Welcome to Ashton

The sign tells you that you are entering Ashton under Lyne. However, this is not the view that most visitors see on their approach. This is the back way in to Ashton along Whitelands Road.

On the left is Whitelands Mill, built in 1883. In the distance is the older Wellington Mill, built in 1857. The photo was taken close to the former Pointsman Inn, named after one of the jobs on the nearby railway.

Rocher Vale

Rocher Vale, at the northern extremity of Ashton under Lyne, is a rugged part of the valley of the River Medlock, upstream from Park Bridge.

This was the location of Rocher Vale Colliery and the building in the photo is what is left of the Engine House, which housed a steam engine to pump water out of the mine.

Alphabet Friday - Kings Road

K is for Kings Road and today's photograph shows Kings Road between St John's Church and Hurst Cross.

On the left, the Church Inn was to let at the time the photo was taken. On the other side of Rowley Street is Higher Hurst Post Office, with the Co-op at the other end of the block.

Carrhill Mill Again

Another view of Carrhill Mill in Mossley, which partially collapsed in July. The isolated right-hand corner of the building originally survived to the full height of the building but the top section was demolished as it it was deemed to be unsafe. The mill is still in much the same as in the photo today, four weeks later.

Noonsun Hill, above Micklehurst, can be seen in the background.

Oven Ready Rabbits

There's not just fish on sale at Seaking Fisheries in Ashton's Phoenix Market Hall. The sign overhead advertises "Oven Ready Rabbits" at £4.99 a kilogram.

Other delights available include smoked mackerel, peppered mackerel, brown shrimp, cockles and mussels and fresh swordfish.

Lily Lanes

Looking down Lily Lanes, Hartshead, on the fringe of Ashton, from close to where last Friday's photo of Jeremy's Cottage was taken.

In the distance, the view is across the fields around Rocher Vale and Park Bridge towards Hathershaw in Oldham.

Mill Collapse

This was the scene at Carrhill Mill in Bottom Mossley a few weeks ago after part of the the mill collapsed. Although there are plans to redevelop the site, the mill was still in use for storing furniture, and people had been working in the building only a few hours before the collapse.

Carrhill Mill was one of the later mills in Mossley, built of brick rather than the more traditional stone used in the town. It was designed to house heavy textile machinery, making its collapse more surprising.

Alphabet Friday - Jeremy's Cottage

J is for "Jeremy's Cottage", which was actually a 17th century farm house.

This Grade II listed building is on Lily Lanes and is part of the cluster of buildings that formed the hamlet of Hartshead, one of the more rural areas of Ashton. It is opposite the former St Augustine's Chapel and enjoys long range views across Manchester and Cheshire.

Towering Above

Things are looking up at Ashton Parish Church. Or, at least, I was when I took this photo of the 145 foot high tower. (That's 44 metres for those of you who have gone metric!)

The tower was built in 1888 to replace an earlier tower, built in 1818 but which had got into a poor state. This in turn replaced an even earlier tower, built around 1500, which had been badly damaged by lightning in 1791.

The Ladysmith

The Ladysmith public house stands on the corner of Wellington Road and Harley Street. The pub opened in 1860 as a beerhouse (licensed to sell beer but not wines and spirits) with the name The Railway Tavern, being only a short distance from Charlestown Station. Five years later it became fully licensed and changed its name to The Railway Hotel. It kept that name until 1983, when it was re-named The Ladysmith, after the former Ladysmith Barracks in Ashton.

The Cambridge

The Cambridge public house is situated on Cambridge Street in Ashton's West End. It opened in 1853 as a beer house and was only granted a full licence in 1890. The terraced houses behind and opposite the pub have been demolished and replaced with modern housing, although the block of houses further along the street has been retained and refurbished. The towers of the two remaining Ryecroft mills can be seen to the left.

Oldham Road

Looking southwards along Oldham Road towards the centre of Ashton. Christ Church is out of sight to the right of the photo. The tower of the Hop Pole pub is on the left, IKEA is on the right and the tower of the Central Library can be seen in the distance. On the left hand side of the road, alongside the parked cars, is a bus lane, reserved for buses during peak periods.

Alphabet Friday - IKEA

"I" is for "IKEA" and, unusually, Ashton's IKEA store is almost in the town centre. It stands at the junction of Oldham Road and Wellington Road on what was once a railway goods yard. In the distance can be seen the tower of the Hop Pole pub on Oldham Road. The green strip on the left will one day be the Metrolink tram's route into Ashton.

Stamford Belle

The "Stamford Belle" moored up in the middle of Stamford Park Boating Lake, Darnton Road. The "Stamford Belle" is a trip boat that takes customers around the island on the lake. Sadly, it was not operating on the day the photo was taken.

Meeting Place

In one corner of the new garden on Cambridge Street is this area of curved seating, which provides local youngsters or adults with a pleasant place to sit and talk. The modern houses in the background are in a new street called Community Street.

Old Bus Garage

The old bus garage on Mossley Road was opened in 1902 as a tram depot when Ashton Corporation took over the lines in the town that had been run by Manchester Carriage and Tramway Company and added new routes of its own. The building was extended over the years and housed the trolleybuses than ran between Stalybridge and Manchester until 1966.

It continued to house Ashton Corporation's buses until they became part of SELNEC in 1969. A few years later, a new depot was opened on Whitelands road to house the buses from the Ashton and Stalybridge garages and the Mossley Road garage was closed. It is now used by a number of commercial businesses.

Council Offices

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council offices on Wellington Road, Ashton under Lyne, seen from Henrietta Street across the Camp Street car park. On the left is the old fire station, now home to Cordingleys estate agents. On the right is the Ladysmith pub, originally the Railway Tavern.

Alphabet Friday - Holy Trinity

"H" is for Holy Trinity Church, seen here from Bentinck Street. The church was built by mill-owner George Heginbottom and opened in 1878.

Oldham Skyline

A dramatic evening view towards Oldham from Hartshead Pike. The tall building just right of centre is the Civic Centre - the offices of Oldham Council. To the right of the cranes can be seen the tower of Oldham Parish Church. Below that you can just make out the spire of the church at Glodwick.

Green Space

A new area of green space has appeared in the West End of Ashton with the creation of this square containing a small public park at the junction of Rycroft Street and Cambridge Street. This was part of the regeneration of the area. Ryecroft Mill is seen in the background.

Backwater

Possibly one of the narrowest roads in Ashton, this quiet backwater is called "Ashlynne", which retains its cobbled road surface. It runs between Penny Meadow and Mossley Road and overlooks the railway line, although some of the houses that make up "Ashlynne" are at right angles, facing onto Penny Meadow.

Old Town

"Welcome to Ashton Old Town" proclaims the sign as you enter Stamford Street from the Scotland Street roundabout. I don't know of any definition of what "Ashton Old Town" actually is, but the name seems to be a sort of re-branding of the Stamford Street area.

In fact, the area seen in the photo really was the old town as the old market cross stood somewhere on the right, around the junction of Old Street and Crickets Lane. St Micheal's Square was the original market area, in the shadow of the parish church.

Alphabet Friday - Goslings

"G" is for "Goslings" and there were plenty of those at Chadwick Dams, behind Tameside Hospital, in June. No wonder they are pushing out ducks and white geese!