Mural, Waitrose, Poynton, Cheshire

 

This Philippa Threlfall mural was completed in 2010 and stands on Park Lane on the wall of Waitrose. The scenes are representations of the early twentieth century in the area, essentially depicting the mining and agricultural traditions.

Brookfield Hydro Cinema, Poynton, Cheshire

'Aldi Stores Ltd

Public Art Commis'sion

"Replaying The Brookfield Hydro"

To mark the completion and opening of their Poynton store,

Aldi have commissioned this artwork to commemorate the

Brookfield Hydro Cinema which formerly stood on this site.

Built in 1938, the building was designed with an art deco frontage.

As  well as housing a 920 seat cinema, it also served as a social centre

with a first floor café and a dance hall. The local amateur dramatic society,

The Poynton Players used the venue to host several of their productions

until they built their own theatre in 1949. The first film shown was

"Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" starring Shirley Temple.

During the war years after a short closure, the cinema continued

to operate and charity balls were held to raise funds for war charities.

In 1947 the building was sold to

The Poynton and Worth Co-operative Society but continued as a

cinema until 1957. In 1967 the building was sold to the adjoining

Brookfield Garage Motors and then served as a car showroom and garage.

The café floor became a reataurant and dance floor. Subsequently it

became a fitness club and latterly a nightclub before finally closing its

doors in 2004. After this time the building fell into disrepair.

This sculpture is fabricated from weathering and stainless steel

with a viteous glass mosaic inlay, as a reference to the art deco style of

the original frontage. the panel depicts the Brookfield Hydro Cinema in

its hay day [sic] with a shaft of projected light in polished stainless

steel to symbolise the silver screen. Highlighted in the beam are

Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo, film icons of the era.

Joanne Risley on behalf of Aldi Stores Ltd

Febrauary 2016

www.joannerisley.co.uk'

Joel Wainwright, Disley, Cheshire

Disley churchyard, the gravestone of Joel Wainwright (1831-1916). Remembered here are his first wife Ellen and their daughter Annie, who are buried in Chadderton. Also buried here is his second wife Betsy and daughter Grace Mary. Annie and Grace Mary died at three years and eighteen months respectively. When Joel and Betsy died they were living at Finchwood, Ludworth. As far as I know this is the first photo of his grave to be published on the internet.

From 1849 to 1905 Wainwright worked at Strines printworks, a calico printing business, where he was accountant and then manager. But he is most noted for his dedication to a monthly paper, the handwritten The Strines Journal, on which he worked with John M. Gregory between 1852 and 1856.

The Strines Journal contained details on many subjects: literary, historical, geographical, scientific, etc. It is a unique record of life as seen in and beyond a Derbyshire village at a certain point in history. Original articles, poems, etc, were requested for inclusion. The journal included a number of illustrations, and from 1853 the photos of Joseph Sidebotham, a partner in the business, were included in the journal. The forty-seven issues were bound into five volumes and remained in the family until 2013, when local historian Rosemary Taylor discovered their whereabouts. They are now in Rylands Library.

Joel Wainwright's other publications include Reminiscences of a life-time in Marple and the neighbourhood, Rural poetry : lecture delivered in S. Anne's Schools, Haughton, November 4th, 1892 and Memories of Marple (1899).

The Bowstones, Lyme Handley, Cheshire

'The Bowstones

Two shafts of late Saxon crosses

which were probably landmarks or

boundary stones as well as objects

of devotion, The crossheads with

interlace in the courtyard of Lyme

Hall are likely to be from

the Bowstones'

This is an easy drive from Disley, although when you get on the tarmacked road towards the Bowstones it's really narrow and not really suitable for two vehicles going in opposite directions. But it's still much better than looking for Robin Hood's picking rods, which from Charlesworth is part of the way along a very narrow winding road, and then you have to walk about twenty minutes to find them. Here it's very different: the Bowstones are next to the road, taking photos is no problem – as long as you avoid the rusty barbed wire – and the only people we met on the road were hikers. In fact this is hiking territory if you like that, but we don't. It's a question of taste. This feature, as with the picking rods, is also known as 'Robin Hood's Bowstones', but coming from Nottingham I've had enough of the legends. These are very interesting stones. Is all, although the rusty wire does it no justice. 

The Grave of Poet Thomas Barlow, Mottram, Cheshire

 

These unfortunate times can have some compensations, such as looking around your local area. Today I discovered the grave of a modest local poet in Mottram cemetery: the cross has fallen and it took a little time to free it of the weeds, but it's in a reasonable state. As far as I know, these are the only photos of his grave on the internet. I was made aware of his existence from Thomas Middleton's Poets, Poems, and Rhymes of East Cheshire (1908), which is freely available to download and is a wealth of information on local writers and can be very humorous when he speaks of their eccentricities. I can't find anything eccentric about Thomas Barlow, although I was interested in what Middleton has to say about him:

'THE BARD OF LONGDENDALE.

