That stone …..a Victorian worthy ……… and a walk through Styal ….. the puzzle

So, a walk in the woods above the river Bollin offered up this stone, close by the remains of a ruined building.

Had we stuck to the conventional paths we would never have come across it, but on a sunny Easter Bank Holiday Monday the normal routes were piled high with people, and so we struck out and headed for the high footpath on the very edge of the park.

And there it was completely surrounded by trees and facing out down across the valley.

The Victorian worthy was Henry Boddington who owned Pownhall Hall and in 1925 gave some of the estate as a public place.

The Hall still exists and now is a school and there is an excellent account of the building's history which I will not attempt to lift.*

The inscription on the stone refers to Henry Boddington, who as a “Director of the Manc/r Ship Canal ….. carried home the first sod cut by Lord Egerton at Eastham and planted an acorn in it”.

And to emphasis the act there is a carving of an acorn at the base of the stone.

I wish there was more.  

That said I bet there will be someone who can fill out the story.

For now, it remains a puzzle.  Is this the original resting place of the Boddington stone?  Is there a connection with the stone structure close by?

Henry Boddington bought the hall in 1886, and according to the stone planted the sod with the acorn three years later, and that is it.

And no sooner had I posted the story, and Glenys Paterson commented, 

"The second picture shows the ruins of St. Olaf's Chapel, originally part of the estate. 

The ship canal connection is well known locally, I don't know any more except the local public land is Carrs Park, where I swam in the Bollin with my Dad when I was little. 

We had trips out from Chorlton and thought we were on holiday. You are right, it is always busy not just locals but visitors too. Same with Alderley Edge, Styal village and woods and Quarry Bank Mill.".

And that led me to the story of the chapel, at Architects of Greater Manchester.**

Location; Styal

Pictures; the Boddington stone and building, 2021, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*The History of Stockport in 100 Halls Part 69: Pownall Hall, Wilmslow, https://thehistoryofstockportin100halls.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/the-history-of-stockport-in-100-halls-part-69-pownall-hall-wilmslow/

**St Olaf's Chapel, Pownall Hall, Wilmslow, Architects of Greater Manchester, 1800-1940, https://manchestervictorianarchitects.org.uk/buildings/st-olafs-chapel-pownall-hall-wilmslow