORTER JOHN GREEN A typical day for me was at 6 am go to the kitchen to peel the spuds in the potato machine.then when the breakfasts  were ready take them to each ward from the main kitchen .After breakfast the pots had to be returned to the kitchen. Other jobs throughout the day were to take clean linen and stores to the wards and collect the dirty linen and take it to the old laundry block for collection to go to Ashton laundry. All these deliveries to the seperate wards had to be made with a 2 wheeled flat bed hand truck and in winter it was very hard work. The worst ward was ward 4 this had a very steep ramp at the front and you had to take a run up to the ramp to make sure you got all the contents of the truck to the top intact ha ha . We finished work at 6 30 in the evenings and worked alternate weekends, there were no night porters. If someone died in the night that would be your first job the next morning to remove the body and put in the fridge in the  mortuary at the bottom of the hospital grounds. Later on just before I left to go and work for Tameside council in Hyde as a gardener they bought an electric milk float to deliver supplies to the wards. John Green who was the other porter used to be the gardener at the hospital before being a porter and he used to do paintings .He did some fantastic paintings of the hospital grounds. I only worked for 2 years at Hyde hospital but it was a really nice place to work and all the staff were great to get on with . Thanks for reading my memories STEPHEN HILL.   Excellent Stephen, I hope some one reads this and recalls you working there. If anyone would like to something like this fell free to get in touch with us.

Gee Cross League Of Help

Can You Help?

We have had a request for help... and as always we will try to give it where we can.  Do you have any information about this badge.    The request is from Susan who as in the past sent in some pictures and commented many times. This is what she says:

I'm attaching a photo of a badge which I've had in my possession for longer than I care to remember.  What I don't know is where it came from or what it represented.  Can you do a post on it to see if it jogs anyone's memory.

If you have an item which seems to relate to Hyde and you would like information please send in a picture if possible and we will do a post like this asking for assistance and information.

Iddesleigh

Pictures From Susan Jaleel

At first we thought this was the lodge to the long gone Isolation hospital... but we have been informed by 'Hyde Lad' that this building is called Iddesleigh, and was built by the Bradley Family, who were a well known Godley family... they owned much of the land around Godley Green...    He also says that the lodge was further back towards Gee Cross near to where Alder School is now... and I think I know now which building he means.  If anyone as anything else to offer concerning the above home or indeed the old lodge or hospital please do so.

UPDATE

1. 

The above picture shows the approximate location of the Isolation Lodge which was situated on Mottram Old Road. It was facing the row of houses.

This photo shows the Lodge itself.

The Gateposts to the houses are still there.

This postcard shows the lodge on Grange Road South.

Is it the same building as the one above? I'm not convinced yet but it could just be the angle that the photo is taken from...

Incidentally , if you look on google maps at the houses on Mottram Old Road I've shown above that I thought were opposite the lodge , then the gateposts look similar to the ones on the "Mottram Old Road Lodge" photo. I know that could just be the style of the time though. (Sorry for the bad quality).

Updated 20/05/11

Dave's Photo's

Here are the photos of the gateposts at Mottram Old Road and of the lodge at Hyde Hospital. The view from between the gateposts looks exactly like the old picture of the lodge which you showed. Just look at the fluting (is that the right word?) on the ball at the top of the gatepost.

Look though at the photo taken face-on of the lodge at Hyde Hospital - I can't tell the difference from the old picture. But my photo was taken from the other side of the entrance to the hospital grounds (not from across Grange Road South - the lodge from that point would look quite different) and I can't imagine that there would have been any gateposts at that point. And furthermore, my photo shows the hospital building (which quite obviously dates from the same time as the lodge) which should be there on the old picture if it were the same lodge.

Hope that clarifies things.

Dave

IRON BRIDGE Pic 1

Iron Bridge

Another great picture from Steve Hill... I know there's a few of our readers will enjoy seeing another view of this bridge.

Views Around Hyde (4) Beautiful Blossom

 Thought I'd just share these lovely blossom tree photos...Now is the best time to see their beautiful colours.

I wonder why it becomes windy when they are in blossom?

These two trees are at the junction of Stockport Road and Mottram Old Road in Gee Cross.




These two trees stand on Lumn Road opposite Tom Shepley Street.. 

They have been there for many years. I used to look at them when I walked to Leigh Street School many moons ago. There used to be three trees - unfortunately one of the trees was felled a few years ago.

Still look splendid though!

Cinema Views

Theatre Royal

The Ritz

Hippodrome

Thanks to Steve Hill for this fantastic set of pictures... if you have any to add to this posting please send them in.

Updated 01-05-11

The Alexandra

Picture supplied by Dave

Hyde Fire Staion & Auxiliary Fire Service

"Hyde Fire Station in 1905

Above picture is one that is on the Photo Disk Paul Taylor as donated to us, Paul says . Prior to 1873 there was no Public fire brigade in Hyde, although several cotton mills possessed fire engines of their own. The first public fire engine was purchased in 1873, and was christened 'Niagara'. The headquarters were then at Slack Mills, in 1879 the Headquarters was moved to a room adjoining the old Norfolk Arms  and remained there until 1895 when the new brigade Headquarters were built in Corporation Street.

