Stockport Library

The library on the corner of Wellington Road South and St Petersgate was founded in 1913 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie and designed by Bradshaw Gass & Hope of Bolton. A listed building, it is considered a good example of a Carnegie Library with many features typical of the building type.

The library is built of red brick and Portland stone in a Baroque/Renaissance style with a corner dome and a tall finial to the corner of St Petersgate. There is a five-window range flanked by a bay to the south which is framed by banded pilasters and has a tall arched window, cornice and cartouche in the frieze. At the other end a similar bay contains the main entrance. It has an attic storey with small windows and a rusticated basement taking the fall of the land. The corner domed bay has banded pilasters, and the elevation to St Petersgate is broadly similar to the Wellington Street South elevation.

A contribution to the Library theme at City Daily Photoblogs.

C is for Curious Cows

I found these strange looking cows outside Seven Miles Out in the Market Place. Shortly afterwards they were taken inside and I heard some mention of them being used in a video.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Looking down on Little Underbank

From St Petersgate bridge.

A contribution to the Look down theme at City Daily Photos.

Y is for Yew Tree Maze

I first blogged about the yew tree maze in Veronon Park, Stockport six years ago on Ackworth born, gone West. I recently took another look to see its progress.

It still has a long way to go before it will become much of a puzzle. One can still walk through between many of the trees and indeed directly from the entrance to the middle. None of this takes anything away from the magnificence of the central tree.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and NF Trees and Bushes.

Sweeping up outside Bhs

British Home Stores was founded in London in 1928. In 2009 when it became part of Green's Arcadia Group there were 193 stores employing over 17,000 people. By 2015 there were only 171 stores employing 11,000 staff. BHS was sold to the consortium Retail Acquisitions Ltd for the nominal value of £1. On 2nd June 2016 it was announced that the company would be wound down following failed attempts to find a buyer.



A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Flora and fauna in Vernon Park

The fountain at the ornamental pond in Vernon Park may not be playing but the ducks are.

A female mallard and one of her ducklings can be seen here swimming around the blue flag iris.

Three mallard drakes watch from the perimeter wall.

Meanwhile moorhens try to hide amongst the water lilies.

A contribution to
Floral Fridays;
Weekend Reflections;
Scenic Weekends;
Saturday Critters;
Camera Critters.

Bredbury Curve

In 2015 plans for the Bredbury Curve Development were recommend for acceptance by the council.

The plans were rejected in 2016 - see details.

The proposal involved the filling in of the existing railway cutting with inert materials and the construction of 60 dwellings with associated new highways, a junction with Stockport Road East, landscaping, parking and amenities.

The site was previously a railway cutting that accommodated a rail line which linked the Glazebrook to Godley Line to the Ashbury Junction to New Mills Junction line. The scheme was designed in such a way that a corridor would be retained along the northern corner of the site in order to enable a future tram/train line to be constructed between the Ashbury Junction to New Mills Junction line and Whitefield Road and then onwards towards Stockport Town Centre.

Peter Whatley's photograph published on Geograph and taken from the crossover bridge at Bredbury Station shows how it looked in 1989.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Marketplace Studios

The latest occupant of this mock-tudor faced building is Marketplace Studios. It has been set up by the Manchester School of Art as an initiative providing start-up business support to creative graduates. It has two floors of incubation studio space for graduate practitioners, who receive business support tailored towards the Creative Industries to help them succeed in their new enterprises. On the ground floor are shop/gallery/exhibition space and project spaces to run courses for the general public.

More information can be found on their website.

The original photograph can be viewed on Geograph.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Orchard, Pyramid and Sky

Looking from Hollywood Park over the Community Orchard towards Kings Reach and the "Pyramid".

The Community Orchard is one of 12 in Stockport - see Stockport.gov.uk for more details - established around 2011. I was told by a passing dog-walker that it was originally a bowling green. Aerial views would seem to indicate that it was once a football pitch. It looks rather neglected but that may be just the time of year.

For more information about the pyramid see my post from 1st April 2013.

You can view all 20 photographs from my recent walk through Hollywood Park as a Geotrip plotted on a map and available as a slide-show.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Lamppost art in Hollywood Park

Yesterday when I posted Shadows at Hollywood Park I promised to show you a closer view of the old photograph on the lampless lamppost.

Around 2014 as part of the Stockport Arts Trail, an independent group of young people, working towards an Arts Award Qualification at Stockport Central Library, created the images for one face of the artworks, located on lampposts in and around Edgeley. Historic photographs from the libraries archives are on the other face, giving people an idea of how the area looked in times gone by.

