Weekend Reflections: Adamson Wharf

Just down the towpath from the footpath to Alexandra Street is the Adamson Wharf on the Peak Forest Canal.

Take a closer view on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

Blackbird by the Trans Pennine Trail

The Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) on a tree near the Trans Pennine Trail close to Knott Fold.

The adult male has glossy black plumage, blackish-brown legs, a yellow eye-ring and an orange-yellow bill. It may not immediately be clear why the name "Blackbird", first recorded in 1486, was applied to this species, but not to one of the various other common black English birds, such as the Carrion Crow, Raven, Rook or Jackdaw. However, in Old English, and in modern English up to about the 18th century, "bird" was used only for smaller or young birds, and larger ones such as crows were called "fowl". At that time, the Blackbird was therefore the only widespread and conspicuous "black bird" in the British Isles. (information from Wikipedia)

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.


Advance notice: With the CDPB portal currently out of action, Julie of Sydney Eye has created a page where participents in the April 1st theme (Cobblestones) can register their posts on a linky. See CDPB Theme Day

Footpath Sign by Peak Forest Canal

Walking down the towpath of the Peak Forest Canal from Captain Clarke's Bridge you soon come to this signpost directing walkers to Alexandra Street.

You are not expected to do a Harry-Potter-esque through the brick wall, but climb a set of steps behind the wall to a footpath leading down the side of Providence Mill.

See the footpath itself on Hyde DP Xtra.

See more signs at signs, signs.

Advance notice: With the CDPB portal currently out of action, Julie of Sydney Eye has created a page where participents in the April 1st theme (Cobblestones) can register their posts on a linky. See CDPB Theme Day

ABC Wednesday: K is for Kingston Gardens

Overlooking Manchester Road is Kingston Gardens. The imposing Victorian mansion (as I understand it) has been converted into more than one property and the extensive gardensat the rear have been turned into an estate of modern dwellings.

Find more Ks at ABC Wednesday.

Sheffield stands on Market Street

Last week I showed you the isolated phone-box on Hyde Market.

Today's photograph was taken a week later (last Saturday) looking in the opposite direction down Market Street. The cycle-racks (Sheffield stands, I think they are termed) which were on the other side of the phonebox have been relocated here.

The week after follow up photograph to my post about the men at work on Clarendon Street can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

This post is a contribution to Ruby Tuesday.

Henry Street Exit

I showed you the Henry Street Exit to the Theatre Royal back in September 2006 and it looks much the same, except that recently some work was done to weather-proof the outside of the building.

It remains closed but the Theatre Royal Onward Trust are still battling to get it restored.

More of my own photos of the theatre can be seen on Theatre Royal Photos.

See more Monday Doorways at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Shadows over Hyde Cemetery

Looking over Hyde Cemetery from its Southern entrance off Back Bower Lane.

Down the path on the right lies the remants of the cemetery chapel now demolished.

See how it looked under snow in February 2009.

See also how it looked on Monday, 31st January 2000 when the jury at Preston Crown Court convicted Harold Shipman of 15 murders and of forging a will.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday and Taphophile Tragics.

Sheffield or Stockport?

An old Hyde Corporation signpost on Lumn Road. This pre-Warboys sign lay on the T-junction with Queen Street. Originally traffic from Dowson Road could cross Market Street into Queen Street past the James North factory. As Queen Street was one-way from Market St to Lumn Road, lorries leaving the factory had to turn down to this T-junction. The factory was demolished in the 1990s. A school and new houses were built on the site. At this end, Queen Street (renamed Douglas Street) is reduced to being an access passage to the rear of houses on Lumn Road.

The sign is a survivor; see how it looked in July 2007.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White and signs, signs.

Skywatch Friday: The Bayley Café

Just up from the squirrel and overlooking the bandstand in Hyde Park is the Bayley Hall.

Bayley Hall forms the main architectural feature of Hyde Park and was built in 1939 on the former site of Newton Lodge. The hall is built over some of the original cellars and has elevated views over the bandstand and woodland dell. It is named after Marie Bayley, Charles James Ashton’s first wife.

In 2009 it became the Park Café.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Abseiling Workmen

One Sunday, some weeks ago, I noticed a crane over the roofs of nearby houses and it kept moving up and down, so after breakfast I went to investigate. I found they were busy fixing new phone masts on the sides of this building on Dawson Street.

Two more photographs of the work can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

ABC Wednesday: J is for Just Help

I photographed this shop on Market Street a few months ago but didn't know what it was.

It seems that the Just Help Foundation is a charity designed to help fight poverty and help the under-privileged children of the developing countries to become self-sufficient.

The Tameside-based charity has launched a supplementary school which plans to offer lessons in English and maths to local youngsters. It is expected that the school (which will operate on Saturday and Sunday mornings) will help to ensure more young people from across Tameside continue on to further and higher education.

A plague by the door celebrates the opening in September 2011 by local MP Jonathan Reynolds.

For more "J's visit ABC Wednesday.

Phone-box isolated

Last Tuesday work on the Hyde Market Renewal scheme was in progress near the Market Street crossing as can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

On Saturday morning as pedestrians were diverted around it, the telephone box was temporarily isolated within the work area.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday.

Men at Work on Hyde Market

When I posted a recent view of some of the Hyde Market Renewal Work someone asked "where are all the workers".

Well they don't work at weekends and that shot was taken on a Saturday. This was the scene last Monday with a JCB digging up parts of the market ground.

This Saturday the JCB had gone and an ice-cream van was there as you can see on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday.

