Mossley on Monday: Something Strange on the Skyline

People passing through Mossley at the moment may get a small surprise as they spot something odd on the skyline. The spire of St John's Church, Roughtown, is currently undergoing repair work and is cloaked in scaffolding. As the church is situated on a very prominent position on the corner of the hill overlooking Mossley and Greenfield, it can be seen from some distance away. It previously appeared on this blog in a wintry photograph.

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

Daisy Nook Ducks

A family of ducks enjoys the June sunshine on the canal overspill in Daisy Nook Country Park.

Click photo for larger image.

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

2009 Whit Walks

Today, being the third Sunday of June, saw Ashton's united Walk of Witness, usually called the Whit Walks. The threat of drizzle that was forecast proved incorrect and it was dry and at times sunny during the afternoon.

Contingents from most of Ashton's churches converged on Cowhill Lane to take part in a united service. After that it was St Michael's and St Gabriel's turn to lead the united walk around the town.

The route took them up Penny Meadow, down Old Cross Street, along Stamford Street and Booth Street, after which each church went its separate way back to its own parish.

Clicking on a photo will show a bigger version. Click your "back" button to return here.

More photos from this year's Whit Walks can be seen here on the Ashton website.

Sky Watch: Medlock Valley

Today's Sky Watch photo shows a cloudscape and treescape looking down the Medlock Valley from Daisy Nook.

Forty years ago you would have had a job to fins any trees here at all. Now you can't see the River Medlock in the bottom of the valley for all the trees. And all this just two miles from Ashton and three from Oldham!

Sky Watch is the regular Friday feature on this photo blog. It will link 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!

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Lyndhurst Re-visited

Eighteen months ago I posted a photo of Lyndhurst, the derelict Victorian house on Broadoak Road, built in 1883.

The architect who designed the house was John Eaton, who had also designed the Town Hall extension, the Central Library and the section of the Market Hall that included the clock tower, as well as Dukinfield Town Hall.

At one time there was a proposal to turn Lyndhurst into something like a care home but it has been found that there is a covenant on the house which states that it should always remain a single family house.

The windows and doors had fine stained glass and in the hallway, lettering in the stained glass read: "Welcome to coming, speed the parting guests", whatever that may have meant!

More about the house, including a photo showing it in better days, can be found here. (.pdf file - see article on page 9)

When I posted the previous photo of the house, there were a number of comments made, several expressing anger that the house had been allowed to decline into such a state.

Nothing much has changed in the last 18 months other than the house has sunk a little further into decline. More tiles are gone from the roof. The ivy is creeping further over the wall and windows. There is evidence of further entries by intruders. By contrast, someone has cut the grass and trimmed the front hedge recently, so at least that aspect of the property is looking better.

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See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location.

Mossley on Monday: Mossley Co-op

Today's photo shows the Co-op supermarket at the junction of Arundel Street and Waterton Lane in Top Mossley.

This was built on the site of the very first Co-operative Society shop in Tameside, opened in 1856, only 12 years after the Co-operative movement began in Rochdale.

The present supermarket building was opened in 2002 after an earlier supermarket, built in the 1990s(?) was destroyed by a fire that was thought to have started in a photo booth.

Even this photograph, taken a couple of months ago, is now a part of history, as the Co-op has now re-branded itself and all the pale blue is now replaced by pale green as part of the new image for Co-op food stores.

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

Saturday in Saddleworth - Whit Friday Band Contests

Eight days ago was Whit Friday, and last Saturday's photo showed the Saddleworth Whit Walks in Uppermill.

In the evening of Whit Friday, the Whit Friday Band Contests take place at many of the villages in the area. The contests developed because a number of brass bands were in the area for the walks in the morning.

There are contests in the Saddleworth villages of Uppermill, Greenfield, Dobcross, Delph, Denshaw, Diggle, Greenfield, Friezland, Lydgate, Grotton and Scouthead, as well as in Lees, Greenacres, Mossley, Ashton-under-Lyne, Hurst Cross, Stalybridge, Stalybridge Celtic, Heyrod, Carrbrook, Audenshaw, Droylsden and Dukinfield. The Whit Friday band contests are unique to this area.

The contests each have two parts - a marching (deportment) competition, where each band marches along the road towards the event venue, followed by a concert piece, where each band plays one from a range of set pieces, with the adjudicator hidden in an upstairs room or a caravan so that he does not know which band is playing.

More info here. Plenty of videos on here on YouTube.

130 bands were involved in last year's contests. The biggest event is at Delph, which attracted 78 bands last year!

Last Friday, after a lovely sunny morning, it started to rain just as the band contests got under way! So the photograph above was actually taken at last year's contest and shows the Dobcross Youth Band marching down the street in Delph.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Market Street Clock

The clock in Market Street, alongside the Market Hall, can now be relied on once more to give you the time of day.

During the four years that the Market Hall was being re-built, this clock was in an area that was enclosed by fencing and was surrounded by cabins and builders' equipment. When the fences were removed and the street returned to the people of Ashton, the clock showed a different time on each face! It is only comparatively recently that the clock has been put to rights!

Behind the vans making deliveries to the Market Hall, there is a glimpse of St James Church, looking directly up Cowhill Lane.

See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location which, at the time this post was published, shows the clock surrounded by builders' cabins.

Saturday in Saddleworth - Whit Walks

Yesterday was Whit Friday and in Saddleworth that means Whit Walks and Band contests!

Whit Walks, in one form or another, were fairly common in many areas but have now died out in some places and in other places are much smaller affairs than they once were. In Saddleworth and Mossley, however, not only are the Whit Walks still a big thing, but they still take place on Whit Friday.

Traditionally schools and factories in the area close for the day. Some high school pupils still have to go in to take GCSE exams, though!

Saddleworth is an area made up of a number of individual villages and the churchgoers walk in procession from their own church down into the centre of Uppermill for a joint service of witness in the park. They then all process through the centre of Uppermill before continuing back to their own villages. The main A670 road through Uppermill is closed for several hours while all this is going on.

See Google Aerial View of this location.

Sky Watch: Ashton Market

This week's sky watch shows the view looking across Ashton's open market ground from the Town Hall steps, with the Market Hall on the left. This photo was taken in the evening, after all the stall holders and shoppers had gone home. The Market Hall tower is lit up by a low sun breaking through the clouds.

Sky Watch is the regular Friday feature on this photo blog. It will link 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!

See LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location.

Butty Shop

Just a little uphill from the railway bridge over Turner Lane is this butty shop, or should I call it "sandwich bar"?

I can't remember what the shop was used for previously but this is a good location for a butty shop, with quite a few industrial premises across the road on Boodle Street, Winton Street, Turner Street, etc. It is also on a popular pedestrian route from the Smallshaw and Lords Field areas into Ashton.

Some people have commented on the lack of rain in the photographs of Ashton. Please note that, in spite of the clear blue sky, the ground is still slightly wet from a passing shower!

See Google Aerial View of this location.
The LiveSearch Birds Eye View of this location was taken when Turner Lane was being dug up for major sewer repairs!