Fences above Chestergate

Above the entrance in Chestergate to the Stockport Air Raid Shelters tour is a long ramped footpath leading up High Bank to St Peter's Square and then back along the top to Pickford Brow and the bridge onto the roof of the Merseyway Shopping Centre.

Long wrought iron fences run their length.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

Cyclists Dismount

A steep winding hill leads from the top part of Vernon Park to the bottom. A warning notice reads:

Cyclists
Dismount

Caution!
Long Descent
No Cycling
Skateboarding
Skates
or Scooters
A contribution to signs, signs.

T is for Tunnel

Woodley Tunnel on the Peak Forest Canal is 153 metres long; method of working is two way traffic; approximate travel time through the tunnel is 1 min 30 secs.

The Peak Forest Canal runs for 15 miles between Ashton under Lyne and Whaley Bridge. It was built to link the Ashton Canal with the tramways that brought limestone from the Peak District quarries.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

St Mary's Roman Catholic Church

St Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Dodge Hill was designed by Pugin & Pugin,1897 and is a prominent local landmark. It is constructed of red brick with stone dressings and window tracery and a slate roof.

The west front has a tall gabled bellcote on a stepped base beneath which is a statue of the Virgin and Child. Stepped buttresses framing a large rose window are flanked by traceried windows with paired lights.

It is now isolated from the town by the M60 motorway which runs in a cutting below. The large retaining wall above the motorway is often targeted by graffiti artists, but it is regularly removed.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

Reddish South Station Mural

Reddish South together with Denton railway station on the Stockport to Stalybridge line are famous for having one train a week (the "Denton flyer") in one direction only. This means they are technically still open.

The "Denton flyer" is what is known as a "Parliamentary ghost", a train that operates a Parliamentary service - that is to say a token service to a given station, thus maintaining a legal fiction that either the station in question is in fact open, whereas in reality the train operating company in question has almost completely abandoned the station. These services run at all only because rail transport is heavily regulated in the United Kingdom and it is therefore considerably cheaper for a train operating company to run a parliamentary service than it is to go through the full legal process of applying for a station or line to be permanently closed.

Originally Reddish South station consisted of two island platforms with four tracks. One of these track beds has been sold off, while another has been filled in. The second island is now inaccessible as there are no longer steps down to it. According to the 2007/8 National rail figures, Reddish South had only 47 entries and exits in a 12 month period, making it the UK's least used railway station.

Network Rail, in their Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for the North West, were proposing closure of Reddish South and Denton stations and withdrawal of the remaining passenger service. The line itself would remain open for freight and diverted passenger workings.

This mural was unveiled on October 8th 2011 by the Friends of Reddish South Station who have been running a campaign to bring more passenger trains onto this line since 2008. The object of the campaign is to secure a frequent service running between Stockport and Manchester Victoria.

I'll show you details of the individual panels next week.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

The River Mersey between the Bear Pit and the Bus Station

The river Mersey spends the first mile of its life culverted under the Merseyway Shopping Centre. It emerges here at the Bear Pit. The shadow of Wellington Road Viaduct falls upon the reflections of trees. Behind the fence (top right) is Stockport bus station. Between the fence and the bridge are steps leading up to Wellington Road South.

To take this second photo I had to poke my camera over that fence and shoot blindy back towards where I took the first photograph. Here we see the river emerging from its murky culvert with the balustrade at the Bear Pit above it. Over it all is an arch of the viaduct that carries Wellington Road over the valley. The viewpoint can be seen on the left hand side of the photograph From Viaduct to Viaduct which I posted last week.

Both photographs were taken Saturday 25th May 2013.

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

Reflections in the Mill Race

At Etherow Country Park, Compstall.

For The Weekend in Black and White
Weekend Reflections and
Scenic Weekends.

Marple Canal Basin

Marple Canal Basin lies at the end of the Macclesfield canal.

The Macclesfield, one of the last narrow canals to be built was approved by Act of Parliament in April 1826. Thomas Telford surveyed the canal and construction was engineered by William Crosley. The completed canal was opened on 9th November 1831 at a cost of £320,000. It was bought out by the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincoln Railway in 1847. With nationalisation in 1947 it passed to the Docks & Inland Waterways Board with commercial carrying finishing only in the 1960s shortly before British Waterways was formed. The canal runs from Marple Junction with the Peak Forest Canal in the north 26¼ miles to the stop lock at Hall Green near Kidsgrove. Thanks to Telford's design for commercial traffic the Macclesfield Canal has a very shallow and tapered bottom. The deep channel is just wide enough for two boats to pass in the centre making mooring other than at wharves "challenging".

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Sign approaching Portwood roundabout

Sign on Great Portwood Street approaching Portwood roundabout. Note how the sign appears to be made up of three sections that don't quite align with each other.

