Mottram Old School

This photograph, © Frank Bennett, first appeared on the Images of England site and is republished here with permission.

Date Photographed: 21st August 2000.

The official description is

SJ 99 NE LONGDENDALE WAR HILL 4/89 The Old School 27.11.75 G.V. II School. 1858 on datestone. Rock-faced stone with ashlar dressings and graduated stone slate roof. T-shaped with one storey plus basement. Jacobean style. Projecting plinth, stone quoins and coped gables. Windows in each face are of 2, 4 and 6 lights with chamfered stone mullions, hoodmoulds and in the 2 principal windows transoms. The door has a chamfered surround and tudor-arched head. The door to the basement is re-used and in considerably older. Ridge chimney stack. A cusped panel in the gable reads "Scholam Grammatican, A.S. MDCXX Benivolentian Roberti Garsett Armig et Ricardi Willbraham Equit Fundatam. Metustate et Incuria Dilapsam Instaurarit Reposuit Restituit Geogius Woodhead Armig A.S. MDCCCLVIII". Included for group value.

See my own photograph on Hyde Daily Photo.

Mottram School House

This photograph, © Frank Bennett, first appeared on the Images of England site and is republished here with permission.

Date Photographed: 02 September 2000.

The official description is

LONGDENDALE CHURCH BROW SJ 99 NE (west side) 4/48 No. 6 20.4.77 (School House) G.V. II Schoolmaster's house. Dated 1862. Rock-faced stone with ashlar dressings and graduated stone slate roof. 3 bays, single-depth with 2 storeys. 3, 4 and 5-light chamfered mullion windows with hoodmoulds on ground floor, none on first. Tudor style door in bay 3 with "manners maketh man" inscribed above in Gothic script. Bays 1 and 2 are recessed the eaves being supported on slender timber columns with arch bracing. A plaque in bay 3 reads "Come ye Children: Harken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord: The fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom: Bring them: In the nurture and admonition of the Lord: Anno Domini MDCCCLXII". Coped gables, 2 ridge chimney stacks and mullion windows to rear.

See my own photograph on Hyde Daily Photo.

Mottram Village Stocks

This photograph © Frank Bennett first appeared on the Images of England site and is republished here with permission.

Date Photographed: 02 September 2000.

The listed buildings description is

SJ 99 NE LONGDENDALE MARKET PLACE 4/69 Village Stocks 20.4.77 G.V. II Stocks. Probably C18. Pair of plain stone posts with grooves for timber foot restraints which have iron fasteners. Formerly located in the village of Hattersley.

For a more recent view see Hyde Daily Photo.

Hyde Park Bandstand

This photograph © Frank Bennett first appeared on the Images of England site and is republished here with permission.

Date Photographed: 22 August 1999.

It is described thus:

HYDE HYDE PARK SJ 99 NW 3/24 Band Stand - II Bandstand. Late C19. Copper roof on cast iron columns and brick base. Octagonal canopy on columns placed at each corner. Base has ashlar dressings. Elaborate pierced cast iron arches span between the enriched columns which have crocket capitals. Similar pierced eaves brackets. Dome- shaped roof with decorative crown and weather-vane.

For a recent view see Hyde Daily Photo.

Hyde Bus Station 1999

The CDPB theme for today is Public Transport so here is a photograph of Hyde Bus Station from 1999.

On Hyde Daily Photo you can see Mark Delahoyde's blending of a 50 year old photograph with one of mine taken in July 2010.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants to the theme day.

A Brief History of Hyde (United) FC

Hyde FC was formed on July 27th 1885 at a meeting in the White Lion.

That was two years before the famous record 26-0 FA Cup defeat suffered at the hands of Preston North End in 1887.

Despite that the 1887/88 season was actually a very successful one at the end of which Hyde met Newton Heath (now Manchester United) in a match the local press termed the unofficial championship of Manchester.

The club was playing on a field close to the Bankfield Hotel, which may well have been where Ewen Fields is today.

