St Petersgate Bridge re-opened

Following my post St Petersgate Bridge Repairs Almost Finished I've been back to see it again. On Christmas Eve the roadway was temporarily blocked by the dustman's cart.

The railings have all been given a new coat of paint. In the background can be seen the dome of the White Lion. You can see under the bridge and the other side of the railings in my post about the Queens Head.

St Petersgate Bridge was constructed in 1866-8. The designer was R Rawlinson, and the engineer was Brierley of Blackburn. The cost was around £6,000. A contemporary description of the bridge notes 'six arches, the central one over the Underbank-street being of cast-iron, with perforated parapets and a sufficiency of ornament to prevent its being (as many bridges over public streets are) an eyesore and offensive to good taste'. The Stockport coat of arms on the bridge cartouche was adopted in 1836, and was said to be the arms of the Stopford or Stockport family, Barons of Stockport (later superseded by a coat of arms granted by the College of Arms in two stages in 1932 & 1959).

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

Ted's Cards

Greetings card stall in Stockport Market Hall.

The original photograph from which this was created can be seen on Geograph.

A contribution to The Weekend in Black and White.

Ghost sign on Deanery Way/Union Road

Last week when I showed you the sign of the White Lion part of a ghost sign was spotted in the background.

I've been back to take another look at it. The sign is very faded and I'm not able to decipher it. Union Road became Deanery Way when the Merseyway Shopping Centre was built. The buildings to right of here, including the Grosvernor Inn were demolished but I've not been able to find any old photos showing this building on the corner of Great Underbank. It is now occupied mainly by the Yorkshire Building Society.

A contribution to signs, signs.

X is for Xmas

On Xmas Eve, the Rev Roger Scoones, vicar of St Mary's in the Market Place, was touring the Market Place, ringing his bells and inviting people to the listen to the carols in the church.

A contribution to Outdoor Wednesday and ABC Wednesday.

St Petersgate Bridge Repairs Almost Finished

A month ago I posted photographs of the men repairing St Petersgate Bridge from the Market Place end.

I was back there recently and as I walked from the Market Place past the fence between the pathway and the roadway a workman was painting the parapet on the other side. By the time I'd reached the other end and poked my camera lens through a hole in the fence he'd gone.

I imagine the roadworks will have all been cleared away by now.

For a wider, coloured view see Geograph.

A contribution to Friday Fences, The Weekend in Black and White and Sunday Bridges at San Francisco Bay Daily Photo.

Signs at the White Lion

Since I posted yesterday about the White Lion I've discovered the photograph I took of the sign in November 2012.

I've only now noticed the remnants of a "ghost sign" on the building opposite. I'll have to get a closer look at that another time.

According to a leaflet about the "Stockport Town Centre Heritage Trail" it seems in 1815 the then landlord of the White Lion fired a cannon to inform the town's people of the British victory at the battle of Waterloo and at a "Wife Sale" in 1831, William Clayton sold his wife for five shillings to a J Booth. She was handed over with a halter round her neck.

A contribution to signs, signs.

W is for White Lion

There has been a pub on the site of the White Lion since the 14th century. The present building was erected in 1904. A hearty blend of late medieval and Baroque features in a typically exhuberant Edwardian fashion, it is Grade II listed.

Alas, it has been closed for more than a year.

See also the follow up post Signs at the White Lion.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.