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.