The Portwood roundabout is at junction 27 of the M60 motorway.
There is a westbound entry slip road and an eastbound exit slip road.
The other roads leading on to the roundabout are Tiviot Way, the A626 from Lancashire Hill;
Crookilley Way, the new A560 built at the same time as the M60 from the westbound exit of the motorway;
Carrington Road, the original A560 from Bredbury, now the B6104;
St Mary's Way, the A626 from Marple;
Great Portwood Street, the A560 out of Stockport.
A busway allows Eastbound buses to cross the roundabout rather than go round it.
In 2012 an additional road off the roundabout was constructed leading into the Spark Business Park.
A series of subways and paths are provided for cyclists and pedestrians.

Inside the roundabout are the remains of the burial ground of Brunswick Wesleyan Methodist Chapel which stood on the site from 1848 to 1955.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Stepping Hill Stone

Memorial stone set in a flower bed at the entrance to Stepping Hill Hospital.

The plaque reads "This stone commemorates the establishment of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2004. Dedicated to serving the people of Stockport and the High Peak."

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Red Lion, Cheadle

The Red Lion is a Robinson's pub on Stockport Road, Cheadle.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

North West Mountain Bike Centre Mural

This mural is at the North West Mountain Bike Centre on Stockport Road, Cheadle.

This photograph was taken Saturday, 27 June, 2009, so I don't know for sure if it still looks the same now as it did then but a look at their website and Facebook page suggests it probably does.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

From Viaduct to Viaduct

This photograph was taken Saturday, 25 July, 2009 from aboard a train on the railway viaduct approaching the station. It offers a clear view across the bus station of the less iconic viaduct that carries the A6 across the valley.

Nine arches can be seen here. On the far left it crosses the river Mersey which has just emerged from under the Merseyway Shopping Centre by the bear pit. Steps from the bus station lead up to Wellington Road North.

Through the middle arch is Chestergate and beyond a new bridge that goes from St Petersgate to the carpark on top of the shopping centre. Just beyond is the tower of St Mary's church and in the background stretch the Pennine hills.

On the far right is the Hat Museum.

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

Imperial Reflections

Reflections in the windows of "Peters Square Tavern", as the board on the right proclaims it to be.

"The Imperial Hotel" was a Victorian hostelry with entrances on St Petersgate and Piccadilly. It stood next to the Theatre Royal, which closed in the late 1950s and was demolished in 1962.

For a long time "The Imperial" (no longer an hotel) was a Wilson's pub but in recent years it was renamed "The Blarney Stone" before becoming "Peters Square Tavern".

In 2012 it reverted to being "The Imperial" as indicated by the pub sigb on the left.

This photograph was taken Thursday, 9 August, 2012, since when the name-board on the right has been taken down.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

The Trans Pennine Trail between fences at Heaton Norris

The Trans Pennine Trail is a multi-user route across the North of England from Southport to Hornsea. It is also part of the E8 European Long Distance Walking Route from Kerry (Repulic of Ireland) to the Polish/Ukraine border.

This is part of the section through Heaton Norris. Over the fence on the right is the busy M60 motorway; left is Craig Road Playing Fields and the Brighton Road Industrial Estate.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

One hundred and eighty-two and a half miles to London

This old road sign stands on the A6 outside Stockport Town Hall.

Distances were then measured to within a quarter of a mile.

A contribution to signs, signs.

R is for Rat Pit

Bents Lane Social Club at Bredbury was named after a former wooden building built on stilts, which it replaced. It had been known locally as "The Rat Pit", and it now boasts that name on its frontage.

A plaque on the wall commemorates William Watson who was born in a house that previously stood on the site. He was a stoker on the Titanic and the only person from Stockport to perish on the ship. It was unveiled in 2007 by Stockport Heritage Trust.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

The Chestergate Tavern

A pub known as the Mersey Tavern and the Mersey Inn was recorded on the site in 1838.

The building was demolished and rebuilt in eclectic Elizabethan style, 1896-7. It is built of red brick with painted stone dressings incorporating finely carved panels and cartouches. There are three storeys to the Chestergate frontage, with an attached two-storey range in matching style to Mersey Square.

The left doorway has an ornate painted surround which has flattened Ionic pilasters and is surmounted by carved lions.

The central gable has within it a painted stone cartouche with the initials BSC, and a finial in the form of a lion, while other gables have armorial badges and ball finials.

It is Grade II listed.

These photographs were taken Saturday, 27 October, 2012.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

Box Junction on Wellington Road South

The junction of Station Road with Wellington Road South is a box junction.

A box junction is a traffic control measure designed to prevent gridlock at busy road junctions. The surface of the junction is marked with a criss-cross grid of diagonal yellow painted lines and vehicles may not enter the area so marked unless their exit from the junction is clear; drivers may enter the box and wait when they want to turn right and are stopped from doing so only by oncoming traffic or by other vehicles waiting to turn right.

