Below is a description of Hyde from a Bygone era. It was written by Dave Davis who kindly allowed us to share it on here.
"Being born and brought up in Flowery Field, Hyde was the centre of the universe for us as children. After shopping on Hyde market we would turn the corner and enter into the world of this picture. On the right of the picture, in the distance there was the bank then Fred Dawes, TV and Radio dealer where we would go to pay rental on our black and white TV. This was later taken over by Granada. You can see their shop clearly on the LHS of the picture. Next, coming towards the camera, Ibbotson's bakery. The best tipsy cake in the world and when mum and I went in on our own during the week we would enjoy a delicious toasted teacake and cup of tea as they had half a dozen tables by the wall opposite the counter. Two doors up the tobacco shop and how fascinating were all the ephemera of smoking displayed in the window? Next door again, and two steps up a marvellous sweet shop, the only place one could buy Terry's Golden Feather, a mix of all soft centres and my mum's favourite. Crossing the road Sayer's bakery, a bit more modern than Ibbotson's and the first place we experienced the trick of making the edges of a product look far more full than the inside - an inch of cream round the outside edge of the Swiss Roll and a mere smearing in the middle!
Round the corner, in Norfolk Street my gran hed her first house when she was married. Purely by chance, 40 years later my brother rented the same house. So many good memories. I spend hours in my mind wandering around this area, taking me into adjacent places not in the picture.
The PSA building
The market hall with Nightingale's pulling toffee as you watched. The cinema, the Co-op, UCP - United Cattle Products, a great cafe and some of the best tripe in the area. H V Hird, ironmongers, Meschia's cafe and their delicious homemade Italian ice cream. The PSA, (Pleasant Sunday Afternoon) a reformers answers to men languishing in the pubs and families left at home. Until the day it closed it was only 1d (old penny) to get in and enjoy all the activities with a cup of tea and biscuits thrown in. I must stop, need to go away and dream.."!
Many Thanks ,Dave ,for your wonderful memories..
Reading this I can smell the Godley Rock that was made by Nightingales, I remember on Saturday after the pictures we used to go and watch the rock being pulled and stretched over steel objects that looked like butchers hook.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that,Jean- What a shame we have no photographs of this shop.
ReplyDeleteMemories! I can see Martins the cleaners on the right. I remember my suit (22" bottoms!)smelling of cleaning fluid after it had been to the cleaners. Is that William & Glyn's or William Deacons bank on the left hand corner? Wasn't Redmans on the left just out of the photograph? Salmon paste, mmmm!
ReplyDeleteWhat great memories you've brought back Dave, I too loved going to Ibbotson's their hot cross buns were wonderful, they were oval shaped with a good amount of spice. I always looked forward to eating them at Easter time.
ReplyDeleteThe bank on the corner the Royal Bank of Scotland and is my bank (ie that's where I have an account, I don't actually own it - although in view of the amount of taxpayers' money which has been poured into it I ought to have some claim). When I first started an account it was Williams Deacon's which metamorphosed in 1970 into Williams & Glyn's before becoming the RBS. The photo appears to date from the early 1960s, so it should have then been Williams Deacon's.
ReplyDeleteBetween Williams Deacon's and Granada was, of course, Greenwoods Gents Outfitters, who moved out some years ago and the shop has been closed and shuttered ever since.
ReplyDeleteUp until a couple of years ago the shop that was Greenwoods was a cafe named 64. It was was owned by Thomas Cordwell who still uses upstairs for his offices.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic post Dave's memories have made... and it is great to see others joining in with theirs. I'm sure others will be joining in with this.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I attended Sunday Services in the upper hall of the PSA for the Mormon Church. We met there and we also met above a shop just across dorm Downson Road. That was before they built the small chapel in Hyde.
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