HYDE CHESHIRE

Harry Rutherford's
Festival of Britain Mural




Monday 25 February 2013

View from Zion

Todays photo was taken from upstairs at the old Zion Chapel.


It shows the corner of Osborne Road before the entrance to the Trans Pennine trail was put in. Note the bench on the corner. Most of these resting places have now been removed to dissuade gangs hanging around. A shame really as a lot of people used to use them on their way up from shopping in Hyde.
Redferns building can be seen in the background.

The photo is circa 1982. Hard to believe that is 30 plus years ago !

 photo a77e45f5-8fa4-4880-b5c9-47ad203284d1.jpg

Many thanks to Jack M for the photograph.
Much appreciated ! :)

4 comments:

Susan Jaleel said...

What a wonderful photo to bring back memories! Thank you for posting it. When i was a little girl (in the Middle Ages) my dad used to let me climb onto the back of that bench so that i could watch the steam train go past. On the other corner of Osborne Road, where the pair of semis now stands, there use to be a wall about a metre high with stone gateposts which surrounded waste land, as though something had been demolished. I remember the houses on that corner being built but never knew what stood there before, apart from the wall and gateposts - maybe someone else will know.

At one time, the railway embankment on Redfearn's side was used by them to tip unwanted rubber items. When word got round, it became a favourite place for kids to go "treasure hunting" though i doubt if anything worth having was ever found! By far the most exciting bit about it was to use the bench to get over the wall and then scramble down the embankment, which was steep, onto the line, across to the other side, and up to the tip. Thankfully, you could hear a steam loco while it was a long way off, so knew when to stay clear of the line!

Now the line, the bench and Redfearn's are no more, but the smell of rubber always takes me back to what the photo shows. Happy times!

Hydonian said...

The gateposts were the entrance to Silver Hill I believe Susan. There used to be an orchard at that end of the land whilst the house itself was further up Stockport Road. I'll try to find a map !

We used to love the railway embankment. I once found an old guards watch on the line. I think I swapped it with my brother for a huge pumpbag full of marbles...but that might have been the metal catapult I also found down there. :) We used to climb the trees on the Osborne Road side of the track. Also, there used to be allotments at the far end of Osborne Road. Are they still there?

Susan Jaleel said...

Yes, of course, it was Silver Hill - thanks Nancy for that. I suppose it wasn't just the two corner houses that were built at that time but those further up too. I must have seen them all go up but can only remember the end ones.

It's a long time since I heard mention of a pump bag! Here in the north east pumps are called sandshoes so no-one would know what a pump bag was! Speaking of words, the bench at the corner of Osborne Road would have been a form in my day!

All that messing about on the railway line and I can't remember anyone getting hurt by a train. Not like now where kids play chicken on a line where trains travel at 100+ mph and they've no chance of avoiding being hit. How times have changed!

Gerald (SK14) said...

Yes the allotments are still there at the far end of Osborne Rd.