Travels through Stockport ………. leaving

Now, it’s been a while, but Andy Robertson is back in Stockport with a series of pictures which capture how the place is changing.

But I start with one of those timeless images which would have been instantly familiar with a resident from the early 19th century.

It is a finger post offering the traveller directions to a heap of different places.

So it’s all down to where you fancy going.

Location; Stockport

Picture; finger post, Stockport, 2023, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Ponting to the past …….the Finger Post at High Legh

I collect street furniture, and one of my favourites are finger posts.

There are fewer now than in the past, and I suspect many more will eventually disappear to be replaced by giant day glow signs which have all the attractiveness of an overflowing drain.

Those that survive are often in a rural setting and instantly transport you back to a more gentle time, when heavy loads were still transported by horse and cart, and the speed of travel meant you had plenty of time to pause and stare at the finger post, pondering on which direction to take.

This one was collected by  Andy Robertson and is near High Legh in Cheshire, a place which  once boasted two ancient landed gentry families whose halls were both close by, and which until relatively recently was also partly owned by the Egerton’s of Tatton

The village  is six miles north west of Knutsford, seven miles east of Warrington and twelve miles south west of Manchester.*

It’s population in 2011 was 1,653, which was an increase of just 20 on a decade before.  It was mentioned in the Domesday Book but oddly does not appear in any of the  Topographical Descriptions of England, published between 1825 and 1840.

But perhaps I am just looking in the wrong place, which is apt for a story on finger posts.

Location; Cheshire

Picture; the finger post at High Legh, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*High Legh, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Legh

A little bit of our rural history ....the finger post at Ashley

I have been a fan of finger posts for over half a century.

When you are young and wandering the country lanes, they were very reassuring that you could never really get that lost.

Added to which they conjure up that lost rural world.

So, I was so happy when Andy sent me this one which he came across in Ashley in Cheshire.

As he says, “I know finger posts are quite common in rural areas but here is one anyway with the bonus of the local pub”.

I am on a mission at the moment to photograph as many pubs and ex pubs as I can within the region (and beyond). I'm up to 742 so far. I would certainly like to clear Manchester, Trafford, Salford and Stockport”.

And along the way I hope he comes up with more finger posts.

Leaving me just to say that Ashley “is a village and civil parish in Cheshire. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 261. The village is close to the border with Greater Manchester, just to the south of the M56 motorway and Manchester Airport. Neighbouring villages include Hale, Rostherne and Mobberley. There is a public house, The Greyhound Inn".*

To which I might add they have looked after their finger post.

Location; Ashley, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*Ashley, Cheshire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley,_Cheshire

Finger posts I have seen .................. down in Urmston

Now since I ran the story of finger posts a fair few people have reported sightings and here is one just down the road.

It was taken today by my old friend Andy Robertson at the junction of Urmston Lane and Sandy Lane.

I remember passing it a few moths back and didn't think of taking its picture.


Location, Urmston, Greater Manchester,

Picture; finger post, 2016, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Finding your way home ............... finger posts old and new and a challenge

Now here is another  of those stories focusing on what we may be losing.

Over the last few months I have wandered over a collection of old street furniture from water troughs, those red telephone kiosks to the humble pillar box.

And  now it’s the turn of the road sign or to be more accurate the finger post.

Once they cropped up everywhere and there must still be plenty around but I wonder for how much
longer.

Originally they would have been made of wood and later of metal but  many of the old traditional ones may be  almost redundant.

In an age of cars and fast travel those big day glow signs fit better with the way people travel offering up giant indications of destinations,

Added to which those posts dating back a century or more are in danger from a combination of rust and neglect.

That said they remain elegant reminders of how we used to find our way around and of course there are still plenty of new ones in new locations often painted black or green with the lettering picked out in gold or yellow.

Thesetraditional ones come from the collection of Graham Gill who posted some on his excellent facebook site, Hidden Cheadle/Gatley & Cheshire.

I remember there were some in Chorlton and I will go looking if they are still there.

And leaves me to ponder on how many more I must have known and whether any still exist in the places I grew up.

So here is the challenge for those who share my interest in street furniture to furnish their own pictures and for good measure the location and a description.

I will not be sniffy, any finger post can be inducted into the hall of fame although in the interests of history those that are clearly old and may even be in danger of disappearing are a must.

Which just leaves lamp posts , but that’s for later.

Location; Cheadle & Gatley, Cheshire, Eltham, London

Pictures; finger posts in Cheadle & Gatley, 2016, from the collection of Graham Gill & In Eltham, 2012, courtesy of Steve McDonald