W is for Wilf Wood

A plaque on the wall of the foyer at Stockport station reads:PRIVATE WILF WOOD V.C.

Remembering the life of railwayman Wilf Wood who was awarded the
Victoria Cross for an act of most conspicuous bravery and initiative
on 28 October 1918 near Casa Van in Italy.

A unit on the right flank having been held up by hostile machine gunners
and snipers, Private Wood worked forward with his Lewis gun, enfiladed
the enemy machine gun nest and caused 140 enemy to surrender. The advance
continued until a hidden machine gun opened fire at point blank range.
Without a moment's hesitation, Private Wood charged, firing his Lewis gun
from the hip, and enfiladed a ditch from which a further
160 men and 3 officers duly surrendered.

A cleaner at Stockport locomotive depot, Wilf survived the Great War
and spent his entire working life on the railways. He had the honour
of a steam locomotive being named after him and enjoyed a long
retirement before his death in January 1982 at the age of 84.

He is remembered in Hazel Grove by Wetherspoon's who named their Freehouse after the local hero. A plaque on the wall reads:THE
WILFRED
WOOD

These licensed premises stand on the site
of a Primitive Methodist Chapel (erected in 1897
and demolished in the 1960s) and are named after
Private Wilfred Wood V.C, who was awarded the Victoria
Cross "for conspicuous gallantry" in the First World
War. On his return home to Hazel Grove, Wood
was given a civic reception at the Mechanics
Institute, now the Civic Hall, next
door to this building.

These premises were refurbished
by J.D.Wetherspoon
in September 2010.

He is depicted on the inn sign.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and signs, signs.

F is for Fred Perry

The Fred Perry Way is a 14 mile walking route starting here at North Reddish Park.

  © Copyright Keith Williamson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Its southern end is here at Woodford.

The route which was officially opened in 2002 combines rural footpaths, quiet lanes and river valleys with urban landscapes and parklands as here in Vernon Park.

Fred Perry was born at this house in Portwood in 1909.

He won the men's singles in 1934, 1935 and 1936 and was the last English men's tennis player to win Wimbledon. He was also a member of Britain's winning Davis Cup team from 1933 to 1936. and was made a freeman of Stockport in 1934.

More information can be found on the Stockport MBC website.

A contribution to
Our World Tuesday
ABC Wednesday;
signs, signs.
Good Fences.

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.

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.

Iron Bridge, Brabyns Park, Marple

The Iron Bridge is one of a very few cast iron bridges surviving from the period when it was built, in 1813, for the then owner of the Brabyns Estate, Nathaniel Wright. Its purpose was as a carriage bridge across the River Goyt, creating access to Wright's estate from the village of Compstall. The bridge was one of the world's first cast iron bridges and is one of the few remaining from the period.

The Iron Bridge was deemed to be dangerous in 1991 and a temporary "Bailey" type footbridge was installed to carry pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists over the River Goyt. The restoration project started in 2003 and works to restore the bridge started in September 2007. The restored bridge was opened on the 22nd June 2008.

Near to the Iron Bridge is a tree stump carved by chainsaw artist Andrew Frost. It is fitted with a bronze plaque commemorating the restoration of the bridge. More information about the restoration project can be found on the Marple UK website. Since I took these photographs in 2009 the viewing platform has been much improved.

These are the words on the plaque:

Nathaniel Wright purchased the Brabyns Estate in 1800. Wright was a wealthy coalminer who owned pits at Poynton and was a contemporary of Samuel Oldknow. Oldknow considered using cast iron for the construction of Bottoms Bridge near to his Mellor Mill around the time Wright moved to Marple but chose the reliability of stone over this modern and relatively untried method. Cast iron was also considered for the Marple Aqueduct but designer Benjamin Outram opted for an all-stone construction too. So it was that Wright became possibly the first in the Northwest to use this modern material for a bridge when he decided that he needed access to his estate over the River Goyt from the direction of what is now Compstall.

