Whaley Bridge Village Reunion

 Whaley Bridge Village Reunion - All Day 18th July from 2pm
Whaley Bridge Bowling Club

Dear Friends and fellow villagers. You are cordially invited to a unique event, which has only been made possible through the power of the internet, Facebook and Keith Hadfield who created the group Growing Up in Whaley Bridge.

My fellow host, John Hallows, and I, have secured an all day and evening reservation at the Bowling Club, which is managed by Whaleyites too.... John & Tracey Golpin.

We planned on making a small door charge to cover any small expenditures, and every penny over that, will be divided 50/50 between the 2 village schools. We can't charge though, so it was suggested we have a donations bucket when you arrive, & the same applies: all donations will be given to the 2 schools which is where most of us spent some time over the decades. :)

We are not putting on any food - you are at liberty to pop back home, or bring a picnic ( eat in the park or outside the club on the verandha) go to the chippy, the pubs that do food, or one of the local restaurants. Support our local businesses!

Please feel free to invite family members, or locals who don't have a computer, or Facebook, and come along for an hour or 2 or stay all day long.

I shall be making some posters to put up round the village too. We will have some stick on tags ( from Stampiton, of course) so you can have your name proudly on display. for those of us who may have changed since we were 11 years old, it might be a good idea! :)

Lou, the ex-landlady of the Cock, has very kindly offered to be our photographer for the day. she will be taking as many group, family, school type photos as we wish. Afterwards, she will create a photo album which will be shared on the Group page for everyone to see.. She will be happy to give you her email address so you can send any of your own photos too.

Let's make this event a first.... but hopefully, not the last!

Chris Wilman and John Hallows.

Along The Derby Road

This map of 1719 is reproduced from "A Pocket Guide To The English Traveller". The route is from Warrington to Manchester and onwards to Derby. The road through Furness Vale had not been built at that time so the route follows Buxton Old Road through Longside. Yeardsley Hall and Jodrell's lands are marked as are Disley, Lyme and Whaley Bridge although some of the spelling may seem unfamiliar.

The maps were engraved by Thomas Gardner, based on John Ogilby's strip maps of 1675

Ollerenshaw Farm

Jane Butler is researching her home, Ollerenshaw Farm on Eccles Road.  She would appreciate any help that might be available in aiding her quest for more information. Please contact her through the History Society email address furnesshistory@gmail.com

Jane writes:

We were fortunate enough to meet with Jimmy Hodgson, in the early 90’s,  whose family farmed here for generations, he was a ‘shooting pal’ of my fathers (we’ve been here nearly 24 years) he told us  anecdotal family stories and let us copy some of his photos. His ancestor was Hodgson Hodgson, a sheep drover from Halifax, who met a maid from the Hall and settled here, their child, conceived out of wedlock  ( so Jimmy said!) was born blind and this was born out in the census records showing him as blind from birth. (Peter Hodgson, Jimmy’s nephew  lives at Cadster).

Ollerenshaw Farm in 1910.

Maps dated 1606 showing the location of Ollerenshaw Farm. The lands shown in yellow were subject of a dispute between the Attorney General and the Jodrell family.

Horwich End Shops

Jane Butler has sent an interesting list of Horwich End shops.  I

I wondered if you’d be interested in the attached document (I feel the need for it to be stored somewhere where it can be both appreciated and shared).

It was complied a few years ago by my Mum, Blanche Ford (nee Prior) and her neighbour Eric Mason, who both lived on Reddish Avenue in Whaley. Sadly they both died in the last year, mum was 87 and Eric was in his 90’s. They listed the shops they could remember for the 1930’s and 1940’s

Kind Regards

Jane Butler (nee Ford)

