A little bit of our lost railway architecture ………….. in Heaton Mersey

Now I know that if you live in Heaton Mersey this bit of our railway heritage is not lost but is there for all to see.

But for me it was a surprise to come across it and reignite my interest in all thing’s railway.

That said I bet most people will not value these old viaducts and embankments, in the same historic way they might treat one of those castles “Cromwell knocked about” or the remnants of a Roman aqueduct or Egyptian pyramid.

So it was left to Andy Robertson to celebrate this bit of the old railway line, by taking a series of pictures, adding that, “Inspired by Barbarella Bonvento's picture on the blog, I went to clock the other bits of ex railway. Considering how many railway lines Heaton Mersey had there is not much left”. *

But I like them, and more than that they do offer up a memory of when the country was cross crossed by railway track from the great main lines down to quiet, sleepy branch lines, which ran a few passenger trains a day along with early the milk train.

I shall leave it to others to wade in with the history of this particular track, but I will dig out my copy of Mile By Mile on Britain’s Railways, which was published in in 1947 with “the object ……. to encourage the passenger to anticipate his progress, and to enable him to know to a nicety, what he next will see from the window at any and every stage of the journey.  

It is such a pity to sacrifice this experience to idle slumber, or to concentration on a magazine that would be better enjoyed at home.” *

Now this seems a pretty neat idea to me, and I have to say it is one that I try to practice, whether I am on a train, tram or the bus.

But I rather think it is an ambitious project that few would undertake, especially when what is being described is nothing less than the routes of the main railway companies in 1947.

But this is what Mr Pike set out to do in a series of little books just as the railways became nationalized.

The publications covered the L.N.E.R, the LMS, and Southern Railways but for reasons which have never been established he failed to keep his promise of one on the G.W.R. **

Nevertheless, for the other three there were details of “the gradients of the lines, speed tests and mileages, viaducts, bridges and embankments, along with tunnels, cuttings, crossovers and streams, rivers and roads.  

For good measure there were also lists of towns, villages, churches and mines, factories and works and an account of features of interest and beauty to be seen from the trains.”

It was all of the information which made a train journey worthwhile.

And of course, with the passage of time and the end of both steam locomotives as well as many of the branch lines his guides have become a piece of history.

So, lots to do before more of Andy’s pictures appear here.

Pictures; bits of railway architecture in Heaton Mersey, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson and the cover of MILE BY MILE ON BRITAIN’S RAILWAYS, S.N.PIKE, published by Aurum Press Ltd, and original Mile by Mile on the L.M.S. 1947

* Relics of our industrial past …….. doing the essential walk and making it historic .... no. 23, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2020/05/relics-of-our-industrial-past-doing.html

** MILE BY MILE ON BRITAIN’S RAILWAYS, S.N. PIKE, 1947, published by Aurum Press Ltd, 2011.

A park ...... some cottages ...... and a bleach works …...

Now I discovered Heaton Mersey’s industrial past quite by chance, when my old friend Andy Robertson sent over a collection of pictures of Park Row a few years ago, which were quickly followed by some fascinating archive material from David Harrop.

And the rest as they say was a series of stories which I recently revisited, which in turn prompted Andy to dig out some more, including one of Heaton Mersey Park, which I have never visited.*

To those who live in Heaton Mersey the park will not be a surprise but for those of us who didn’t know it existed it looks a gem.

Stockport’s Park page describes it as “Situated within the Heaton Mersey Village Conservation Area this park is split over two levels.

The higher level has a good quality play facility.

From here there is a striking viewing across the Cheshire Plain. The lower level has a play area with a slide and swings.

The park offers a tranquil moment away from the hurly-burly of the working day.”**

Enough said

Location; Heaton Mersey

Pictures; Heaton Mersey Park, Park Row, 2015, from the collection of Andy Robertson

*Heaton Mersey; https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Heaton%20Mersey

**Stockport Parks, https://www.stockport.gov.uk/heaton-mersey-park

The sign above the door ....... doing the essential walk and making it historic .... no. 19

Now I blame  that fashion in pub sinage, which aimed for simplicity.

Out went the old hand painted pub signs for a corporate logo and with it came a rebranding which saw the centuries old name discarded for a themed name.

But at least the Ploughon Heaton on Moor Road has retained its carved stone above the door and the inscription below it.

And that dear read is the story ... gaze and appreciate.

Location; Heaton Moor

Picture; The Plough, 2020, from the collection of Andy Robertson

Down in Heaton Mersey with that lost bleach works

The Bleach Works, date unknown

Now the thing about industrial archaeology is that it can turn up in the most unexpected places and be a surprise to many who have lived nearby for ages.

