Blue Plaque for County

At last the Stockport County Blue Plaque is in it's rightful place and was unveiled, by the Chairman Alwyn Thompson, last evening.

It is four years since the public voted it the most popular venue for a new Blue Plaque.

Court Leet Sits Again

After an absence or over 150 years the Market Place once more played host to a Court Leet. A group of Trust members dressed in costume to re-enact the old Court Leet Trials.

Volunteers found themselves sent to the Dungeon, sat in the Stocks or threatened with the Scold's Blank.

All was done in a lighthearted manner and the audience joined in with gusto.

Classic Cars in the Market Place

For the first time ever, a classic car show was held in Stockport's Market Place on Sun 1st Aug.

60 old cars graced the historic Market area and a steady flow of people came to view them.

Goody bags were given to exhibitors, containing Stockport rock, souvenirs and free tickets to go around Staircase House with a guide book.

The organ music gave an appropriate atmosphere to the whole event and the consensus was, at the end of the day, that it should become an annual event.

2010 Chadkirk Festival

Chadkirk Festival was held again this year on the last full weekend in July.

With Roman soldiers, Egyptian dancers, A brass band, the Liberty Belle singers and lots of other entertainments.

Plenty of people came throughout the two days and all seemed to enjoy themselves.

There was a display of birds of prey and a 'worm charming' competition.

The Trust was out in force with 'Norman the Knight' who was shot and killed many times throughout the weekend. There was also a bran tub for the kids, and for the parents, heritage books and tea towels produced by Trust members.

If you missed it this year, put it in your diary for next.

Romiley Walk

John Bardsley took a group on a very pleasant walk around Romiley and Greave on Wed. evening.

They were shown many interesting buildings, told of local celebrities and viewed old registers and log books from the 1914 Romiley Junior School.

John's vast knowledge of the area and it's history made for an extremely interesting and informative walk. Thank you john.

Summer 2010 Magazine Out Now

The Summer issue of Stockport Heritage Magazine is in the shops this week and it's as good as ever.


The Royal Air Force in Stockport
The Pied Piper of Heaton Mersey
A Tribute to Woodford
750 years of Stockport Market
Memories of Abney Hall
Stockport Carnival
Bramall Park investigations.



I'm not giving it all away, you will have to buy the book, and but one for a friend as well.

Willow Grove Cemetery

Friends of Stockport Cemeteries

Invite Stockport Heritage Trust members to a

Celebration at Willow Grove Cemetery Reddish

On

Sunday 29th August 2010

from 1pm until 4pm

The celebration is to officially open the new Heritage and Tree

Trail and acknowledge the partnership working with Stockport Council.

Please come along and join in our celebration.

Bishop Brown's Industrial School

Bishop Brown's Industrial School on High Street is part of a site being developed, by Johnnie Johnson Housing, into housing units similar to those in the old Citadel building. The shell of the old school is to be kept intact and many architectural features incorporated into the re-development.

It is planned to add the former Reform Club to the site also, this was recently used as Peaches Night Club and is in a very derelict condition at present.

Part of the site includes the Nonconformist graveyard which has been given an archeological investigation, revealing gravestones at different levels as well as many empty vaults. It is thought that the bodies were removed when the graveyard went out of use.

Another find is a possible medieval pit, showing habitation early on in this area.

Heritage Centre - Only Open Saturdays for 2 weeks!

Emergency repair work to the chancel arch in St. Mary's Church will begin next week - Monday 5th July.

As a consequence, due to severely limited access, the Heritage Centre will be closed throughout

the week for at least the next fortnight.

The Centre WILL BE OPEN ON SATURDAYS - 10TH & 17TH JULY as usual 11am - 3.30pm.

The advertised walk on the 10th July, and talk in St. Mary's on 17th July

WILL BE UNAFFECTED,

and continue as planned. The dungeon will also be open as planned on Saturday 10th.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but know that you will be as pleased as we are that the essential restoration work is finally taking place, ensuring St. Mary's is safe and preserved for future generations.

Further updates will be posted as soon as we know what's going on...

Heritage Walk

The Heritage Walk around St. Mary's graveyard
with Jill Trumble was a great success.

People were amazed at the stories she had to tell about the people of Stockport.

Who they were, how they lived and why the stones have been placed where we see them today.

The next chance to take this walk will be during the Heritage Open Day weekend Thur. 9th to Sun. 12th September.

Eric Longson

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of our much loved and respected friend and colleague Eric Longson.

Our thoughts are with Sheila and the family.

Visit Stockport !

The Council has just updated its Visit Stockport website.

http://www.visit-stockport.com/stockport_750_anniversary.asp

To find our what is going on in Stockport for the 750 celebrations, click on the link.

