Leaves in Stamford Park

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows autumn leaves in Stamford Park, on the border between Ashton and Stalybridge.
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Is it really Autumn? The leaves have certainly been falling but then the temperature rises again and plants continue to grow. We have seen some of the warmest October days on record this year. It must be confusing for the animals and plants!

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"Leaves in Stamford Park" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Dawn over Buckton Moor

Today's Sky Watch image shows the golden dawn lighting up the sky over Buckton Moor, as seen from Mossley.

The view is eastwards across the Tame Valley and just right of centre is the prominent outline of the hill atop which lie the remains of Buckton Castle. It is possible to make out the silhouette of the earthworks that formed the ramparts of the castle.

The castle was probably built in the 12th Century but was in ruins by 1360. Excavations show that it had stone walls 10 feet thick, with a tower and gateway. Little can be seen these days apart from the earthworks. The prominent hilltop on which the castle stood makes an interesting silhouette skyline.

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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!

War Memorial

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows Ashton's War Memorial which commemorates those who have given their lives for their country in various conflicts in the last hundred years. It is situated in the Memorial Gardens beside Crickets Lane.

The Memorial is built of 50 tonnes of Portland Stone, topped with a bronze statue showing a wounded soldier and an angel of peace. On each side are statues of lions. The two simple blocks on each side of the path in the foreground commemorate those who have fallen in recent conflicts.

See Google Street View of this location.

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

Rainbow

Today's Sky Watch image shows a rainbow over Mossley, about 4 miles from Ashton, earlier in the week.

Because Mossley is the steep-sided valley of the River Tame, you can see the hills and houses through the rainbow! Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, the sky appears darker than 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!

Decorative Window Surround

As promised, here is a close-up of some of the detail of the former Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School seen earlier this week..

These are the central windows on the ground floor of the western end of the building. Even with the windows boarded up, the decorative stonework and tapering brickwork look magnificent in the sunshine.

More to follow.

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Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne shows one of Ashton's splendid old buildings. Sadly it is one that has been disused for some years.

This is the former Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School on Mill Lane, just off Stamford Street, in Ashton town centre.

The school was built in 1877 but there just isn't the same demand for Sunday Schools these days. It is understood that the building has planning permission to be turned into apartments, which would be a good use of the building, as long as the attractive exterior is retained.

The building actually appears to be in a better state than when I photographed it in 2008. There is less foliage sprouting from the roof and many of the boards covering the windows have been renewed.

I will show some close-ups of some of the decorative brickwork in future posts.

See Google Street View of this location.

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"Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

St Michael's Church

Today's Sky Watch image shows Church of St Michael and All Angels, the Parish Church of Ashton under Lyne.

There has been a church on this site before the Norman Conquest, as the Domesday Book of 1088 mentions a St Michael's Church in the east of the ancient parish of Manchester. Parts of the present building date from the fifteenth century but most of the structure was re-built in Victorian times.

The church is seen from the other side of Ashton town centre's bypass. The shiny pointed obelisk is a sort of sculpture to indicate that the building behind me (the former Labour Exchange) is now an apartment block known as The Point.

The obelisk and the points on the church tower all draw the eye to the sky with its thin, wispy clouds.

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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!

Old Street

Today's photo shows Old Street in the centre of Ashton under Lyne. Old Street is appropriately named as it follows the line of the original road that ran through the town from Manchester towards the Pennines for at least 800 years.

The buildings along Old Street are not that old but some of them are several hundred years old. One of the buildings, just out of sight around the corner, has a date of 1744 on it. [See this post from last year.]

Old Street may not be the hub of the town's activity any more but is still fairly busy and the central section is pedestrianised, creating a more relaxing environment for shoppers.

See Bird's Eye View of this location. (The Google Street View car has not managed to cover this pedestrianised street!)

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

Albion Church

Today's Sky Watch image shows the roof and spire of Albion Church, near the town centre of Ashton.

The church was built as the largest Congregationalist church in the north of England. The Earl of Stamford had refused to sell the Congregationalists land to build their new church, so a Congregationalist member sold them this land which faced St Michael's C of E Parish Church across a slight dip. The spire was deliberately built to be 2 feet taller than the tower of the nearby Parish Church as a gesture of defiance!

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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!

Market Avenue

Today's view of the world of Ashton under Lyne is looking along Market Street towards the Market Hall. The photo was taken on Saturday when we were 'enjoying' record high temperatures for October. You can almost see the slow way that the people in the picture are moving about. It was too hot to be energetic!

Market Street was originally called Dungeon Street as there was a prison lock-up there. It was re-named in the 1820s when the market was re-located here from St Michael's Square.

See Google Street View of this location (or as near as the Google car could get).

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

My World visitors may like to read yesterday's post about a piece of Ashton's history that has been saved for the local people.

Court Leet Chair

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This is Ashton under Lyne's Court Leet Chair. It was on display on Saturday during the Tameside Heritage Fair at Albion Church. It is the first time it has been on public display.

A Court Leet was a manorial court dealing with feudal issues that came under the jurisdiction of the Lord of the Manor. It generally dealt with civil matters but could sometimes deal with petty criminal offences.

This was the official chair in which the steward would sit to preside over the court. This particular chair dates from the early nineteenth century and bears the coat of arms of the Earl of Stamford.

Ashton's Court Leet met twice a year until the 1880s in the Court Leet House which stood in the old market place in St Michaels Square. It then continued to meet annually until the 1950s.

The chair was recently bought at auction by the Tameside Local History Forum for the people of Tameside. The forum is glad to have been able to retain a part of our local heritage but would welcome donations toward the cost of buying it! It is hoped that a place can be found where it will be on permanent public display.