Shops in Horwich End, Whaley Bridge in the 1930s and 40s

As Recalled by Eric Mason and Blanche Ford

Chapel  Rd
Board Inn	Public House
Byrne	Butchers
Bill Sadler	Fish (hand cart, visited other villages)
Worsley	Chip shop
Shoe repairs hut	(Now RSPCA hut?)
Fred Jarvis	Barber
Bentley	Poulterers  and Fish
Gas Showrooms	(Now Seymour Silks)
William and Deacons	Bank
Cooper and Pearson	Grocers (now antique clock shop)
Andrews	Butchers (now Colman’s)
Jarvis	Ladies hairdressers
Tommy Bagshaw	Confectionary and homemade ice cream  (now Chinese takeaway )
New Road
Pheasey	General dealers
Horwich End Supply	Corn Merchants
Buxton Rd
Colliers	Joiners
Palfryman	Newsagents
Fred Hulme	Radios and electrical
William Hulme	Coal Merchants (On corner, next to traffic light and railing)
Macclesfield Rd
RD James	Joinery (also petrol pump)
Howes	Bakers
Hardings	Grocers
Lower Macclesfield Rd
Haigs	Green grocers
Oscroft	Confectionary
Lockets	Decorators DIY
Colliers	Chip Shop (next to the ‘Owlers’
CoOp	Grocery (now ‘kitchen showroom’)
CoOp	Butchers (now flats, next to traffic lights)
Irene’s	Haberdashery
Buxton Road
White Horse	Public House
N and F Smith	Post office
Morten’s	Grocers
Coats	Chemist
Bradbury	Bakers
O’Reilly	Fruits
Potters Garage and Taxi
Park Cafe
My Tompkinson	Barber (dentist surgery above) (now Jane’s sewing/alterations)
Bank

 

38 Macclesfield Road

Furness Vale Rose Queen

Shirley Bowker has sent some photographs of the village's Rose Queen Parade.  The date is not known although the vehicles must give a clue. It is interesting to see lorries in the liveries of local businesses. Whaley Bridge and Buxton Co-op became part of the Manchester and Salford Society in 1968 so the photographs are before that date.

Furness Vale Brickworks

Here is Knowles lorry parked at the brickworks, perhaps 1960's. It is loaded with firebacks, one of their products ready for delivery.  A close up section from a photo in our archives

Beard and Bugsworth Colliery - Lady Pit

Lady Pit, owned by the Beard and Bugsworth Colliery Company stood at the corner of Ladypit Road and Dolly Lane. It closed in 1909.  I had never seen any photographs of the mine and assumed that none had survived. It's surprising what can be found when studying and enlarging an old photograph. One picture from our archives features Bangs Bridge, the footbridge over the canal near the water treatment works. Look in the background and there, behind a very long goods train is Lady Pit.  At that distance it is a little bit misty but all of the buildings can be clearly seen.

The chimney survived long after closure only to be demolished in the late 1940's by a lightning strike which scattered the bricks a distance of 100 metres.. 

Chapel-en-le-Frith in 1940

Our latest publication is a selection of photographs from the albums of Eric Young, formerly of Chapel-en-le-Frith.  The winter of 1939 / 1940 was one of the most severe on record and Eric Young's views show the town suffering from deep snow.  In the following summer, volunteers gathered on the cricket ground. We see photographs of air raid wardens, St.John's ambulancemen, nurses from the Red Cross and other orders and schoolchildren attending a large parade. The ambulances and mobile canteens operated by these organisations are also seen.

The booklet contains 24 pages and over 30 historic photographs. Price £2.00 from History Society meetings or £3.00 including postage from 34 Yeardsley Lane, Furness Vale, High Peak, Derbyshire SK23 7PN.  A Kindle edition is available from Amazon  http://amzn.to/1bJwJUP price £2.00

Glossop History

Here is a promising blog to follow. Glossop Tours : Glossop History features a growing number of articles about Glossop's past.  The latest post is a history of Dinting Station, part of a series on the local railway.

http://glossoptours.blogspot.com/

The Regimental mascot

Our local infantry regiment was The Sherwood Foresters(Notts and Derby Regiment). It was formed in1881 and continued qith its headquarters in Derby until 1970 when it became part of the Mercian Regiment. Most local recruits joined the Foresters and this postcard from 1911 was published by Raphael Tuck & Co.

At the Barmote Court in Wirksworth

When the Barmote Court sat at the Moot Hall in Wirksworth last April, they were asked to award lead mining rights to Castleton's Treak Cliff Cavern. Although a tourist attraction, this show cave is also the source of the rare blue john, a semi precious stone. Although lead is no longer mined, they needed to establish their rights and thus ensure that nobody else might make a claim. 65lbs of lead ore was presented to the court in a wooden "freeing dish"

The Court sits just once a year and is presided over by the Barmaster. In attendance is the Steward who is a local solicitor or barrister, and the Lord of the Fields who represents the Crown. A jury of 12 local citizens is appointed. Before proceedings begin, the officials sit down to a meal of bread and cheese and beer and are offered clay pipes and tobacco. A brass measuring dish is chained to the wall and is engraved with inscriptions ” This dish was made the iiij day of October iiij yere of the reigne of Kyng Henry the viij before George Erle of Shrowesbury Steward of the kyngs most Honourable household and allso Steward of all honour of Tutbury by the assent and consent as well of all the Mynours as of all the Brenners within and adioyning the Lordshyp of Wyrkysworth Percell of the said honour. This Dishe to Remayne In the Moot Hall at Wyrkysworth hanging by a cheyne so as the Merchauntes or Mynours may have resorte to the same at all tymes to make mesure at the same ”.

