Pictures From Elaine (1)

This post has been made possible because Elaine contacted me of late and later sent these pictures is.
Three excellent pictures to look over this as well..  and hopefully a bit of information will be forthcoming about each one. I've also done 3 close ups which might be of interest.

Serious damage on John Street 

UPDATE FROM PAUL TAYLOR
 

A bit of info for you. The butchers shop belonged to William Booth, and was at 62 George St, he had taken over from his father George Booth in the 1920's. The butchers dates back to around 1860, when George Booth (not sure if same George or father) established the shop. The shop on the right was Joseph Brunt, newsagents. The picture probably dates to around 1930.

UPDATE FROM PAUL TAYLOR

Just looking through The History of Hyde book page 172, it mentions the great storms of 1927. The main one was October 20th, which has been posted about a few times, but there was another one later on Oct 28th. Quote "On Friday Oct 28th, a destructive gale swept through the town. Commencing at five o'clock in the afternoon it soon reached a velocity of over 70 mph, and during the night it littered every street in the town with debris. Chimney pots and slates were hurled to the ground etc etc etc. Another heavy thunderstorm hit the town on Wed June 18th, 1930, causing deep flooding in all parts of the town. Either of these could be the cause of the damage to the house.

POSSIBLY HOPWOOD'S OUTING

LEFT

MIDDLE

RIGHT

TWO MEN AT A TABLE

Could they be the winners of a Botanical Competition? 

Or perhaps Art Work

These lads have workmens  hands

Would be great to get some names and information on the above pictures,  Elaine has other pictures to share and if they are as good as these I look forward to seeing and sharing them on here.

.

Paintings by Local Artists

When I showed the drawing of Vulcan Street by Trevor Grimshaw recently one of the comments on the post mentioned the Abbey Gallery at the top end of Market Street near the Dowson Road junction. I was passing there yesterday and noticed in the window some paintings by Owen Traynor and a few others of local scenes by other artists. This is a photograph I took which shows a painting by Owen Traynor of the War Memorial, one by him of the cottages at the top of Higham Lane and one of St George's Church by an unknown artist.

Charles C Smith

We've got a few drawings and paintings by Charles C Smith and on the back of some of them is this information about the artist. There are also little stickers showing his address as Mansfield Crescent, Denton.

'Tame Valley and Gee Cross Mill'

'Coombes Rocks'

'Hyde Town Hall'

No title on this picture, but I don't think it needs one

There's also no title on this picture, but it's in the Werneth Low Country Park

Trevor Grimshaw

This is a picture that we've got by Trevor Grimshaw showing St George's Church and on the back of the drawing is a sticker showing where it was drawn:

My early 1960s A-Z shows that Vulcan Street ran between Cross Street and Boardman Street and parallel to Great Norbury Street:

Vulcan Street isn't named on the 1897 map of Hyde but it does show the passageway depicted in the drawing:

The Casualties of War

As we are coming up to Remembrance Day I thought I'd share the following cuttings sent to us recently by Arthur Heywood.

These newspaper clippings show the absolute heartbreak some families endured during WW1.

The following families lost 3 and 4 sons in the war.

I cannot even begin to understand how they coped with losing their loved ones.

Many thanks for sharing, Arthur.

Much appreciated.

Updated from

The Hyde In Wartime Book

At the end of July, 1915, Mrs Esther Long of Cheapside, Hyde, a widow, received from Buckingham Palace a letter, sent on behalf of His Majesty the King congratulating her upon the fact that she had six sons serving with the colours.   The eldest soldier-son was 46 years of age, and the youngest 25. Sergeant Major Thomas Long, George Street, the eldest, married, a volunteer and Territorial for 27 years, and served in the Boer War, and been wounded in France. The seconds son, Lance Corporal Walter Long, for many years with the old Hyde Volunteers, enlisted for active service about Christmas, 1914, and went to France in February, 1915. He died at a Rouen Hospital on the 17th December, 1915, from wounds received in action. His home was at Hallbottom Gate, Newton, and he was married. Private John Long, the third son, enlisted at Whitsuntide, 1915. He was killed instantly, at Dardanelles, on the 1st. January, 1916. The forth, Private William Long, an old soldier, unmarried, served some time in India, also in South Africa, after the Boar War, was in much fighting in France and was 'gassed' on the 2nd of May, 1915. Later he was discharged as physically unfit for further military service, after serving 17 years. The fifth, Private Henry Long, spent 6 years in India, was called up as a reservist immediately after the war started, and at once went to France. He fought at Mons; was taken prisoner, and was subsequently located in Hanover, Germany. He is married, and his home is at Winsford. The youngest of the six, Trooper Joseph Long, went to France in October, 1914, and as been in the thick of the fighting. At the end of February, 1916, he was still in France, having been there all the time, with the exception of one leave of about a week. 

"Reliving our Youth"

The following was sent to us by Joyce and Graham Sharp and it is precisely for the reasons they outline below just why we do the blog.

Hyde Cheshire Blog.

One of the first things that Joyce and I do each day is to look at this Blog and also the Hyde Daily Photo by Gerald England. Why do we this and look forward to it so much?