This poet was born at Radcliffe, in Lancashire, on the 17th of January, 1826, but at an early age removed to Hyde, Cheshire, where he became engaged as a calico printer. Afterwards he removed to Dinting, and the remainder of his life was spent in the neighbourhood of Glossop. He was a poor-law guardian for Glossop, a prominent member of the local Co-operative Societies, and was made one of the first working-men magistrates for the borough of Glossop. On several occasions I was in the company of the Bard of Longdendale, and found him an interesting, though somewhat reserved man. A collection of his works under the title of "Barlow's Poems" was published by Messrs. John Heywood and Sons, Manchester, in 1867. It is a volume of 230 pages, consisting of "A Trip to Woodhead," "Scenes Around Castleton" and other poems, and one of the features of the book is the successful way in which the poet describes local scenery. There are many choice gems in his poems on Longdendale.

THE FACTORY GIRL

Though not possessed of golden store,

Nor deck'd in jewels rare,

Sweet Lucy's virtues shine no less,

Nor is she the less fair.

Can gold bestow a kindlier heart?

Can jewels make it rare?

Ah, no! 'tis something richer far

Must hold possession there.

My song is not of titled dame,

Of nobleman nor earl:

I sing of one I love to name

The modest Factory Girl.

Though not so queenly beautiful,

She's fair, yes, passing fair:

She has a pleasing grace of form,

And dignity of air;

And there is that in Lucy's breast

Which beauty never gives

There is a true, a gentle heart,

Which feels for all that lives.

I sing not now of titled dame,

Of nobleman nor earl;

I sing of one I love to name,

The modest Factory Girl.

Too oft your pompous lady fair

Is fickle, false, and vain,

Inflicting wounds in other hearts

Without remorse or pain.

So 'tis not wealth begets respect,

As often hath been proved

And Lucy in a humble way

Is known but to be loved.

I sing not now of titled dame,

Of nobleman nor earl:

I sing of one I love to name,

The modest Factory Girl.

A low sweet voice and manners true

In Lucy are combined,

Which say, although she be but poor

She's riches in her mind;

And though her lineage doth not spring

From nobleman or earl,

She's honoured she's respected as

A modest Factory Girl.

I sing not song of titled dame,

Of nobleman nor earl:

I sing of one I love to name,

The modest Factory Girl.'

Remains of Ian Curtis's Macclesfield, Cheshire

As shown above, the former Labour Exchange in Armitt Street, Macclesfield, has now been converted into flats. Ian Curtis of the band Joy Division worked here as an assistant disablement resettlement officer. It was very close to his home in South Park Road.

Unknown Pleasures (1979) was Joy Division's first studio album, the first released in Curtis's lifetime, and such is the iconic nature of the album sleeve (designed by Peter Saville) that there is no need to mention either band or singer.

The Regency Mill roundabout, site of the Talbot pub where Joy Division used to rehearse and eat on occasions. The leaflet Unknown Pleasures: A Walk around Joy Division's Macclesfield (2010), published by the Silk Heritage Trust, mentions that the eccentric landlord (whose name may have been Tony) owned an ostrich whose eggs he used to serve omelettes in the pub.

(I previously published an external photo of 77 Barton Street and Curtis's memorial in Macclesfield Crematorium elsewhere on this blog.)

The non-existence of Romany's vardo, Wilmslow, Cheshire

I normally by-pass Wilmslow, although we had occasion to re-visit it and see the full extent of the council-approved vandalism: Romany's vardo, or caravan, is no longer in Wilmslow, but has been removed to Bradford Industrial Museum, where it is of course, ahem, safer. This is a complete idiocy because Romany's vardo was a major highlight in Wilmslow, and is now just a circus exhibit in Bradford: which makes me think that George Osborne would be far better placed in an industrial museum.

Other relevant posts:

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Romany's Vardo at Wilmslow
Romany's Caravan Goes to Bradford

Alison Uttley in Bowdon, Altrincham, Cheshire

Alison Uttley (1884–1976) was born near Cromford in Derbyshire and in 1906 received a BA in Physics from the University of Manchester: she was at the time only the second woman there to graduate with honours. The house above is 13 Higher Downs, Bowdon, Cheshire, where – as the plaque states – she lived from 1924 to 1938. Following her husband's suicide in 1930 she began writing to support herself and her son, and although perhaps best known for her animal creations for children she also wrote for adults. The Country Child (1931) is a fictionalised autobiography.

Uttley's diaries – written between 1932 and 1971 – were edited by her biographer Professor Denis Judd and published in 2009. Part of the headline of a review of the book in the Guardian by Alison Flood calls her a 'jealous, contemptuous woman with a particular loathing for "the Blyton"'. A link to the article is here.

