Werneth Low 1952

Here's some more of the photographs that Keith Oldham gave me, this time of Werneth Low and Keith himself is in a couple of the photographs, albeit in a pram being pushed by his mother.

This is looking towards Windy Harbour and on the left you can see the bridge over the railway which now marks the start of the Hattersley estate, but of course in those days there were just fields. Below is yesterday's photograph of the scene.

This is lower down Werneth Low Road just before the junction with Joel Lane and the buildings in the picture are still there, although the white house on the left is hidden by the trees on yesterday's photo.

This one was a bit more difficult to pinpoint, but it appears to be on Higham Lane. You can see the War Memorial on the right, but it's a bit more difficult to spot on yesterday's photograph, so I've also cropped the picture and you can make out the War Memorial on that behind the cow parsley in the centre. The building on the extreme left of the picture is Higher Higham Farm, but again that's hidden behind the trees on yesterday's photograph. You can see on both photographs the change in the dry stone wall on the right from large stones to smaller stones.

The house in the centre of the 1952 photograph isn't there now, but it appears to have been on the triangular plot in the centre of the shot below from Google Earth. There seems to be a building shown there on the 1910 OS map. Yesterday's photograph was taken from just beyond the row of cottages shown at the bottom of the picture.

Old Local Buses

Here we have a 211 Hattersley-Hathershaw 1965 Daimler Bus Photo Postcard.

 

This postcard is a 1955 Atkinson Double-Decker Stalybridge-Hyde Tram Bus.

 

Room with a View

This fab shot was taken from Chartist House - looks like from the top floor to me !!
It shows Hyde Uniteds Ewen Fields before it turned blue and became the home to Hyde FC !!
Notice Walls Factory (Kerry Foods) behind and Hattersley in the distance !



Thanks to Elsie D for sharing with us :)

Pudding Lane

A nice shot of Pudding Lane in the time before the housing estate was built in Hattersley..

Hattersley Monkey Puzzle Tree

The Hattersley Monkey Puzzle tree was planted in 1968 by Barry Tongue in the back garden of his house on Garnett Road. The house along with others in the area were demolished as part of the Hattersley redevelopment plan. By then the tree had become a local landmark and a preservation order was placed on it in 2007. 
Other Roads demolished to make way for a Tesco Superstore were were Garnett Close, Garnett Way, Vannes Grove, Hayward Way and Moreton Way.




The Tree before it was moved to its present location on Ashworth Lane.
Mottram Church, or St Michael & All Angels to give it its proper name, can be seen in the background.


As seen from Ashworth Lane before the move. McDonalds can be seen in the distance.


Aeriel view of the Monkey Puzzle Tree, near bottom middle, after the houses were demolished to make way for the Tesco store.


Map of where the monkey puzzle tree stood before Tesco was built.

In 2010, after planning permission was granted for the superstore to be built on the site, the tree was moved around the corner to the other side of Ashworth Lane.

New Home for Tree 

Thanks to Gerald England! :)

Werneth Low and Hattersley

This is a photograph I took probably in the early 1980's on Werneth Low looking over Hattersley and the old tower blocks with Mottram Church towards the right-hand side. That's Beryl in the foreground, and I think it's Hobson Moor in the background.

A snowy day

 Looking out over Hattersley from Werneth Low on a 1970's Snowy Winters Day !

Postcard from Hattersley

 Here is a postcard of Pudding Lane in Hattersley.



What an area of outstanding beauty it used to be.

Pudding Lane was an ancient route between Godley and Mottram. The western end leaves the present Mottram Road opposite Longlands Lodge. The Eastern end has been submerged into the Hattersley housing estate. Sundial Cottage, dated 1697, on Pudding Lane had a stone sundial on its front. Although a listed building, it was badly vandalised and eventually demolished. Only the names of two terraces, Sundial Walk and Sundial Close on the Hattersley estate now commemorate the site.
Thanks to geograph and Gerald England

 


Showing location of Sundial Close (centre)

Maps courtesy of Google.

Looking over to Hattersley

A lovely quiet road.

Godley train turntable.

 This fabulous photo was lent to us by Joe Lloyd and comes via David Stafford.

What a quality photo. I hadn't ever seen a train on the turntable before !
Am I right in thinking that men used to push the turntable by hand, as shown on the photo?



The CLC turntable in use at Godley Junction with much other activity. In one of the early air raids on the Manchester area, a bomb exploded some 25 yards to the right of the turntable, just in the field beyond the railway boundary fence. Extreme left behind the main line up-side sidings, stand the Signal Shop the building of which was authorized by the MS&LR Board in 1873 and completed in 1875. The newer brick building was Walls Meat Products Factory, now Kerry Foods and the extensive housing development on the skyline is the Hattersley Housing Estate built post-war by Manchester City Council.

