Door Shop

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This shop on Whiteacre Road sells doors. It probably sells other things as well, but I have only ever seen doors on display outside.

I seem to remember this shop having a display of doors outside for at least the last 30 to 35 years! It is looking a little sorry for itself these days, however and could do with the benefit of a little DIY itself.

Although I have known this shop for many years and have passed it thousands of times, I have never set foot inside, but then - I don't buy doors very often.

The building looks as if it might originally have been one of Ashton's many Co-op shops. Does anyone know whether this is the case?

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Monochrome Moment: Henry Square

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This week's Monochrome Moment shows various ages of building around Chester Square at the western end of Ashton's Stamford Street.

The modern building is part of the St Petersfield re-development. To the left of that is the old Friendship inn, awaiting a new use. In the background is Bentinck House, one of Ashton's 1960s tower blocks.

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This image is a contribution to Monochrome Weekend. Please follow the link to visit other sites taking part.

Sky Watch: Cloud-Shrouded Hills

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A clear bright afternoon in Mossley, just over the hill from Ashton.

Not a cloud in the sky... but that's because the cloud is wrapping itself around the hills instead!

The Pennine hills quite often make a good backdrop for photos taken in Mossley. This photo was taken from outside Mossley Hall, the old Town Hall, looking down across Manchester Road towards Micklehurst. Behind the houses of Manchester Road, the new roof of Longlands Mill, home of Emmaus Mossley, looks prominent in the fading evening light.

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. You are most welcome!

Footbridge

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"F" is for "Footbridge" and this one crosses the Ashton Canal at Portland Basin.

The present steel bridge is comparatively recent and replaces an earlier one that was probably wooden. The canal itself has been there since 1796 and was built for horse-drawn narrow boats to carry coal down to Manchester.

As you can see, this photo was taken at a warmer time of year. The only "F" photos I have taken recently involved frozen things and we have probably seen enough such photos for now!

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

Town Hall Steps

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A familar location seen from an unusual angle this week. The view is looking down onto the steps of Ashton Town Hall from the window of the Tameside Council Chamber.

You can see one of the two canons that stand beside the steps. We are looking straight up Penny Meadow towards the distant hills that are sporting patches of snow. To the right is the Market Hall.

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


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Sunday Stroll: Dry Stone Wall

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On a recent Sunday stroll up over Quick Edge in Mossley, I spotted this dry stone wall which was in the process of being re-built.

As my previous picture of a dry stone wall near Hartshead Pike had attracted interest, I thought that some of you might be interested to see how these walls are constructed.

I did not venture out with my camera today as it was snowing again and the hills were covered in a layer of white once again.

I apologise for the absence of photos for the last few days and I add this photo today especially for my friend Pete, who has been staring at the photo of the escalator for days now in the hope that it would change!

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Escalator

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"E" is for "Escalator" and this photograph shows one of the very few escalators to be found in Ashton. The photo was taken last year when the Ladysmith Centre was undergoing further refurbishment. This has included building new small retail units between the columns along one side of the passageway.

Older readers who have been away from Ashton may remember the Ladysmith Centre as "The Precinct" when it was the height of modernity.

There is an escalator in the adjoining Marks and Spencer store and in the Arcades shopping mall. They are all "up" escalators so you aren't supposed to want to come down to earth again.

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

Monochrome Moment: Canal Boats

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This week's Monochrome Moment shows canal boats at Portland Basin on the Ashton Canal. The boats are moored outside the very good Portland Basin Museum, which is free and well worth a visit if you are in the area, as long as you remember that is it closed on Mondays.

You can see the stern of Hazel and the bows of two other historic wooden canal narrowboats that belong to the Wooden Canal Boat Society. Behind that is the modern trip boat Still Waters.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

This image is a contribution to Monochrome Weekend. Please follow the link to visit other sites taking part.

Sky Watch: Market Hall Clock Tower

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Yesterday was a chilly day - it even snowed around lunchtime. Yet, by the end of the afternoon, blue sky was visible between the remaining patches of cloud, which were lit up by the low sun.

The clock tower of Ashton Market Hall was in the shade, making more of a contrast against the backgrounds of sunlit clouds.

It seems scarcely believable that less than six years ago the tower was lit up by flames when the entire Market Hall was gutted by fire.

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!

Daisy Nook

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"D" is for "Daisy Nook" and this photograph, taken this afternoon, shows part of Daisy Nook Country Park, on the border between Ashton and Oldham.

The water in the picture is the junction of the Hollinwood Canal and the Fairbottom Branch. These are the forgotten canals of the area, which the Hollinwood Canal Society has been working to preserve, with the aim of eventual restoration.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

"Daisy Nook" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "D" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Monochrome Moment: Albion Sunday School

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One of the grandest brick buildings in Ashton is the former Albion Sunday School on Penny Meadow. Unsurprisingly, when it opened in 1862, it was the largest Sunday School building in England.

Brick buildings often look well in black and white and this one, with its lighter banding and patterning, looks particularly good.

You can compare this image with the colour version here, where you will find a little more history.

The school is now an office furniture shop. Some visitors to this blog are not comfortable seeing fine old buildings being used for modern commercial purposes. However, they are no longer needed for their original purposes and, without a new use, would fall into dereliction and be lost. As long as the architectural character of an old building remains, I am happy to see it being put to s new use.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

This image is a contribution to Monochrome Weekend. Please follow the link to visit other sites taking part.

Sky Watch: Stalybridge Wharf

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This week's Sky Watch is a dramatic evening view of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal at Stalybridge Wharf.

This is just two miles from Ashton and makes an interesting contrast with the canal scene at Portland Basin shown earlier this week.

The canal to the west of Stalybridge, re-opened after having been filled in, does not have the character of Portland Basin, being lined now with modern industrial units, but the drama of the fiery clouds, reflected on the water, adds more than enough interest.

See Birds 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!


For more Weekend Reflections, follow this link.

Canal Basin

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"C" is for "Canal" and there are three canals in Ashton.

The scene above shows Portland Basin, the junction of the Ashton Canal with the Peak Forest Canal. The photo was taken a few weeks ago when we were experiencing snow and ice.

See Birds Eye View of this location.

"Canal Basin" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "C" posts from around the world please follow this link.

St Michael's Square

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Here is a different view of St Michael's Square, with St Michael's Parish Church peeping up behind the buildings.

This splendid Victorian shop building now sells beds. When it was built in 1900 it occupied a very prominent position on the corner of Stamford Street and Scotland Street, then two of the main roads in the town centre. Stamford Street was the main shopping street and St Michael's Square was the terminus for buses to Stalybridge and Dukinfield so this spot would have been crowded with pedestrians.

Now the main traffic route has moved to the by=pass at the back of the church while the shopping area has migrated to Warrington Street and the Ladysmith and Arcades malls.

The building on the right, St Michael's House, was once the registry office but now houses the offices of a number of organisations.

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


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