Reddish Vale

Many of our members have been showing concern about what is going on in Reddish Vale.

Many areas have been deforested and this is causing alarm. The site close to the Portwood round about is a private site, and has been given permission to build industrial units. Once the work is done, the slope and access road will be landscaped to hide it from view and hopefully in a few years the area will once again look green and lush.

Many trees inside Reddish Vale have also had to be felled, this is due to a lack of tree management in the past, particularly along pathways. It should make the Vale a more pleasant place to visit, ie less mud.

Any rumors that are going about concerning the ponds may be misleading. The Council are looking for an Angling club to license the ponds, this is not the same as leasing, there will be no change of ownership.

The Heritage Trust is now a Stakeholder in Reddish Vale, and will be keeping in touch with any decisions concerning its administration.

Tracing the Water Tunnels of Stockport

Sunday's walk, tracing the 'History of Water Power' in Stockport, was a great success.

In spite of the heat of the day, 14 intrepid hikers came armed with boots, hats and water bottles.

Starting in Castle Yard and finishing at Woodbank Hall took 4 hours with a stop for refreshments at the Vernon Park Cafe, and there was plenty to see and talk about along the way.

Thank you to Kevin Dranfield for another good walk looking at the history of Stockport.

Aqueduct Blue Plaque

The last of the Council's Millennium plaques went up today.

It has only taken 10 year to get it positioned on the Aqueduct but better late than never.

Hats Through Time

The Country's only Hat Works Museum is 10 years old this spring, and to help them celebrate this anniversary Stockport Heritage Trust were in the Covered Market last Saturday with a selection of hats representing different periods of history.



Families were encouraged to 'try a hat' and information was to hand about the history of hatting in Stockport




They were joined by other Easter favourites.

Staircase Stitchers Work on Display

Beautiful Embroidery Now on Show to the Public!

After four years of stitching, the crewel work bed hangings, bedcover and monochrome pillow cases are finally gracing the replica 17th century bed (donated by the Trust) in Staircase House.

The Mayor of Stoockport cut a ribbon across the bed chamber doorway, allowing the public to finally view the intricate work in situ.

The hangings and bedding will remain in place for you to view at any time.

The stitchers are diligently continuing with their work to produce 4 more hangings for the bed, and other beautiful items to add that 'lived-in' feel to Staircase House.

Heritage Magazine Spring 2010

Issue 75 of the Stockport Heritage Magazine will be in the shops this week. Don't miss it !!

It contains stories of : -

Protected buildings in Stockport
The great winter of 1947
Cheadle Royal's William Morris windows come home.
Bed hangings for Staircase House
Stockport Saving's Bank
The origins of Hatting in Stockport
Stockport Collage vision for the future
Christopher Isherwood, Marple novelist
A ramble around Woodbank with Jim Clare
Childhood in Reddish
History of Marple Lakes
Heroes of Reddish Newtown and plenty of interesting letters.

If there is a newsagent near you that does not sell the magazine, please let us know.

Dan Bank Phase 3

Click on the image to enlarge.

Gateway Markers Rejected

The Area Committee meeting on Thursday 4th March rejected all six applications for Gateway Markers, the sixth being an arch on Bridge Street, on the grounds that they were not appropriate for a conservation area. The Trust is now hoping to be included in future consultations to get archways and markers that will enhance the old town area, rather than clash with it.
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Stockport Heritage Trust is opposed to the plans to put 5, six metre high, stainless steel towers on the roads leading into the historic Market Place and Underbanks.



The Trust does not consider these markers to be an appropriate material for the old town Conservation Area.

They are far too large, shiny, modern and do not indicate that they are welcoming you into the old part of Stockport.

In fact completely unsuitable for the job they were designed for.

Abney Hall - update

Click image to enlarge.

Stockport Planning Awards

Stockport Heritage Trust was proud to have a part in the Judging of these awards.

Each award given was hard won and much deserved.




Click on image to enlarge

Plaza Cafe open

The Plaza is open and so is its 1930's Art Deco Cafe.


10am to 4 pm they serve in the most elegant surroundings.

Give it a try.

Super Clinic Shaw Heath

Anyone seeing the article in this week's Stockport Express about a new NHS clinic on the St. Thomas Hospital site, might be a little confused as to how this fits in with the old Workhouse.

The old St. Thomas Hospital site is now divided by a continuation of Royal George St. which separates the site owned by Stockport College, on the right, containing the beautifully restored workhouse buildings, from the site on the left, which is still owned by the Health Authority, who have been planning to redeveloped this site for some time.