Demolition of the "Seven Sisters"

2001 saw the demolition of 7 Multi-Storey 1960’s Tower blocks in Hattersley which were affectionately known as the "Seven Sisters".

Two blocks, Sandybank Court and Chapman Court were demolished using a highreach excavator.



Due to the location of Fields Court, situated near the main line Railway station and adjacent residential properties the tower block was demolished using the "floor by floor deconstruction method" so as to reduce any risks.



On Sunday 22nd April 2001 the remaining four tower blocks (Underwood, Honiton, Hattersley and Waterside Courts) were demolished using explosives.

Hattersley 1960s

The building of these houses by Wimpey's were started in 1962, the first people moved on to the estate in May 1963 from Wythenshawe, Gorton, Ardwick, Cheetham Hill and Hulme. These first folks were welcomed by the Mayor of Hyde, and representatives from Wall's meat company in Godley who gave them sausages. A local milk round give out free milk as well. 

The first bus service was the No.5 from Hyde, but was not very frequent local delivery men give residents lifts into Hyde. The newcomers had varying reactions to Hattersley. Some liked the fresh country air, the snow, and the wildlife... but missed the corner shops, the buses and the cinemas. Before the shops were built on Sandybank Avenue, mobile shops served the 1157 families. The Manchester Evening News reported in August 1964, "overspills are making headlines everywhere, Hattersley has got 4000, people, 2 pubs, 3 wooden churches, one Doctor, no cinemas, no playgrounds and almost no teenage entertainment. 

Building Underwood Court - Looking towards Harrop Edge 1965

The houses are on Underwood Road... a lady who lived an the top of one of the tower blocks which looked out onto the rolling hills thought the view was lovely. She was reported in the Manchester Evening News  as telling her friends that she lived in the Hattersley Hilton. Many of the residents were soon to disagree with her, their walls were full of condensation, and the Pylons played havoc and some even prevented the T.Vs working properly.

Pictures and information gleamed from HATTERSLEY THE OLD AND THE NEW by Margaret Knott... I fine read indeed and well worth seeking out a copy the pictures of Old Hattersley are a joy to see.

As always memories of the old and new Hattersley are most welcome and pictures are always a issue, so if you have anything youcould scan and send in then please do so. Our email is hydonian@gmail.com.

Hattersley Lament

Postcard from Hattersley

A black and white postcard of Hattersley.
It looks like the estate is relatively new so I'd put it late 1960's/early 1970's


Hattersley

Between 1894 and 1936 Hattersley was a civil parish in the Tintwistle Rural District of the administrative county of Cheshire. In 1936 it was annexed to the municipal borough of Hyde but remained undeveloped. In the 1960s most of the area was purchased by Manchester city council in order to build a large overspill estate.

View of Hattersley

Here's a nice shot of Hattersley as seen from Werneth Low. 



Mottram church can be seen middle/top of the photograph. 
It's such a beautiful area.

Thanks to John Hopwood for the photo ! 

All but one of the Tower blocks were demolished around ten years ago.  Waterside, Underwood, Hattersley,Chapman, Sandybank, Fields and Honiton Courts were built in the early 1960's . The 14 storey building were 110 ft high so, after demolition, the difference to the landscape was major!
Tameside Court is the only one now remaining. 

The following is taken from an Advertiser article published in 2003...


Farms lose out to vast housing estate

"THE swinging sixties saw great changes in the physical appearance of the towns of Tameside.
At Hattersley, the farms and scattered cottages gave place to a vast estate to house Manchester's overspill.
Hyde's boundaries were extended to include the area, although all the costs were met by Manchester. Building began early in the sixties and the first families moved onto the estate in May 1963.
They were welcomed by the Mayor of Hyde and received free milk and sausages from Wall's factory at Godley.
By August 1964 there were 4,000 people in Hattersley, served by just one doctor !!"




Mottram Church

Donated Book

Some people can be so kind... one such person is Graham Sharp a Hydonian who now lives in Canada, Graham as sent in many pictures and memories which we have been pleased to use. Last week he offered us this book and sent it to us so we could gleam some very useful information about how old Hattersley looked before the estate was built. On behalf of the team, Nancy, Dave, myself and of course all our readers I would like to thank Graham for his generosity and thoughtfulness.  

Pudding Lane looking towards Harrop Edge

Here's Graham with his first son, Duncan, taken in 1958 in the same location on Pudding Lane. At that time the family home was on Shepley Street and Pudding Lane was one of their favourite Sunday afternoon walks with the pram.