The Moot Hall, Wirksworth as re-built in 1814

The Barmote Court is an ancient institution first established over 700 years ago. Each lead mining district once had it's own court and that at Wirksworth is the last remaining. Their responsibilities include awarding mining rights, overseeing disputes and ensuring that royalties are paid to the Duchy of Lancaster. It is the oldest industrial court in the land.

The lead mining region of Derbyshire equates approximately to that known as "The White Peak". It is called the King's or Queen's Field, an area of 115 square miles and is divided between the High Peak Hundred in the north and the Soke of the Wapentake of Wirksworth in the south. Wapentake is a Norse word for hundred, this being a division of a county. Each division had it's own court. That of the High Peak sat at Monyash until 1994 when the two were merged.

Lead is no longer mined in Derbyshire and the role of the Barmote Court is now largely ceremonial. The Court will next meet on Wednesday April 15th 2015 at the Old Moot Hall in Chapel Lane. Although a private establishment, the public are allowed to view the proceedings.

The Wirksman, a depiction of a lead miner

Furness Vale in Colour

This photograph from our archives has been digitally coloured.

A Letter From Australia

 Geoff Baker, born in Furness Vale has written from Melbourne, Victoria

 

My grandfather Noel Baker and grandmother Winifred Baker lived at 200 Buxton Road Furness Vale, their son Walter Baker is my father, Noel was a traffic inspector working at Gowhole (what his duties were I do not know), Noel died on 16th August 1942 aged 55 years.(1887-1942) My father Walter served in the 8th army in Egypt during the war, on return from the war he courted and married my mother Alice Shepley of 17 Eaves Knoll Road New Mills who worked for the New Mills Co-op society, my father was employed on the railway at Gowhole as a goods guard, they both came to live with my widowed grandmother at 200 Buxton Road. I was born in the front room of that address on 4th May 1947. It must have been approximaetly 1950 my parents and I moved to 9 Hockerley Lane Whaley Bridge when my father became station master there, I do not remember how long we lived there, other than I do remember starting school there must have been around 1952 at Whaley Bridge primary school. My grandmother arranged to take in a boarder, Bill Bosten the local constable in Furness Vale, and 200 Buxton Road became  the local police station. Bill Bosten was there for many years I think until about 1962/3.

Approx 1953 my mother, father and I relocated again and took up residence in the station masters house at Hyde North, my father became station master there, and later station master at Pinxton although we still lived at Hyde North.

My grandmother Winifred Baker of 200 Buxton Road Furness Vale died in 1972 at Stepping Hill Hospital.

Approx 1957 my mother and father bought a bakery business and residence in Moss Street Blackburn and left the railways.

During I think 1966 my father again joined the railways in the district inspectors office based in Preston that's about the time I joined the merchant Navy as a Radio Officer, I stayed in the service for  years before emigrated to Melbourne Australia, where I lived until 2012 before I retired to live on Camiguin Island in the Philippines, I am currently back in Melbourne I have been here the whole of 2014 up to date, receiving cancer treatment, I hope to be able to return home to Camiguin in April or May this year.

My mother and father retired to Thornton Cleveley's around 1982, my father passed away 20th October 1996 in Blackpool (1917-1996) my mother came with me back to Australia, she passed away 19th May 1999 in Leongatha Victoria. (1909-1999).

During my whole school life, during school holidays I always stayed at my Grandmothers, and used to work on Longhurst farm helping in those days Joseph Barber, that was always a very happy time for me.

I had to come to England a number of time's after the death of my father, one trip in 1977, I did a tour of the places I used to live, I called in 200 Buxton Road, but no one was home, I looked at Gowhole, Longhurst farm which is living accomodation what was cow sheds, I even had a couple of pints at the Soldier Dick, checked out Hyde North, Blackburn, and returned to Blackpool with very mixed feelings for what I saw, I have no desire to return, but do love reading about the area which I miss, except the weather.

 

 

Longhurst Farm

Just another thing you might be interested in, in the early 1960's Jo Barber was quite severly injured, a cow jumped on him in the byre whilst he was feeding hay, I am not sure if Joe ever worked the farm again, I remember his daughter and son in  law came back from New Mills to run the place for a while, thats about the time when I moved on to other things.

regards

Geoff Baker

1940 Volunteers

   The air raid wardens of Chapel-en-le-Frith 

The Peveril of the Peak and The Duke of Devonshire

The Carl's Cam website has a feature on stagecoach routes. The A6 through Furness Vale was the road for a number of services linking such places as Manchester, Stockport, Buxton, Liverpool, Sheffield, Nottingham and London. The timetables show that in the 1850's nine coaches passed in each direction every day. New Mills had just two coaches a day to Stockport and Manchester. The website also includes maps of the principle routes and a detailed map for Cheshire.
http://www.carlscam.com/coach.htm

The journeys were slow; Buxton to Manchester took 3 hours at a speed of less than 9 mph and fares were beyond the pocket of the working man.

