Pie Stall

Who can fail to find their mouth watering when they see the delicious pies on the stall in Ashton Market Hall?

They've got meat pies, meat and potato pies, steak and kidney pies, steak and ale pies, pork pies, cheese and onion pies, mince beef and onion pies, apple pies and blueberry pies.

Market Hall Re-opens

It's open at last! After four and a half years, Ashton's Market Hall once again thronged with shoppers.

Every stall was occupied by traders and it seemed as if every inch of floor space was occupied by shoppers! The bareness of the modern decor seen in the preview photos a couple of weeks ago has been replaced by a mass of colour and life.

Although it is in effect a brand new state-of the art building constructed within the walls of the old market hall, the designers have tried to bring to it some of the character that the old market had. Instead of the broad, straight aisles found in modern market halls elsewhere in the region, Ashton's new market hall still has some nooks and crannies. There are curves and angles with some passages narrower than others. But the place has a feeling of lightness and openness brought about by the removal of the old internal walls and the design of the high vaulted roof with its rows of windows that let the light flood in.

There are two new web pages with more than 30 photos of the inside of the Market Hall to be found here.

I will post further photos of the market on this blog. Don't forget that you can see larger versions of the photos on this blog by clicking on them, although you will need to use your "back" button the return here.

See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location while the Market Hall was still being re-built.

Alphabet Friday - Waterworks

"W" is for "Waterworks" and this building on Henrietta Street was once the offices of Ashton's water supply company. The stone on the roof parapet above the door bears the words: "Ashton under Lyne Waterworks AD 1838".

The Ordnance Survey map of 1848, just 10 years after this building was constructed, shows that there was a small circular storage reservoir just behind the building. This site was presumably chosen as it is on the top of the closest hill to the town. The storage reservoir was fed from Knott Hill Reservoir, which was built at Hazelhurst around this time. Ashton under Lyne Waterworks Company had been formed in 1825 and in 1856 was taken over by Ashton Corporation.

The 1848 map shows that Henrietta Street finished just a few yards to the left of this building, with the open land of Lees Fields beyond. The waterworks were literally on the very edge of the town at that time.

See Google Aerial View of this location.
See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location.

Latchford Street (2)

Today we pay a second visit to Latchford Street, which we saw in April.

This view is looking west from Elgin Street, across Minto Street, to Oldham Road and the Lych Gate at Christ Church.

See Google Aerial View of this location.
See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location.

Heading East

The 1607 departure from Ashton to Stalybridge moves out of what was once known as Charlestown Station for the 6 minute journey to Stalybridge, where it will terminate. Alternate trains from Manchester Victoria to Ashton and Stalybridge continue to Huddersfield, stopping at all stations en route.

The train has just passed under Henrietta Street. On the left, through the trees, Tameside Council's offices can be seen. In the distance beyond the bridge lies the blue bulk of IKEA.

This line is now used only by local trains. The Trans-Pennine Express trains bypass Ashton on the track that passes through the site of the former Park Parade Station on their way to Manchester Piccadilly.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Over The Top

This was the main A635 Manchester Road through Bottom Mossley last weekend. The road was closed off for 24 hours while a giant crane was set up to help put a replacement footbridge into position across the railway.

The railway lines runs behind the houses, which is why such a large crane, which was capable of lifting 80 tonnes, was needed.

The old and new bridges were not lifted over the houses, though. At around 3.00 am the old bridge was lifted down onto bogies on the railway track and moved along to the station yard 300 yards away, where a smaller crane lifted it off.

On Sunday afternoon the new bridge (which had arrived at the station yard by lorry) was lifted onto the bogies and moved along the track to the bridge site. The large crane in the photo then lifted it from the bogies, rotated it and placed it onto the bridge piers.

The railway line was closed to trains through much of the weekend, although some freight trains moved through very slowly late on Saturday night. The road closure caused disruption to cars and bus services. Some of the drivers of the rail replacement coaches seemed uncertain as to which way they should go to get to the next station at Stalybridge!

Hopefully the new bridge will last another 150 years!

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Alphabet Friday - Valley Aqueduct

"V" is for "Valley Aqueduct" and this attractive location is situated on the present northern boundary of Ashton, although at one time Ashton extended a lot further northwards.

The aqueduct carries the disused Fairbottom Branch of the Ashton Canal across Knott Lanes, which leads down from Bardsley. This section of canal was filled in after the aqueduct began to leak. It is hoped that the canal here can be restored, however.

The road is now a dead end for vehicles but it was the main carriage road north from Ashton to Oldham and Rochdale, before the 1765 turnpike road was built, which ran directly from Waterloo to Bardsley and has become the modern A627 Oldham Road. The original road ran along Downing Street to Taunton on its route into Ashton.

The area shown in the photo is now part of Daisy Nook Country Park and there are some pleasant woodland and canalside walks to be had around here.

See Google Aerial View of this location, although the road and canal are both hidden by trees!

The Road to the Aisles

This picture shows the western end of the Market Hall, looking towards Bow Street, with the entrances from the Open Market on the right and the aisles between the stalls going off to the left.

Between the entrances some smaller stalls will occupy recesses. Above the entrances are full height windows lining the corridor which serves the new offices on the mezzanine level.

New Indoor Market Stalls

This photo shows some of the new stalls in the Market Hall, opening in 9 days.

All the stalls were created to suit the requirements of the traders. Some have had very little added to the floor space while others have had specialised counters and fittings made for them.

The council took possession of the Market Hall last weekend and traders have had access from this week to enable them to set up in readiness for the re-opening.

Looking down on the new stalls

Today's picture is looking down on the new stalls in the re-built Ashton Market Hall from the new mezzanine level. This level houses offices and will not be accessible to shoppers.

The internal walls that divided up the original building have been removed to create one big space. The new roof is designed to give the same airy and spacious feel as the old one.

(Click photo to see a larger version and click Back to come back here.)