A view from the past

Todays photo is of Gee Cross Mill as it looked from the Canal.
I always thought it looked very picturesque..


The Mill was oroginally known as Apethorn Mill and apparently the name was changed to Gee Cross Mill after a boiler explosion on 7 September 1887.

MEMORIES OF GROWING UP IN HYDE 1953 – 1962 Part 9

By Roger Chadwick

The school week at William Hulme’s G.S. was six whole days, there being lesons on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and compulsory sport until 4.00.p.m. on both afternoons.  Drama and School Cadets added yet more hours to the schoolday and at busy times I would do homework in Manchester Central Library getting home around 9.30.p.m. only to be off again at 7.30.a.m. in the morning.   Half term consisted of a Friday and a Monday tacked onto a weekend but the school holidays were longer.   These factors meant that my time in and around Hyde was becoming increasingly sparse! In those days, Sunday truly was a day of rest with shops closed, bus services curtailed and nowt to do unless you were involved in a church.

Just after my 15^th birthday, with the expenses of adolescence rising, some money had to be raised.   In the summer of 1954, I started labouring at Ashton Brothers Bayleyfield Mill, hauling tubs of cotton bobbins to Italian lasses, (many of whom had already done 8 hrs in the Pan Yan Pickle factory in Glossop) in what was then called the Pirning room and then sorting boxes of cotton in the cavernous damp cellars.  Weekday work began at 7.30.a.m. and finished at 5.30.p.m with 20 minutes for breakfast and 60 minutes for lunch.  Saturdays began at the same time and work finished at 12.30.p.m.  I was not allowed in the weaving shed because that was for skilled workers and overlookers only and I was very glad not to be in that infernal noisy place: nor was I allowed in cotton waste where men worked in cotton overalls and “plimsolls”.  One spark in that department and the whole mill would have gone up like bomb!   My first wage amounted to £6.8.10d (£6.44p) – a phenomenal wage at that time for labouring when teachers and other professions were  getting much less.  It was hard work with long hours but good money and I loved the smell and atmosphere, the views of Werneth Low from five floors up, the coarse cackle and vulgarity of the women in the cop cellar, the hot juice of lunchtime meat pies and endless tea from the steel urns provided.  We have an old cotton bobbin in the kitchen which is converted to an egg timer.  It still stinks of the mills….lovely!

Redferns Rubberworks

Sadly, the days of Lancashire cotton were numbered and I had to find other work in the summers that followed.  I biked to Harden’s Engineering, North’s Atomic Clothing, Redfern’s Rubber Works, Oldham Batteries, Daniel  Adamson’s and a host of other industrial concerns but the message was always the same , “no vacancies for unskilled work…nothing part time….etc.”  1955 saw me cutting malt loaves and sorting hot white loaves and milk buns in the Bread Factory on the road from Denton to Brinnington.  The following year  I was clipping and weeding graves for six weeks in Denton cemetery.  There I was a dab hand with the weedkiller and did untold damage through ignorance rather than malice.  I started learning the art of gravedigging!  But the money was poor compared with Ashton Brothers.

Whenever I see pictures of St Stephen’s Church,  Floweryfield, I am reminded of an intensely sad time.

Coming home from holiday work in July 1956, I was told of the sudden death of a school friend, David Oldham.  He had died of an unsuspected brain tumour.  His father was the Organist of St Stephen’s and the family were closely connected with that church.  It was my first experience of death and along with Pete Broughton and Barry Broadhurst(the son of George Broadhurst the painter and decorator),  we bore David into church for the funeral service.   His parents were much comforted by what we did but I am sure it was a case of “put a brave face on…”.  David was an only one, like most of us in those years.