 

The Duke of Devonshire Buxton - Manchester,   daily
08:00	18:30		Buxton, the Cheshire Cheese
09:00	17:05		Whaley Bridge
09:20	16:40		Disley
10:10	15:50		Stockport
11:00	15:00		Manchester, the Talbot
			26 miles,     3 hrs,     8.7 mph.

The Peveril of the Peak coach at The Peacock, Islington on the 23 hour journey from London to Manchester

Furness Vale Brickworks, A note from the past

Last summer a message appeared on the Whaley Bridge Forum posted by "Goneaway":

" Iam long gone from the Whaley Bridge area - about 60 years - however I did come across a notebook of my father's which contained working details of the R.E. Knowles Fireclay works at the end and just after the WW2 and only of interest to a very small niche audience. It may be that niche audience reads this forum. It was more than a bit tatty but I have put the pages together and scanned them. They can be found at the following link :....."

The link unfortunately is no longer active but David Kitching has kindly sent a copy of the document which will be printed for the History Society archives.

This is the notebook of Felix DeBass one of the investors in R. E. Knowles when the present company was incorporates in 1944

Many of the notes from c1945 are technical and include details such as recipes for firebricks, porcelain, glazes etc. There is production and cost data and much information whilst of historical value, is not an exciting read. Of more interest are the tables showing output from Furness Clough and Diglee pits, 1721 tons in 1945 and from the Brickworks. There are details of wages paid to the miners and brick workers, some of whose names are still familiar. One mineworker was paid 17 shillings and 10pence halfpenny per shift, plus 4 shillings and 6 pence timekeeping bonus. He worked 7 shifts per week so his wage for 1944 was quite good. A new electric kiln was commissioned in 1946 and at its overnight trial lasting 11 hours, reached a temperature of 600° C and consumed 606 units of electricity or 910 kilowatts.

The notebook will be available at future Society Meetings.

Britain From Above

This website features thousands of historical aerial photographs archived in a searchable database.  Although there are no images of Furness Vale, our neighbouring communities are well represented.

This is Waterside Mill in Disley taken in 1946. Some of the buildings are painted in camouflage colours to hide them from wartime bombers. In the background is Bowater's mill standing alongside the canal.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw001584?search=disley&ref=7

New Mills in 1952.  In the centre of the picture is the bus station. The railway to Hayfield disappears into the background. There are vehicles in Albion Road and Market Street but otherwise the roads are empty.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW043351

Taxal Lodge in 1937.  This house built in 1904 was the home of the Jodrells until 1950 when it became a special school. It was famed for the gardens which Mrs Cotton Jodrell regularly opened to the public.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EPW054325

Horwich End in 1937 with Botany Bleachworks in the right foreground and Macclesfield Road on the left. Behind the gasworks are the Shalcross railway sidings, full of wagons.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EPW054325

Here is the Rising Sun with St. Thomas's Church in the background. This is in 1927 long before the roundabout was constructed. A Stockport tram has just arrived  at the terminus as another can be seen leaving at the top of the picture. Torkington Lodge and Estate were still in private hands and were not purchased by the Council until1935.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EPW019189

This is just a small selection of images. It is well worth visiting the website and exploring the locations that interest you. Low resolution photos may be downloaded from the site or purchased as larger, high quality photos.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/

