Meadow Mill from Penny Lane Fields

Meadow Mill was built in the late 1870s for T & J Leigh, cotton and wool spinning. It had 120,000 spindles in 1914. It is grade II listed.

The little building in the foreground is the Grimesbottom Stormwater Overflow.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Grimesbottom Stormwater Overflow

This innocent looking little building carries several warning notices:

Caution Hazardous Areas
Caution Deep water
Warning Machinery may be in operation at any time
This site contains confined space Check register for confined spaces
No unauthorised persons allowed beyond this point
No smoking
Approved personal protective equipment must be worn at all times
Keep Clear 24 hour access required

So that's you lot told.

A contribution to signs, signs.

C is for Castle Yard

The Castle Yard was the "Motte" of a Norman castle and the castle "Bailey" the area which is now the Market Place. Today it forms a link between the outside market and the Courts shopping development created from the conversion of the adjacent former Magistrates Courts building. Stalls line the sides on market days.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Across the fields to St Mary's

Looking across Penny Lane Fields towards St Mary's Parish Church.

This is looking in the opposite direction to the view posted on Sunday.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday.

Penny Lane Fields

Lying between Portwood and Lancashire Hill, Penny Lane Fields is a 10 hectare area which is going to be made part of the Reddish Vale Country Park in compensation for the loss to the park of 1.3 hectares earmarked in Brinnington for new housing and a leisure centre.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

River Goyt at Howard Street Bridge

The last bridge over the river Goyt is Howard Street bridge. A small island has built up between the flow through the two arches. A man can be seen on the island but how he managed to gain access I couldn't say.

Someone had tweeted earlier that day, "Why is the Goyt orange this morning?" A few hours later I took several photos of the river here. I posted three of them yesterday. The river as can be seen from this closer crop is indeed coloured orange. It is probably due a seepage or iron ore but where from I don't know and I've not seen news reports about it.

I do not know how this man, with an e-cigarette in his mouth, got onto the island nor what he is collecting in the plastic bag.

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

The Orange Goyt

On Tuesday morning someone tweeted "Why is the Goyt orange this morning?"

A few hours later I took this photo of the river looking upstream from Howard Street bridge. I haven't discovered the reason for the colouration, but it looks like a seepage of iron-ore into the river.

Downstream of the bridge the Goyt flows over a weir and the river Tame joins it from underneath the M60 motorway to form the river Mersey. Note the darker colour of the emerging, converging Tame.

This is a closer view of the water flower over the weir from the other direction. I'll post some more photographs from this point tomorrow.

A contribution to Orange You Glad It's Friday and Weekend Reflections.

B is for Building in Bredbury

I first noticed this large house on Stockport Road West, Bredbury in November 2009. It was empty and boarded-up.

It was that way until April 2011 when I noticed that the old house was being demolished.

The site was empty until September 2013 when work began on building a new house at the site.

Here is how it looked in January 2014.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Climbing Rostron Brow

Rostron Brow leads from Lower Hillgate up to St Mary's Parish Church.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday.

Yellow trolleys

A chain of trolleys at Morrisons in Bredbury.

To use a trolley for shopping you have to put a pound coin in a slot to unlock one from the chain. Having done your shopping you return it and retrieve your pound.

A contribution to Monday Mellow Yellows.

Our Lady & The Apostles

The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and the Apostles was built in 1903-5 to replace an earlier church dedicated to St Philip and St James. It was designed by Edmund Kirby of Liverpool, the west front being similar to that of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Chorley by Kirby, 1894. In 1925 the sanctuary was redesigned as a First World War memorial with a new high altar backed by a cawed oak screen. Re-ordering of the church in circa 1989 saw the extension of this screen converting the sanctuary into an enclosed sanctuary chapel, with a new high altar, font and lectern placed before the chancel arch.

It was designated as Grade II listed for the following principal reasons:

1. Its architecturally impressive exterior, particularly the treatment of the west front facing Shaw Heath;
2. The high quality of its interior, both in terms of overall design and the detailing, especially the early C2O fittings;
3. The additional interest of later alterations such as the sanctuary chapel with its war memorial high altar and the eastern stained glass windows.

More information can be found on the church website.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

The Old Bank at 35 Shaw Heath

The half-timbered building next to the Armoury public house in our post last Wednesday was built in 1912 as the premises of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Co. Ltd. to designs by Manchester architects Barker Ellis and Jones. It became known as The District Bank from 1924 when the company became District Bank Ltd, before becoming the Edgeley branch of the National Westminster Bank in 1970, after a merger. The building's banking role ceased in 1996 and it was subsequently in office use. Currently it is occupied by a firm that makes wedding videos.

It was designated as Grade II listed for the following principal reasons:

1. As a good representative example of a small, early C2O bank designed in a neo-Tudor, half timbered style giving a reassuring appearance of longevity and respectability;
2. The eye-catching exterior design differentiates the bank from the neighbouring properties whilst enlivening the streetscape;
3. The unassuming yet careful attention to detail and design which unifies the building's external appearance with the internal use of timber panelling and Tudor-arched stone fireplace in the banking Hall;
4. The building retains its design integrity as a bank despite a number of alterations.

