St Thomas The Apostle (1920)

This painting, dated 1920, of St Thomas the Apostle on Lumn Road was on show at the recent Heritage Open Day.

St Thomas' church was built in 1868. The architect, Medland Taylor was a Manchester architect who produced a number of fine if quirkish buildings. Locally, he designed St. Anne's, Denton, St. Mar'’s, Haughton Green, Holy Trinity, Hyde and the Library and the Post Office in Stalybridge. At the time when many architects were designing churches in a style they believed to be a copy of Gothic Architecture, Medland was producing an inventive mixture of architectural styles and motifs. For example, St. Thomas' has brick buttresses and window surrounds with stone infilling. Most would have followed the convention and used stone with brick infilling. According to Pevsner, the roof is an example of his humour, having a quirky additional pitch to it. The proportions of the church are such that St. Thomas' appears to be quite a small building, whereas it is fairly large.

Also on show were this piece of crockery celebrating the 125th anniversary of the church in 1993.

See Hyde Daily Photo for a current view of the church.

Visit the church website.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Burley Key's Sundial

In March 2010 I published a photograph of Haughton Green Post Office at the top of Gibraltar Lane.

The post generated much comment regarding Burley Key who lived down the lane.

One commentator wrote

"I remember that post office in the late 1960s and 1970s when it had wooden doors, and roll-down security shutters were nearly unheard of. I bought National Savings stamps in there when I was 10 to save up for a play tent that I couldn't put up at home on the council estate because we had no garden but I played with it in Haughton Dale. Gibraltar Lane dipped steeply down and went to dirt after only a couple of hundred yards. On the left as the lane drops away out of sight was a house occupied by a local identity called Burley Key. His house had a high thick hedge round it and a wooden bench he'd made sat in a cutout of the hedge facing the lane. Carved in the back of the bench was 'Coom sit tha down and rest thy sen, it winna cost thee owt'. An invitation to people walking back up the steep hill, it was a written version of the broad local dialect Mr Key still spoke. As a child I could barely understand a word he said though my mother would stop and have conversations with him on our walks up and down 'Gib' Lane. Oh - it meant 'come sit down and rest yourself, it won't cost you anything'. Thanks again for the memories!"

Another wrote

"Burley Key was my great uncle. I used to love visiting his house with my mum. It was full of such interesting things for a youngster like me. Mum told me that Uncle Burley built his house using second hand bricks from the blitzed areas or Manchester. He and his wife (May?) cleaned all the bricks by hand for ages before work could start. Haven't been down Gibraltar lane for years. Must pop down sometime. I still have a handmade bird table he gave my mum, with hand cut miniature tiles on the roof. Very precious to me."

Paul Key wrote to say

"I'm Burleys great grandson and have a picture hung in my house of that very bird house and him and my dad looking at it. I have also heard the story of his house from my dad but I thought that it was made from the bricks from the mill at the bottom of gib lane"

Paul has now sent me a copy of the photograph. He wrote

"The sundial was made for a raffle at the church and this picture was in the newspaper in an article about the raffle. The sundial was made from salvaged bricks from gib lane mill. The older man is Burley Key, the child that is the closest to the bottom of the picture is my dad, John Key and the other child I have asked my dad about many times before and he has no idea who he is. I'm not too sure when it was taken but at a guess, around 1971. Also I'm not sure which house on gib lane it was but I think it's about half way up the lane."

I was by the top of Gibraltar Lane recently and took a new view of Haughton Green Village Post Office which can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

Archaeological Finds at Newton Hall

Newton Hall, a Grade II listed building and one of Britain's earliest cruck-framed buildings, stands on the corner of Dukinfield Road and Dunkirk Lane in Hyde, Cheshire. It eventually became used as a barn for the farm that occupied part of the site. It was encased in a brick building having a blue slate roof. When the farm buildings were being demolished in the 1960s, to make way for industrial buildings, the contractor saw the ancient cruck-framed construction and, realising it was an important ancient building, stopped demolition immediately. The other farm buildings were later demolished but the original medieval hall was preserved. Sir George Kenyon, the Chairman of William Kenyon & Sons Ltd of Dukinfield, rescued it. Browns of Wilmslow undertook the restoration work and this was completed in 1970.

During the restoration work, a large glass panel was inserted into one side the purpose of this being twofold. It allows sufficient light into the hall so that it can be used for modern purposes such as holding conferences, seminars and meetings and it also allows the construction of the building to be viewed from the outside. It now has a stone flag floor with under-floor heating, whereas originally it would have had an earthen floor.

More information at http://www.pittdixon.go-plus.net/newton-hall/newton-hall.htm

In April 2012 Tameside History Forum in conjunction with Salford University undertook an archaeological dig at the site. Over 500 photographs of the excavation can be found on their Photobucket gallery.

These photographs were taken at one of the open days at the end of the dig when Edward Montagu's Regiment of Foote were performing at Newton Hall together with their Civil War Cannon.

More photographa of the dig can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo and Hyde DP Xtra.

The Crown Pole

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.

In January 2012 it was uprooted to be moved to an undisclosed site as Hyde Market underwent extensive renovations.

See the photographs on Hyde Daily Photo (Vol.2) and Hyde DP Xtra.

Queen Adelaide's Donation

"The Highland Shepherdess" is one of nine pieces of needlework worked by Queen Adelaide herself and donated to a bazaar held in 1835 to raise funds for a school in Hyde. It was purchased by a member of the Tinker family and passed down through the family into the possession of Margaret (Peggy) Tinker. She has generously passed this artefact into the custody of St George's Church.

The church hope to have it restored in due course.

Queen Adelaide was born in 1792. She married William, Duke of Clarence in 1818. He reigned as King William IV from 1830 until 1837. Queen Adelaide died in 1849.

An enriched photograph of the tapestry can be found on Hyde Daily Photo.

Details from the frame can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

For more "Q" posts this week visit ABC Wednesday.

St George's 1840

The earliest known picture of St George's dates back to 1840. It was found recently in a distressed state and fragments were carefully pieced together and stuck on a mount.

I took a photograph of this and then used PaintShop Pro to remove blemishes and restore the colour. Here is the result.

In the foreground is a horse-drawn barge on the Peak Forest Canal. Midground is the valley of the Gower Hey Brook before it became filled with trees, houses and allotments. The artist appears to have taken a little license with the tallness of the tower.

You can view the original distressed picture on Hyde DP Xtra.

A modern view of the church is on Hyde Daily Photo.

Brian & Michael talk about Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs

L.S. Lowry, lived in Mottram from 1948 until his death in 1976. Today's post on Hyde Daily Photo features the bronze statue of Lowry seated on a bench located next to the junction of Hyde Road and Stalybridge Road. There is also a close-up picture of the statue on my photoblog Sithenah.

Local duo Brian & Michael created a new audience for Lowry when they recorded their One Hit Wonder Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs. In this video they talk about why Kevin is Brian, and how St. Winifred's Choir came to sing on the record, but not Top of The Pops.

Market Ground with Watering Trough

I'm not sure of the date of this photograph.

It is clearly of the Market Ground opposite the Town Hall as the White Lion can be clearly seen behind that gorgeous looking lamp on top of the old-style watering trough. It is a pity it could not have been preserved. It puts modern street furniture to shame.

St George's 150th Anniversary Plate

This plate was produced as part of the celebrations marking the 150th Anniversary of St George's Church.