Stockport Heritage Centre

Have you visited Stockport's Heritage Centre?



It is to be found at the back of St Mary's Church in the Market Place. It houses a huge collection of black & white photographs of old Stockport and districts as well as books, information and an array of interesting items on display. There is a corner set aside dedicated to the Cheshire Regiment.
Jim Clare, the Trust's chairman, has amassed a collection of class photos dating back to the 1940's and willing volunteers are eager to answer question and help with information.

In a separate room there is a changing exhibition area which at present houses a display of children's vintage clothes and toys.
There is also a shop where we sell local history books, teatowels, heritage magazines (including back copies) and Stockport souvenirs of all kinds.

Oldknow's Turnpike

Samuel Oldknow's 1901 turnpike from Stockport to Marple (and Hayfield) continues to give concern down Dan Bank.
As long ago as 1978 monitoring started to measure the slippage of the roadway down the slope towards Marple Brook.
Remedial works 5-8 years ago with earth anchors have not proved the final solution and soil mechanics engineers have recently been carrying out test bore holes.
These will identify lines of underground strata to enable a comprehensive design to be undertaken.

Ray Preston, the Trust's Offerton expert spotted one of Oldknow's boundary posts exposed during the test bore work and has alerted Stockport Council on the historic importance of these stone posts. Two further stone are also visible and others may be hidden nearby.
It is not often that evidence of 1800 roads can be seen due to ongoing developments and we must make sure these stone posts are preserved for the future.
Possibly they could be repositioned to compete a section of boundary fence between Seventeen Windows and Dooley Lane-the site of the Old Toll Cottage.

Heritage Open Days

Saturday was another successful National Heritage Open Day and this meant four guided walks around town offered free of charge by the Trust.

Jim Clare took two around the Medieval parts of Stockport and Kevin Dranfield visited the Blue Plaque sites, and added extra stories to the information given in the Blue Plaque Guide.
Goodie bags were given out with balloons for the children.
Thank you to both guides for their hard work.

Marple's Iron Bridge

Work has started to restore Marple's Georgian cast iron bridge following years of campaigning and fundraising.
It began with the construction of a temporary access road and footpath diversion, followed by the removal of the Bailey Bridge and nearby trees this week.
The Marple website (see links) has featured a web cam so people can watch the work as it takes place.
The 194-year-old bridge should be fully restored by early next year.
(Excerpt from Stockport Times).

The Plaque unveiling at the Rat Pit was a great success, with a fun day had by adults and kids alike! We were very lucky with the dry weather and had a lot of visitors keen to know more about William Watson.

The display inside the Rat Pit was also very popular, even though there is still no picture of the elusive chap!

I was particularly keen on the Captain who joined in the day (my husband!)

Celebrations continued into the evening with an excellent band - The Deltones -providing the entertainment, and a particularly scary bit for me when I was given the microphone and asked to tell everyone about William!

Look out for details of his life in the Stockport Express this week.