Hyde Grammar School Photo July 1959

Seftonwallet has just added a new video to his YouTube collection. It is an eight-minute scan over the school photo from 1959.

Travellers Call No More

When I published a 100 year old photograph of the Travellers Call, I was asked if I had a photograph of the modern building.

Well I've not yet had the chance to get up there and take a recent view. I do however have this photograph taken by Janet Howie in 1982. So far as I recall it looks much the same now.

Waiting at the Travellers Call

The Travellers Call was a public house on Joel Lane just above Slateacre.

Who they are and what all these people were waiting here for some 100 years ago, I cannot say.

Neither do I know when the pub was converted to a private residence.

Waiting is the CDPB theme for today; click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Dowson Road 1982

Taken from the end of Queen Street, Janet Howie's photograph from 1982 shows the junction of Market Street and Dowson Road.

Compare it with my photograph of 2009 on Hyde Daily Photo.

Kelly's fishing tackle shop has gone along with the three adjacent shops. The first recognisable building is Robinson's funeral directors. The whole junction has been widened up with a left hand filter and pedestrian crossings.

Diamond Row

Janet Howie sent me this photograph of the cottages known as Diamond Row. I'm not sure of the age of this; I'd guess circa 1920.

They used to stand on the corner of Stockport Road and Back Bower Lane.

The Diamond Row reservoir, which was behind them, has been covered and is now an open space.

Alfred Woolley in his Shop Doorway

Denys Meakin sent me this photograph of his wife's great grandfather, Alfred Woolley, sitting outside his grocery store at 284 Stockport Rd, Gee Cross, around 1900.


This second photograph is probably ten to twenty years later and shows the premises on the corner of Knott Lane. Denys' wife lived next door at 286 Stockport Road until their marriage in 1959.

With two-foot-thick walls, it dates back to around 1750 and was one of the earliest buildings in Gee Cross. At one time, it was apparently a pub, The Beeston Castle.

In the forties and fifties, the shop was Johnny Graham's barber shop.


This third photograph is © Denys Meakin and taken in 2003. Compare it with my own photograph from 2008.

Today the CDPB theme is Doorways: Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Orlando Oldhams Cork Cutters Factory

Janet Howie's photograph from 1984 is of the Orlando Oldhams cork cutters factory, latterly Ashworth's bag factory. The white building on the right is the Queen Adelaide.

The factory has since been demolished and an estate of modern houses, called Queen's Close, has been built on the site, as can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

More O posts at ABC Wednesday

Queen Adelaide 1982

Another of Janet Howie's photographs from 1982.

See how it looked in

• 2001
• 2006
• 2008

Whittaker's Whim

About a hundred years ago in the old quarry below the Werneth Hotel on Stockport Road was found what was known as Frederick Whittaker's Whim.

I've been unable to find much out about this, but it is mentioned in an obscure, rambling spoof poem by James Leigh.

...
Just take a walk up o'er Werneth Low, and there you will behold
That grand and noble structure at the foot of yonder hill
An ever lasting monument of architectural skill.

We then besieged the palace of King Frederick the Great.
That tumble-down old building on the Back Bower Estate
But not a Godl(e)y soul we found in that ungodly place,
So we razed the building to the ground and left of it no trace

We then marched through the city of Gee Cross, but, strange to say,
The city's ancient glory has long since passed away;
The only ancients that we saw, beside old Freddie's whims
Was Robin and his brother Jam, the famous Gee Cross twins.

We halted on Mount Pleasant, and as we gazed around
We felt that we were standing upon historic ground,
For the foot of Treacle Hill stood gloomy, dark and grim,
The ruins of a temple, His Majesty's first Whim.

Each warrior bowed his crested head above Stone Pit wall,
And thus each one soliloquised upon the city's fall.

Oh, city of the ancients, we gaze upon you now,
Shorn of thy former glory how desolate art thou;
Thy Market Hall, without a roof, is crumbling to decay
Thy public park and pleasure grounds have long since passed away

But soon we noticed that the sun was sinking in the west,
And weather it was time or not, of course the sun knew best,
But we ourselves were very weary, though only half-past nine,
The heat is so oppressive in that Oriental clime.

