More memories from Jacqueline

My late sister Patricia Ingham (nee Holt) used to work in Middletons Record and television shop. If you wanted any records whether it be jazz, pop, classical, or whatever, Pat would order it for you. This was in the days before cds, mp3, downloads etc, the first ones were 78’s then they went to 45’s and LP’s, Pat had all the record catalogues and would order anything from them, many of the musicians in the area would order from her.

The BBC did not play many records other than Family Favourites on a Sunday and we had to rely on Radio Luxembourg to hear the top twenty hits, usually by Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray, Guy Mitchell, Doris Day etc. We all had wind up gramophones to play these 78’s. Later electric record players came out which played the newer types of records. Middletons was a meeting place for all and Pat would play all the hits for us. Middletons also sold pianos and musical instruments and Pat would play the piano to test for customers.

When television came out, one of our friends Grenville Godley was the television engineer and installer. Those days are a far cry from the Music of Today. Our favourites was the Jazz and to go on 42nd Street in New York was magic. Frank Sinatra was a favourite too, and of course Tony Bennett who we saw near Carnegie Hall NY.

Hope the oldies in Hyde remember this.

Many thanks again, Jacqueline

Beames Advert

A photo showing Beames when the shop stood on George Street.This was before the motorway cut through Hyde and George Street disappeared.



Thanks to Nick C. for use of the photo. :) 
Much appreciated.

Hyde "Old" Supermarket

Below is an advert for the old supermarket on Clarendon Street showing  the range of goods and services that were available circa 1976.

 

When I was young I used to love going in there with my Mum and Nan on a Saturday afternoon and  buying chocolate biscuits which were all sold loose by the pound . As I got older I liked to peruse Hubbles record shop on the first floor. My Mum used to spend a lot of time on the haberdashery stall at the top of the stairs which always left me free to roam the entire shop floor with my sister. I never went in the Bingo area though - that was out of bounds.
Happy days !!







An aerial photo showing the old supermarket ( just above the middle of the shot)

Thanks to John Hopwood for the photo :)

Newton Lodge

 

Hyde Park, which opened in 1904, was originally the grounds of Newton Lodge, home of Col. CJ Ashton who paid to build St Stephen's Church, Bennett Street. It was given to the town by his daughters, following his death.

The lodge was demolished in 1937. Two years later it was replaced by Bayley Hall which was funded by Sir John Bayley.



Thanks to Tameside.gov for the information

More Memories Of Hyde From Jacqueline Ridgway

Below are some lovely memories from Jacqueline Ridgway.

"Hi, I was looking on the blog and reading about the green cabins on Werneth Low, I remember going up to the cabins when I was a little girl with my Father John Holt and Mother Margaret Holt also my Grandmother Margaret Holt(nee Winterbotham) and my father’s Auntie Elsie Denerley(nee Winterbotham). We had picnics there with strawberries and we used to go up to Windy Harbour Farm for milk and cream, Dad would go to the river and fish".

Hydes Tea Rooms Windy Harbour.

"Elsie Denerley lived in Bank Street at the tripe dressing business and we used to go and visit, there were big stone vats with tripe in,also they kept chickens at the back. 

When I was 15 I worked at Fletcher Miller’s in the office and later it became Castrol, it was a good place to work and I still keep in touch with people I worked with. 

Saturdays were good as we would go and watch them making Godley Rock in the market Hall ,also there was a house in Godley where you could buy it ".  

 The Ritz.

"The Ritz was a haven for romance and we loved to go to the pictures, but when we were younger we used to go to the Hippodrome on Saturday morning this would give the mothers a break and we would buy sweets from the shop next door. 

Does anyone remember the shop lower down from the Hippodrome ,where the bus station is now, it used to have great blocks of salt at the front door".

 Hyde Park Bandstand 1960's

"Sunday after church services lots of people used to gather in Hyde Park and listen to the Band and then a visit to Meschias. 

Happy Days". 

Thanks to Steve Hill & Elsie D for the photos and, of Course, Jacqueline Ridgway for her memories. :)

Low Top Farm Information needed.

 The following email was sent to us by Geoff &  Merrilyn Reeves from Queensland, Australia. ....

"In the course of Examining out family history, we often came across the Area known as  Werneth Low and my wife remembers her grandmother speaking fondly of it as she was growing up in Tasmania.

On my wife’s side of the family, it is well established that her grandmother Ethel Maud Widdowson and Joshua Hadfield moved from Hyde to Launceston Tasmania Australia

Phyllis Hadfield (her mother) came with them as a 3 year old, about 1912

Merrilyn’s  grand father Joshua Hadfield married Ethel Maud Widdowson in August 4^th 1907 the Ceremony that took place at St Pauls Church Werneth.

We tried to find the church back when we visited in 2000 but failed, so adjourned to the magnificent old pub at the top of the hill with the great view and gave up.!