Sites which once hummed with purpose, employing hundreds of people with a history stretching back centuries can vanish leaving almost nothing while relatively new ventures also disappear and are lost forever.

The site in 2015

What they all have in common is that once gone pretty soon they are forgotten and their rediscovery can be a revelation.

What helps is to have someone in the know.

David Harrop is one of those people.  On an expedition around Heaton Mersey he came across that mystery bell which may have belonged to the bleach works.

And here I show my ignorance for I never knew that there were bleach works in Heaton Mersey.

An invoice rom the bleach works, circa 1890s

That said unless you knew of the existence of the Upper Bleach Works it is hard to picture what must have been a noisy and perhaps smelly industrial enterprise.

Today standing beside the cottages of Park Row and Park View it is hard to think that here was a little bit of the industrial revolution.

The bleach works were doing their bit by 1844 and I have no doubt that with a bit of research it should be possible to push this date back.

But the buildings and reservoir are gone and the site has grown back with a mix of bushes and trees.
Dig a little and I bet things will turn up.

The site today

In the meantime I was fascinated by this invoice from the Upper Bleach Works which along with David’s picture postcard from offers up a bit of its history.

Now there will be plenty who remember it as a going concern and some who may even have memories of working there and with luck they will come forward to tell a story.

All of which matters especially given the onward creep of new development which in time will cover the site with new buildings, but also because the stories of those who worked there and carried out a process which can be traced back to at least the start of the 19th deserve to be retained.

Of course some of those accounts may already exist safely and so my first port of call will be Stockport Heritage Centre.*

Pictures; postcard of the Bleach Works, date unknown, invoice from Upper Bleach works and the site today from the collection of David Harrop


*Stockport Heritage Centre, stockportheritage@gmail.com

When the picture becomes the story ....... the Police Station on Didsbury Road

Sometimes, it is enough to post the picture.

This is the old police station on Didsbury Road, in Heaton Mersey.

I have no idea when it was built, and no idea when it was decommissioned.

But here it is, courtesy of David Harrop who sent it over this morning and I suspect took the picture before breakfast.

From the series on Police Stations.

Location; Heaton Mersey

Picture; the Police Station on Didsbury Road, 2018, from the collection of David Harrop

A little mystery down in Heaton Mersey

The Wardle bell, 2015

Now here in lies a mystery.

The bell in the picture was discovered by David Harrop on one of his recent walks exploring the industrial archaeology of Heaton Moor.

The trip took him  from Didsbury Road down the side of the Crown Hotel along Vale Close to the cottages of Park Row and Park View.

It is a picturesque spot which belies its past, for here just to the north of those cottages was the Upper Bleach Works.

The works were in full swing by 1844 and I guess with a bit of digging I should be able to discover when they were opened and when they finally closed.

Park Row, the Bleach Works in Heaton Mersey, 1844

But for the meantime it’s that bell which according to David sits on its own along the footpath with no explanation for why it is there.

David assumes it may have come from the Bleach Works.

The name on bell is “Wardle Manchester” which is not much to go on but in 1911 there was an “Ernest Wardle & Co, Iron and Church Roof builders" who operated from the Derby Street Works in Cheetham.

It doesn’t appear to be a big concern and of course the date may all be wrong added to which it may have no

Park Row and Park Place, 2015

connection with the bleach works and instead just be one of those random objects that turns up for no apparent reason other than sheer chance.

That said the hunt for the bell led me to a wonderful site on “Walking from Stockport to Sale” along with more of David’s pictures.

And it precedes earlier  that trips taken by Andy Robertson highlight how little I knew about Heaton Moor and how much more there to discover.

Looking across to the site of the Bleach Works, 2015

Pictures; Wardle’s Bell & Park Row, 2015 courtesy of David Harrop, and detail of Heaton Mersey from the OS for Lancashire, 1844, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/

* Walking the Mersey: from Stockport to Sale, August 15, 2012, https://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/walking-the-mersey-from-stockport-to-sale/

On Didsbury Road .......... walking through Heaton Mersey

Now this is a confession which is bound to enrage all those who live in Heaton Mersey but it is a place I have only rarely seen on the bus from Chorlton to Stockport.

And judging by Andy Robertson’s new series I am the loser.

He set off from the metro stop at East Didsbury and made his way up Parrs Wood Lane and on to Didsbury Road.

Like him I have had the odd pint in the Griffin but that is about it.

But there is a rich history here which I shall with the help of his pictures and friends explore in more detail like the one below which Andy told me, “I only found this building's history after I had got home. It was the old 
Police Station before Heaton Mersey became a part of Stockport in 1913. The last Police Officers left here in 1961.”

Pictures; on Didsbury Road, 2015 walking through Heaton Mersey from the collection of Andy Robertson