ABC Wednesday: Elizabeth Street

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is E for "Elizabeth Street" and shows part of the street of that name in Ashton under Lyne.

This is a fairly typical street in the town, most of it being lined on both sides with terraced bricked houses. The street does have a claim to fame, however. Those with sharp eyes may have noticed a blue plaque on the wall of the nearest house. The plaque commemorates the fact that this house was once the home of Hannah Mitchell, a celebrated figure in the fight for women's rights.

Born in Derbyshire in 1872, Hannah lived in this house from 1900 to 1910, at a time when she was making speeches at campaign meetings. Even though she suffered poor health, she was an active worker for the women's suffrage and Labour movements.

See Google Street View of this location.

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

The trams are coming!

The trams are coming back towards Ashton! It was in 1938 that the traditional trams stopped running in Ashton. Now, 75 years later, the new second-generation trams are heading back to the town.

Today saw the newest tram line of Manchester's Metrolink system opening as far as Droylsden. The rest of the line from Droylsden to Ashton is expected to be open some time within the next year.

The photo shows one of the new trams leaving Droylsden and heading towards Manchester and then on to Bury.

A Metrolink leaflet giving information about the new line can be found here. (.pdf) A map of the route under construction between Droylsden and Ashton can be found here. (.pdf)

When the line is complete, the trams will run every 6 minutes between Ashton and Manchester, transforming public transport in the world of Ashton under Lyne!

See Google Street View of this location.

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"The trams are coming!" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

ABC Wednesday: Donkey Stone

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is D for "Donkey Stone" and shows what is left of a once-thriving local industry.

This small stone building on Lower Wharf Street in Ashton was once part of a larger group of buildings where the manufacture of donkey stones took place. Donkey stones were used in mills to prevent stone steps from becoming slippery with grease. They were later used by proud housewives to make their doorsteps look smart.

This factory was set up by Eli Whalley on what had been Ashton Old Wharf at the side of the Ashton Canal. The site is now sometimes known as Donkey Stone Wharf. The name "Donkey" was originally the brand name of one of the companies that made such stones, but became the generic name for the product, much as vacuum cleaners are often referred to as hoovers.

The donkey stones were made from crushed stone, cement, bleach and water. The colour depended on the type of crushed stone used.

Two other companies had also manufactured donkey stones further along Lower Wharf Street. Eli Whalley's was the last to close.

A close-up of the blue plaque can be seen here.

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

Damp Day

Today's post shows the steps and entrance to Ashton Town Hall on a damp winter's day. On each side of the steps is a non-working cannon for decopration!

It might be a damp January day and it might be cold and windy, but the hardy Ashtonians just wrap their clothes a little tighter around them and get out there!

In the background is the Ash Tree, Ashton's branch of the popular Wetherspoon chain of pubs, a good place to escape the cold!

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

ABC Wednesday: Cold Legs

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is C for "Cold Legs" and shows the surprising sight of the postman arriving in the snow, on a very cold morning, wearing shorts!

Sometimes you see strange things and wish that you had your camera with you. Luckily I had mine in my pocket and was able to capture this chilling moment!

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

Ashton in Winter

Today's post shows another wintry scene from last week. Ashton had gone that far through winter without any snow, and the snow last week was far less than some other parts of the UK had been enduring.

However, it was enough snow to look pretty and the scene looking down Crickets Lane towards Ashton Parish Church does not disappoint. The snow-laden trees that line the left hand side of the road stand in the Memorial Gardens. Normally the road is much busier than this and it would not be wise to stand in the roadway taking a photo!

See Google Street View of this location.

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

ABC Wednesday: Bridge, Birds and Boats

Today's post for ABC Wednesday is B for "Bridge, Birds and Boats" and shows Portland Basin in Ashton in the snow.

The canal is the Ashton Canal which connects Ashton with Manchester. The bridge crosses the entrance to the Peak Forest Canal which runs to Hyde, Marple and Derbyshire.

The wind has kept this stretch of canal from freezing but the canal to the left and the canal around the corner straight ahead have both frozen over.

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"Bridge, Birds and Boats" is a contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more "B" posts from around the world please follow this link.

Frozen Canal

Today's post shows you that my world has been overtaken by winter. Much of Britain has had heavy snowfalls over the last few days, while Ashton had escaped with no more than a few snow flurries. This morning was different, however, and the town woke to a layer of snow. It was not very much snow, but it was the most that the town has had so far this winter.

The photo shows the frozen surface of the Peak Forest Canal in Dukinfield, a few yards from Portland Basin and the Ashton boundary. Not many narrowboats are on the move at this time of year but there will be none at all today! This is a problem for anyone wanting to take their boat to Portland Basin Marina to pump out the toilet tank, top up with diesel or use the dry dock for maintenance. It also means that a group who were going to hire a boat for the day will have to make other plans.

The weather is expected to stay very cold for the rest of the week, but with no more snow expected over that period.

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

Not the Church Inn

This is not the Church Inn at Hurst Cross. It used to be, but no longer. Like several other former pubs in Ashton, it has been converted into a convenience store.

The building originally opened as a pub around 1850 and it is not difficult to see why it was named the Church Inn. It stood just a few yards from St John's Church on Kings Road, or Lower King Street, as it was called at that time.

At least the building survives and has been put to new use, unlike the Miners' Refuge pub almost opposite, which was simply demolished a few years ago.

See Google Street View of this location which at the time of posting, still shows the Church Inn as a pub..

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"Not the Church Inn" is my contribution to this week's "My World" feature. Please check out the other blogs participating in this week's My World.

Prince of Orange

The Prince of Orange pub is a prominent landmark in the centre of Ashton, standing on Wellington Road almost opposite the railway station and near the bus station and council offices.

The pub dates from around 1817 although it was completely re-built in 1926 after it was taken over by Robinsons brewery. Its Tudor-style timbered gables were a popular feature on pubs built between the wars (such as the Broadoak Hotel).

The Prince of Orange pub could well have been named after William, Prince of Orange, who would have been well known in Britain, leading a Dutch government in exile, and who died a few years before the pub was built.

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See Google Street View of this location.

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