We sought a refuge for the night at Doorbar's famous inn
...

Stone Pit is a reference to the reservoir now used for fishing and Doorbar's is a reference to the Grapes Hotel.

Now the old quarry is full of modern houses which you can see on Hyde Daily Photo and the quarry wall can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

The Lumn

This image is from The Annals of Hyde according to which

Probably the oldest house in Hyde is "The Lumn" homestead of the Shepleys. Purchased in 1612 from Sir Uryan Legh, of Adlington, "The Lumn" estate became the property of Richard Shepley, whose direct descendants continue to hold it. This estate is said to have received its somewhat uncommon cognomen from the fact that the homestead erected thereon was then the only house near that boasted a chimney. On that account it was named "The Lumn."

Precisely where it was located I don't know but the name survives in Lumn Road which runs from Mottram Road to Stockport Road, a length of which can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

Grapes Hotel 1982

This photograph of The Grapes was taken by Janet Howie in 1982.

Compare how it looked in

• 1910
• 2003
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009

Werneth Bredbury Boundary Stone

Another photograph from Janet Howie taken in 1984.

In the wall outside what is now the Joshua Bradley a stone marks the boundary between the ancient townships of Werneth and Bredbury.

Now it is the boundary between the Metropolitian Boroughs of Tameside and Stockport.

You can see the wall in context from across the road on Hyde DP Xtra and a 2009 closeup by Gerald England on Hyde Daily Photo.

Gee Cross Post Office 1982

Another photograph by Janet Howie showing Gee Cross Post Office at the corner of Stockport Road and School Lane.

It is no longer a Post Office, falling foul of the general closure of numerous sub-offices, despite a concerted campaign against it. When I posted a photograph of the former Post Office someone asked "Is the new one near?". Well no you have to go all the way into town to the Main Post Office.

Someone else remarked "At least they kept the post box." In this shot the post box is behind the two ladies. It has since been moved round the corner into School Lane.

One thing hasn't changed - there is still a newsagents next door.

Contrasts on Joel Lane

This is another photograph from Janet Howie showing Joel Lane in 1983.

The white stone cottage was built in 1738 and whilst it has been modernised it still stands as can be seen from the photograph I took in 2008 which you can view on Hyde DP Xtra.

The later brick-built house below it in Janet's photograph has however been demolished and replaced by a newer property although I don't have a photo of that to show you.

The CDPB theme today is "Contrast": Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Aspland Maternity Home

I recently acquired some scans of photographs taken in the 1980s by Janet Howie.

The first I am posting is of Aspland Maternity Home on Higham Lane.

It opened in October 1931 and closed in November 1973.

According to an expats page on Manchester OnLine

The building on Lower Higher [sic] Lane, Gee Cross, was presented to the town of Hyde by the widow and son of Arthur Palmer Aspland, a leading figure in the industrial and social life of Hyde. The grounds were formally opened as a public park on 29th July 1922 before the house was converted into the maternity hospital. Staffed by a matron, two midwives, laundress, cook, two domestics, and a caretaker, there were only two small wards and 14 beds. ... The building was demolished in 1987 and the land sold to make room for private housing. Two stone pillars, which once stood on the driveway to Aspland were donated to Werneth Low Country Park, and were erected on the drive at the entrance to the park.

One of the stone pillars can be seen on a photograph I posted in April 2008 of the wall at the entrance to Lower Higham Visitor Centre.

I'll be posting several more of Janet's photographs over the coming weeks and months.

Gower Hey Bank in the 1950s

Gower Hey Bank, a large house at the end of Osborne Road, was once the home of Thomas Middleton, one time Mayor and author of the Annals of Hyde.

More recently in the 1950s it was the home of then teenager Denys Meakin who emigrated to Canada in 1959 and who has kindly sent me this photograph.

Today the site contains a small estate of modern houses named Gower Hey Gardens which back onto Gower Hey Woods.

You can see the fence and banking on Hyde Daily Photo.

Slack Mills

Looking down Stockport Road from Gee Cross into Hyde about 100 years ago.

