Mid - 1970's Adverts

1950's Industrial Hyde

Here is a great panorama of 1950's industrial Hyde. 

The shot was taken from the top of James North factory. Below it, in the foreground, is part of James North itself including the two chimneys to the middle of the picture and the long building with lots of windows which was the Douglas Street part of the factory and stood on Queen Street. To the left of this is the "Rec" playing fields which was also on Douglas Street/Mona Street and to the right is the reservoir which stood on Queen Street. The Town Hall can be seen  towards top left of the photo.
 
My Nan's house stood next to the two chimneys and although it looks grim it was a great place to grow up in - our playground was Norths factory yard! Heaven to us as kids !




 I love this picture. It reminds me of a Trevor Grimshaw painting.


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Magnificent View !

Here are a couple of photo's sent to us by Karl Barlow with the description below.

"Hi Hydonians,
Here are two pictures I took of Gee Cross Mill in the early eighties. 

The view of the tower  in the distance is St Georges church and, I think, James
North's Mill...The black and white photo is of the ladder inside the tower of GX Mill known as a Jacobs Ladder.It led to the hatch that opened at the top of the tower. I climbed it a few times. There was a water tank up there if I remember and lot of pigeon muck ! What a view from the very top of the tower you could see for miles around!...."

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Many Thanks Karl ! :)

The Reservoir off Queen Street

Here are a couple of photos showing the old James North/Slack Mill reservoir that used to stand on Queen Street .
The prefab building at the top of the photo stood on Wood Street and it was where a generation of Hydonians bought their families slippers at low prices !
It was known as "Wickles back" by some. I think this was because the prefab was a manufacturer called Wickles at some point . If anybody knows what they manufactured please let us know...


  After the reservoir was drained.


Aerial View showing Lumb Road to the Right and the Douglas Street part of Norths to the left.


Aerial view as it looks today !
Queen Street became Douglas Street at the Lumn Road end after the new Greenfield Primary school cut Queen Street in half.

Aerial map of James North and area

We received this message and photo from Brian H  via email today

Over to Brian...

"I have just come across this photo which may be of interest.

 In the early 1990's a guy spent a couple of days flying around in a light aircraft taking aerial photos of the town

We bought this picture from him and put it in a 'safe place' ,so safe in fact, we forgot that we had it. What a pleasure it was to find it again earlier today. 

Of particular interest are Bell's on Dowson Rd and, of course, the James North premises.

Hope you like it... keep up the good work with the website..."

Thumbnail for bigger view !

Many thanks for the great photo, Brian !  :)

Demolition of Queen Street,

Here is a photo that is quite dear to my heart as my Nan lived on Queen Street.

I spent most of my childhood playing around this area.
She lived in one of the three houses that were attached to Norths Yard at the Lumb Road end of Queen Street.( The far left of the photo)





A similar view, looking down what was Queen Street and is now home to Greenfield Primary School.

Courtesy of Google maps.

James North Clock

Here are two photos of "Norths Clock" which now stands at the roundabout next to the Ring 'o' Bells public house. It used to be within the confines of James North Factory before its demolition to make way for a housing estate circa 1998.


Where it used to stand.


Where it stands now.


The plaque on James Drive.

   

A map showing the location of the roundabout where James North Clock stands.  

Thanks to Dave for the first photo :)

Disappeared Mills

James North Factory formerly Slack Mill.
Now demolished.
The photo is taken from the top of Bradbury Street.



Photo supplied by Dave.

Tour of Britain or Milk Race 1990

Hyde's Annual Cycle Race was called the Tour of Britain or "Milk Race"

The Tour of Britain, known for many years as the Milk Race, has its origins in a dispute between cyclists during the Second World War. The British administrative body, the National Cyclists Union (NCU), had feared since the 19th century that massed racing on the roads would endanger all racing, including early-morning time -trials and, originally, the very place of cyclists on the road.

