Baby Clothes

Another wander around Ashton Market today, with the splash of pastel colours on the baby clothes stall. In the background is the re-vamped entrance to the Ladysmith Centre, seen here a couple of weeks ago.

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Mossley on Monday: The George Hotel

Today's photo shows the former George Hotel in Top Mossley. But just where was the George Hotel?

The first George Hotel in Mossley wasn't here at all, but at Seel Fold at the top of Old Brow. This was later re-named The Highlander and The Highland Laddie and was re-build as the present Highland Laddie around 1903.

The George Hotel here on Stamford Street was opened in 1826 on the site of the café and former shop in the centre of the picture. The street up the side is called George Street, after the pub.

That original pub stood further forward than the present buildings and was pulled down to widen the road in 1866, when the grander building to the left was constructed. The George's size and central location made it Mossley's main hotel and it became a meeting place for various groups, such as Oddfellows lodges, the Order of Shepherds and the Druids Brass Band.

The building has been empty for several years but has recently been completely re-built inside to incorporate modern apartments. The ground floor is to re-open shortly as a new family venue with the name Giorgio's (clearly based on the building's original name). This is being promoted as having a Bistro, a Children's area, wifi/internet, a high-tech atmosphere and a meeting room. This new café bar opens on Thursday 16th April.

Incidentally, the triangular wedge of land between the pavement of George Street and the side wall of the café was for many years the location of a small lean-to hut that accommodated a butcher's shop!

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Those with an interest in local transport history may like to note that this Bird's Eye View (at least, in March 2009) shows a Mayne's bus waiting at the traffic lights, which means the image is over a year old at this time.

Sunday Stroll: Daisy Nook Horse Ride

This is a view of Daisy Nook Country Park not seen by many walkers as I had to step a couple of metres off the normal footpath to take this photo!

A horse ride or bridle path runs right through the Country Park and is well used by customers of the several stables and riding schools in the area. These rides are mostly separated from the footpaths to avoid conflict of interests. However, while enjoying my stroll, I looked through a gap in the hedge alongside the towpath of the Fairbottom Branch Canal and saw this delightful scene.

Who would have thought that this rural setting is less than two miles from the busy town centre of Ashton and less than three miles from Oldham?

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Stalybridge Saturday: Green House Effect

Another photo from Waterloo Road in central Stalybridge.

Rather unusual to find in the centre of a town is this pair of brick cottages, one of which is totally clad with ivy!

The cottages are directly opposite the bus station and are next to the Old Fire Station, seen here two weeks ago.

A date stone on the left hand cottage reads AS 1920.

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Sky Watch: Millstones

The site of the original tower on top of the hill called Hartshead Pike is now marked by these millstones placed on top of each other. They make a mysterious outline against the evening sky.

The sun glints on Audenshaw Reservoirs in the distance, with the shapes of buildings in Ashton visible a little nearer. Further to the right, at the foot of the hill, it is just possible to make out St Damian's Catholic high school.

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Sky Watch is the regular Friday 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!

Red Phone Box

Although most of Ashton's traditional red telephone boxes have been replaced with more modern versions, there are still a few examples left. At least some of these are now "listed buildings"!

This particular red phone box stands in St Michael's Square at the eastern end of Old Street, and only a few yards from the site of Ashton's Old Cross - the original centre of the town.

In the background can be seen the Angel public house, featured here over a year ago.

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Stamford Arcade

Stamford Arcade is a passageway running between Old Street and Stamford Street. It has recently been enhanced by attractive gates at each end. I presume these can be closed on a Friday and Saturday night to keep out revellers spilling out of nearby pubs and clubs!

The church tower that you can see framed in the gate design is not an artistic representation - it's the real tower of Ashton Parish Church!

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Mossley on Monday: The Shears

Last week we saw a photo of a building on Carrhill Road known as the Old School House, which had an interesting history.

Today's photo is of the building next door, which also has an interesting past. This house is known as "The Shears".