The text on the reverse of this piece of lamppost art reads:
"In the winter there was this fog, caused by all the
coal fires and mills, it was
terrible, it was like walking through pea soup,
you had to fight your way through it."

There are eleven lampposts in total along the trail. More information is at Healthy Stockport.

I featured another example of lamppost artwork on 8th October 2014

A contribution to Monday Murals and signs, signs.

Shadows at Hollywood Park

Another photograph from my recent (and for me first) visit to Hollywood Park.

On Wednesday I posted The Edge of Edgeley taken from a path near the eastern edge of the park.

Yesterday I posted a photo of part of the Steps out of Hollywood Park.

Today's photograph is from nearby looking out over the park past the high-rise Hollywood Towers towards the railway viaduct. The lampless lamppost on the right carries an old photograph of this view - but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for a closer view and explanation.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Steps out of Hollywood Park

On Wednesday when I posted a photograph of the Edge of Edgeley some people thought it had been post-processed to create a painterly effect but in fact is hardly enhanced at all.

This one however has been turned into a charcoal composition. It shows a set of steep steps out of Hollywood Park which lead to Roscoe Street, Edgeley.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

E is for the Edge of Edgeley

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and Wordless Wednesday.

Rooftops of Stockport

The view from St Petersgate bridge over Royal Oak Yard and High Bank Side towards the car park on the top of the Merseyway Shopping Centre and Primark.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday.

Photographing Stockport

Looking across Wellington Road South towards the railway viaduct. I wasn't the only person photographing Stockport that afternoon.

A contribution to Skywatch Friday.

Rosie's Coffee House

The City Daily Photo theme for today is "Scene from a Coffee House".

Well I don't generally frequent coffee houses, preferring a nice cup of tea in a friendly little tea room. I certain would avoid all the big name chains. So I found it a little hard to decide what to post for this theme.

This is Rosie's Coffee House and Kitchen on Prince's Street. It has only been open a few months and I can't tell you whether it is any good or not, but it looks promising. The premises were previously occupied by jewellers Herbert Brown. The company had been taken over in 2007 by the Albermarle & Bond group of pawnbrokers which collapsed into administration in 2014. Pawnbrokers or coffee-house? - I know which I'd prefer.

To visit the other participants to the theme click here.

Digging up Bridgefield Street

As part of a development known as Redrock a section of Bridgefield Street has been dug up. The workmen were taking a break for tea when I took this photograph.

There was some access on to the site which allowed me take a view of the excavations. The digging up of the car park has revealed the old cobbled streets and the foundations of houses that once stood here,

This view is from the opposite direction. There is still access via a ramp to the car park on the top of Debenhams.

A contribution to Good Fences.

Stockport Shuttle at Stockport Station

Since 9th January, the section of Station Road in front of the railway station has been closed to traffic as work on the Stockport Exchange Masterplan continues and the site's hoarding line is extended across the road. This stage of works will run from January to July 2016. During this time, vehicles from the A6 can only to get to the station via Railway Road. A new temporary pull in / turning area with a bus stop and taxi rank has been created for passengers at the end of Railway Road between the station and the Multi Storey Car Park.

The #300 Stockport Shuttle is a free bus that takes a circuitous route around the town. It is a good way to get from the railway station to the bus station but less useful in the opposite direction.

A contribution to Monday Mellow Yellows and Our World Tuesday.

Great Moor Park Mural

In my post last Thursday I showed you Woodsmoor Station and Great Moor.

On my way there I passed by Great Moor Park which is off Norwood Road and backs onto Stepping Hill Hospital. On a wall I spotted this mural. It was at the far end so I had to zoom in to get this photograph. Maybe one day I will take a closer look but don't hold your breath.

A contribution to Monday Murals.

Signs at Woodsmoor and Great Moor

The other day I ventured down to Woodsmoor Station which lies on the line to Hazel Grove. It was 12:54 and the indications were that a train to Manchester Piccadilly was due at 13:06 and was running "On Time" so I decided to wait for it.

At ten past one the 13:08 to Buxton pulled into the opposite platform.

The electronic sign still said the 13:06 to Manchester was running "On time" even though it was already 13:17!

I didn't wait any longer but walked up to the A6 at Great Moor to catch a bus instead.

The sign by the side of the road is one of a number erected at the time of the millennium. I've previously shown you ones at Offerton and at Reddish.

A contribution to
signs, signs;
Good Fences.

My Stockport Photo of the Year 2015: The River Mersey

The theme for City Daily Photos is Photo of the Year.

My choice for Photo of the Year 2015 is from the 25th April of the river Mersey emerging from under the Bear Pit and an arch of the Wellington Road viaduct into sunshine and flowing towards the railway viaduct.