Market Avenue

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne is looking along Market Street towards the Market Hall. The photo was taken on Saturday when we were 'enjoying' record high temperatures for October. You can almost see the slow way that the people in the picture are moving about. It was too hot to be energetic!

Market Street was originally called Dungeon Street as there was a prison lock-up there. It was re-named in the 1820s when the market was re-located here from St Michael's Square.

See Google Street View of this location (or as near as the Google car could get).

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"Market Avenue" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

My World visitors may like to read yesterday's post about a piece of Ashton's history that has been saved for the local people.

Court Leet Chair

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This is Ashton under Lyne's Court Leet Chair. It was on display on Saturday during the Tameside Heritage Fair at Albion Church. It is the first time it has been on public display.

A Court Leet was a manorial court dealing with feudal issues that came under the jurisdiction of the Lord of the Manor. It generally dealt with civil matters but could sometimes deal with petty criminal offences.

This was the official chair in which the steward would sit to preside over the court. This particular chair dates from the early nineteenth century and bears the coat of arms of the Earl of Stamford.

Ashton's Court Leet met twice a year until the 1880s in the Court Leet House which stood in the old market place in St Michaels Square. It then continued to meet annually until the 1950s.

The chair was recently bought at auction by the Tameside Local History Forum for the people of Tameside. The forum is glad to have been able to retain a part of our local heritage but would welcome donations toward the cost of buying it! It is hoped that a place can be found where it will be on permanent public display.

Crime Lake

Today's Sky Watch image is looking across Crime Lake, between Ashton and Oldham.

The weather has been rather hot lately, so the sky is rather hazy even though it was sunny. The hazy sky is reflected hazily on the surface of the lake.

In the distance can be seen the former cotton mills in Hathershaw. Apart from these distant glimpses of industry, you could imagine yourself to be miles from a town here.

Crime Lake was formed when the Hollinwood Canal was built on an embankment over a small valley, which was then allowed to fill up after a culvert collapsed. In Victorian and Edwardian times the lake was a popular destination for Sunday afternoons out.

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See Bird's Eye View of this location.

Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Pie Shop

Today's photo from the world of Ashton under Lyne shows the pie shop on Kings Road at Hurst Cross.

Right in the middle of this block of terraced houses in the Hurst Cross area of Ashton is Bradley's Bakery. Not only do Bradleys sell bread, cakes and the most delicious pies, but they also bake them on the premises. You can catch a glimpse of the wonders of the bakery through a doorway behind the shop counter.

This photo is unusual in that it shows some parking spaces available in front of the shop. There is usually a queue of customers inside the shop, several of them people who were passing by on their cars. At ;unchtime the queue can be out of the door. That has to say something about the products on sale!

The family business began in Oldham in 1960, moving to the present location in 1981. The delicious range of pies on offer include Pork, Beef, Steak & Cowheel, Cheese & Onion and Pork & Bury Black Pudding! If you want to see photos of these pies, they why not indulge in a little food porn by visiting the Bradley's Bakery web site?

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Pie Shop" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Towards Carrbrook

Today's Sky Watch image is looking across the Tame Valley towards Carrbrook. The photo was taken on the slopes of Luzley Brow, on the hill between Ashton and Mossley.

The band of houses visible across the middle of the photo are in Carrbrook and Buckton Vale, both in Stalybridge.

The hill behind them is Harridge Pike, with Hollingworthall Moor in the background to the right, separated by Brushes Valley.

The photo is taken from a footpath which curves away to the left, leading towards Bottom Mossley.

The rounded hills are echoed by the clouds floating above them, linking the sky with the landscape.

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See Google Street View of this location.

Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!

Bowling Green

Today's photo from the world of Ashton under Lyne shows the Bowling Green at the bottom of Penny Meadow.

If you were expecting to see a bowling green like this one in Stamford Park or this one at King George's Playing Fields, then I am sorry to disappoint you. This particular Bowling Green is a pub in the centre of Ashton, close to the Market Hall. It stands on the corner of Penny Meadow and Market Street.

It is one of Ashton's oldest pubs, dating from at least 1792. Like many of Ashton's pubs, it has had a few changes of name. It was originally the Hare and Hounds, then the Bridge End, although there is no bridge nearby. By 1803 it had become the Bowling Green, a name it has kept ever since. Oddly, I can find no evidence that there was ever a bowling green here although it is possible that one existed in 1803 before the Penny Meadow area was built up.

As well as having had several changes of name, while the pub has remained in the same spot for 220 years, it has had several changes of address in that time - Marland Square, The Pingot, Cowhill Lane, Katherine Street and, finally, Penny Meadow.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Bowling Green" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Monochrome Moment: Tudno Mill

After a little holiday break, the photo blog returns with another "Monochrome Moment".

Today's photo shows the Tudno Mill, in Smith Street, off Manchester Road in Ashton. This was built in 1894 as Hill's Bakery. It is now Hill's biscuit factory, as can be detected by the nostrils of those passing through the area!

The building's clean lines and angles make it appear particularly dramatic in black and white.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Tudno Mill" is my contribution to "Monochrome Weekend". Please follow the link to visit other sites taking part.

The Hillgate

Today's glimpse at the world of Ashton under Lyne shows the Hillgate pub in the Hurst Brook area of Ashton.

The Hillgate stands on Pot Hill, which was once Hillgate Street, a densely-packed area of Victorian terraced housing. Apart from 4 houses on Union Road, the pub was the only building left standing when the area was re-developed in the 1960s.

It is a splendid brick building with stone banding, constructed in 1899. It replaced an earlier pub on the site called the Old Original Colliers Arms, which was build some time before 1812. The name reflects the history of small-scale coal mining that had taken place in the area. The re-built pub was still known as the Colliers until 1973. The building was sold recently and appears to be no longer a pub.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"The Hillgate" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.



I apologise to regular followers of this blog that I am currently not able to post images as frequently as normal.

Greenfield

For today's photo we open the world of Ashton a little wider with a visit to nearby Greenfield in Saddleworth.

If you take a train eastwards from Ashton, towards Huddersfield, the third stop (after Stalybridge and Mossley) is Greenfield. The railway here is winding along the side of the valley as it clims into the Pennines, so it is not surprising that this view, from just across the road from Greenfield Station, is looking down over the village of Greenfield itself.

The photo is looking along Chew Valley Road, running towards the distant steeple of St Mary's Church, with the steep hills surrounding Dovestones Reservoir in the background.

To the right, the modern building facing this way is The House That Isn't, featured on this blog three years ago..

See Bird's Eye View of this location.

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"Greenfield" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

St George's Church

Today's Sky Watch image shows St George's Church in Mossley, with its tower and steeply pitched roof reaching for the sky.

The first church here was built in 1757 for just £600! They got quite good value for money as the church lasted 120 years before it began falling apart.

It was replaced by the present church, which was opened in 1882, with the tower being completed 5 years later. St George's parish covers the part of Mossley that was historically in Lancashire. The church is situated in Top Mossley, close to the road coming over the hill from Ashton.

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See Google Street View of this location.

Sky Watch is a regular weekly feature on this photo blog. It links with websites all over the world with the general theme each week of looking upwards. Please take the opportunity to visit some of these other sites. I hope some new visitors have found their way here today, watching the skies!