It was built in 1794 as a pub - named the Shears Inn, in reference to sheep shearing, to reflect the importance of the woollen industry in Mossley at that time. It was the first pub to be built in the Roughtown area of Mossley. The bar rooms were on the first floor level, entered by the side door at the top of a flight of steps.

In 1856 a meeting was held in The Shears to discuss the setting up of a Co-operative Union for Mossley. Regular vegetable shows and September Fairs were also held there. The pub had its own brewhouse and stabling.

In 1913 inspectors tried to close the pub on account of the ceilings being too low, the approach being too steep and police supervision too difficult! The brewery lowered the floor by 16 inches and created a less steep flight of steps to replace the steep slope and the pub survived until 1970. It has now been converted into a pair of houses.

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Sunday Stroll: Hobson Moor

Today's photo was taken on the same walk as the photo that appeared here two weeks ago. The tree in the centre of the photo is near the stile that features in that previous photo.

This is looking back a little further up the hill in an area known as Hobson Moor. The extra height gives a wider view across the Longdendale Valley. Behind the tree is Arnfield Reservoir and behind that, strung out along the A628 Woodhead Road is the village of Tintwistle.

Beyond Tintwistle is Bottoms Reservoir and to the right of that is the small town of Hadfield. The backdrop is formed by the mass of Bleaklow, part of the Pennine chain.

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Stalybridge Saturday: Melbourne Court

For a small town centre, Stalybridge has quite a lot of interesting old buildings. Opposite the Post Office on Trinity Street is this building, now part of Melbourne Court. It stands beside the River Tame next to Victoria Bridge.

The building was originally Stalybridge Congregational Church Hall. The church was situated next door but was demolished after being destroyed by fire. A modern replacement church was built just off Acres Lane. A sheltered housing complex was built on the site of the church and the former church hall was incorporated into this. On the left of the photo you can see that there are enclosed links between the old and new buildings.

The old church opened in 1861 and the hall a little later. A photo of the church and hall before the fire can be seen on this web page.

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Sky Watch: Oakwood Mill

Oakwood Mill is on the edge of the village of Millbrook, between Stalybridge and Mossley, and about 4 miles from Ashton.

The mill, which is part of a conservation area, is a Grade II Listed Building but is becoming increasingly dilapidated.

There are hopes that the mill buildings can be preserved and converted for residential use.

In the background on the right is the spire of St James' Church, Millbrook. In the centre of the photo the green dome of St Raphael's Church is just visible, while on the left the houses of the Churchfields development can be seen.

The steep moorland rises up beyond, with the earthworks of Buckton Castle on top of the hill to the left of the chimney. This hill was seen from a different angle in last week's Sky watch.

The chimney draws the eyes up towards the soft clouds that are not quite succeeding in blocking out the blue winter sky.

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Sky Watch is the regular Friday 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!

New-Look Ladysmith

The Ladysmith Centre is Ashton has had a makeover. This is shown clearly by the dramatic new look to the entrance from Warrington Street and the Market.

Above the entrance, which is between Marks and Spencer and the Arcades shopping centre, is a large digital display screen which can show advertisements, news, etc.

This is the second new look the shopping centre has had since the 1960s "precinct" was re-born as "The Ladysmith Centre".

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Hitchens

Hitchens store has for more than 25 years been a familiar landmark to shoppers on Stamford Street in Ashton.

Originally a Littlewoods store, it became a catalogue clearance outlet. Canny Ashtonians are keen to find bargains and the shop was usually full of customers rummaging for a good buy. The stock was mostly goods that had failed to sell through Littlewoods or other catalogues, so some things were not entirely desirable. Nevertheless, if your tastes were broad or you didn't mind last year's fashion, there were plenty of bargains to be had.

The store was closed after the company went into administration last November.

It is curious to note that the street light is attached to the building rather than to the pole, which now serves only to hold up a parking restriction sign!

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Mossley on Monday: Old School House

"The Old School House" is situated on Carrhill Road in Mossley. The name is a little misleading , as this building was originally built (some time before 1790) as weavers' cottages, at a time when wool weaving was a major cottage industry in the Mossley area. There were four dwellings in the building, occupying the first two storeys. The whole of the top floor was a weaving room, accessed by stone steps from the rear (photo another time).

