Standing Stones

Cheethams Park

Stalybridge

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This is not an ancient site made by a race of men long gone.... it is most proberly the brain child of one of the gardners here at the park.

I must admit that where it is situated is a very good choice... right at the far end of the park.... just by the entrance to the woods.

If I had seen this as a child it would have become a favourite spot to play, even now it as a certain feel about the place. I sat here for a good half hour taking in the sights, sounds and smell of the place. Who ever it was that thought this up deserves praise as the area is so peaceful.

In the back ground can be seen the old brick barn I showed a day or two back... and at the side is the woodland path.

Brick Hay Barn

Cheethams Park

Stalybridge

What a shame that vandals have attacked this fine old building, it pleases me to say that this park seems to be on the up, with money being spent in many areas. I am sure there will be a 'grant' available somewhere for this and if there is then our council will seek it out.

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Have you got a good eye sight?

In the above picture you can see smoke coming from a factory chimney, just to the right is a church steple. In between those two points and slightly above are the landing lights at Manchester Internationaltaionl Airport... Now for how good are your eyes.... there's a plane coming in to land from the left... can you see it?

Click to enlarge this one

The plane is now above the smoke from the chimney and a little lower to the lights. I watched it land, as I have watched many others land and take off from this high ground. When Concord was flying it was a sight to behold as it came in... and taking off was sight and sound not to be missed. I think the airport is about 6 miles maybe less from here but on certain days plane engines can be heard roaring when landing... I think it is called 'reverse thrust'... any how I hope your eyes managed to pick the plane out. :O)

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Ploughed Fields, Pylons and Hartshead Pike.

The ploughed fields and pylons speak for themself but Hartshead Pike on yonder hill warrents a few words...

The Pike is built on a beacon point for the local area and as such is visible for many miles around. Long before the Romans came stomping about our land, the local tribes would have lit fires here to celebrate the cycle of the seasons, there were many ancient sites close by, including a stone circle at Buckton Castle, once visible from the pike it is now sadly lost. It is highly probable that the druids worshiped at Hartshead Pike during the Iron Age, and sacrifices may have been held to appease their gods. In 1588 warning beacons like the one on Hartshead were lit all over the country to warn of the coming Spanish Armada.

The tower that can be seen there now is the third to be built in the area. The previous monument was rebuilt in 1758, but after developing a crack, it collapsed in 1820. A further forty three years passed before another attempt was made to rebuldit. The result is the Pike of today, which was built to commemorate the marriage of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward the Seventh) and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The tower had to be paid for by public subscriptions and is three hundred metres above sea level. It was declared open in November 1928. Although now it is bricked up, it was once possible to inside the Pike for a small charge. Druids still worship and celebrate the summer solstice here.... and the last few years as seen many people gathering to watch the sunset. Click Here to see a short video of pictures taken at one such Summer Solstice.

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More Sights To See

Old Gate

I am always on the look out for these, more so for the gate posts. Some are very well carved and I'm sure different areas had different designs.

View Towards Hyde

This clearly shows how near to the town we are, and the blue sign in the middle right of the above shot is a traffic sign on the M67 motorway which cuts its way through the center of the town.

Old Farm Buildings..

These buildings are down a pathway I have not walked before and is somthing I know nothing about.... it will however be getting a visit as soon as I can make this walk again. It looks lived in but I can't think of any roads or lanes that lead that way...

Waymarker & Stile

These are something else I keep taking pictures of.... more as a reminder to check the paths out... and another reason is I come across them damaged at times and it helps to have a picture when reporting them.

Dry Stone Wall

As you nearly all know now I show these whenever I can... this one is well past its best and will be lost for ever in time. It is an old stretch of walling but most as gone and the gapes have been replaced with barbed wire.

Local Poet

Ammon Wrigley

Ammon Wrigley (1861-1946) lived and died 'on the cold grey hills' of Saddleworth. He was born in Friarmere, Saddleworth in 1861 into a working class family which was familiar with hardship and poverty. By the age of nine he was working as a part timer in a local textile mill. He showed a keen interest in books and literature at an early age and wrote his first poem at the age of twelve. His developed an interest in the local folklore and history of the district, and it was these aspects of the Pennine culture which he came to record and celebrate in his writings. In prose and poetry he shows a vision of a world that he knew was disappearing and soon to be lost. He died in 1946 and, in keeping with his own wishes, his ashes were scattered at the Dinner Stone on Millstone Edge, Delph where a bronze memorial plaque was placed.