In 1898 they moved to play at Townend Street, and set up a headquarters at the Gardeners Arms. This was home until May 1906 when they amalgamated with rival club, Hyde St. Georges, began playing at Ewen Fields and taking over their place in the Lancashire Combination. By 1917 however, in the midst of the Great War, the club had folded, and Ewen Fields was no more than a vegetable patch to aid the war effort.

In 1919 a new club, Hyde United FC was formed and, with Ewen Fields earmarked for housing, initially played at Townend Street on condition that the owner be allowed to graze his cattle on the pitch. By the summer of 1920 however, the proposed development plans came to nothing and the club moved into Ewen Fields.

After one season, Hyde United joined the Manchester League and by 1930 had won it five times and the Gilgryst Cup twice. They moved into the Cheshire County League in 1930 and won the League Challenge Cup four years later. The decade after the Second World War proved to be a purple patch for the club. The Cheshire Senior Cup, won in 1946, was the first of many trophies to arrive at Ewen Fields during the next ten years.

In 1953 Hyde United won the League Cup and this was followed by a league and cup double a season later. Season 1955/56 saw them retain the championship and they finished runners-up in the following three seasons. The FA Cup first round was reached in 1954 losing 5–1 away to Workington, who were then managed by Bill Shankly. In the following two seasons the club clinched back-to-back Cheshire League titles.

A new social club was built in 1966 and at the end of 1968 a game against Manchester City officially opened the new £4,000 floodlights.

Hyde's nickname, the Tigers, was adopted at the end of the 1960s when they were founder members of the Northern Premier League. They were expected to struggle but fought like Tigers for two seasons and finished seventh and eleventh. However, the club could not compete financially and returned to the Cheshire League in 1970.

In 1986, Hyde took the radical step of selling Ewen Fields to Tameside Council so that a synthetic Baspograss pitch could be laid.

In 1995/96 Ewen Fields returned to grass surface which played host to another FA Trophy semi-final appearance, this time against Northwich Victoria.

In 2005, Hyde United won the Northern Premier League title for the first time in their history, but it was not without controversy as they were awarded the title after an appeal to the FA. The title was originally awarded to Farsley Celtic after the expunging of Spennymoor United's results because they were unable to complete their fixtures that season (with a Hyde fixture one of those not played). On appeal, this decision was overturned and Hyde, along with other teams who had not played them twice, were awarded 3 points for a "0–0 win" which was enough to secure Hyde's first Northern Premier League title.

On 24 September 2009, the club was officially wound up at the High Court in London, with debts of around £120,000 to HM Revenue and Customs. Over the next few days major fund-raising efforts by the Club officials, supporters and players, which included a bucket collection at a Manchester City Premier League match, sufficient funds were raised for an appeal to be lodged against the High Court decision. The appeal was heard on 30 September 2009, and the original decision was rescinded.

In 2010 to celebrate its 125 year history, the club reverted to its former name Hyde FC. Their kit was changed from red shirts and white shorts to the original white shirts and navy-blue shorts. From 2010 the ground will also be home to Manchester City Reserves for at least the next three years. As part of the deal, an upgrade of facilities has dramatically transformed Ewen Fields, with a new colour scheme and general improvements to the ground.

The information above is sourced from the Offical Club Website, a recently updated article on Wikipedia and the Pyramid Passion website which includes several photographs of the old stands prior to the recent improvements.

A photograph of the new main stand can be found on Hyde Daily Photo whilst the new sign at the entrance to Ewen Fields can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

Update: In 2015 after a number of management changes the club changed its name back to Hyde United and is now a member owned, semi-professional, community football club.

Hyde Market in the 1950s

This view of Hyde Market in the 1950s is taken from Nancy and Tom's blog Hyde Cheshire.


Hyde Market was the subject of local artist Harry Rutherfords' most famous work "Northern Saturday".

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants to the CDPB theme.

Happy Return From Sutton: A George Wain Film 1942

George Wain, an art teacher at Hyde Grammar School, was also an amateur film maker.

