The Magnet

Built in 1840 as a coaching inn, due to its close proximity to the Heaton Norris Station, The Magnet has retained its original name for over 170 years.

It has been extensively refurbished since 2009 and has won a number of awards including CAMRA Pub Of The Year (SSM) 2011. There is a barrel vaulted cellar destined be a micro-brewery where they are hoping to brew their own innovative, unique "Cellar Rat" branded beers. See The Magnet website for more details.

In an earlier post on July 11th I featured the signs on the corner for Mount Crescent and Duke Street which I'd photographed in 2010. The street names no longer exist and the signs have been painted over and don't stand out as much they did.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Four Views from the corner of Heaton Norris Park

East towards Heaton Towers and Norris Towers at the top of Dodge Hill.

North towards Love Lane, Quantock Close and the bowling greens.

West along Church Road.

South over the football pitches with Stockport Plaza and the Town Hall visible through the trees.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday and to Outdoor Wednesday.

Bridge Shadows

On Friday I posted a photograph showing the M60 and A560 taken from the Wellington Road North bridge.

This view is looking along the side of the bridge across the eastbound carriageway.

A shadow of the bridge has been cast on to the cliffside. My own shadow can be seen just above what looks like a blocked up doorway. This may be an access point into a one-time air-raid shelter or is possibly connected with the railway line that originally ran alongside the route of the motorway.

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

Weekend Reflections: Hat Museum Chimney

I was on a bus going up Wellington Road South when I spotted the chimney of the Hat Museum reflected in an office window.

I took a quick photo using my mobile phone and here's the result.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

The M60 and the A560

Viewed from Wellington Road North.

On the left hand side is the M60 motorway. Now part of the Manchester Orbital Motorway that encircles Manchester, this section was built in the 1980s as the M63 extension from Cheadle Heath to Portwood.

When first built the Cheshire Lines Committee railway line through Tiviot Dale still ran alongside, disappearing into a tunnel under Lancashire Hill at a point roughly where the white van on the left is seen.

On the right hand side is Great Egerton Street which is the A560 road from Bredbury to Gatley. Before the motorway was built this was the main arterial road from Yorkshire to Cheshire.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

Sign of the Swan with two necks

The sign for the Swan with two necks, a Robinson's pub on Prince's Street.

The origin of the name is said to be a corruption of "The Swan With Two Nicks". Swans have traditionally been the property of the reigning Monarch. However, in the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I granted the right to ownership of some swans to the Worshipful Company of Vintners. To tell which Swan belonged to whom, the Vintners' swans had their beaks marked with two notches, or nicks.

A contribution to signs, signs.

S is for Swan With Two Necks

A public house has been recorded on this site from around 1830. In 1924 Robinson's Brewery acquired the building on Prince's Street and rebuilt it within a decade. It is Grade II listed.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Lord Street

A pedestrianised section of Lord Street between Wellington Street and St Peter's Square. The large building on the right is the Job Centre.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday.

Repairing St Petersgate Bridge

The roadway over the top of St Petersgate Bridge is being replaced and the road is closed although there is still pedestrian access around one side.

Behind the fence is a mobile canteen and toilets for the workmen.

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

R is for Rat Pit

A plaque on the wall of the Rat Pit, unveiled in 2007, commemorates William Watson who was born in a house that previously stood on the site. He was a stoker on the ill-fated Titanic and was buried at sea on the 24th April 1912, aged 27 years.

More of his story can be seen on the Bents Lane Social Club website.

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

The building is the local polling station for elections. Can the locals be the only ones in the United Kingdom to vote at an officially designated rat pit?

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and A contribution to signs, signs.

Woodley Viaduct

The viaduct at Woodley is a bit of a hidden wonder insofar as there isn't a vantage point (as far as I'm aware) from which one can see the whole of it.

This view from Manor Road is looking at the eastern end of the viaduct as it crosses Hyde Road.


Here now is the view looking from Manor Road through the archway towards Hyde Road.

After Manor Road the next archway crosses the Peak Forest Canal. You can see the underside of it on the photograph I posted in July 2009 on Ackworth born, gone West.


On the day I took these photographs I had walked down Manor Road and crossed the canal using Bridge #12, which I showed here on 28th September. I then walked back to Hyde Road along Bankfield Road, crossing under the fourth arch. This view is looking back at the viaduct.

The railway used to be the main line from Woodley to Stockport (Tiviotdale) and points West, but now it terminates at a nearby industrial area.

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

Q is for the Queen's Head

According to the Stockport Historic Environment Database 10-12 Little Underbank was built in the late C18 or early C19 on the south side of Little Underbank. The 1849 1:1056 Ordnance Survey map shows the building originally abutted a larger building on its east side, identified as the Queen's Head Public House. The latter was demolished when St Petersgate Bridge was built in 1866-8, and it appears that at this point the public house moved into No. 12 Little Underbank. The pub fixtures and fittings confirm this, being of a later C19 date. There has been some late C20 remodelling retaining many original features.

The interior of the Queen's Head has a long narrow plan with an altered later-C19 bar with an original spirits fountain. The L-shaped public bar has fixed seating with matchboard backs. A matchboard partition to the rear separates a small Snug with fixed seating to the left and a small men's lavatory to the right, and a stair with stone steps. At the back is a parlour with fixed upholstered seating and rectangular top light framed by heavy moulded plasterwork.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and to signs, signs.

A View from Heaton Norris Park

A view across Stockport from Heaton Norris Park.

On the left, half-hidden behind the clock overlooking Chestergate and Merseyway is the tower of St Peter's Church.

On the right is Stockport Town Hall .

Left of the Town Hall are the Millbrook towerblocks.

A contribution to the Heights theme at City Daily Photo.