Taken from near the crossroads with Osborne Road and Peel Street, the scene is dominated by Slack Mills. The site was taken over early in the 1900s by James North whose firm patented the PVC glove in 1947.

I recently posted a 1993 view of the factory from Werneth Low.

The mill was demolished in 1998 and the only monument is the restored James North Clock.

See how the view from the same vantage point looks today on Hyde Daily Photo.

The Big Flood of 1906

The Big Flood happened in Hyde in 1906.

A violent thunderstorm struck on May 8th and five inches of rain fell in five hours.

I've previously shown here photographs of the destruction at Newton Bank Printworks and at the James North Works.

I am grateful to Graham Hadfield for sending me this image that shows the big damage caused to Thornley & Booth's solicitors offices.

The firm survived and today are known as Booth, Ince & Knowles (established 1872) and you can see their present day office on Hyde DP Xtra.

Big is the theme for City Daily Photobloggers today: Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

James North 1993

This is a still picture from a video I took in 1993 and recently had transferred to a DVD. Apologies for the quality but lets examine the width.

In the foreground is the rough ground now occupied by Alder Community School.

Under the trees in the middle lies Hyde Cemetery.

In the background is the James North Factory, which was demolished in 1998.

Hyde Chapel 1708-1846

These images are from The Annals of Hyde.

In 1708, on an estate belonging to an ancestor of the Thornelys, the original chapel at Gee Cross was built largely under Presbyterian influence. The district at that time contained only a few scattered farmers, and there was no other place of worship in the township. For nearly 100 years the chapel remained the only place for public worship in Hyde, until in 1814, the Independent Chapel was built on the site now occupied by the Mechanics' Institute.

The original Hyde chapel was a low building of stone with a small flat gallery entered by an outside stone staircase. "It was fitted up," says Mr. Hibbert, "with wooden benches without backs, standing on an earthen floor, which in wet weather was covered with rushes." Among the first trustees the following names occur : Thornely, Shepley, Ashton, Brook, Mottram, Hegginbotham, Harrison, Sidebotham, Gee, and others, showing the ancestors of the principal Hyde families to have been concerned in the erection of this old and interesting place of worship. That the chapel flourished in its earlier years is evident from the fact that a return made in 1715 states that "at Hyde, John Cooper had 674 hearers, 10 gentlemen, 39 tradesmen, and 70 yeomen, including 65 voters for the county."

The present chapel is built of stone and is of most beautiful appearance. Its style is partly early English and it consists of a nave with north and south aisles and chancel, and a fine tower and spire rising to the height of 145 feet. The nave is divided by rows of clustered pillars from which spring moulded arches which support the clerestory. The chapel took two years to build and cost £7,500. Upon a stone tablet over the north door is this inscription :

This House of Prayer, standing near the site of a chapel built A.D. 1708, was erected A.D. 1846 by the descendants of the founders, and dedicated to the worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the protection of that Act of Public Justice, 7 and 8 Vict. c. 45, which secures to non-subscribing dissenters peaceful possession of the Chapel and Endowments of their pious forefathers.

The top image is a copy of the painting of the 1767 church which can be seen inside the church.

Compare the present print from the 1890s with my photograph from early Spring, 2009.

Hyde War Memorial Trust

A new website has just come online. The Hyde War Memorial Trust website has been set up to document the 710 men of Hyde who perished in the Great war of 1914-1919 (when the treaty of Versailles was actually signed). In time, it will contain a wealth of information relating to the men, the monument and the country park.

One of the first additions to the site is a copy of the original 1921 unveiling souvenir brochure.

Dr. Beecroft's Surgery, c.1910

This photograph of a house on Church Street, c.1910 was sent to me by Yvonne Michelle from Arizona.

She is the great-great-grandaughter of Dr. Samuel Beecroft and Sarah Bloor and the great-granddaughter of Arthur Beecroft and Edith Mary Clegg. The Beecrofts were doctors and the house doubled as their surgery.