My shot of the Uttley plaque at Manchester University:

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University of Manchester plaques #1: Alison Uttley

Hibbert's Folly, Godley, Greater Manchester

Lawyer Joseph Hibbert, the son of mill owner Randal Hibbert, built this castellated structure just off Mottram Road in Godley around the mid-19th century. Hibbert was apparently the author of several plays, and also published the pamphlet A Lecture upon Hyde, in the County of Cheshire, and its neighbourhood: Delivered at the Hyde Mechanics Institution, on the 18th of November, 1856.

The folly is at the edge of Godley Brook and by the playground of Brookbank Day Nursery: members of the public are not allowed within the grounds.

Rowena Edlin-White: Kate Douglas Wiggin and Bramall Hall (2007)

I had intended to tie in a blog post about Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856–1923) with a visit to Bramall Hall, Stockport, Cheshire, but unfortunately it's been closed 'for restoration and refurbishment' since the end of this September, and doesn't re-open until spring 2016. Meanwhile I've read Rowena Edlin-White's Kate Douglas Wiggin and Bramall Hall, which underlines the very interesting relationship between the North American writer and this part of England.

Kate Douglas Wiggin first visited England in 1890, the year after the death of her first husband, Samuel Bradley Wiggin. It was towards the end of her stay – after she had also visited several countries in Europe – that she accepted Charles and Mary Nevill's invitation to visit them at their home: Bramall Hall, the Elizabethan manor house which the calico printer Thomas Henry Nevill had bought for his son Charles in 1882. She stayed there five days, but this was to be the first of many usually annual visits up to about 1913, after which the First World War – along with Charles's death – intervened.

In her autobiography My Garden of Memory – published posthumously but in the same year as her death – Wiggin speaks of Bramall Hall's 'picturesque beauty and grandeur', and says that the death of Mary (1901) and Charles (1916) 'left a great blank in my list of English friendships'.

She loved the luxury of the great house, and slept in the Davenport Room:

'When I go to bed at night there is a procession of room-maids, ladies' maids, housekeepers and others, with warming pans, jugs of hot water, candles, eider-down quilts, and hot gin and water! In the morning a procession arrives with different articles, and oh! how I like it!'

Wiggin initially visited Bramall Hall with Chatto & Windus publisher Percy Spalding's wife, although later she went with her sister Nora Archibald Smith (also a writer) or George Riggs, her second husband, whom she married in 1895.

Kate Douglas Wiggin is noted for the 'Penelope' books, the first of which – Penelope's English Experiences – was published in one volume with A Cathedral Courtship in 1893, although revised editions of each were published in 1900 and 1901 respectively. The germ of Penelope's English Experiences began on her first visit to Bramall Hall, and her most famous book – Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903) – was dedicated to Charles Henry Nevill, 'under whose dear English roof so many of these chapters were written'.

Rowena Edlin-White wrote her doctoral thesis on Kate Douglas Wiggin, and it is clear from the back cover of this very interesting book that she wants the 'Penelope' series to be as well known as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. And also, of course, that the link between Kate Douglas Wiggin and Bramall Hall be better known: which it probably won't be while it remains closed.

Ronald Gow in Altrincham, Trafford

'RONALD GOW – DRAMATIST

LIVED HERE 1898–1910

PUPIL & MASTER AT

ALTRINCHAM COUNTY HIGH FOR BOYS.

1937, MARRIED ACTRESS

DAME WENDY HILLER'

Gow was born in Heaton Moor, Stockport, and is most noted for his stage adaptation of Walter Greenwood's novel Love on the Dole (1933), which he published a year later. Hiller (born in Bramhall, Stockport) acted in the play, and they lived in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, for many years. Both of them died there.

John Critchley Prince and Joseph Johnston in Hyde, Cheshire

In Thomas Middleton's remarkably informative Poets, Poems, and Rhymes (1908), he gives clear directions to the grave of minor poet Joseph Johnston (1810–68) in St George's churchyard, Hyde. Unfortunately, the grave now seems to have disappeared under a children's playground. Johnston (although teetotal) was a good friend of John Critchley Prince, so I'm taking advantage of that fact to post more shots of Prince's grave, but cleaned up this time:

Now, we are able to see a much clearer picture of the grave.

'ERECTED

BY A FEW ADMIRERS

TO THE MEMORY OF

JOHN CRITCHLEY PRINCE

AUTHOR OF

HOURS WITH THE MUSES

BORN 21ST JUNE 1808

DIED 5TH MAY 1866'

Inside the large circle is a laurel wreath and the initials 'J C P'.