During WWll he was commissioned by "The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents" to make road safety films for school children.

This is his film of his trip to Sutton in Surrey, and London, and his return home to Dowson Road and his family during the summer of 1942.



Another a war-time relic can seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

Cheshire Cheese, Gee Cross, 1982 and earlier

This is the Cheshire Cheese on Stockport Road in Gee Cross. The photograph was taken by Janet Howie in 1982.

It is not to be confused with the Cheshire Cheese in Newton, nor the Cheshire Cheese in Broadbottom, featured today on Hyde DP Xtra.


Janet also sent me scans of two much earlier photographs (dates unknown) from her collection. As can be seen here, the left hand side of the building was originally a separate grocery shop.


See how it looks in 2010 on Hyde Daily Photo.

For more C posts visit ABC Wednesday

Bus Station, Hyde mid-20th Century

Bus Station, Hyde mid-20th Century

This photograph of Hyde Bus Station [from Nancy & Tom's Hyde, Cheshire blog] is from the late 1950s or early 60s. In the background is the recently closed Astoria Bingo Hall.

On the left is George Street which was totally demolished when the M67 motorway was pushed through in the 1970s.

The post-motorway bus station still had the passengers waiting on the outside under draughty "shelters" with inadequate seating.

Hyde got a new bus station in 2005 where the buses circulate around the outside while passengers wait within an all-weather designed area.

You can see how it looks now on Hyde Daily Photo.

For more B posts visit ABC Wednesday

Hyde Hall in 1794

Hyde Hall in 1794

According to Pigot & Company's Trade Directory of 1834

Hyde Hall, the seat of Hyde John Clarke, Esquire, is a building of some considerable antiquity; recent improvements have deprived the exterior of its ancient appearance, but a greater part of the interior is in its original state. It is pleasantly situated on the river Tame, but the rapid progress made in manufacture, and the introduction of machinery to such a vast extent and power has materially deteriorated from the beauties of the adjacent scenery.

Hyde Hall (not to be confused with its surviving namesake in Denton) was situated on the left bank of the river Tame, a short distance to the east of Clarke's Bridge over the river (not to be confused with Captain Clarke's Bridge over the Peak Forest Canal). The drive to the hall was off Mill Lane, just above the bridge. On the opposite side of the river in Glass House Fold, Haughton, Lancashire, the Clarke family worked coal pits where a company of refugee Flemish glass makers and blowers had settled during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Around 1793, George Hyde Clarke built Clarke's Bridge over the river Tame at the bottom of Mill Lane. He did this in order to improve the supply of coal into Hyde and also in anticipation of the opening of the Peak Forest Canal, in which he was a major shareholder. The lower level of the canal opened in 1799/1800. However, this single-arched bridge was seriously damaged, and possibly destroyed, by the great flood that occurred on the 17 August 1799. (The present Mill Lane bridge over the River Tame was erected in 1895).

Notwithstanding this, a tramway was constructed from Glass House Fold, over this bridge, or its successor, along the side of Mill Lane for a short distance and then up the field by Hyde Hall to a wharf on the canal where coal from the pit, carried in horse-drawn waggons, was loaded into boats. The date of abandonment of this pit is unknown but there is no reference to it in the 1888 Distance Table of the Peak Forest Canal.

The original Hyde Hall, dating from the seventeenth century, was considerably altered in the mid eighteenth century creating the Georgian country house pictured above. The hall was demolished in 1857, but the farm building, on the left in this picture, survived into the twentieth century. The site of the Hall was purchased by Hyde Corporation in 1924.

A map dated 1882 appears to show Hyde Hall itself occupying the land that is now Kingston Recreation Ground. Hyde Mill is shown adjacent to the river in an area now occupied by a Fairhaven caravan park.

A fuller account of the Clarke Family of Hyde can found at http://www.pittdixon.go-plus.net/clarke/clarke.htm

Recent photographs of Kingston Recreation Ground can be found on Hyde Daily Photograph and also on Hyde DP Xtra.