When Arthur Beecroft died at sea, while working as a ship's doctor, his wife Edith Clegg Beecroft sold the home and moved to Australia. She sent Yvonne's grandfather (11 years old at the time) to live with relatives in Texas, so he'd have better opportunities in America. Yvonne thinks her grandfather's nanny bought the house and was living there when her parents visited in 1974.

A photo taken by her mother in 1974 can be seen on Yvonne's blog C'est la vie. Update That link is now dead.

For a 2009 photograph and more on the subsequent history of the house, see Hyde Daily Photo.

Hyde Central Station 1989

Photograph © Peter Whatley from the Geograph website.

For a contemporary view see Hyde DP Xtra.

For a view of the street see Hyde Daily Photo

Hyde Town Hall 1898

Taken from The Annals of Hyde, which says

The Town Hall was erected in 1883-4 at a cost of £10,000. The foundation stone was laid by Mr. Thos. Ashton, the first mayor, and the building was opened by the second mayor, Mr. Edward Hibbert. The Town Hall Clock and Bells were generously presented by Mr. Joshua Bradley, a retired spinner, who for some years occupied a seat on the Council.

and of the LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE TOWN HALL.

This important function took place on Saturday, June 30th, 1883, when, in the presence of a large and enthusiastic assembly and in beautiful weather, Mr. Thomas Ashton (then Mayor), discharged the principal duties of the ceremony. The event was hailed as a red-letter incident in the affairs of Hyde, and the actual laying of the stone was preceded by a procession in which bands of music, the various friendly societies, the Sunday schools, the members of the Corporation, and other representative bodies took part. Practically all Hyde turned out to assist in the demonstration and the town presented a lively appearance. The streets were thronged with people, every business place displayed flags and bannerets, and the front of the platform where the main event of the day was enacted, was lavishly decorated with over 500 flags and streamers of every conceivable hue. The various public bodies taking part in the procession, amounting altogether to some 3,000 people, assembled in Crook's Square, off Union Street, at 3 o'clock. The procession was led by the Borough Band and the Hyde Corps of the 4th Cheshire Rifle Volunteers. The Mayor, who wore his gold chain and badge, brought up the rear. At the principal scene of operations the Mayor was presented, by Mr. Alderman John Thornely on behalf of the Town Council, with a handsome silver trowel, with which his Worship proceeded to lay the memorial stone. Before finally adjusting the stone the Mayor placed in the cavity underneath it, a tin box containing a copy of the Charter, an abstract of the accounts for the previous year, a list of the Councillors and officers of the borough, copies of the local newspapers, and a few of the current coins of the realm. The conclusion of the ceremony was marked by the firing of cannon at the back of the platform and the playing of the Hallelujah Chorus by the united bands.

Today's post on Hyde Daily Photo shows the details of the Foundation Stone.

St George's Church

These images are from The Annals of Hyde. Compare this with a recent view taken in April 2009.

The Annals of Hyde tells us

Prior to 1831, the Church of England had no place of worship in the township, and for ecclesiastical purposes Hyde was connected with the Parish Church of Stockport, which place many of the inhabitants attended. Others worshipped at Mottram, or at Denton Old Church ... But the rapid increase of the population of Hyde (owing to the spread of the cotton industry), and the long hours that the people had to work, caused the need of a church within the township to become apparent. The matter was taken up by (among others) Captain Clarke, who obtained the gift of a site from his half-brother, George Clarke, and eventually St. George's Church was built.

The erection of this spacious building was commenced in 1831, the foundation stone being laid on May 28th of that year, by Captain Hyde John Clarke, J.P. The cost, about £5,000, was chiefly guaranteed by the Church Building Commissioners.

The building was consecrated on October 20th, 1832, by the Rt. Rev. John Bird Sumner, D.D., Lord Bishop of Chester, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is a plain substantial stone erection in the perpendicular style, consisting of a tower, a wide nave, and a small chancel. The tower which is lofty and square, surmounted by pinnacles with floreated finials, commands a fine view of the surrounding country. It contains a clock and a peal of eight bells the latter inscribed with the names of the gentlemen who contributed to the cost.

