Stockport's answer to Banksy?

Well, hardly. I spotted this stencilled figure and the "pink panther" tag today on a wall at Coopers Brow between High Street and Lower Hillgate.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

St Mark's Church, Bredbury and Woodley

The lych gate of St Mark's church. On the left is Redhouse Lane. On the right is the A560, Stockport Road East. The church lies between the two roads and serves the joint parish of Bredbury and Woodley. At this time of year a view of the church itself is blocked by the trees.

St Mark's is a Grade II listed building which was built 1847-8 by Shellard for the Church Commissioners with dressed stone, ashlar and slate roofs. It has a 3-sided gallery plan with a small chancel and a west tower flanked by entrance bays. There is a 5-bay nave and aisles without clerestory, projecting stone plinth, sill band, eaves band, coped parapet and coped gables with octagonal corner pinnacles. Each bay has paired lancets with colonnettes and a weathered gableted buttress (angled at corners).

The 5-stage tower has set-back buttresses which are transformed at the fifth stage in octagonal corner columns to rise as ornate pinnacles. There is a clock in the third stage and 2-light belfry openings with clock and parapet above.

I showed you a close-up of the clockface in last Wednesday's post.

The flag of St George is flying on top of the tower. Next to it is what I think is a CCTV camera.

Visit the Church website for details of its current activities.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Peak Forest Canal: Reflections and Shadows

From the bridge overlooking Manor View, Woodley.

A contribution to Weekend Reflections and Shadow Shot Sunday.

Entrance to Robert Walker (Haulage) Ltd

The entrance off Hall Lane to Robert Walker (Haulage) Ltd which occupies the site of what was once Woodley Hall.

The yellow AA sign "Private works traffic only" is a vintage sign.

A contribution to
signs, signs;
Good Fences.

X marks the time

A close-up view of the NW quadrant of the clockface on the south side of the tower of St Mark's church at Woodley.

A contribution to the letter X at ABC Wednesday.

Woodley Tunnel

At Woodley the Peak Forest Canal passes through a 176yd (153m) tunnel. The towpath also passes through, protected by a handrail.

This is taken from just inside the southern portal. I'm informed that halfway along the tunnel the towpath is very muddy so I haven't actually made the journey through.

A contribution to
Our World Tuesday;
Water World Wednesday.

Woodley Methodist Church

The original Primitive Methodist Church in Woodley was built in 1868. It was replaced by this modern building in the 21st century.

My thanks go to Mark Bradshaw for this photograph of the original church in 1996 and for the one below which shows Woodley Methodist church with Woodley British School behind and what would be Bankfield Road School to the right of the Methodist Chapel which was on Chapel Street.

Here is a link to the Church website.

A contribution to Inspired Sunday.

The Quietest railway station in the country

I wrote all about Reddish South Station back in May 2013 so I'll refer you back there for more information. I was back there again a week last Friday and noticed that the Friends of Reddish Station have erected a new picket fence and sign in front of the mural.

As the timetable indicates only one train a week stops at Reddish South on the line from Stockport to Stalybridge and there is no return service. I had arrived at 10.10 to catch the 10.20 train.

The platform has been extended over the line that ran on the right where the "Friends of Reddish South Station" have planted a garden. No one else was waiting for the train and there isn't even a bench to sit on. At 10.45 I gave up and went to catch a bus.

I posted details of the individual panels of the mural in June 2013.

  © Copyright Peter Whatley and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

This is how the station looked in 1989.

A contribution to
Shadow Shot Sunday;
Blue Monday;
Monday Murals;
Our World Tuesday;
signs, signs;
Good Fences.

St Joseph's RC Church, Reddish

St Joseph's was founded in 1882.

According to "Salford Diocese and its Catholic past", a survey by Charles A. Bolton, a Priest of the above Diocese. Published 1950 on the First Centenary for the Diocese of Salford and quoted on the Genuki website:

Before the building of the church here, the Catholic people were dependent on St. Mary's, Heaton Norris, or St. Mary's, Levenshulme. Reddish owes much to the generosity of John Higginson, who bought land and on it built a church and schools. The church was opened by Bishop Vaughan in 1882. Fr. J. Harrison was the first Rector. Several priests were here for a short period-Fr. Pius de Witte, Canon McDermott Roe, and Fr. Paul Dootson were here in the early years of the mission. The present century has been largely covered by the lives of two priests-Fr. Henry Welch, who died suddenly in the street after the consecration of St. Mary's, Mulberry Street, in 1926; then Fr. Hugh Morrissey, well-known to many former students of St. Bede's College as a respected professor of Classics, and as a genius with unexpected flashes and turns of wit and imagination. He became an almost legendary figure in the diocese, and it is a pity that his studies on the canonisation of Henry VI were never published. As a violinist he rivalled his friend and classmate, Arthur Catterall.

A contribution to Inspired Sundays.

Richard Street, Portwood

In the background is the M60 motorway and beyond that are the tower blocks on Lancashire Hill.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Caution No Fishing

A warning about overhead power cables by the Peak Forest Canal.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Mary at Woodley

The narrowboat "Mary" approaching Gravel Bank Bridge on the Peak Forest Canal at Woodley.

Mary is one of two 32 foot long narrowboats available for day hire from the Portland Basin Marina in Ashton under Lyne.

The section of the canal from Ashton to Marple is lock free and therefore relatively easy to navigate.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday;
Our World Tuesday;
Outdoor Wednesday;
Water World Wednesday.

Shadows in Warren Street

Waiting at the bus stop outside Sainsburys.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Reflections in the Peak Forest Canal

Near the boundary between Apethorn (Hyde) and Pole Bank (Woodley).

A contribution to Weekend Reflections and Scenic Weekends.

M60 Anti-clockwise

The M60 motorway viewed from the pyramid junction roundabout.

A contribution to Good Fences and Skywatch Friday.

U is for Unity Mill

Unity mill was constructed in the 1860s for spinning cotton and was formerly known as Trianon Mill. By the 1890s it had converted to a rubber works but later was converted back again to a textile mill. The site has been used for the manufacture of products for the food, animal feed and brewing sector until it closed in December 2003. It occupies an area to the east of Woodley between Pole Acre and the Peak Forest Canal.

A former canal basin behind the mill is thought to have been built to serve the Hall Lane Colliery, established pre 1829. The wharf was later associated with the Mill. Although the canal bank is overgrown the outline of the basin is extant.

The buildings are decaying whilst the owners hold out for a sale or planning permission that might ensure a profitable conversion of the site.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Holly House, Woodley

Holly House on Hyde Road, Woodley is a grade II Listed Building currently home to a dental practice and a chiropractic clinic.

It is constructed of Flemish bond brick with a graduated stone slate roof. The 2 storey building has a projecting brick plinth and corner pilasters and a bracketed eaves gutter. The central doorway has a 4-panel door with interlaced fanlight, moulded imposts and keystone. The 5 windows which are all 20th century casements have stone sills and timber lintels.

The modern advertising panels and red security metal roller blinds are distinctly non-18th century.

It has been home to a string of failed companies including Herbert Watson International Ltd, Herbert Watson Travel Ltd, Latafoam, Speculex, Capeready and Deltasteer.

It carries a date stone of 1755 with the initials SHA.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday;
Our World Tuesday;
signs, signs.

ZEST

Zoe, Edward, Simon and Theresa waiting for a bus on Warren Street = ZEST.

Visit other contributions to the Zest theme at City Daily Photo.