Sign of the Cross at Peel Street

The original Zion congregational school and chapel was opened in 1847. It consisted of two storeys with the chapel above the school and was enlarged in 1859.

A new building on Peel Street which can be viewed on Old Hyde was opened in April 1899.

One hundred years later it was replaced by the modern new Zion Church which opened in 2000.

A contribution to signs, signs.

ABC Wednesday: T is for Tom Shepley Street

A street of terraced houses off Orchard Street leading to Lumn Road.

Who was Tom Shepley?

I don't know much except that he was councillor for Godley Ward in the 1880s. The Shepley family owned The Lumn, the oldest house in Hyde. This was in the area between Ridling Lane and Lumn Road known as Lumn Hollow. Here you will also find John Shepley Street and simply Shepley Street.

Find more Ts on ABC Wednesday.

Ruby Tuesday: That Telephone Box Again

Last week I showed you the isolated telephone box.

Well here it is again a week later. Flags have been lain around it and there is pedestrian access here again.

Whilst mobile phones may have taken over for a lot of people there are no plans to remove either of the phone boxes by the market.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday.

Blue Monday: Sliproad to the M67

Just around the corner from yesterday's shadow shot is the slip road to the M67 motorway.

As detailed on the Motorway Archive website, the "Hyde by-pass" was opened in 1978 and the "Denton relief-road" in 1981. It is in fact all that remains of a plan for a motorway over the Pennines from Manchester to Sheffield as detailed on the Pathetic Motorway website.

It is a five-mile long motorway that some say tore the heart out of Hyde and Denton. The loss of George Street seems be especially lamented but it's all before my time in Hyde.

Motorway signs in the UK are blue so today's post is a contribution to Blue Monday.

Shadow Shot Sunday: Hyde Bus Station

The pedestrian entrance from Manchester Road to Hyde Bus Station which was modernised in 2005.

Behind the trees on the left lies the M67 motorway.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Weekend in Black and White: The Bottom of Market Street

The premises for sale next door to the furniture shop were most recently occupied by the Jaipur Indian restaurant before they moved to Clarendon Place before moving again to the top end of Market Street.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Skywatch Friday: Rhodes Street North

From Manchester Road looking at Rhodes Street North which has been completely demolished. This was formerly part of the Automasters engineering complex. Modern housing has been built on the main site. The area between Manchester Road and the Wilson Brook (which is behind the trees) is earmarked for light industrial or trading use.

See how it looked in 2008.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Parsonage Street

The street sign for Parsonage Street.

Behind the wall was the parsonage built in 1860 as the vicarage for St George's church.

I'm informed that the 1860 vicarage was demolished between the wars and replaced with the building we can see now.

What I'm still puzzled by is why the street is called Parsonage street, yet the building is always called the vicarage not the parsonage.

A contribution to signs, signs.

ABC Wednesday:S is for a Student from Salford University

The student from Salford University is taking part in an archaeological dig at Newton Hall.

Newton Hall, a Grade II listed building and one of Britain's earliest cruck-framed buildings, stands on the corner of Dukinfield Road and Dunkirk Lane in Hyde, Cheshire. It eventually became used as a barn for the farm that occupied part of the site. It was encased in a brick building having a blue slate roof. When the farm buildings were being demolished in the 1960s, to make way for industrial buildings, the contractor saw the ancient cruck-framed construction and, realising it was an important ancient building, stopped demolition immediately. The other farm buildings were later demolished but the original medieval hall was preserved. Sir George Kenyon, the Chairman of William Kenyon & Sons Ltd of Dukinfield, rescued it. Browns of Wilmslow undertook the restoration work and this was completed in 1970.

More information at http://www.pittdixon.go-plus.net/newton-hall/newton-hall.htm

In April 2012 Tameside History Forum in conjunction with Salford University undertook an archaeological dig at the site. Over 500 photographs of the excavation can be found on their Photobucket gallery.

More photographs of the dig are on Hyde DP Xtra and some of their finds and more information about the Hall can be found on Old Hyde.

More "S" posts can be found on ABC Wednesday.

Telephone Box Isolated Again

As work continues on the renewal of Hyde Market, the telephone box on the corner of Market Street and Clarendon Street has been isolated behind the barriers again. Compare with the similar view two months previously.

Behind it flagstones have been extended to the road edge and the Sheffield stands removed as can seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

On the right, stopping at the heritage bus stop is a Stagecoach bus on the #344 Back Bower circular route, recently operated by Stotts who took on the route when previous operator Speedwells went bust.

This was on Saturday. Passing by on Monday workmen were laying tarmac down on the ground around the telephone box.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday.

The Back End Of A Bus

This is the back end of the bus I showed you a few weeks ago parked outside The Queens.

It has moved off up Clarendon Place and is now outside the former Bengal Spice.

Taken from Level One of the multi-storey car park.

A contribution to Blue Monday.

Dowson Road Bridge & A Fallen Tree

Looking towards Dowson Road bridge on the TransPennine Trail.

A tree has fallen (or was it pushed?) and it blocks the bridlepath part of the trail. Maybe it is something new for the horses to jump over. This was a few weeks ago and it was still there a week later. It may have gone by now. I'll take a look sometime when this weather improves. It's more like March than May.

You can see it from the opposite direction on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

The Weekend in Black and White: St George's Burial Ground

Earlier this week I posted a WW1 grave in St George's churchyard. Some commentators wondered why it was placed on the edge of the burial ground.

I'm not sure but this photograph depicts the other edge of the burial ground which lies at the top of the steep valley of the Gower Hey Brook. I understand that some of the older gravestones may have slid down the valley.