At the turn of the 19th century the Salford Iron Works was a substantial Iron Foundry operated by James Bateman and William Sherratt. Their association with Wright began when they supplied him with a pumping engine for one of his coalmines in 1795. Sherratt was an engineer of considerable repute and it is easy to imagine him telling his friend Wright that he could build him a bridge of iron that would impress his peers. In 1813 he did just that when he constructed the slender and elegant cast iron carriage bridge with a personalised ‘W’ motif for Wright on his Brabyns estate. Despite sharing some similarities in design with several other cast iron bridges of the time this is the only one of its kind known to have been built by the Salford Iron Works.

Today the Brabyns Iron Bridge is a listed structure of national importance. As the only known surviving cast iron bridge of its kind in the Northwest it is now a unique example and is of particular importance because it has remained intact since its original construction without alteration or significant loss of fabric. The bridge survived in daily use with minimal maintenance until 1990, when a structural survey determined that it was at risk. In 1991 a Bailey bridge was erected across it as a temporary measure, allowing it to remain intact until the funds could be found to conduct proper repairs.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

G is for Garrick Theatre

The Stockport Garrick is the oldest Little Theatre in the country and has staged plays continuously since it was formed in 1901.

The Stockport Garrick Theatre was founded on 24th of October, 1901, by engineer Edwin Heys and his fellow actors: fugitives from the disbanded dramatic society of Stockport Unitarian Church, They met in what was then The Church Coffee Tavern on St Petersgate, Heys and his friends resolved to found a new society "to perform the best plays by the most capable amateur actors and with the finest scenic effects". The new society was named after the great actor David Garrick and has remained in the centre of Stockport ever since.

The theatre kept its doors and its curtains open throughout both World Wars, and attracted the admiration and support of numerous luminaries in the world of professional theatre. Garrick productions have been performed in venues around the country and The Garrick's first production, The Merchant of Venice, in 1901, internationally over the decades.

(The former NatWest bank on the site of the Church Coffee Tavern)
The society purchased its current building, an old mill occupied by an assortment of small businesses, in 1920. Since then, the building's labyrinthine interior has undergone various refurbishments to enhance the society's ability to produce theatre to the highest standards possible.

It is the Garrick's early ownership of its own theatre space that qualifies it as England's oldest Little Theatre, a status that was celebrated in 2008 by the unveiling of a plaque by President of the Little Theatre Guild, Sir Ian McKellen. This plaque can be seen on St Petersgate, at the site of the coffee house in which the society was founded, within sight of the building where the ambitions of Edwin Heys and his co-founders continue to inspire a full season of high quality drama every year.

The society has also run a thriving Youth Theatre for over half its life, which currently produces a full show each winter. Visit the Theatre website for more information.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Romiley Station Streetlamp and Red Plaque

Underneath the streetlamp outside Romiley station is red plaque.

Romiley
Railway Station
celebrating
150 years
Opened 1862 by the Manchester,
Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway
(MS&LR)

Unveiled 8th September 2012
by Mayor Wendy Meikle &
Andrew Stunell OBE MP
A contribution to signs, signs and the Streetlamp theme at City Daily Photos

Stepping Hill Stone

Memorial stone set in a flower bed at the entrance to Stepping Hill Hospital.

The plaque reads "This stone commemorates the establishment of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2004. Dedicated to serving the people of Stockport and the High Peak."

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

R is for Rat Pit

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

A plaque on the wall commemorates William Watson who was born in a house that previously stood on the site. He was a stoker on the Titanic and the only person from Stockport to perish on the ship. It was unveiled in 2007 by Stockport Heritage Trust.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Welcome to Stockport Daily Photo

Sign at the eastern entrance to Stockport station. A blue plaque on the wall states that in June, July and August 1940 Stockport welcomed over 1200 evacuees from the Channel Islands. The children were cared for by local families until the islands were liberated in May 1945.

My own photos of the Channel Islands can be seen on Jersey Photos - One a Day.

A contribution to Blue Monday.