Some three weeks after this sad event I came home from work and found the family gathered in the back room.  Straightaway I knew there was something up. “Where’s mi father….” I asked… only to be told that he had died on the 125 bus coming home from work.   I had to attend Platt Lane Police Station in  Manchester that night so we were glad of evening buses!   My father had to be identified and my mother couldn’t do it.  “Are you Roger Chadwick, the son of Harry Chadwick?....is this your Father?   Having answered the questions, the paperwork had to be done and I could not say that the police sergeant was sympathetic.  But then, he had to do his job and cards and sympathy and teddy bears were light years away.  This was the first time I had seen a dead body.   But my Vicar was brilliant and gave my atheist father a wonderful funeral!  

“These things happen”….is a truism even if it doesn’t help much.  The fact of the matter was that my mother had to go to work and had to manage to keep us on her wages and the £4 widow’s pension.   It was now even more important that I get work to support the family.  But this was not going to be easy as it was the time of a mini recession and temporary work became even more difficult to find from 1956 onwards! 

I would like to thank Roger once again for sharing his wonderful memories with us !
They are a pleasure to read. :)

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 ! :)   

                                                

Queen Street - Before and After

The two photos below show the same view of Queen Street about 20 years apart.

How different it is now compared with when James North factory stood there.... Looks much nicer and cleaner now but I loved the factory as I grew up playing round there when I stayed at my Nans house. The shadow of my Nans house can be seen on the top photo.

 The old Queen Street view


This part of Queen Street had its name changed to become a continuation of Douglas Street.

Thanks to Dave and Beryl for the top photo.

Much appreciated. :)

Magnificent View !

Here are a couple of photo's sent to us by Karl Barlow with the description below.

"Hi Hydonians,
Here are two pictures I took of Gee Cross Mill in the early eighties. 

The view of the tower  in the distance is St Georges church and, I think, James
North's Mill...The black and white photo is of the ladder inside the tower of GX Mill known as a Jacobs Ladder.It led to the hatch that opened at the top of the tower. I climbed it a few times. There was a water tank up there if I remember and lot of pigeon muck ! What a view from the very top of the tower you could see for miles around!...."

Thumbnail for larger view.





Many Thanks Karl ! :)

Aerial map of James North and area

We received this message and photo from Brian H  via email today

Over to Brian...

"I have just come across this photo which may be of interest.

 In the early 1990's a guy spent a couple of days flying around in a light aircraft taking aerial photos of the town

We bought this picture from him and put it in a 'safe place' ,so safe in fact, we forgot that we had it. What a pleasure it was to find it again earlier today. 

Of particular interest are Bell's on Dowson Rd and, of course, the James North premises.

Hope you like it... keep up the good work with the website..."

Thumbnail for bigger view !

Many thanks for the great photo, Brian !  :)

Edward Hibbert

Courtesy of Hyde Cotton Mills by Ian Haynes

Adverts from the Tameside Guide

A couple of adverts from the Tameside guide circa 1974. 
Nice to see that Kenyons is still in business.





If only it was that easy to get a job today!

Hyde Mill

Hyde Mill, Pattreioux, Gallahers or Senior Service , the many names it was known by, shown here during the nightshift, lights ablazing !


The blue sign could be seen from Werneth Low at Night !

 Hyde Mill was designed by architect Sidney Scott, and was completed in 1906. The site had been acquired by Hyde Spinning Co Ltd from the trustees of C. J. Ashton. The Mill was four storeys in height, 47 bays in length and faced with bright red bricks with a water tower at its south western corner. When the mill was fully furnished with all the machinery it contained 116,532 mule spindles.

 The Cotton mill closed in 1958 and was sold to J. A. Pattreioux, makers of Senior Service cigarettes. The Gallaher group purchased the building in 1959 and the mill continued as a cigarette factory for over 40 years. Gallahers closed in 1999 and production was moved to Northern Ireland.

The building was also the home of Findel Education, a supplier of educational products for a few years after the cigarette production ceased.

The building was sadly demolished in 2009/10 and is now home to a new housing estate.

Thanks to Lee Brown for the great photo ! :)

 


Here is a photo of Hyde Mill taken from Bradley Green Primary School in 1987. 
Thanks to Dave for this photo :)