The first peal was rung on the 20th of March, 1853, by the ringers from Mottram Parish Church. Since that time the ringers of St. George's have distinguished themselves in various parts of the country, and have been awarded many prizes for
their skill in this department.

The interior of the church (which is galleried all round), underwent renovation some years ago, and is now calculated to seat above 1,200 persons, the whole of the sittings being free. The large east window of stained glass is a fine piece of workman-ship, and was the gift of John Sidebotham, Esq., J.P., of Kingston.

A large memorial window on the western side was inserted by Mrs. Horsfield, of the Longlands, in memory of her son, and on the north and south sides most of the original windows have been replaced by panes of stained glass in commemoration of departed parishioners. The edifice also contains tablets to the memory of the Rev. Alexander Read and the Rev. Herbert Alkin, former vicars, and one perpetuating the labours of Richard Gilbody and George Middleton, two workers in the Sunday Schools.

In the main entrance of the church, beneath the tower, is the family vault of the Clarkes descendants of the ancient lords of Hyde and there sleeps Captain Hyde John Clarke, who for many years was the chief figure in this part of the country.

St. George's was first formed into an ecclesiastical parish in 1843.

Today's photograph on Hyde DP shows the view from the Lych Gate.

Newton for Hyde 1989

Photograph © 1989 Peter Whatley

Last week I showed you the ways in and out of Newton for Hyde station.

The picture day shows the platforms and is taken looking towards the Victoria Street bridge. The houses on Danby Road are clearly visible.

Twenty years on and they are hidden from view by tall trees as you can see in the recent photograph on Hyde Daily Photo.

In and Out at Newton for Hyde

These photographs from 1989 are © Peter Whatley.

The first shows the way out from the Manchester bound platform at Newton for Hyde station.


The second shows the old booking office on Castle Street.

To see how it looks 20 years on, visit Hyde Daily Photo.

St Andrew's Whit Walk

On Friday I showed you United Methodist Sunday School preparing for their Whit Walk.

Today we see St Andrew's Church on John Street.

It was a mission church and according to The Annals of Hyde

Mission work in the St. Andrew's district was begun in 1874 in the Temperance Hall, by the Revs. W. H. White, Dudley, Diggs, and Dr. Smith. Success attending the movement, the present buildings were erected in 1875. For a time Dr. Smith had sole charge of the budding church, but in 1885 it was again taken over by the Rev. W. H. White, and the Rev. D. S. Bowen became Curate-in-Charge. During his time the purchase of the building was completed; whilst a fund for providing an endowment (towards which the Bishop of Chester's Fund granted £1,000) was completed by locally raised sums in 1897. In 1893 the Rev. M. Wilson, M. A., succeeded Mr. Bowen, and was in turn succeeded in 1896 by the Rev. W. Graham, under whom many improvements have been effected. The present curate is the Rev. J. Lawton.

Remnants of John Street remain both North and South of the M67 but the motorway destroyed the middle of it.

Whit Walks: United Methodists

Last year on Whit Friday I brought you a photograph of the walkers outside St George's Church and I also posted a view of walkers in Gee Cross.

This year I am bringing you the United Methodist Sunday School, George Street.

I don't know the age of the photograph, and I wasn't sure of the whereabouts of George Street which is not marked on modern A-Z atlases.

According to The Annals of Hyde

In the year 1830 the (Methodist New) Connexion commenced work in Hyde, a small room in Cross Street being used for religious worship. In 1833, the Church had grown sufficiently to warrant the erection of a small chapel in George Street. The leading spirit in the movement about that time seems to have been a Mr. John Leech. A Sunday school was formed and this appears to have strengthened the church. Progress continuing, the large George Street Chapel was erected in 1858. The old schools were replaced in 1885 by the present spacious building adjoining the chapel.

I've recently learnt that George Street was completely obliterated by the building of the M67 motorway.

Inside Automasters Again

Photograph © Bob Abell.

Another 2005 photograph of Automasters courtesy of Bob Abell.

See Hyde DP for a look at the site now.

The Annals of Hyde

Thomas Middleton's book The Annals of Hyde, published in 1899 is now available for download in various formats incluing PDF from the University of California Library.