The question we have is:  the address provided on the marriage certificate where they lived is Low Top Farm Werneth

We do not know why but we think this farm property, if that is what it is,  was owned by a Thomas Widdowson, who may be Ethel Maud’s Father

Can any one assist in providing information about either the Farm or the two family’s

Much appreciated for any assistance".

 
Map showing Low Top Farm 1875


Map from 1910


Aerial view of Low Top Farm circa 1970's

 
Modern map showing Low Top Farm


Map showing the site of St Pauls Gee Cross 1870's

St Pauls became Holy Trinity Church after part of the township of Werneth was transferred to the district of Gee Cross. Is this the church you mean ? See links below for more information.

St Pauls Werneth  Holy Trinity Gee Cross

Many Thanks, Geoff and Merrilyn. I hope we can find out a little more information  for you through the blog :)

Memories of a bygone era.

The following memories were sent to us by Jacqueline Ridgway

"My Husband Colin and I were born in Hyde just before world war 2. We lived in Newton for many years before we moved to Gee Cross when we married and then later moved to Lichfield. My Great Grandfather was Amos Winterbotham who was the Mayor of Hyde in 1931 when the famous Ox-roasting took place you can see the photo of that in the History of Hyde book by Thos. Middleton he was with Lord Derby. Amos had a Tripe dressing business in Hyde with one of the Green cabins on Hyde Market and as a young girl I used to go and help out My grandmother Margaret selling tripe. We look at the Hyde Blog everyday and we remember the Unity Inn having a drink there after the pictures. My Grandfather Albert Holt had a butchers shop on market street and his brother Fred was also involved see the book of Hyde by Barbara Sole. My Husband’s Uncle Sam Ridgway was a good bowler and won many trophies for his bowling he was known by many in Hyde also for playing the concertina."

The Ox-roast in 1931

Many Thanks for sharing with us, Jacqueline. 

Another one bites the dust.

Sadly, another iconic Hyde pub has recently bitten the dust.

The Unity was one of those fabulous old fashioned pubs that had a great atmosphere and wonderful food.
We always used to visit there after we had been to the cinema or the Theatre Royal and usually once a week for a pub lunch with dear friends..

A sad loss indeed.

A piece in Paul Taylors book "A history of the pubs of Hyde and District" states that the Unity didn't get its full licence until 1962 and for many years was nicknamed "The little boys pub".
It dated back to 1869 and probably got the sign of the Unity around 1880.


Before closure circa 2009




As it looks now.

The second and third photos were sent in by Phil Shawdale.
Much appreciated, Phil :)

A postcard from Home.

" FOR REAL UNADULTERATED GOOD FUN

THERE`S NOTHING TO BEAT HYDE "

PUBLISHED BY B.B. LONDON SERIES 2451

And so say all of us !! :)

Friends of Pole Bank

Below is a superb video from Dave Barlow 

and the Friends of Pole Bank.

 

Over to Dave...

"Hi Hydonians....You might be interested in this short promotional video featuring some of the work carried out by 'Friends of Pole Bank'  We are a fledgling group and any new members who are willing to pick up a brush, spade or perhaps do some litter picking will be welcome. We usually meet the first Sunday every month as a minimum.

We've had the solid support of Councillor Philip Fitzpatrick behind the Group, he has obtained funding for us and organised renovation of pathways into the woods and restoration of the damaged stone bridge also within the woodland. Of course in these times where services are having to be curtailed funding has its limits and so we are constantly looking at new ways to raise money as there are many projects that could be carried out at Pole Bank.

The pond itself is one of the main breeding grounds for amphibians in the area however since it was dredged in early 2010 there has been a marked drop in the water level due to some leakage. We managed to locate this leak a month or so ago and thanks to repairs carried out by Tameside Engineers we are hopeful that the water level should now increase substantially.

                                

(For any closet Cliff Richard fans the music on this one should get at least one foot tapping!)

Dave Barlow"

Thanks so much to all concerned for making Pole Bank a lovely place to visit and, of course, to Dave for the video and information. :)

Our Beautiful Town Hall Interior

The following selection of photographs were sent to us by Phil Shawdale. They were taken in 2007.

They show the inside of Hyde Town Hall and the mural painted by Harry Rutherford.
We are very lucky to have this beautiful building.











Many Thanks to Phil for sharing the photos ! :)

Union Street Church Football Team.

 The following was sent to us by Alan Bell in regards to our appeal for Union Street Church's exhibition.

Over to Alan....

"I read with interest about Union St. church celebrating its 200th year. You asked for any information or photographs about the football club there. The attachment is a picture of the 1960-61 football team after we had won the cup in the picture. The final was played on Hyde United's ground and Union St. won 3-2. My name is Alan Bell and I am 3rd from left on the back row.Can anybody help me by filling in the rest of the names all I can remember is John Holt on the back row and I think it is Arthur Chesworth Holding the cup.
Yours Alan Bell."