The Auxiliary Fire Service pictured with the Fire Chief in the grounds of the old fire station on Corporation Street .  I had never seen this picture before, and was very pleased to see my dad on the back row (left of centre.

Another picture Paul has shared with us. Paul says "The Hyde fire brigade E.S.T. (Emergency Service Tender), registration AMB 586B, pictured in the old Fire Station on Corporation Street. The vehical was in use from 1963 to around

Auxiliary Fireman
Harold Wigley

St Thomas the Apostle

The beautiful building of St Thomas the Apostle, or St Thomas's Church as it's generally known, stands on Lumn Road with it's sides on Tinkers Passage and Leigh Street. It was built in 1868 at a cost of £3,000 and the church was consecrated on Wednesday, September 23rd 1868, 141 years ago. The first vicar was the Rev. A. Read who was appointed by the crown on October 9th 1846, the same year that the ecclesiastical district of St. Thomas' was founded.
(Thanks to http://www.stthomastheapostlehyde.org.uk for the info)


The Architect of the church, Medland Taylor, was a Manchester architect who produced a number of fine buildings. Locally, he designed St. Anne's, Denton, St. Mary's, Haughton Green, Holy Trinity, Hyde and the Library and the Post Office in Stalybridge.



Sadly this is what reads on their website at the moment...
"As a follow up to the article published in the Tameside Advertiser, dated 10th February 2010, regarding the future of the Parish Church of St Thomas' we feel the we need to inform you as to the real danger of the building being closed and boarded up in the non too distant future.
With an increasingly elderly congregation there is a need to find others to share the building and to find additional uses for it if it is to remain a place for Anglo Catholic worship within the Church of England. "

Sad times indeed.

UPDATED COMMENTS BELOW

Gerrards

Pictures From Susan Jaleel & Paul Taylor

Junction of Dowson Road and Stockport Road at Gerrards

Before Dowson Road came into being there was a valley which started near to Gee Cross village, and towards the end of the 1800s at the side of Gerrard's Cross were 12 cottages in the valley which was called Gerrards Hollow. You got to these from Gerrard Street or Apethorn Lane. Gerrard Street was the name given to the stretch of road from The Grape's Hotel to Gerrards Cross. These cottages were lost when part of Gerrard's Hollow was filled in to carry Dowson Road. Gerrards, Apethorn and Gibraltar are steeped in history and have changed through the centuries... from farms and folds, to cotton mills that ran by water power from the stream that now barely trickles through the valley today. The canal was cut and an aqueduct built, at Gibraltar a weir was built in the river Tame to provide another source of water power. Later two railway lines were added and more of the valley was filled in. Walking around there today you can still see clues to how it must have looked back then. The second picture shows all the fields as they were before the top end of Knott Lane was built up.... I'm sure that bench is still around there... 

Providence Mill

Providence Mill on Alexandra Street. One of the few mills remaining in the Hyde area.

The Cotton Mill was built by Dean and Tinker who were Millwrights ,Engineers and Iron Founders of the Eagle Ironworks in Stalybridge. After the death of Mr Tinker in 1867, and with the building unfinished ,the building was put up for auction and was consequently bought by Robert Walker & Sons. It wasn't in operation until approximately 1869 because of ongoing building work..
Disaster struck the Mill in 1886 when fire devastated the main building. As good fortune would have it the Mill was covered by insurance as the estimated damage was estimated at £25,000 - £30,000 - a fortune by that eras standards. The wrecked building was reopened in 1887 and included more modern such as electric lighting which was installed by Hydes specialist firm Stanley & Davis.
In 1890 a PLC was formed - Robert Walker & Sons Ltd . The new company specialised in production of of twist yarns and remained as such until 1920 when Providence Mills (Hyde)Ltd was formed. This company was in operation for only a matter of years and after it had been closed for a while it was taken over in 1927 by Scottish Artificial Silks Ltd. This lasted until 1933. A textile firm J & H Schofield were the next occupiers of the Mill until it was leased by Ashton Brothers in 1939. It is not known at what date Ashton Brothers ceased to use the mill.
It is now in multiple firm occupation amongst which is a furniture retailer..

Thanks to Ian Haynes for the information above. Much appreciated.

Picture Problems

Sorry that most of our pictures are not being displayed.. the problem is where we store our pictures... but as can be seen with this pictures of the Cenotaph... 

.....where there's a will there's a way... but it still means our archives are not showing.
This is the message we got this morning when seeking assistance. 

Photobucket Site Maintenance

Sorry for the inconvenience. We're in the middle of resolving an issue that affects a small percentage of our users. Rest assured your photos are safe, and we're working hard to get it fixed ASAP.
The estimated time to get this completed is approximately the end of today (04/12/11), 11 pm EDT. We apologize sincerely for the error, and we understand the problems this creates.
Thanks for your patience. We'll update with info on our Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/photobucket) and Twitter pages (http://twitter.com/Photobucket) as we know more.

Thanks,
The Photobucket Team