A race organised from Llangollen to Wolverhampton on 7 June 1942, in defiance of the NCU, led to its organisers and riders being banned. They formed a new body, the British League of Racing Cyclists (BLRC), which wanted not only massed racing but a British version of the   

^{"Tour De France".}

The cyclists are just going past what used to be Redferns Rubber Works on Stockport Road. James North can be seen in the background.

The sponsor of this stage of the Race was David Tuson who used to have a car showroom on Chapel Street.

The Cyclists are seen riding up Stockport Road over the railway bridge near the Clarkes Arms.

Why it was known as the "Milk Race"

The Milk Marketing Board (MMB) was a sales monopoly for dairy farmers in England and Wales. A semi-professional cyclist from Derby, Dave Orford, asked the MMB to pay for "Drink more milk" to be embroidered on the jersey of every semi-professional, or independent, rider in the country. The MMB could then advertise that races had been won because of the properties of milk and the winner would receive a £10 bonus as a result.

Orford met the MMB's publicity officer, Reg Pugh, at the board's headquarters in Thames Ditton, west of London. Orford said: "At the end of the discussion he stated that the MMB would prefer to sponsor a major international marathon. So the Milk Race, the Tour of Britain, was born, starting in 1958 and lasting for 35 years, the longest cycle sponsorship in the UK ever.

The first two races were open to semi-professionals but from 1960 until 1984 it was open only to amateurs. From 1985 until 1993 the Milk Race was open to both amateurs and professionals. After 1993 the Milk Race ended as the MMB was wound up because of European monopoly laws.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_of_Britain

UPDATED 

Milk Race going up Lilly Street.

Milk Race going up Stockport Road near Smithy Fold.

Thanks to Eric for sending us these lastest two photos !

The Smithy, Smithy Lane.

This photo was given to my Mum by a lady named Margaret. It shows the Smithy that stood on "Smithy Lane" next door to the Ring o Bells Pub. I believe she is one of the little girls and the Smithy is her Uncle. I think the photo was taken circa 1950 just before it was demolished.

This view show the area around where the Smithy stood prior to its demolition. The Smithy stood to the very right (off picture next to the lamp post). James North has since been demolished and a new housing estate is in its place.

This shot shows what stands there now - A car park for the Ring o Bells pub.

Margaret, if you are reading this blog, please will you get in touch so we can get the story details correct and thank you properly.

:)

Aerial View of James North

 I am posting this photo for purely nostalgic reasons.
It shows an aerial view of the James North factory building with Queen Street running through the middle. The purple star denotes where my Nan used to live and whilst it looks quite grim as it's in the heart of the industrial area, believe me, it was heaven to a child......her house belonged to James North and joined on to the yard itself. Many happy hours were spent here playing amongst cardboard boxes and offcuts of rubber gloves! Douglas Street runs vertical up from Queen Street.
Also note the "Rec" - top left - now only one football pitch as the top "pitch" belongs to Greenfield Primary school which was relocated here when the original Greenfield Street school was demolished. Most of Queen Street was demolished and now consists of 3 houses only.




The second picture shows a present day aerial view of the same area. The red star shows approximately where my Nans house stood - all the childhood playgrounds of yesteryear sadly long-gone.
Notice how short Queen Street now is whilst Douglas Street has gained in length at Queen Streets expense.

Queen Street.

Below are two views of the James North factory tunnel that used to be on Queen Street . This was a very busy Mill with the tunnel linking two different sites. There are records of a tram that used to run between the two sites in 1897 when it was known as Slack Mill.






Tramway shown on 1897 map.

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.

Douglas Street

A modern Map showing the Douglas Street area.


Queen Street looking over to the Douglas street site of James North.The wall to the Recreation Ground (Rec) borders the grass verge.This wall still stands and separates the new Greenfield Primary school from the Rec.

Douglas Street after the demolition of James North and Sons. The lamp to the right is on the corner of Douglas Street and Queen Street. The photo is taken from behind the fencing of the Recreation Ground or "The Rec" as it is more commonly known..



This shows the new housing estate that was built on the derelict land - a vast improvement ,I think.