Many Thanks for this, Alan ! 
Much appreciated :)

Enfield Street School

Below are a few mixed photos of Enfield Street School before it became Laurel Bank Residential Care Home circa 1990..


 

 The previous two photos show the School  looking up from Knott Lane.
I love the fact that it is literally a lane ie no proper road laid yet ! It looks so rural !


Joyce Sharp surveying the demolition of the "Big Hall" in 1987


Enfield Street School 1987

Many thanks to Joyce and Graham Sharp for the photos !
Much appreciated ! :)

A History Lesson

Below is  an article which, while not exclusive to Hyde, would have applied there at one time or another.

The so called "good old days" ! 

A couple of postcards accompanying it are courtesy of John H. and Elsie.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & Sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor" But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot......they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . ...... . Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting Married. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water!" 

 
Great Norbury Street

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof... Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs." There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold. In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire.. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old. Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat. Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would Sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.. 

 

They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake. England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive... So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer. And that's the truth....

Now, whoever said History was boring...?

Many Thanks , John and Elsie :) 

Innocence !

Here is a lovely story and photo courtesy of Marjorie...

This is a photo which stood in the window of Taylor & Wain's studio on Hamnett St. 

It is a photo of me aged 5. I was watching the photographer preparing his camera and was unaware that he had taken it.  

My mother had a copy in black & white but this one was hand coloured by George Wain and put in the window. My mother asked for it but was refused. For years I stood at the Shaw Hall bus stop outside Woolworths, on the way home, looking at myself. When I went to the Grammar school Mr Wain was my art teacher and I mentioned the photo. He told me it was his favourite child study and the next day brought it in to school and gave it to me. 

Nice man, Mr Wain. We kept in touch until he died.

Many Thanks, Marjorie...and what a great photograph.:) 
Mr Wain painted a beautiful picture of My Nan which still hangs proudly at my parents house.
 He was a very talented man indeed..

Fun at St Marys

Today we have some lovely photos of years gone by sent in by Marjorie R..

They show various pantomimes from St Marys .

St Mary's Pantomime, Babes in the Wood, 1948.
My sister and I were the Babes.

St Mary's Pantomime, Cinderella, 1949
My father (left) and Arthur Fitton were the Ugly Sisters.

St Mary's Pantomime 1950. Can't remember the title, possibly Mother Goose.
My father is 2nd left.

Thank you, Marjorie.

Your photos are always very gratefully received. :)

UNION STREET - AN APPEAL FOR INFORMATION.

Next year Union Street Congregation Church (now the United Church) will be celebrating its 200th anniversary following its founding in 1814.

The Church is planning to celebrate this important event and would be grateful to know if any of the readers of the Hydoneon Blogspot have any memories, information, photographs, documents, memorabilia etc relating to the history of the Church.

Old family albums may contain photographs of weddings that took place at the Church.  There may be old pictures of Whit Walks in years gone by.  Some readers may have old pantomime programmes or details about social and religious activities.  Or they may just have memories and anecdotes about past events that took place at the Church.

If anyone has pictures and records of the Union Street Football Club, founded by the Church's youth club in 1956 and which went on to become one of Hyde's most successful amateur clubs during the sixties and seventies, those too would be most valuable.

Although there are a few postings about the Church on the site, any additional help, information or artifacts would be gratefully accepted.

If you contact the site, we will ensure that all relevant offers of help and information are passed on to the organisers.

Enfield Street School

Today we have a class photo from Enfield Street School from 1947, along with the following message...

"Hi,
Attached is a photograph with names (where my 75 year memory allows) of the Enfield St Primary Class of 1947 for your collection. I am number 16.
Eddie Grist (mechanical engineer, PhD)"







As always, if you are able to fill in the missing names, please let us know.

Many Thanks, Eddie.
Appreciated as always :)

Enfield Street School

Today we have a class photo from Enfield Street School from 1947, along with the following message...

"Hi,
Attached is a photograph with names (where my 75 year memory allows) of the Enfield St Primary Class of 1947 for your collection. I am number 16.
Eddie Grist (mechanical engineer, PhD)"







As always, if you are able to fill in the missing names, please let us know.

Many Thanks, Eddie.
Appreciated as always :)

Hoviley farm

Below is an excerpt taken from Thomas Middletons'

"History of Hyde".

It talks of Hoviley Farm, which I once believed to be the buildings on the map below marked by a cross and next to plot number 59.
I have recently been told it was at the opposite end of Hoviley Brow so am now looking for clarification on where it was located.

I have never come across any more information or photographs of this farm. If anyone knows anything about it please dont hesitate to get in touch with us at hydonian@gmail.com and we will add the info to this post!

Thank you !

More Flowery Field School Photos

Today we continue with our "Rogues Gallery" of school photos, this time showing some from Flowery Field School.

These were supplied by David Stafford.
He has sent more which I will post over the coming week !


1947


1954


1956


1961/62

As always, if anyone knows any names please drop us a line so we can add them to the photos.

Many Thanks , David. :)
Always appreciated !