ABC Wednesday: Telephone Box

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is T for "Telephone Box". The photo shows a traditional red British telephone kiosk. This particular type is known as the "K6" and there are three of them left in Ashton. One is next to the Market Hall, one in St Michael's Square and this one, on the corner of Dingle Terrace at Park Bridge, a remotely-situated location just within the northern boundary of Ashton.

Most telephone boxes have been replaced with more modern types these days but the iconic red phone box is always a welcome sight and a little bit of history still in use.

The Google Street View car didn't find this location but you can view it in this Bird's Eye View.

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"Telephone Box" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "T" posts from around the world please follow this link.

In the Spotlight

This week's Sky Watch is an unusual look across the Tame Valley in Mossley.

Although the sky was thickly clouded and the evening was drawing in, somewhere out of sight over the hill behind me the sun must have been poking through a hole in the clouds. The result was an eerie-looking scene in which just the Micklehurst area of the town was in this spooky spotlight of strong sunshine.

There has been absolutely no touching-up of this photo. Apart from trimming the edges off a bit and re-sizing it, this was just as it came from the camera! Although the photo captues the moment partly, it can't covey the weirdness of seeing such an unusual lighting condition.

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!

ABC Wednesday - Shop

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is S for "Shop". The photo shows a shop on Oldham Road in Ashton.

The shop was originally a Co-operative shop - one of many built in various parts of the town. Not only was the shop itself built by the Co-op, but so were the block of houses adjoining it.

One of the features that is noticeable on many of the former Co-op shops in the area was the decorative brickwork that the buildings often feature. In this case, the ornamentation is on the gable on the roof over the doorway, and on the chimney stack. The ornamentation is also seen on other buildings in the same row.

From having a grand empire of shops in every part of the town, the Co-op has now shrunk to having a food store on Kings Road, Hurst Cross, a pharmacy on Stockport Road, West End, a Funeral Care shop in Cockbrook and a Travel shop in the town centre.

View this location on Google Street View.

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"Shop" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "S" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Cedar Street

Today's photo shows a row of houses in Cedar Street, in the Hurst district of Ashton.

The houses are typical of the many brick-built terraces of houses built in Ashton and other Lancashire towns. The windows have plain stone lintels and cills while the doorways have a decorative arch above a semi-circular fan-light window.

The fanlight over the door indicates that the houses have porches or hallways inside, and these windows provide daylight for these. By contrast, the more basic style of house had its front door opening directly into the front room and so had no need of a fanlight. Another feature of these houses is that the lower courses of the wall are built from stone, now painted.

See Google Street View of this location.

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

ABC Wednesday: Rain

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is R for "Rain". Of course, being close to Manchester, rain is not something that we see very often, as you can tell from all the sunny scenes eleswhere on this blog!

However, it does occasionally precipitate in the town and, like many other towns, it can look a little miserable when the weather is bad.

The photo shows part of the Market Place in Ashton, with the Market Hall on the left and the Open Market to the right. Open markets are not the best places to be during downpours but there are still some hardy souls carrying on regardless. It is on days like this when you really appreciate the town having a splendid indoor market where you can forget the weather!

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"Rain" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "R" posts from around the world please follow this link.

ABC Wednesday: Queue

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is Q for "Queue". The photos are a couple of years old, but today's theme of "Q" seemed to be the right moment to dust them off and share them.

I was out for a walk early one afternoon when I was rather surprised to see a queue of buses and lorries on the main road between Ashton and Mossley, stationary and with their engines switched off.

It soon became apparent that something ahead was blocking the road. Most of the car and van drivers caught up had turned their vehicles around and found another route. However, the buses and lorries were too long to turn in the narrow road, so their drivers just had to sit it out. Most of the bus passengers had continued to Mossley on foot although a few were also staying put. A similar queue had built up on the other side with vehicles coming up the hill in the opposite direction.

The obstruction blocking the road turned out to be a lorry which had presumably been delivering sofas to a house in an outlying lane. Turning a very sharp left from the steep lane onto the main road, the back end of the lorry had grounded and the lorry was stuck fast, with the driver being unable to move forwards or backwards.