My John Critchley Prince posts:
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John Critchley Prince in Harpurhey, Manchester
John Critchley Prince in Hyde
John Critchley Prince and Joseph Johnston in Hyde
The Life of John Critchley Prince (1880), by R. A. Douglas Lithgow

John Bunyan and Emanuel Swendenborg, Mellor's Gardens, Rainow, Cheshire

Mellor's Gardens – the creation of James Mellor junior (1796–1891) – in Rainow, Cheshire. As I said in a blog post below, Mellor's inspiration was John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, the vehicle through which he was expressing Emanuel Swedenborg's theory of the material world's relation to the spiritual universe.

The gardens are only open to the public for two days in the year: the final May Bank Holiday Monday and August Bank Holiday Monday, although group visits can be arranged at other times. The back of Hough-Hole House – or its roof at least – can be seen in the middle background here.

In Mellor's time the path leading up to the house was very muddy, hence the name 'Slough of Despond' used here. The path I trace below includes most of Mellor's Bunyanesque features, plus a few more he added.

Mount Sinai, where Christian, fearing that the hill will fall on him, makes a retreat.

Above the Wicket Gate, the notice 'Knock and it shall be opened unto you.' This is actually a side entrance to the left of the house.

The former stables at the back of the house become the House of the Interpreter.

'Bethel or the House of God'.

The summer house is unrelated to any Pilgrim's Progress feature.

The Cross is now a mere stump.

And the Holy Sepulchre is a hole from the mill pond overflow.

Formalist and Hypocrisy break the law of the Lord by not entering via the gate.

Arbour, for refreshing weary travellers.

The Hill Difficulty.

There are two inscribed stones at the bottom of the hill which are not related to The Pilgrim's Progress:

'BETTER IS THE DAY

OF DEATH THAN THE

DAY OF ONE'S BIRTH.

J. M. CUT THE ABOVE IN HIS NINETIETH YEAR.

JOB SAID I WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAYS

WHEN HEAVEN'S REVENGE IS SLOW. JOVE

BUT PREPARES TO STRIKE THE FIERCER

BLOW.'

'JAMES MELLOR BUILT BILLINGE CHAPEL.

SOON AFTER HE BUILT IT HE PREACHED

FROM THESE WORDS.

AND THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE

SAY COME AND LET HIM THAT

HEARETH SAY COME AND LET HIM

THAT IS ATHIRST COME. AND

WHOSOEVER WILL, LET HIM TAKE

THE WATER OF LIFE OF LIFE FREELY.

REVS 22, CHAPTER 17 VERSE 3.'

'The Chained Lions'. There are supposed to be a pair of them, but unfortunately there is now only one.

'The Wobbly Bridge', which is over a stream from the mill pond.

'The Porter's Lodge' to the Palace Beautiful, also anachronistically called Uncle Tom's Cabin: an old potting shed.

Inside the lodge is a large slab concerning Robert Roberts, a preacher who had criticised Mellor's father, James Mellor senior, for taking financial advantage of local Methodists.

'Apollyon'.

'The Mouth of Hell'.

'Hill Lucre'.

'Remember Lot's Wife'.

And so another climb, back past the gazebo.

Two more stones unrelated to Bunyan's book:

'MOUNT CARMEL,
VINEYARD OF
GOD'

'MOUNT GERIZIM,
SAFETIES OF CUTTINGS,
AS OF REAPERS'

'The Deep Pit'.

'Howling House'.

Inside Howling House, behind this sliding panel, was a Jew's harp that made a howling sound when the wind blew.

This stone is at the side of the house:

'MELLOR'S GARDEN

THE STORY OF

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

RESTORED

BY

RUTH & GORDON

HUMPHREYS

1978 to 1993.'

The tombs of the Mellor family in the gardens.

On one side, the inscription of James Mellor junior.

'IN MEMORY OF
JAMES MELLOR
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE SEP. 14. 1891,
AGED 94.
WHEN I CAN NO LONGER SPEAK,
LET THIS STONE SPEAK FOR ME,
AND SAY, LIVE NEAR TO GOD.
CAREFULLY READ HIS WORD, AND THE
WRITINGS OF SWEDENBORG, YOU WILL
SEE THEIR HARMONY,
LIVE ACCORDINGLY, AND YOU WILL
BEHOLD WONDERFUL THINGS.'

Around the base of the head of the weather vane is inscribed: 'Jemmy, Jemmy, mind your peace': the criticising words of Robert Roberts to James Mellor senior.

'The Dark River'.

Finally, the Celestial City, with its winding staircase.

Mellor's Gardens is quite a remarkable place, although the owners don't advertise it at all, and I suspect that not a great number of people are aware of this hidden gem. The link below is to a long, image-laden post of mine on John Bunyan:

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John Bunyan in Bedfordshire