This brief extract recalls the early origins of the town.

The earliest references to modern Hyde are contained in Aiken's "Forty Miles Round Manchester," published in 1795, and in a History of Cheshire written 20 years later, Aiken, speaking of this district, says :

Near the commencement of the Eastern Horn of Cheshire, which runs up into the wild country bordering on Yorkshire and the Peak of Derbyshire, is Hyde Chapel, or, as it is now called, Gee Cross. The chapel is a Dissenting place of worship. About 25 years ago there was only one house besides; now the place looks like a little town, and forms a continued street of nearly a mile; near it is Red Pump Street, a new village lately built by Mr. Sidebotham.

In a work entitled "Cheshire; or, Original Delineations :Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive of that County: the result of personal survey by E. W. Brayley and J, Briton, published in 1818, this passage occurs:

Hyde Chapel, or Gee Cross as it is now generally denominated, is a small village which obtained its primary name from a chapel for Dissenters, which, with a solitary house, were the only structures here till within these 40 years. The place now resembles a small town, and the houses range along each side of the road for nearly a mile; near it is a new milage lately built and called Red Pump Street.

It is noteworthy that the above writers make no mention of either town or village of Hyde by the present name.

A map of the Environs of Mottram-in-Longdendale, which accompanies Aiken's book, gives the names of such familiar places as Hyde Hall, Hyde Chapel, Godley Green, Gibraltar, Smithy Fold, Newton Green, Newton Hall, and Harrop Edge, but beyond the location of Red Pump Street no trace of Hyde is found. The name Red Pump Street (which was given to a row of, cottages built by Mr. Hegginbottom, and not by Mr. Sidebotham, as Aiken states) was the name by which modern Hyde was first known. Later, we find the name of Hyde Lane (the principal road from Red Pump Street to Gee Cross) used to designate the growing village. Finally, with the increase of the population, the name of the township seems to have become generally used.

Inside Automasters

Photograph © Bob Abell.

Another 2005 photograph of Automasters courtesy of Bob Abell.

This is the front glass corridor. Bob tells me it was

Absolutely roasting hot in summer!

Hyde Grammar School Football Team 1946

Hyde Grammar School Football Team 1946, filmed by George Wain.

Look out for future Manchester United and England star Warren Bradley, future PE master Fred Whyatt, and headmaster Dr Couzens.

Automasters 2005

Photograph © Bob Abell.

This week Hyde Daily Photo is devoted to Automasters.

Bob Abell's photograph of the offices on Manchester Road complements the first of eight on Hyde DP taken across the road by the sign to "Over Yonder".

Hyde Grammar School: More boys from '57

A follow up to Boys of 57 Reunion.

Hyde GS: Boys of '57 Reunion

After 50 years, a few of the 1957 intake of boys from that year, get together for a reunion to celebrate a past and superior age. Amazingly, these old buggers can remember the words to the School Song.

Reflecting on Automasters

Automasters Engineers were once one of the biggest employers in Hyde, but their huge factory on the side of the Peak Forest Canal has now been reduced to a pile of rubble.

I took this photograph from a bus passing the main entrance on Manchester Road in April 2008. Due to the reflections from the bus window, it isn't an especially good view so I never used the photograph at the time. There is no chance to take a better picture now, so here it is anyway.

The Crown Pole 2002

The "Crown Pole" is not a conventional signpost. The top eight fingers in descending order point to Audenshaw, Stalybridge, Dukinfield, Denton, Ashton-under-Lyne, Mossley, Longdendale (almost invisible here as it points directly at the camera) and Droylsden. The bottom finger, presumably added to give balance, merely points "South".


It was erected in 2002, along with others in Tameside, to commemorate the golden jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II.


On the market ground opposite Corporation Street, it replaced former flower tubs.

Read post update January 2012.

Godley Station 1989

This photograph is by Peter Whatley and used here with permission.

It was taken in March 1989 and shows the Manchester-bound platform and a train heading towards Godley Junction.

On Hyde Daily Photo you can see recent photographs of the platform (taken from the opposite end of the station) and of the line towards Godley East.