For a slightly wider and more colourful view see Geograph.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Pollarded Trees at Bredbury

Two pollarded trees off Stockport Road West, Bredbury, point at the winter sky and long for spring.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Armoury Blue Plaque

Yesterday I posted photographs of the Stockport Volunteer Armoury.

A Blue Plaque on the tower was unveiled in 2007 by the Stockport Heritage Trust.

A contribution to signs, signs.

A is for Armoury

The Stockport Volunteer Armoury (the one on the left) is Grade II listed. It was built in 1860 and consists mainly of an octagonal tower in red brick with pointed copper cap. Raised by public subscription for the 4th Cheshire Battalion Rifle Volunteers in defence against Napoleon III. It was opened in 1862 and has been occupied by Volunteer Regiments, principally the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment.

It is now in use by the Territorial Army. The building has been altered with loss of the original gateway and Sergeant Major’s quarters. An extension to the front in the angle between the tower and the mess/office range was probably made in the late 19th century and is shown in early 20th century photographs. A variety of other extensions and additions, mainly to the north side, were made in the mid and later 20th century.

The other "Armoury" across Greek Street on the corner of Shaw Heath is a Robinson's pub noted for its Darts Super Leauge Team.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Stockport Post Office

Stockport Post Office is found at the Chestergate end of Adlington Walk off the Merseyway Shopping Centre. This photograph was taken on Christmas Eve.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

Pathology at Stepping Hill

The Pathology Department at Stepping Hill is housed in the one of the hospital's older buildings.

A contribution to Blue Monday and Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.

Himalayas Tea

The former carpet shop next to Superdrug on Mersey Square is now the home of Himalayas Tea which formerly operated from a shop in Middle Hillgate. The railway viaduct is reflected in the window, the gantries interweaving with the Christmas lights.

Looking out from inside both the Wellington Road viaduct and the railway viaduct can be clearly seen.

My tea was 100% caffeine free Earl Grey and the cake was made from a blend of teas and marzipan (no sugar).

Find out more about Himalayas Tea by visiting their website.

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

Outside Outpatients B

At Stepping Hill Hospital.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Iranian Culture & Art Community

Sign for the the Iranian Culture & Art Community (Manchester) at the former Zantec Workshop on Bamford Street.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Z is for Zantec Workshop

Zantec is an independent, company (established 1990) that specialises in the design, supply, installation and commissioning of industrial catering equipment and ancillary products.

Having relocated to Dialstone Road, their former premises on Bamford Street are currently the home of the Iranian Culture & Art Community (Manchester)

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Mural at the Houldsworth Arms

This mural is on the side of a building in the rear yard of the Houldsworth Arms, Reddish.

The snowmen on the right are the same ones as are in the photograph I posted of the pub on 2nd January.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

Window in a window

A stained-glass window in the tower of St Mary's in the Marketplace is reflected in the windows of The Cocked Hat (formerly the Packhorse Inn) across the road.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections.

Collapsed building on Lower Hillgate

The remains of the former M.F.W. furniture shop on Lower Hillgate at the junction with Mealhouse Brow and Little Underbank. The three-storey building had been derelict for eight years before suddenly and unexpectedly collapsing on 21st November 2013.

The photo below is taken from Streetview and shows how it looked in 2012.

A contribution to Friday Fences.

Houldsworth Arms, Reddish Green

This is the sign for the Houldsworth Arms, Reddish Green.

The arms are those of Sir William Henry Houldsworth, 1st Baronet (born Ardwick, Manchester 20 August 1834, died Kilmarnock 18 April 1917) who was a mill-owner in Reddish. He was Conservative MP for Manchester North West from 1883 to 1906, and sometime chairman of the Fine Cotton Spinners' Association. He was made a baronet in 1887. Houldsworth bought farmland by the Stockport Branch Canal in Reddish in the 1860s and built Reddish Mill, then the largest cotton-spinning mill in the world. The City of Manchester made him a freeman in 1905, and the Victoria University of Manchester awarded him an honorary LLD. In later life, Houldsworth moved away and concentrated on his estate at Kilmarnock, Scotland.

This view is of the rear of the pub. I didn't notice the two snowmen nor the seagull until I downloaded the photograph.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Photo of the Year 2013

I've chosen this photograph of St Petersgate Bridge over Little Underbank as my Photo of the Year.

It originally appeared in a post about the Queens Head. The overside of the bridge has been recently refurbished as can be seen in my post of 29th December.

But it depicts more than just the bridge. There's the old men on the bench opposite the women smoking and gossiping outside the pub. Just beyond them is a Victorian post box. Further on is a glimpse of Winter's clock.

See photographs from other members of the City Daily Photoblogging community at the January Gallery - Photo of the Year.

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