The Armoury

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The Armoury on Old Street in Ashton is the local Territorial Army training base.

It was built in 1887 as a training base for volunteer soldiers, replacing an earlier building near Charlestown Station. The Volunteers' Regiment later became The Territorial Army and the building is still used for training.

In the last couple of weeks I have shown you photos of the vast floor space and roof of the Drill Hall inside the building. Now we see the brick frontage of the front part of the building, which houses offices, etc.

Although a functional building, it has a decorative brick facade with stone banding.

"The Armoury" 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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Whit Friday in Saddleworth

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Today is Whit Friday and the day of the traditional Whit Walks and Band Contests in Mossley and Saddleworth.

Processions from the various churches in Saddleworth converge on Uppermill for a service of witness followed by a united walk through the village.

This photo shows the contingent from Holy Trinity Church, Dobcross, led by Dobcross Band.

In the evening brass band competitions take place in many of the Saddleworth villages, as well as in Mossley, Stalybridge, Ashton and other places.

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Sky Watch: Evening Sky

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This week's Sky Watch is looking westwards towards Manchester from the summit of Hartshead Pike near Ashton.

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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!

Station House

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"S" is for "Station House" and today we see the former station building of Micklehurst railway station in Mossley, around four miles from the centre of Ashton.

The nearest railway line is half a mile away, on the other side of the valley, but there is a clue to the past in the name of the road - Station Road. This was the site of Micklehurst Station, one of four stations on the "Micklehurst Loop line", which ran more or less parallel to the earlier railway between Stalybridge and Diggle. The extra lines were needed to cope with the increasing volume of rail traffic.

The line opened in 1885. The station closed in 1907 but the line continued to be used for goods traffic until it was shut in 1966 (apart from the section between Stalybridge and Hartshead Power Station at Millbrook).

Today the former track behind the building has become a footpath, cycleway and bridleway running through Greenfield to Uppermill.

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

Duck Pond

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Another visit this week to Stamford Park, on the border of Ashton and Stalybridge, where today's photo shows the duck pond.

Just three mallards to be seen in this picture, I'm afraid. There are more around, as well as a number of geese, but they were being camera shy on this occasion.

"Duck Pond" 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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Drill Hall

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At first glance this may seem a fairly uninteresting photo. It shows the floor of the drill hall inside the Armoury in Ashton. To appreciate this photo more, you need to view it in conjunction with last week's photo of the magnificent roof space above that suspended ceiling. Click here to see that photo, or scroll down a couple of posts!

Those are not fluorescent lights that are illuminating the floor, but translucent panels in the suspended ceiling that allow daylight to pour down from the windows high in the roof.

Today's photo gives a small hint at what is hidden above when you see the iron roof supports disappearing through the ceiling to the left. The hall was a vast space. Areas have been partitioned off around the sides to form additional smaller rooms, still leaving enough space for the Territorial Army training and other activities that take place.

The Armoury, on Old Street, was built in 1887 as a training base for volunteer soldiers, replacing an earlier building near Charlestown Station. The Volunteers' Regiment later became The Territorial Army and the building is still used for Territorial Army training.

In future posts I will show further photos from inside this building and a photo of its exterior.

See Birds Eye View of this location, which shows the roof of the drill hall behind the brick frontage of the building.

Sky Watch: Hartshead Pike

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A return visit today to Hartshead Pike, my favourite location for Sky Watch.

Many of my Sky Watch posts either show the tower that dominates the summit of the Pike or show one of the views looking from the hill. Every time I come here, the mood seems different, offering an endless supply of photo opportunities! And, of course, being on the hilltop, there is always a generous amount of sky in each photo!

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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!

Roof

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"R" is for "Roof" and today you get the rare chance of a view of the roof of the drill hall at The Armoury in Ashton under Lyne.

The Armoury, on Old Street, was built in 1887 as a training base for volunteer soldiers, replacing an earlier building near Charlestown Station. The Volunteers' Regiment later became The Territorial Army and the building is still used for Territorial Army training.

The large drill hall, designed for training, also saw service in the past as a local dance hall!

The grey surface at the bottom of the picture is not the floor of the hall, but a suspended ceiling, which means that most visitors to the hall are no longer able to see the splendid curved roof span that let so much light in. Unfortunately, it also let a lot of heat out and people who visited the hall when it was used as a dance venue remember only too well how cold the building was!

I will post a photo of the hall below the suspended ceiling in the future, along with other photos of the inside of the building.

See Birds Eye View of this location, which shows the roof of the drill hall behind the brick frontage of the building.

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

Sunday in Saddleworth: Saddleworth Viaduct

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We take another visit to Saddleworth today, after a period of unintentionally ignoring it!

This is the view looking along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal southwards from Brownhill Bridge, Dobcross. The canal enters Lime Kiln Lock, where it drops ten feet to the next level, which passes beneath the giant central skew arch of Saddleworth Viaduct. This carries the Manchester to Huddersfield Railway.

What you can't see is that immediately before the lock, the canal passes over an aqueduct across the River Tame. The building on the left is Brownhill Countryside Centre.

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Sky Watch: Blue, Green and Pink

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For today's Sky Watch, we take another visit to the cherry blossom trees in Mossley, just over the hill from Ashton, which were seen here on Monday.

The view from Hanover Street looks across the tops of the trees, across the Tame valley towards Micklehurst and the Pennine moors beyond. Above the moors is the gentle pastel blurring of clouds with blue sky.

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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!

Quickedge Road

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"Q" is for "Quickedge Road" which is a steep road leading up out of Mossley.

Quickedge Road leads up onto Quick Edge, which has featured in a number of posts on this blog. The steep hill affords marvellous views down the Tame Valley towards Stalybridge, with the green bulk of Luzley Brow dominating the skyline beyond the houses of Top Mossley.

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

Blossom Time

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Another splash of colour this week as the cherry blossom trees come into their glory.

These particular blossoming trees line the steep footpath in Mossley that is known locally as Jacob's Ladder.

"Blossom Time" 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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Monochrome Moment: Egret Mill

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Egret Mill was built on the corner of Old Street and Bentinck Street in Ashton. It was opened in 1823 as Lees Mill, a five-storey spinning mill. It was later bought by the Egret Mill Company, who added weaving sheds to the site.

In 1881 the original spinning mill was destroyed by fire and the weaving sheds were then extended over the site. However, the mill ceased cotton cloth manufacturing in 1887.

The area is being re-developed as part of the St Petersfield scheme and now all that remains of the mill is a small two-bay portion of weaving shed and this building facing onto Old Street, which probably accommodated the mill offices.


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"Egret Mill" is a contribution to Monochrome Weekend. Please follow the link to visit other sites taking part.

Portland Basin

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"P" is for "Portland Basin" and today's photo shows the canal at Portland Basin, on the border between Ashton and Dukinfield.

The view looks from the Peak Forest Canal, across the aqueduct over the River Tame, towards the Ashton Canal, with Portland Basin Museum in the background.

A closer view of the canal basin and museum can be seen in this post that appeared almost a year ago.

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

Primroses

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My World at the moment is filled with lovely flowers, like this marvellous bed of primroses in Stamford Park, on the border of Ashton and Stalybridge.

It's a shame I couldn't get to the park on Sunday to see the Tulip Sunday display, but, as you can see, the usual formal flower beds were glorious in the park a few days before the tulip event.

"Primroses" 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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More Daffs

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Here is another photo of some of the daffodils at the top of Penny Meadow Ashton. A photo of the daffodils appeared here on Monday.

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