The problem was resolved when a local farmer came to the rescue by with his tractor. This was attached to the lorry and using a low gear was able to drag the lorry backwards so that its wheels could get a grip. The vehicles caught up in the queues were able to continue their journey, and the lorry continued on its way, this time turning right and avoiding a repetition of its earlier predicament!

See Google Street View seen from Under Lane.

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"Queue" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "Q" posts from around the world please follow this link.

The Five Musketeers

Today is Bank Holiday Monday here in England and that is often a time when people go out to see various shows and spectacles. One such event is an "open day" at Newton Hall, 2 miles south of Ashton. There was also an open day yesterday (Sunday).

There was a photo of Newton Hall here on this blog, three weeks ago. An archaeological dig has been taking place in the grounds of the hall over those weeks and the "open days" mark the end of this dig. Apart from members of the public being able to inspect the archaeologists' trenches and the various finds that have been uncovered, members of a re-enactment group, Colonel Montagu's Regiment of Foote, were there to present living history and drill displays, acting in character throughout the two days.

The photo shows the five musketeers firing their muskets, which made quite a loud noise, although not as loud as the canon that was also fired at times during the two days. There was actually a reasonably-sized crowd watching the drill display, but there are all standing out of view to my right and left!

Photos of the dig in progress, and some of the finds uncovered, can be seen in this album.

See Google Street View of this location.

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

ABC Wednesday: Pylons

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is P for "Pylons". The hilly countryside to the east of Ashton can be very attractive, but is rather spoilt by having two lines of electricity pylons marching across it.

This picture shows two pylons is on the hillside above Under Lane, running from Mossley to Grotton. On the hilltop in the background is Lydgate Church. The bus is heading towards Mossley from Oldham.

The two pylons are one in front of the other, so that it looks like just one from this angle. The power lines change direction when they get to the second pylon, which is more substantial than most. While pylons can have a fascination and interest, it is my opinion that they seriously detract from a landscape such as this. Such a pity that it would cost so much to put power lines under the ground!

See Google Street View seen from Under Lane.

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"Pylons" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "P" posts from around the world please follow this link.

ABC Wednesday: Odd Whim

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is O for "Odd Whim". The plain-looking cream-coloured building is the former "Odd Whim" public house, just off Mossley Road.

The odd whim in question was that of John Wroe, known as Prophet John Wroe, the founder of the Christian Israelite Church.

It was Mr Wroe's notion that Ashton under Lyne was the New Jerusalem, where the chosen would gather at the Apocalypse. His plan was to build a wall around the town, with four gatehouses. This building, built in 1825, was to have been one of these gatehouses. Another of these gatehouses, which stood on Manchester Road, was demolished to make way for the motorway.

In 1831, Mr Wroe fled from Ashton following a scandal that involved seven virgins. He ended up in Australia, where the Christian Israelite Church is still active.

In 1837 the building became the Odd Whim pub, and many extensions were built over the years. When nearby Stamford Park was opened in the 1870s, the pub was re-named Stamford Park Hotel. The name was returned to "The Odd Whim" in 1971. When the pub eventually closed, the extensions were demolished but the original building was retained and converted into apartments.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Odd Whim" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "O" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!

ABC Wednesday: Newton Hall

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is N for "Newton Hall". Newton Hall is on the north side of Hyde, around 2 miles south of Ashton.

It is a very timely occasion to show a photo of this medieval hall, as this week sees the start of a major archaeological dig around the grounds of the hall, where members of the public have been invited to take part.

The photograph was taken yesterday and shows work being undertaken to uncover the foundations of a later extension to the original hall.

The hall, built around 1380, had been extended several times and additional buildings were added around the site. It eventually became used as a barn for the farm that occupied part of the site. 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 and restored.

You can see a photo of the inside of the hall on this post a year ago, when Newton Hall was also my "N" contribution.

Even on the first day of the dig, interesting finds were being uncovered. If you are interested in taking part in the dig, or just in finding out more about the event, please see the Tameside History Forum website.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Newton Hall" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "N" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Please leave a comment below and please rate this photo using the 5 star system below. The highest-ranking photos will be considered for the Photo of the Year at the end of 2012!