Joyce and I were brought up in Hyde, we were married at Hyde Chapel in 1956, we had two sons and left Hyde for Canada in 1966. Our parents and siblings are all dead now leaving a few cousins, nieces and nephews and friends in England. We now have three children, seven grandchildren and one great grandson, we have had no time to be "homesick".

However, as we get older there is a strong, but futile desire to relive our youth, a feeling shared by many. But, "You can't go home again". 

We cannot walk up Joel Lane and over Werneth Low. We cannot go down Hyde on a Saturday evening for a Football Pink and the Empire News. I cannot go to the Moulders for a pint with my Dad and on to Ewen Fields with a Handforths pie at half time.

We cannot go to the August Wakes Week Fair on the Market Ground or to the Ritz for a Saturday matinee. A tripe tea upstairs at the UCP is a distant memory.

Are there still Saturday night dances at Enfield Street School ? Does Jock still have his stall on Hyde Market?

A quick game of snooker in the Billiard Hall upstairs behind the Hippodrome on the way home from school.

To be able to walk down Hyde Lane looking in the many and wonderful shop windows.

These are some of the many things that we would like to do but, either they do not exist any more or, we don't have the legs for it!

So, this is where the Blogs come in, by refreshing some of those memories with the wonderful posts from so many people.

Thanks to Team Hydonian and particularly to you. Nancy, for helping us "relive our youth"

  

Joyce Baddeley and Graham Sharp on Werneth Low, 1954.

Many Thanks to you both for sharing the memories with us :) 

It's lovely to be able to help you relive your youth ! 

A Sketch of Zion Church

Here is a fantastic drawing of the old Zion Congregational 

Church building by Barbara Sole. 

It is as it appears on the front cover of the book 

"The History of Zion - 1847 - 1996" which was written by 

my Mum, Doreen Morris.

I loved the old building - It was full of nooks and crannies to play hide and seek in which me and my sister did frequently when we went over with my Mum 

when she practised playing the organ.

Thanks to Barbara Sole for use of the Picture and ,of course, Doreen Morris for writing the book.  :)

Temperance Seven and the White Hart

Here are some more photos taken by Tony Downend's Father.

Over to Tony....

"This time it's one of Newton's own, I discovering this local fact much later.
A young Cephos Howard of Temperance Seven fame and son of the landlord of the once White Hart Pub on Old Road.  
Also, there are a few pics, indeed a study,  a good insight into just how much things and we have changed is gained by simply looking at the faces of the early 1950's, our grandparents, our heritage and how we once were.  

God Bless them All".

 Cephos Howard



 Cephos Howard Jnr



The Howard Family

Harry Smith and his Wife

 The following are unknown locals of the White Hart on Old Road




 
 Off to powder his nose :)

Mr and Mrs John Travis




Many thanks again,Tony.
Wonderful photos. very evocative of the age. :)

James "Jimmy Richie" Richardson

We recently received this message and photos from Bill Lancashire.

Over to Bill ..........

"A friend of mine from Romiley, Jean Murray, has asked me to let you have these two pictures of her dad, James Albert Richardson.

He is probably better known to lots of older Hydonians as 'Jimmy Richie', who was a star player for Hyde United in the late forties and fifties before he went on to captain Macclesfield.

Jimmy is the second from right on the back row of the St George's Class 1 in 1931 and is also the young lad with the bow and arrow on the left of the middle row on the pageant picture.  We have no idea where the pageant was, probably in the school yard judging by the stone wall in the background, or what it was commemorating.  Could it be St George's Day?  Maybe someone who was there could tell us and maybe identify some of Jimmy's classmates."

Many thanks to Jean Murray and Bill for sharing these great photos with us

James Richardson Macclesfield Town FC   1950-51 to  1954-55   Centre-half

League 158 Apps 12 Goals   Cups 35 Apps 4 Goals Debut 4 November 1950  -  Runcorn (Away) Moved from Hyde United and was soon appointed captain. He was the linchpin of the  Freer-Richardson-Shepherd half-back (centre-back) line and the team's penalty taker. Featured regularly  throughout his time at the Moss Rose, gaining a Cheshire Senior Cup winners' medal in 1952 and 1954 and was an important member of the team which were Cheshire League champions in 1952.

LADIES FROM CANTEEN AT REDFERN`S

The following photo was sent to us via email from Alan and Barbara Tomlinson.

"Here is a photo taken on the top of Redfern`s rubber work`s roof circa 1948/49. It shows the canteen staff and in the background you can see what used to be Slack Mill and, of course, the chimney ".




"On the back row from left to right. Margaret Smith (PEG) Mary Tomlinson, Mrs Crosby    ..?..    front row  ..?..  ..?.. Dorothy Standing. We hope someone can fill the rest in.

What a nice bunch of ladies and what good meals they made."   

Many thanks, Barbara and Alan.
Much appreciated ! :)   

                                                

Memories of the Unity Inn by Ken Smith

I have just been catching up on recent postings and came across the one about the closure of the Unity Inn in Hyde.