I'm indebted to Paul Hyde-Clarke for bringing some of this material to my attention.

Broadbottom Station Car Park 1965

Photograph © Ben Brooksbank.

This photograph was taken on 5th May 1965 by Ben Brooksbank.

I recently posted his photograph taken from the Moss Lane bridge.

This is from the other side of the station looking West from Mottram Road down into the car park. The station buildings and Moss Lane can be clearly seen.

Compare it now with my recent photograph on Hyde Daily Photo taken from Mottram Road. The car park is much fuller and the abundant foliage obscures any view of the station buildings.

Yorkshire Bank 1990

This 1990 view of Market Street was taken outside the Clarendon Hotel, by Alan Young. Alan was playing with the West Virginian classic rock band Par Avion who were over in the UK doing a few gigs. I'm not sure about the presence of the ambulance - what interests me is the Yorkshire Bank across the road.

Now, as can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo it is sandwiched between the Chicken Hut and Subway.

It had different neighbours twenty years ago. The shop above was Etcetera which I think was a ladies dress and accessories shop. The shop below was Granada TV Sales & Rentals
and to the right of that was Greenwoods Gents Outfitters.

According to Wikipedia

the bank was established on 1 May 1859 by Colonel Edward Akroyd of Halifax. Based in Leeds it was known as the West Riding Penny Savings Bank. It had originally been planned as a provident society but the status of savings bank was eventually chosen. ... The bank was operated on a non-profit making basis and in 1860 it was decided to extend operation to the other ridings of Yorkshire {and later obviously to surrounding counties}.

To recognise this the name was changed to the Yorkshire Penny Bank. In 1872 it issued cheque books for the first time, primarily for small tradesmen. At that time the bank became the first to create school banks, to encourage the idea of saving at an early age. {I recall as a child having a number of savings boxes and piggy-banks donated by the YPB}

... In its centenary year of 1959 the bank's name changed to the more familiar Yorkshire Bank Limited. During the 1970s the bank became one of the first to offer fee-free banking whilst in credit, a move that took bigger rivals a decade to follow. In 1982 it adopted public limited company status.

In 1990 it was acquired by the National Australia Bank who in 2005 announced its intention to merge the Yorkshire Bank with the Clydesdale under one operating licence, in which the former would be a trading name of the latter. Both operate under separate identities although the Clydesdale brand is the one that has been used in further expansion into the south of England.

For more Y posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Broadbottom Station 1965

Photograph © Ben Brooksbank.
This photograph was taken on 5th May 1965 by Ben Brooksbank.

The view is eastward from Moss Lane towards Hadfield and Sheffield on the then ex-Great Central Manchester to Sheffield (Victoria) main line. It was called 'Mottram & Broadbottom' until 1954. The station is now served by local trains from Manchester (Piccadilly) to Hadfield and Glossop; the main line to Sheffield having lost its through passenger services in January 1970 and its freight in July 1981.

You can see how it looks 45 years later on Hyde Daily Photo.

Hyde Cemetery Chapel 2000

I took this photograph of the chapel in Hyde Cemetery following the trial of Harold Frederick Shipman to use in my account of the murderous GP.

As you can see on Hyde Daily Photograph, ten years later the chapel looks much the same apart from some obvious strengthening of the doors.

Up the Junction 1990

Alan Young took this photograph of the junction of Cheetham Hill Road with Birch Lane/Ashton Road from outside the former Dukinfield Arms in June 1990.

Compare this with the photograph on Hyde Daily Photograph which I took recently from the same spot.

The Junction Inn, like so many others, has been converted into a private residence.

There is now a shelter by the bus stop.

Apart from these changes it looks very much the same now as it did then.

Clock Tower on Stockport Road

Janet Howie sent me this old photograph of houses and a clock tower on Stockport Road, Gee Cross.

I'm informed that these once stood on the site now occupied by the Smith Knight Fay car dealership at the top of Apethorn Road.