This large top floor room became a small school at some point in the early nineteenth century. It was called Baguley School, as this part of Mossley was known as Baguley.

In 1848 a group of local Chartists met in the school room to plan their part in an uprising in nearby Ashton under Lyne. During the course of that uprising, James Bright, a policeman, was shot dead near the Red Lion on Old Street. Six of the men from Mossley were later found guilty of taking part in the disturbance. You can read more about the uprising here.

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Sunday Stroll: Riversvale Drive

Riversvale Drive runs off the main Ashton to Oldham road near Bardsley Bridge. It heads towards Daisy Nook along the south side of the River Medlock.

It was originally a carriage drive from the turnpike road to Riversvale Hall, a grand house built in 1847 but demolished after a fire in 1948.

The path and the surrounding strip of woodland are now part of Daisy Nook Country Park and it is a popular route for casual walkers.

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Stalybridge Saturday: Old Fire Station

Fire Stations and other municipal buildings of around 100 years ago were designed to last. However modern fire appliances and training requirements mean that these old buildings are no longer adequate for their original purpose. So there are many of these old fire stations around which have been put to new uses.

This former fire station is in Stalybridge, on the corner of Waterloo Road and King Street. A date stone on the gable above the bay window shows the year 1904. To the left of the bay window is the town's old coat of arms.

The building is now a kitchen showroom. Two of the four doors through which the engines emerged have been made into display windows. The tower in the back yard, on which the firemen practised their ladder skills, now houses mobile phone transmitters.

Another such example of a former fire station is the one in Ashton that appeared here last year.

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Sky Watch: Dawn Chorus

This photo was taken on Wednesday morning as the sun was thinking about getting up. The birds in the tree were already on the case and were loudly proclaiming the new day!

The hill fort of Buckton Castle is on the summit of the dramatic skyline.

Sky Watch is the regular Friday 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!

Back Yard

Yes, I know you can't actually see the back yard itself - it is behind the wall - as I wouldn't want to invade anyone's privacy!

There are many streets of red brick terraced houses in Ashton, of many different styles and designs. Many of the larger terraced houses have rear extensions, such as the one in the photo, at right angles to the house. Such extensions are sometimes called "outriggers".

I took this photo because I found the composition of the house, extension, neighbouring house and wall visually interesting. Adding to the interest are the clutter of chimneys, aerials, satellite dishes, cables and pipes. It may not be pretty, but I like it!

This is not quite typical of terraces in Ashton, since the outrigger extensions of the houses in Melville Street and just feet away from those of the houses behind in Henrietta Street, with just a narrow passage between! This can be seen in the "Bird's Eye View" link below. However, because the outriggers are fairly large, there are adequately sized yards alongside them.

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A Pyramid of Shoes

The members of Soroptimist International's Ashton under Lyne group decided to build a pyramid of shoes on Ashton Market. They invited people to donate shoes that were still wearable to add to the pyramid.

Each pair of shoes represented two people, often women or children, who have lost their lives or limbs as a result of the accidental encounter with landmines or cluster bombs left behind after conflict.

Some of the group's members are pictured above, with Ashton's MP David Heyes and Dukinfield Councillor Jackie Lane, who both brought shoes to add to the pyramid.

The photo was taken mid morning. I am told that by the time the pyramid was dismantled at 3.00 pm, it was considerably higher!

The British Red Cross came to collect the shoes after the event, to be sold through their retail outlets or recycled. There was a staggering total of 650 pairs of shoes by the time they were collected!

Fortunately the organisers of the event fastened each pair of shoes together with rubber bands as they were received, so there was no need to spend hours trying to match up 650 pairs of shoes!

Mossley on Monday: Bottom Mossley

This late wintry scene shows junction of the A635 Manchester Road with Stamford Road in Bottom Mossley. The unusual thing about this photo is that there is no traffic in sight! This is normally a very busy junction with Stamford Road being the link from Top Mossley, joining the two parts of the town.

At times there are long queues of traffic tailing back from this junction. Traffic lights are going to be installed here before long.