Across on the corner of Wellington Road South and Wellington Street is the Unity Inn, a former Robinson's pub now, like many others, closed, stripped of its signage and awaiting an uncertain future.

A contribution to Monday Mellow Yellow.

Romiley Railway Bridge

Romiley Station was opened 1862 by the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). The bridge, onto which the platforms extend, crosses the B6104.

This photograph taken Saturday, 25 July, 2009.

The bridge carries a height restriction sign and (in case of someone not knowing the height of their vehicle) an emergency sign.

This photograph taken Saturday, 19 November, 2011.

Looking along the top of the bridge over Stockport Road at Romiley Station. Beech Lane is on the right.

This photograph taken Saturday, 10 November, 2012.

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

Stockport Signal Box #2

Stockport #2 signal box lies between Stockport (Edgeley) station and the viaduct.

The spire of Christchurch, Heaton Norris is visible on the left.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

St Mary's in the Market Place

A view of St Mary's Parish Church from inside the Market Hall.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Morning Orders in 8 hours Promptly Executed

A ghost sign on a wall at Park Street off the Market Place advertising Emerson's clothiers.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Q is for Queens

The Queens is a Robinson's pub on Great Portwood Street.

This photograph was taken Thursday, 28 May, 2009.

These photographs were taken Friday, 23 November, 2012

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Borough Chambers

Borough Chambers, at the corner of St Petersgate and High Street, was formerly the Stockport Advertiser offices. Next to the ornate doorway and red door is the sandwich bar, "Wonderland Cakes".

For Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

Blue Monday: Jessops Closed

The Stockport branch of Jessops on Warren Street closed on January 11th 2013 along with its other 186 branches. The following Monday staff were behind these half-closed shutters packing away the contents. A large notice proclaimed "This store is now CLOSED" and referring customers to the Jessops.com website for further information states "The Jessops Stockport Team would like to thank you on a personal level for all of your support and custom over the years".

Jessop's were formed in Leicester in 1935 by Frank Jessop. They were once the largest specialist supplier of photographic equipment in the UK. At their peak they had 335 stores. In 2007 the company suffered financial crisis, due to increased competition from supermarkets and internet retailers, and had to close some stores. In January 2013 the company went into administration and its 187 remaining stores across the UK closed on January 11th with the loss of 1,370 jobs. The brand was bought by entrepreneur Peter Jones and relaunched on 28 March 2013. Up to 30 stores are expected to re-open, but the Stockport branch is unlikely to be one of them.

A contribution to Blue Monday.

Birdhall Lane

Birdhall Lane links Cheadle Hulme with Adswood.

Where the road goes under the former Cheshire Lines Committee railway there is a separate underpass for pedestrians to avoid the busy road bridge.

These photographs were taken Monday, 6 August, 2012.

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

Weekend in Black and White: Underbank Hall

Underbank Hall is Elizabethan, dating from the late 16th century. It was the town house of the Arderne family of Bredbury. The original house must have been larger as an inventory of 1619 lists more rooms than survive today. The hall was sold for 3,000 guineas in September 1823 to the banking firm of Christy Lloyd & Co which became the Stockport and East Cheshire Bank in the following year. In 1829, the Stockport and Cheshire Bank became part of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company. By 1880 this bank had 54 branches, in Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire. The bank changed its name to the District Bank in 1924 and in 1962 was acquired by the National Provincial Bank. Then in 1970 this bank merged with the Westminster Bank to form the National Westminster Bank, which is now known simply as NatWest.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Friday Fences: Daffodils at Vernon Park

Daffodils are showing their splendour either side of the fence between Vernon Park and New Bridge Lane.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

Folley (street sign)

"Folley" is a short passageway off Millgate below the wall of St Mary's churchyard. It led to the Warren Alms Houses, built and endowed by Edward Warren Esq of Poynton, 1663 for the occupancy of six poor men who were to be paid 20s each annum and the houses to be kept in good repair forever by the owner of Liels in Hempshaw Gate Farm. They were sold in 1881 to surgeon Henry Heginbotham and new almshouses were built on Turncroft Lane.

For signs, signs.

P is for Pyramid

The "Stockport Pyramid" was designed in 1987 by Manchester architects: Michael Hyde and Associates. The building is steel framed with mostly blue glass paneling and some clear glass paneling at the apex. It was intended to be the signature building for a much bigger commercial development to be called "The Valley of the Kings". Construction began in the early 1990s with completion in 1992. However, the developers went into administration and the building lay empty for several years. In 1995 the Co-operative Bank (who funded the developers) repossessed it and opened it as a call centre for the bank. The building has since given its name to the nearby junction of the M60 motorway and the area is now commonly known as Kings Reach.

This view, taken Wednesday, 6 April, 2011 is from the old bridge crossing the river Mersey from Brinksway.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.