That establishment holds countless memories for my wife, Wynne, and I as it was Wynne’s mother, Jennie Cooper, who took over the license in 1960. We had just returned from Singapore where I had been serving with the RAF to be given the news of the move. Jennie had been the extremely successful licensee of the Grapes Hotel in Gee Cross for several years but family circumstances had forced her to move on. Stationed at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, some of our leaves were spent at the Unity, which became somewhat cramped as we now had our two children, Duncan and Debbie with us.

We left the RAF in 1966 and settled initially in Denton and as the children grew older and attended school Wynne began to work part-time for her mother, which was the start of an extremely successful partnership.

During this era pubs offered very little in the way of food – meat pies, crisps and nuts were about all that was on offer. Jenny was a very astute landlady and on Monday evenings, when the pub was quiet, she would put free food on the bar. It was simple fare – a bowl of cut-up tripe, simple sandwiches, potato pie, or black peas and cowheel, but it brought in the punters! Some of the ‘regulars’, who worked locally, suggested that if such food was available  they would be only too glad to partake of it along with their lunchtime pint and so, a whole new episode in the life of the Unity began.

Wynne was, and still is an excellent cook and began serving simple, freshly prepared food at lunchtimes. Everything she served was cooked from fresh produce including all the roasts and, as the menu increased, so did the lunchtime clientele, which now included many local businessmen, solicitors and doctors alongside the engineering workers from Adamson’s and the like. The kitchen at the Unity was tiny and ill-equipped and how she managed to produce such outstanding food, all of it to order, I will never know. Eventually, the pub was heaving at lunchtimes and, although there was no evening catering, many of the customers made The Unity their favourite evening ‘watering hole’. It also became very popular with the members of the local amateur dramatic societies who used it as their base when there was a production at the Festival Theatre. Over the following years, The Unity enjoyed considerable success which, undoubtedly, was in great part due to Wynne’s efforts, ability and dedication.

Jennie retired in 1988 when The Unity was taken over by Bill McDermott for whom Wynne carried on working. The character of the pub changed considerably under the stewardship of Bill and his partner Alma. Out went the organ, which had been played by Charlie Perrin on most evenings and which made the pub more attractive to older customers but lunchtimes continued as before.

The photograph of Jennie and Wynne in the bar of the Unity may remind some of your readers of whom I have been writing.

 

Thank you so much for sending in your great memories, Ken.

Much appreciated ! :)

More memories from Jacqueline

My late sister Patricia Ingham (nee Holt) used to work in Middletons Record and television shop. If you wanted any records whether it be jazz, pop, classical, or whatever, Pat would order it for you. This was in the days before cds, mp3, downloads etc, the first ones were 78’s then they went to 45’s and LP’s, Pat had all the record catalogues and would order anything from them, many of the musicians in the area would order from her.

The BBC did not play many records other than Family Favourites on a Sunday and we had to rely on Radio Luxembourg to hear the top twenty hits, usually by Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray, Guy Mitchell, Doris Day etc. We all had wind up gramophones to play these 78’s. Later electric record players came out which played the newer types of records. Middletons was a meeting place for all and Pat would play all the hits for us. Middletons also sold pianos and musical instruments and Pat would play the piano to test for customers.

When television came out, one of our friends Grenville Godley was the television engineer and installer. Those days are a far cry from the Music of Today. Our favourites was the Jazz and to go on 42nd Street in New York was magic. Frank Sinatra was a favourite too, and of course Tony Bennett who we saw near Carnegie Hall NY.

Hope the oldies in Hyde remember this.

Many thanks again, Jacqueline

Low Top Farm Information needed.

 The following email was sent to us by Geoff &  Merrilyn Reeves from Queensland, Australia. ....

"In the course of Examining out family history, we often came across the Area known as  Werneth Low and my wife remembers her grandmother speaking fondly of it as she was growing up in Tasmania.

On my wife’s side of the family, it is well established that her grandmother Ethel Maud Widdowson and Joshua Hadfield moved from Hyde to Launceston Tasmania Australia

Phyllis Hadfield (her mother) came with them as a 3 year old, about 1912

Merrilyn’s  grand father Joshua Hadfield married Ethel Maud Widdowson in August 4^th 1907 the Ceremony that took place at St Pauls Church Werneth.

We tried to find the church back when we visited in 2000 but failed, so adjourned to the magnificent old pub at the top of the hill with the great view and gave up.!

The question we have is:  the address provided on the marriage certificate where they lived is Low Top Farm Werneth

We do not know why but we think this farm property, if that is what it is,  was owned by a Thomas Widdowson, who may be Ethel Maud’s Father

Can any one assist in providing information about either the Farm or the two family’s

Much appreciated for any assistance".

 
Map showing Low Top Farm 1875


Map from 1910


Aerial view of Low Top Farm circa 1970's

 
Modern map showing Low Top Farm


Map showing the site of St Pauls Gee Cross 1870's

St Pauls became Holy Trinity Church after part of the township of Werneth was transferred to the district of Gee Cross. Is this the church you mean ? See links below for more information.

St Pauls Werneth  Holy Trinity Gee Cross

Many Thanks, Geoff and Merrilyn. I hope we can find out a little more information  for you through the blog :)