Sleep Tight

A HISTORY OF SOME OLD ENGLISH SAYINGS AND CUSTOMS Compiled by Flo Deems ::: ::: ::: Where did some of these old English sayings come from that we've heard all of our lives, but maybe never really thought about their origins? After all, we do know what they mean, right? "SLEEP TIGHT" - back in the 1500s and maybe even before then, some people could afford to sleep on wooden framed beds so they were off of the floor. These frames had heavy ropes tied from side to side that supported the mattress. Over time the ropes would stretch, so they'd have to tighten them. Hence the saying, "Sleep tight." Later added to that was: "Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite." "PISS POOR" - They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in the same pot to collect as much urine as possible. Why? Because once a day, someone from the family took the pot to the tannery and sold the urine. If a family had to do this to survive financially, they were called "Piss poor." "DIDN'T HAVE A POT TO PISS IN" - Worse than the above were some people who were too poor to buy even the pot to collect their urine. And so they were the poorest and lowest of the low. BRIDAL BOUQUETS - Although not a saying, here's the origin of the wedding custom of having the bride carry a bouquet - Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May! So they still smelled somewhat good in June. However, since they were starting to smell again, brides carried a bouquet of flowers, hoping to hide their body odor. "DON'T THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER!" - Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of bathing in the nice clean hot water. Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children could take their turn in the big bath tub. Last of all came the babies! By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. "IT'S RAINING CATS AND DOGS!" - Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. CANOPY BEDS - Related to this situation is how canopy beds were developed. With roofs like these, there was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. So people constructed beds with tall posts over which a sheet could be hung to offer some protection. "DIRT POOR" - Floors in many houses were simply the dirt that the house had been built upon. Only the wealthy could afford stone or slate floors. THE NURSERY RHYME: "Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot Nine days old." - In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung on a long iron arm over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not have much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving the leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme. "BRING HOME THE BACON" - Sometimes people could obtain pork and this would be a special occasion. So when they had guests, they would hang up their slab of bacon to show off. This was a sign of comparative wealth, when a man could "bring home the bacon." "CHEW THE FAT" - Whenever a family did have some bacon and had guests, they would cut off some to share with their guests. They would sit around the fire and "chew the fat." TOMATOES WERE CONSIDERED POISONOUS! - This delicious fruit that masquerades as a veggie was considered poisonous for about 400 years. Those with money had plates made of pewter, which in those days had a high lead content. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, eventually causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes. "UPPER CRUST" - Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. "HOLDING A WAKE" - Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. "SAVED BY THE BELL" - also "A DEAD RINGER" - and "THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT" - England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive! So they would tie a long string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer. Now, aren't you glad you know the origins of these sayings and customs? And aren't you glad we live in modern times? Even if bed bugs have made a come-back! ::: ::: :::Back to Index Website design and background image Copyright © 2009-2014 All rights reserved. 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The pubs of Manchester

This website will take you on a tour of hundreds of Manchester's pubs, many long since forgotten. Many entries are well illustrated with a brief history. There is a good list of useful links to related sites.

You will come across pub names such as the Engineers and Filecutters Arms,  the Greengrocers Arms and the Isonomy Inn, all three close together in Ancoats and the Bundle of Sticks in Boundary Street East. Visit the City's medieval pubs, most long demolished and read about some of the characters who ran or frequented these hostelries.

Learn also about some of the breweries that have long since gone our of business. Kay's of Ardwick, Cronshaw's of Hulme and Groves and Whitnall for exampe.

http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.com/

The Band On The Wall, an Historical Archive

One of Manchester's premier music venues, The Band On The Wall has operated as a jazz club since the mid 1970's. This was formerly a public house, The George and Dragon , Swan Street. The pub first opened its doors in 1803 although the building has undergone many changes since then.  As far back as the 1930's the pub boasted a stage on which musicians regularly performed and it was at that time the nickname "Band On The Wall" was first coined.  The adjoining building, now the venue's cafe bar "Picturehouse" has been in the same ownership as the pub since the early 20th century, if not longer. It has had many roles since it was built in 1865 including conversion to a picture house in 1915.

The George & Dragon as a Wilson's house.

The Band On The Wall website has a superb archive. This documents the meticulously researched history of the building and adjoining Picturehouse.

Early days as a music venue

Swan Street is in one of Manchester's oldest districts, an area with a fascinating history.  The archive tells the story of the neighbourhood. Smithfield Market, Little Italy, Ancoats and New Cross all feature as do violent gangs such as the Scuttlers. The music heritage of Manchester is a strong feature of this archive; "Broadsides", cheap song sheets were printed in the area and the Ancoats Brotherhood was founded by Charles Rowley to bring serious music to the streets.

Smithfield Market

This website is highly recommended, it makes fascinating reading. If jazz music is also to your taste then there is even more of interest.  http://bandonthewall.org/archive/

Coming Home

Beth Kucera has an antique business in Madison, Wisconsin.  Visiting England six years ago, she and her husband came across a cup commemorating the hundredth anniversary of methodism in Furness Vale.

The cup itself is now more than a hundred years old and Beth is very kindly donating it to the History Society. We hope to be able to show this cup at a meeting in the near future.

Do take a look at Beth's own blog. Amongst her wide range of topics she often writes about Britain and our history and the pages of her website contain a great number of interesting stories.

http://www.ladyantiquedealer.blogspot.ie/