The coloured version of this scene can be viewed on Geograph.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Skywatch Friday: New Flags on the Market Ground

As work continues on the renewal of Hyde Market a large area has been paved with flagstones.

Compare it with the same scene at the end of February.

I don't know what the metal hoops are for. No doubt we'll find out in due course.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Jaipur

A year ago the Jaipur had taken over the restaurant on Clarendon Place that had previoiusly been the Bengal Spice. Prior to that it had briefly been the Bay Leaf after the Garlic relocated to Clarendon Mall.

A few months ago the Jaipur moved here taking over the Clove on Market Street.

Meanwhile on Clarendon Place the sign for the Bengal Spice has gone back up, but there is no name on the front and it hasn't actually reopened.

ABC Wednesday: R is for Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill is an old footpath leading down from Back Bower. On the right is Hyde Cemetery. The flats on the left are on Southside and Peveril Terrace.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

1914-1918 War Grave

One of the newest graves at St George's church is this one on the edge of the burial ground.

The inscription reads:

1914 - 1918

Those honoured here died in the service of their country and lie buried in this churchyard

Private W.L.Ashton
Manchester Regiment 9.5.1916
Private J.Barber
Labour Corps 11.2.1919
Private H.Beeley
South Lancashire Regiment 18.3.1917
Private J.Middleton
South Lancashire Regiment 22.9.1916
Private E.Smith
Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) 14.7.1916
Colour Sergeant C.S.Apleton
Kings Shropshire Light Infantry 16.8.1916

A wider view can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

A contribution to Taphophile Tragics.

Dowson Road Daisy

A close view of one of the daisies in the clump of dandelions, daisies and daffodils off Dowson Road which you can see on Hyde DP Xtra.

The name "daisy" is usually considered a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning.

Whether this is the common daisy (Bellis perennis) - Bellis is Latin for "in time of war" and perennis is Latin for "everlasting" - or an ox-eye, dog or moon daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) I couldn't say.

A contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday.

Shadow Shot Sunday: A Civil War Cannon

Last weekend Colonel Edward Montagu's Regiment of Foote were performing at Newton Hall. It was part of the Open Days organised by Tameside History Forum who in conjunction with Salford University had undertaken an archaeological dig at the site.

They brought with them a cannon which they fired on several occasions.

You can see more photographs of the regiment on Hyde DP Xtra.

I'll be posting photographs and information on the dig at a later date.

This post is a contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

The Weekend in Black and White: From the bottom of Church Brow

From the bottom of Church Brow looking up at the tower of St George's church. A footpath leads into private allotments on the steep banks of the Gower Hey Brook.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White

Fenced-in Footpath

Now a narrow footpath between the fences of back gardens either side, this was an ancient route from Foxholes to Hyde.

Note the old tree roots and the stone setts.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

Gas pipeline at Church Brow

By the allotments at the bottom of Church Brow, a sign warns of the presence of a gas pipeline underneath.

A closer view is on Hyde DP Xtra.

ABC Wednesday: Q is for a queue outside the Queens

The Queens is an old coaching inn and had stables for horses. Once upon a time the stagecoaches leaving here would be on their way from Liverpool and Manchester and bound for Sheffield and Lincoln.

Now queueing up outside the Queens are two #201 Stagecoach buses on the route from Piccadilly, Manchester to John Kennedy Road, Hattersley. There should be about 12 minutes between them, but not infrequently you'll find two running in convey. They are at stop FF. A post office van is overtaking them.

For more "Q" posts visit ABC Wednesday.

A Big Red Hole

The Shell filling station on Dowson Road is being totally renewed. Having torn down the old pumps and canopy and pulled out the old fuel tanks they are now digging a new hole in which to store the new tanks.

Last Thursday on my way to vote in the local elections I went round the back and took this view of it over the fence.

More views of the work can be found on Hyde DP Xtra.

This is a contribution to Ruby Tuesday.

Yellow Jackets on Hyde Market

Workmen in yellow jackets are laying down flags on the market ground during phase 1 of the renewal work. Compare with the scene a few weeks earlier.

For more yellow scenery visit Mellow Yellow Monday.

Hyde FC the Champions

Hyde FC have just completed a successful season winning the Conference North championship.

Yesterday they took an open bus tour around Gee Cross to Hyde Town Hall to celebrate and I captured the scene as the bus came down Dowson Road.

A closer view can be seen on my photoblog sithenah.

A brief history of Hyde FC can be found on Old Hyde.

The official website for the club is http://www.hydefc.co.uk/ and there is also a Facebook page for the club.

Weekend Reflections: The Hot Crumpet

Reflected in the counter of the "Hot Crumpet" sandwich shop on Dowson Road are the roofs and windows of the terraced houses across the road. You may need to screw your eyes a bit to see them properly.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

EuroMix

A view from last Saturday of the ongoing renewal work on Hyde Market.

Two mortar delivery towers have been erected on site.

Another photograph from last Saturday is on Hyde DP Xtra.

May blossom

The tree between Mottram Road and the footpath leading into Morrisons supermarket blocks out the view of the multi-storey car park behind.

ABC Wednesday: P is for Provident Mill

Provident Mill on Alexander Street overlooks the Peak Forest Canal. Part of the mill is home to a large furniture warehouse, whilst other small business occupy small units therein.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Bakeries: Greggs in the Mall

The CDPB theme for Mayday is Bakeries.

The days of independant bakers is long gone and most bread comes from the supermarkets.

The popular franchise Greggs has a presence in Clarendon Mall. It took over the unit formerly occupied by Sylvio's restaurant and bakery which closed quite a few years ago.

Greggs' old position has been taken over by Poundland bakery.

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