Oddfellows Arms

"O" is for "Oddfellows Arms" and today's photo shows the pub of that name on the corner of Kings Road and Alderley Street in the Hurst Knoll area of Ashton.

The pub opened in 1827 as the Banksmans Arms but changed its name to the Oddfellows ten years later. It originally occupied half of the building but later expanded into the two neighbouring houses.

The Oddfellows was (and still is) a Friendly Society, a sort of pre-runner to the welfare state, offering social benefits to members. Local Oddfellows societies often held their meetings in pubs so that would seem to be the likely reason for the change of name. There was another Oddfellows Arms in Ashton, on Kenyon Street, as well as the Oddfellows Hall on the corner of Booth Street and Stamford Street.

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"Oddfellows Arms" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "O" posts from around the world please follow this link.
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Taste of the Past

Today's photo shows a Taste of the Past! The writing is definitely on the wall on the corner of Market Avenue and Wellington Street.

The shop, currently for sale was a branch of Millets outdoor wear shop for many years. However, the fading paintwork on the wall, unseen by many of the people walking past, tells us that it was once the location of "Burrows Bros. Tea Blenders".

Tea became increasingly popular during Victorian times, partly because it was seen as healthy, as the chemicals in the tea counteracted some of the impurities common in the water at the time. Only 150 yards from this building was the shop where Arthur Brooke sold his blends of tea. Arthur called his company Brooke Bond - a made-up name, since there was never a Mr Bond! Brooke Bond is still in existence today as one of the world's best-known names in tea.

Burrows Tea is no longer available.

The small figure in front of the window shutters is a statue of a girl making faces!

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"Taste of the Past" 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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Overcast

Today's Sky Watch image shows an overcast sky over the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Mossley. There is plenty of colour, however, in spite of the greyness of the sky.

The chimney of Woodend Mill, the last remaining mill chimney in Mossley, points skywards, as does the spire of St John's Church, Roughtown, on the hillside.

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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!

Newton Hall

"N" is for "Newton Hall" and today's photo shows the interior of Newton Hall, situated alongside the busy A627 road one mile north of Hyde and two miles south of Ashton.

Newton Hall is a cruck-framed medieval hall built around 1380. It would have been home to the de Newton family. The cruck style of building is of Celtic origin and was often used in Western and Northern parts of Britain. It consists of huge cruck-frames attached to oak-framed walls with wattle and daub infill panels.

The building had undergone some modernisation and it was not realised that the structure was so old. In 1968 the site was being cleared for re-development and demolition of the building started. When the timbers were discovered the demolition was halted.

The later additions were carefully stripped away and the building painstakingly restored using as much of the original as possible. Around 35 percent of the timbers are original with English Oak being used for replica parts. The structure is fastened together in the traditional manner using mortice and tenon joints fixed with oak pegs.

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"Newton Hall" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "N" posts from around the world please follow this link.
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Watching the Setting Sun

Surely one of life's little pleasures must be sitting on a hill watching the sunset? If you are in Ashton there is no better place to do this than Hartshead Pike, just a couple of miles north east of the town.

As a recent gorgeous sunny day drew to an end, I went up to "The Pike" to see the sunset. Unsurprisingly I was not the only person to have that idea. This couple and their dog had walked up from nearby Mossley to enjoy the spectacle.

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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!

Motorway

"M" is for "Motrway" and today's photo shows the M60 motorway as it sweeps through the Guide Bridge area on the western edge of Ashton.

In the background to the left of the photo is the blue roof of Assheton House, near the bus station. To the right of that are Portland House, Welbeck House and Margaret House.

The tower of St Peter's Church is just visible hiding behind the chimney and tower of "Tudno" Mill (Ryecroft Mill No. 3). The top of the tower of the Old Baths can just be seen behind the new houses that stand on the site of the Birch Hotel. To the right are Grosvenor House and Rycroft House, off Stckport Road.

In the far distance looms Alphin Pike and the high Pennine moorland to the east of Mossley and Stalybridge.

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"Motorway" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "M" posts from around the world please follow this link.
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Sky Watch: Vapour Trails

Today's photo shows traces of at least seven vapour trails in the same area of sky. (If you check the larger view you will see a small one, just left of centre, in the process of being made!)

The view is looking across the Tame Valley in Mossley, near Ashton, towards the Pennine moors. Most of the vapour trails in the picture have been made by planes flying from east to west across Northern England, probably originating from Europe. The trail visible in the top right corner is being made by a plane heading north-westwards from London towards North America.

Occasionally, when there is a blue sky with lots of trails and I have nothing else better to do, I zoom in on the map on this fascinating site to see where the planes making the trails have come from and where they are going.

What could be more appropriate for Sky Watch?

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See Google Street 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!

Limited Outlook

"L" is for "Limited Outlook" and that's exactly what the occupants of this house can enjoy!

This well-cared-for semi-detached house in on Stockport Road in Ashton, almost at Guide Bridge. Above the doorway is a fanlight window and a semi-circular arch of tapering bricks with a a stone keystone.

There is also a brick single bay window allowing splendid views of, er... the back of a bus shelter!

I'm not sure how long the bus shelter has been here, as I seem to remember the bus stop being closer to the Corporation Arms a few years ago. I don't know whether the occupants had any say in the matter or whether they drew back the curtains one morning and there it was!

Of course, as Stockport Road is a very busy thoroughfare they may have welcomed the shelter as a screen although I must say I would find it somewhat claustrophobic myself.

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"Limited Outlook" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "L" posts from around the world please follow this link.
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