Behind the pedestrian crossing, the steep and narrow Mill Street is a popular short cut towards Micklehurst.

On the left of the photo you can just see the corner of Mossley's railway station building.

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Sunday Stroll: Longdendale

A short bus ride from Ashton under Lyne will take you to Mottram Road cutting, from where there are many field paths and lanes running along the slopes of Longdendale, giving far ranging views towards Glossop, Bleaklow and Kinder Scout.

To get the best views you need to do a little climbing but the slopes are easier on this side of the moorland than they are over on the steeper Mossley side (see yesterday's photo showing the moors looking from Millbrook).

A group of walkers queues to climb over a stile near Moorside Farm, on the slopes below Hobson Moor, just 5 miles from the centre of Ashton. In the background are Arnfield Reservoir and Bottoms Reservoir. The Longdendale Valley continues past the reservoirs towards the Woodhead Pass that leads to Sheffield.

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Stalybridge Saturday: Brushes Valley

Today's photo looks down Huddersfield Road towards the Royal Oak and the junction with Grove Road in Millbrook. The road curves to the left at the bottom of the hill before heading uphill through Millbrook village towards Carrbrook and Mossley.

Straight ahead we are looking up the steep-sided Brushes Valley towards Walkerwood Reservoir (see Google or Live views below).

The traffic lights at the bottom of the hill have recently been installed because of the extra traffic emerging from Grove Road since the building of houses and apartments there.

In 1908 a single deck tram car ran away down this hill and crashed through a wall before plunging down a bank into a stream [see photo].

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Sky Watch: Chester Square

Chester Square is virtually unrecognisable as a square these days as it is the location of a busy traffic-light-controlled junction which which traffic going to and from the M60 motorway and Manchester pours day and night.

Chester Square was the western gateway to Ashton and, until the opening of Lord Sheldon Way, all traffic approaching from the west had to pass through this junction. The pedestrian route crosses the intersection with the aid of signal-controlled crossings like the ones seen in the photo.

The three blocks of flats in the photo (Margaret House, Portland House and Bentinck House) have been spruced up and have new, colourful facades.

If you drag the "bird's eye view" (below) to the right, you will come to Henry Square and the old swimming baths that featured in last week's Sky Watch.

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Sky Watch is the regular Friday 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!

Clarence Arcade

At one time a prestigious shopping arcade, off Stamford Street, the whole building that houses Clarence Arcade has undergone refurbishment. While the building itself looks well, it is a pity that the entrance to Arcade is now a closed gate, even in the middle of the day.

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Old Swimming Baths

Here is a photo of the iconic Old Baths in Henry Square, Ashton, opened in 1870. We saw this building in last week's Sky Watch, but it is seen here from a different angle.

This is a side view of the building. This eastern end of the building contained private bathrooms, Turkish baths and a small pool for the use of female bathers. During the winter months, when the main pool was closed, the smaller pool was used by men and women at different times.

The 120 foot high tower can be seen in the background.

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Mossley on Monday: Squire's Mill

Tucked away behind Ivy Bank Cottages off Micklehurst Road in Mossley is the remaining part of Squires Mill. Its location is due to the mill originally being water powered and so built alongside the fast-flowing Micklehurst Brook.

It was built around 1816 as a woollen mill, although it was later used for cotton spinning. Like most of Mossley's mills, it was built of stone rather than brick. It was called Squire's Mill because the first occupant was Squire Andrew, who was not a squire, but a member of a prominent local family with a penchant for unusual names.

The neighbouring mill, a short distance upstream, was called Doctor's Mill, after Doctor Andrew, who was likewise not a doctor!

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Stained Glass Windows

March's Theme Day is "Glass" and today's photo shows some of the historic stained glass windows in Ashton's Parish Church.

The picture shows some of the eighteen panels of stained glass that depict the life of St Helena, and these are reckoned to be some of the finest examples of 15th century stained glass in England.

The glass was was re-located to its present positions when the outside of the church was re-built in the Victorian period.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in the "Glass" theme day.

Our usual Sunday Stroll will be back next week!