I took both these and more pictures last year while walking around and driving the hill roads of Saddleworth.... I am sorting out some picture folders at the moment and when I saw the above building I was reminded of the poet Ammon Wrigley and his poem 'The Homestead', if you'd like to see more pictures of this old building and read the poem then visit my other blog Pictures & Words

In the frame

Happy Weekend to you all.

Step Back In Time

THREE STAGS HEAD

click above for info

Three Stags Head is a pub all on it's own in more ways than one... I have never been in a pub like it... click the link above to see just what I mean... and please if ever you find yourself in this area at the weekend drop in...... it's like stepping back to time long gone. But beware... turn off your mobile phones as they are not welcome.. oh! and do not ask for a pint of lager as you will be shown the door ha! This pub is to be found in WARDLOW and one could so easily miss it..... but I'm glad we didn't.

Wardlow Mires is famed as the last place a person was Gibbeted in England, after the murderer Anthony Lingard, was executed at Derby in 1815, and placed in the nearby Gibbet. Anthony Lingard was found guilty of the murder of a 70 year-old widow Hannah Oliver, who kept a toll-bar cottage opposite the inn. He broke into the cottage in the dead of night on Sunday 15th January 1815, he then strangled the widow with a scarf and robbed her of her money and a pair of red leather shoes. These shoes proved to be his downfall His girlfriend disliked the shoes, and more so the way he had come about them. She reported him to the police who found the red shoes hidden at Lingards home. The cobbler, Samuel Marsden from nearby Stoney Middleton, identified them as the pair he made for Hannah Oliver. Strange as it seems this was confirmed by a piece of packing he had used in the heel of one of the shoes on which were printed the words, `commit no crime’.
Lingard was hanged at Derby on March 28th 1815, and as was the custom back then, his corpse was hung close to the scene of the crime, in Gibbet Field at Wardlow. A short walk for the inn.

Tin Men On Parade

Saw these on a factory top in Ashton Under Lyne and thought of the Tin Man from the Wizard Of OZ.

Youngest Son Sam

Sam & The Church Roof

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Sam is our youngest son, he as just turned 19, and as for the last 18month been working as a self employed Roofing Contractor. He tried a few jobs before this but did not settle... he seems to have took to this and the money he can earn very well.

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He normally works on houses, so when he came home smiling a few weeks ago saying that he and his partner Dave had a church roof to do... we were a bit worried about the height. To be honest so was he. We all had no reason to be as within a day or two he was sat atop the ridge tiles taking pictures on his camera phone and enjoying in the views.

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I have worked on roofs in the past and I was never to good with hights, but at least 'now a days' safety seems to be a concideration. There's scaffolding all around which is supposed to catch you in a fall... but I still do not think I would like to work up there. :O)

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That's David up on the ridge, he as and still is showing Sam the tricks of the trade. David prefers working with slate, and using lead for the flashings. Lead work is a skill in itself and is something Sam is hoping to master.

I will be showing a bit more from this roof tomorrow, and wish to make it clear now that I did not take these pictures.. :O) all these are taken by Sam and David.

Senior Service

I'm taking many shoots of this local landmark mill 0n Ashton Road, Hyde.. before it is pulled down for housing. Originally it was a cotton mill built at the turn of the 1900s and completed in 1905. Cotton was worked here until 1958, when the factory was sold to a Cigarette making company called J. A. Pattrieouoex. This company made the Senior Service brand of cigarettes, very popular in the 1950s 60s, and 70s and still being made elsewhere today. A good quality cigarette that I remember being smoked mostly by men in the building trade.... a working mans smoke along with the likes of 'Park Drive' which my dad smoked and 'Woodbine' which my mother smoked.

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On the top of this factory in what must have been 10-15 foot blue florescent lights were the words 'SENIOR SERVICE'. These could be seen from miles around, and made the mill a landmark. The Gallaher group purchased the building in 1959 and continued making cigarettes there for over 40 years. The factory was closed in 1999 and production was transferred to Northern Ireland. The building is now home to Findel Education, a supplier of educational products. I for one will be sad to see this building pulled down and houses being built in its place.