Shadows in Gower Hey Woods

Here is where Gower Hey Brook disappears under a culvert near Swains Valley. It eventually emerges on the far side of Dowson Road.

See how it looked in Autumn 2009.

View the opposite direction on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Weekend Reflections Over Yonder

Looking at the Peak Forest Canal from Manchester Road.

The path and bridleway on the right, signposted "Over Yonder" leads to the Tameside Animal Welfare shelter on Raglan Road where there used to be a bridge across the canal. That bridge has been closed for at least five years so the only through route now is along the towpath which is on the left next to the Aldi supermarket.

It looks a lot better than it did the last time I showed you this view in December 2010.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: Theatre Royal Lamp Holder

A lampholder outside the Theatre Royal.

Read more about the theatre on Old Hyde.

See more skys on Skywatch Friday.

One Man and His Dog

A man and his dog exercising in a field at Foxholes.

ABC Wednesday: I is for Ignominy

This post follows on from the scene I showed you on Monday with a JCB ready to gather up the remnants of the chapel in Hyde Cemetery.

Here we see the remains of a pair of stout doors and a broken lintel, smashed and awaiting removal. Could they not have been extracted and recylced?

A clear case of an ignominious ending.

Another pair of doors suffered the same fate as can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and Taphophile Tragics.

Squirrel in Hyde Park

The sculpture of a squirrel with a nut was created from a Turkey Oak by Preston-based artist Thompson Dagnall.

The tree was diseased and had to be felled. Rather than remove the tree completely it was felled to a safe height so that it could be sculpted.

It has been here nearly two years now has developed a patina. See how it looked in December 2010 and how it looked under construction in March 2010.

Yellow Monster in Hyde Cemetery

As I posted on Thursday, the chapel in Hyde Cemetery is no more. Here a JCB is sitting by the rubble ready to clear the remnants into a lorry that is waiting nearby.

Hyde cemetery was laid out in 1894. The Non-Conformist chapel was the last of three chapels which originally stood in the cemetery. It was designed by J.W. Beaumont; an architect with at least three listed buildings to his name, including Hyde Town Hall (1883-5, Grade II) and the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester (c.1895-1900, Grade II).

When the local council intimated that they wanted to demolish the chapel Nancy Morris of the Hyde Cheshire blog applied to English Heritage to have the chapel listed but was turned down. The main reasons given were as follows

• The chapel at Hyde is a late example of its type as Municipal cemeteries were laid out from the 1850s, with the height of cemetery chapel construction spanning the period 1840-1880
• This Non-Conformist chapel has lost the context of its companion chapels to the north and south, although it still retains its place within the landscape and relationship with the lodge.
• Although designed by a respected architect, this is not the best example of his work; aside from the unusual tower, the design is largely standard for its date.

The second reason seems to me particularly ironic, the loss of its sisters being a good argument for its retention.

See how the chapel looked in my post of August 3rd 2011

Two more demolition photos can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

This post is a contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday and Taphophile Tragics.

Shadow Shot Sunday: Roadworks by Hyde Market

This was taken a week last Saturday when shadows crossed the roadworks by Hyde Market. It is part of the work in connection with the regeneration of the market.

See it a week later (yesterday) on Hyde DP Xtra.

For more shadows check out Shadow Shot Sunday.

The Bandstand in Hyde Park

This is the Bandstand in Hyde Park.

That is Hyde Park in Hyde, not in London, New York, Chicago, Boston, Sydney, Leeds, Tampa, Cincinatti, Sheffield, Los Angeles, Boise, Kansas City, Memphis, Austin, Perth, Adelaide nor anywhere else but Hyde.

Today's post is a contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

A 1999 view can be found on Old Hyde.

Skywatch Friday: The Sky in March

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Grey Day in Hyde Cemetery

Last October I showed you the view up the main drive at Hyde Cemetery with the chapel at the end.

This was the scene on Tuesday. All that was left of the old chapel was some rubble. A JCB and a lorry were there to clear it away.

I showed you the chapel itself in my post of 3rd August 2011.

I have more photos of the demolished chapel which I'll be posting in the future.

This post is a contribution to Taphophile Tragics.

ABC Wednesday: H is for Horses and a Hovering Gull

Horses and a gull on the TransPennine trail.

For a closer view of the horses see Hyde DP Xtra.

For more H posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Waiting patiently

Outside the entrance to Clarendon Shopping Centre.

Dwarf Daffodils

At Hyde Market on Saturday dwarf daffodils were on sale - £2 a pot or three for a fiver. The florist had laid his wares alongside the barriers protecting the bottom half of the market which is undergoing renovations.

See more of the display on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to

Shadows on Dowson Road Bridge

The afternoon sun throws shadows on to Dowson Road bridge over the Trans Pennine trail.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday and Sunday bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Weekend Reflections : Ring and Ride

This week a reflection of the Ring and Ride bus in the puddles outside Gabbots Farm.
A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: The Theatre Royal

A look down Corporation Street at the Theatre Royal, looking slightly better than it has done in recent months following recent building work.

There is a new website now for Hyde Theatre Royal Onward, the trust set up to save this historic theatre for the town.

My own photographs, mainly from the Heritage Open Days can be found at http://www.geraldengland.co.uk/gx/royal.htm.

This post is a contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Electricity Substation

The CDPB theme today is Electricity so I thought I'd show you our nearby Electricity Substation. There isn't much to see as it's locked safely away in a brick shed. Basically it is a big transformer but if you want more technical details you'll have to look elsewhere.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants to the theme day.