You can see the current day photo on Hyde Daily Photo.

The Tomb of Thomas Beeley

I was recently sent this old photograph of the Beeley Tomb by Shane Sawyer who now lives in Australia.

I wasn't sure where it was but the building on the left in the background looked very much like Hyde Hospital so I surmised it was located in Hyde Cemetery. Houses have been built on Grange Road South in the meantime so the view across to the old hospital would be blocked now.

I found the tomb in Hyde Cemetery. It sits alone from the rest of the graves just North of the chapel.

The railings are now covered in vegetation precluding any view beyond.


On this old photograph only the following part of the inscription is visible

In loving memory of Thomas Beeley of Polebank Hall, Hyde who died June 5th 1908 in the 75th year of his age. Also of Elizabeth ...

Now the inscription on the Southern side is so worn as to be barely readable. However the Northern side is still visible and reads

In loving memory of Elsbeth Jessie, daughter of T.C & L.A. Beeley of Bowlacre, Gee Cross. Born March 31st 1901, Died August 16th 1901. Also of the above named Thomas Carter Beeley born October 10th 1869, died June 9th 1909.

Alongside the tomb now is a smaller gravestone in loving memory of Jane Slater of Brookfield, Woodend Lane, Hyde who died April 4th 1926 in her 57th year.

Other short-lived daughters of Thomas Beeley are buried at St. George's.

For the contemporary photographs visit Hyde Daily Photo and Hyde DP Xtra.

Inside Hallbottom Gate Inn 1990

Last week I brought you some photographs taken by Alan Young of the Dukinfield Arms 1990.

A guitarist with the classic rock band, Par Avion from Charleston, WV, he came over in June 1990, together with Tim Thompson (manager & bass guitarist), Brian Young (drummer), Tena Hall (vocalist and now his wife) and Dennis Loudermilk (sound technician). They stayed with Harry Anderson the landlord of the Dukinfield Arms, and performed gigs there, at the Hallbottom Gate Inn in Newton and somewhere called Richmond's (?).


These photographs are from their gigs at the Hallbottom Gate Inn. It looks as though their music was extremely well recieved.


I wonder what has happened to the juke-box pictured here and that fireplace. One thing that you won't see inside a pub these days are those huge heavy ash-trays since smoking in pubs was banned a few years ago.

I was intending to get up and photograph the pub as it is now before posting these photographs but I understand it has recently closed and is due to be demolished. For information and other photos of the outside of the inn see Tom and Nancy's new blog Hyde Cheshire

Some of Tom Wigley's photographs of the Hallbottom Gate Inn can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

Church Brow Gardens (repost)

Church Brow is just below Wood End Street and this photograph (c.1910) shows the allotments in the valley of the Gower Hey Brook.

There were still allotments there in 2007 alongside Woodend Street, but the valley is now much more thickly wooded and below Gower Road is an estate of new houses.

When this was first posted, Tom Wigley wrote in the comments

where this picture was taken from, later had allotments on them as well. My father had his allotment here. There was a farm here called Fawleys Farm. I spent many a day in my childhood feeding chickens and rabbits that dad kept there. He was also into Pigeon Racing and was Secretary and Treasurer of Hyde Homing Society and Gee Cross Homing Society. When these allotments were pulled down and the land used for housing he moved over to Church Brew, it was the biggest Pigeon Loft on there, and I think it still stands. It is on the bank of St Georges Church. He shared that with George Higgingbotton and Stefen Zeaman.

The 2010 view of this area can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

Dukinfield Arms 1990

These pictures of the Dukinfield Arms were sent to me by Alan Young.

A guitarist with the classic rock band, Par Avion from Charleston, WV, he came over in June 1990, together with Tim Thompson (manager & bass guitarist), Brian Young (drummer), Tena Hall (vocalist and now his wife) and Dennis Loudermilk (sound technician). They stayed with Harry Anderson the landlord of the Dukinfield Arms, and performed gigs there, at the Hallbottom Gate Inn in Newton and somewhere called Richmond's (?).


Shortly after they left, Harry moved out having sold the pub. It is now a convenience store as you can seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

VE Day 8th May 1945

seftonwallet has posted another film by George Wain on YouTube.

This one is of VE Day 8th May 1945, filmed in his back garden on Dowson Road, Hyde.

George was his art master at Hyde Grammar School.

Note the Union Flag on the egg, at the end of the film.

Gee X Mill 1984

A photograph of the Peak Forest Canal taken by Janet Howie, Easter 1984.

Gee X Mill in the background has since been demolished and replaced by a modern residence with lawns down to the canal.

See how it looks now on sithenah.

For weekend reflections around the world visit Newton Area Photo.

Clarendon Hotel 1990

This photograph of the Clarendon Hotel on Market Street was taken by Alan Young from a bus in June 1990.

Alan was playing with the West Virginian classic rock band Par Avion who were over in the UK doing a few gigs.

I'll be posting a few more of his photos over the next few weeks or so.

The Clarendon Hotel is now the Last Orders and you can see how it looks in 2010 on Hyde Daily Photo.

Rowbotham Street 1984

Photograph © 1984, 2010 Janet Howie.

This is the top of Rowbotham Street at its junction with Stockport Road in 1984.

See how it looks now on Hyde Daily Photo.

Look further down the street on Hyde DP Xtra.

Towards Windy Harbour

This camcorder still from 1993 was taken on Werneth Low looking towards the restaurant at Windy Harbour.


This 1999 photograph was taken from a little further away looking past Windy Harbour towards Hattersley and the Longdendale Valley.

The restaurant was damaged by fire in 2000 and subsequently demolished.

The present state of the site can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

Red Pump Street

Aiken's "Forty Miles Round Manchester," published in 1795, 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.

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.

The CDPB theme for April 1st is "Red". Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Godley Junction Marshalling Yards

This photograph of the marshelling yards at Godley Junction was taken on 24th March 1989 by Peter Whatley and is reproduced here with permission.

It shows the extent of the sidings required at Godley Junction for locomotive changes between electric and diesel traction. At one time, the trackbed to the right was the main route for Yorkshire coal to Fiddlers Ferry electricity generating station via Woodhead. Godley Junction was the point at which electric traction gave way to diesel. Changes in coal flows and the expense of traction changes at both ends of the journey led inexorably to the Woodhead route's closure in 1981.

Godley Junction had no rationale as a passenger station and was replaced by a new station simply named Godley, but pending formal closure proceedings was renamed Godley East and served by a handful of trains on weekdays to fulfil legal requirements.

You can view Station Road, Godley on Hyde Daily Photograph.

Big Tree 1983

The original "Big Tree", which stood at the corner of Lilly Street and Stockport Road by the Diamond Row reservoir, traditionally marked the boundary between Hyde and Gee Cross.

The reservoir was covered and the nearby Diamond Row cottages were demolished, to create an open space.

In 1983 a new "big tree" was planted as a memorial to sacrifices made in Northern Ireland and the Falklands.

Janet Howie's photograph was taken in September 1983; compare it with my own photograph from 2007 on Hyde Daily Photograph.

The CDPB theme for today is Wood. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Captain Clarke's Bridge 1984

Photograph © Janet Howie taken Easter 1984.

The towpath of the Peak Forest Canal changes sides at this point.

A horse, pulling a narrowboat along with a towline attached to its harness, would walk up and cross the bridge then curve down and go under the bridge, or in the opposite direction would walk under the bridge then up around the curve, over the canal and down the other side. The towline could remain attached the whole time, which would save the boatmen both time and effort.

It is named after the navel officer, John Clarke who lived at Wood End in the 19th century.

Other photographs of Captain Clarke's Bridge:

• c.1900 (Old Hyde)
• October 2007 (Hyde DP)
• December 2007 (Hyde DP)
• February 2009 (Hyde DP)

The CDPB theme today is Changes:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants