Signs at Woodsmoor and Great Moor

The other day I ventured down to Woodsmoor Station which lies on the line to Hazel Grove. It was 12:54 and the indications were that a train to Manchester Piccadilly was due at 13:06 and was running "On Time" so I decided to wait for it.

At ten past one the 13:08 to Buxton pulled into the opposite platform.

The electronic sign still said the 13:06 to Manchester was running "On time" even though it was already 13:17!

I didn't wait any longer but walked up to the A6 at Great Moor to catch a bus instead.

The sign by the side of the road is one of a number erected at the time of the millennium. I've previously shown you ones at Offerton and at Reddish.

A contribution to
signs, signs;
Good Fences.

Bibbity Bobbity Bootique

It looks as if I'm bit too late to catch the closing down sale at the Bibbity Bobbity Bootique on Little Underbank.

A contribution to signs, signs.

George V postbox at Stockport Station

In the wall by the steps up to Platform 1 at Stockport Station is a postbox with a GR cypher for the reign of George V. I'd never noticed it until recently as it is a little tucked away and then again I more often than not arrive on a different platform and take the lift down to the subway rather than the stairs.

Next to the postbox which is labelled SK3 101 is a No Smoking notice that points out that even the open air sections are a no-smoking area.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

New signs on Bridge Streeet

Now that all the works have been completed around Lancashire Bridge new pedestrian signage has been erected at the bottom of Bridge Street.

Attached is a panel with a sketch of the Marketplace and a poster about events although the information was already out of date when I took this photograph.

It seems disappointingly plain and utilitarian to me.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Upholsterers of distinction

Upholsterers of distinction claims the nameplate on the former premises of the Stockport Restoration Co. on Avenue Street.

The building on the tautologically named Avenue Street off Great Portwood Street probably looked quite stylish in its day.

Buddleia is a plant that will grow almost anywhere and loves to attach itself to derelict buildings such as this.

A contribution to signs, signs and Floral Fridays.

Marple ducks

The notice sellotaped to a tree on alongside the Peak Forest Canal at Marple reads:
PLEASE READ

Ducks need a
nutritional diet too.

Feeding white bread to ducks can
stunt their growth and prevent
them from flying. Give them
a healthy dinner of cracked corn,
birdseed or oats instead.

The nearest ducks I encountered were enjoying the manicured lawn of a house on the opposite side of the canal.

A contribution to Wednesday Waters and signs, signs.

Forecourt not a Highway

The notice on the front of the BT Telephone Exchange on Cheadle High Street reads:

BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PLC
THE OWNER OF THE LAND AND FORECOURT
IN FRONT OF THESE PREMISES, HAS NOT
DEDICATED AND DOES NOT INTEND TO
DEDICATE AS A HIGHWAY, THE SAID LAND
AND FORECOURT OR ANY PART THEREOF
OR ANYWAY THEREUPON OR THEREOVER.

So that's you lot told and don't you forget it there!

See a view of the location on Geograph.

A contribution to signs, signs.

A is for Ashlea

The Ashlea is a Chef and Brewer pub on Manchester Road, Cheadle.

I don't know anything about its history and I suspect the coat of arms featured on the pub sign is a modern made-up image and not some proper family crest.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and signs, signs.

The George & Dragon at Cheadle

The George and Dragon Hotel is a Grade II listed public house and former coaching inn dating from 1753. According to the Cheadle Civic Society it started life as a cottage cum alehouse by the name of "Gibbon's cottage". In 1778, it was bought by an inn owner, together with the newly built house next door. By the 1790s the property was known as the "George Inn" and was kept by a Mr and Mrs Royle, who also ran a profitable sideline in stay making. As coach traffic became increasingly busy, the inn was steadily altered to accommodate a growing influx of travellers. A carriage entry was made through one side of the property, and the cottage on the other side was raised to the full height of the main building.

Towards the end of the 19th century a bay window was added, while the arched, canopied entrance was an early 20th century addition. The "George" became the "George and Dragon" (probably when the king appeared to be losing his mind), and the erstwhile sign of a bunch of grapes was eventually replaced by a colourful representation of St. George and his adversary. In 2012 it was boarded up and for sale but now it is back in business.

A contribution to signs, signs and Skywatch Friday.

W is for Wilf Wood

A plaque on the wall of the foyer at Stockport station reads:PRIVATE WILF WOOD V.C.

Remembering the life of railwayman Wilf Wood who was awarded the
Victoria Cross for an act of most conspicuous bravery and initiative
on 28 October 1918 near Casa Van in Italy.

A unit on the right flank having been held up by hostile machine gunners
and snipers, Private Wood worked forward with his Lewis gun, enfiladed
the enemy machine gun nest and caused 140 enemy to surrender. The advance
continued until a hidden machine gun opened fire at point blank range.
Without a moment's hesitation, Private Wood charged, firing his Lewis gun
from the hip, and enfiladed a ditch from which a further
160 men and 3 officers duly surrendered.

A cleaner at Stockport locomotive depot, Wilf survived the Great War
and spent his entire working life on the railways. He had the honour
of a steam locomotive being named after him and enjoyed a long
retirement before his death in January 1982 at the age of 84.

He is remembered in Hazel Grove by Wetherspoon's who named their Freehouse after the local hero. A plaque on the wall reads:THE
WILFRED
WOOD

These licensed premises stand on the site
of a Primitive Methodist Chapel (erected in 1897
and demolished in the 1960s) and are named after
Private Wilfred Wood V.C, who was awarded the Victoria
Cross "for conspicuous gallantry" in the First World
War. On his return home to Hazel Grove, Wood
was given a civic reception at the Mechanics
Institute, now the Civic Hall, next
door to this building.

These premises were refurbished
by J.D.Wetherspoon
in September 2010.

He is depicted on the inn sign.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and signs, signs.

C is for the Crown

The Crown Inn on Didsbury Road, Heaton Mersey, is a Grade II listed building. Originally a row of cottages dating from 1737, the buildings were turned into a pub by Robinsons in 1929. It was refurbished in 2011.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and signs, signs.

Not a toilet

A chalked notice on a wall off Diamond Street reads "This passage is not for use as dogs toilet".

A contribution to signs, signs.

Sorry some trees have gone

Sorry some trees have gone
But we'll be back to plant more.

So says the poster on the side of the United Utilities construction site at Bredbury.

United Utilities are building an underground storage tank at Bredbury which will be used during periods of heavy rainfall to hold storm water which can be pumped back into the sewer network when the storm subsides. A construction site and compound has been set up within the grounds of Morrisons supermarket car park and adjacent private land. The tank will be connected to the sewer pipes on Stockport West. The car parking spaces will be put back once the work is completed.

A contribution to signs, signs.

The Queens on Great Portwood Street

Since I last showed you The Queens in May 2013, the Robinsons pub on Great Portwood Street has lost its satellite TV dish and gained new signage, window boxes and hanging baskets of flowers.

A contribution to
ABC Wednesday;
signs, signs;
Floral Fridays.

Fresh Chicken Legs

Saw this sign recently on Bridge Street.

A contribution to signs, signs.

Stockport Station Entrance (West)

The first post on this blog in April 2013 featured the sign at the eastern entrance to Stockport station.

This is the western entrance which leads into a subway that passes under the station. Steps and lifts connect the subway to the platforms.

The station was opened on 15 February 1843, by the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, following completion of the railway viaduct to the north. After operation by the London and North Western Railway, it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway, in 1923. The station was known as Stockport Edgeley to differentiate it from Stockport Tiviot Dale, which closed in 1967.

A contribution to Ruby Tuesday and Our World Tuesday.

N is for NatWest Bank and National Cycle Network

This is Great Underbank. In the background is Underbank Hall, now the NatWest bank. In the foreground are two benches either side of a lamppost and a litter bin. Behind them in front of a wall and next to two Sheffield stands is a National Cycle Network Milepost.

Underbank Hall was the Elizabethan town house of the Arderne family of Bredbury. The original house must have been larger as an inventory of 1619 lists more rooms than survive today. The hall was sold for 3,000 guineas in September 1823 to the banking firm of Christy Lloyd & Co which became the Stockport and East Cheshire Bank in the following year. In 1829, the Stockport and Cheshire Bank became part of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company. By 1880 this bank had 54 branches, in Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire. The bank changed its name to the District Bank in 1924 and in 1962 was acquired by the National Provincial Bank. Then in 1970 this bank merged with the Westminster Bank to form the National Westminster Bank, which is now known simply as NatWest.

1000 Millennium cast iron mileposts were funded by the Royal Bank of Scotland to mark the creation of the National Cycle Network, and are found along the cycles routes through the UK.

This recently erected milepost is on the National Cycleway Network Route #62 and Trans Pennine Trail, 20 miles from Lymm and 10 from Broadbottom. This one is of the Cockerel design and apart from having a red top is so far unpainted.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday.

Da Vinci's Coffee House and Eatery

The sign for Da Vinci's Coffee House and Eatery.

It stands on the corner of St Petersgate and Tatton Street.

In 2009 it was the Stockport Arms. Tatton Street leads to St Joseph's RC Church.

A contribution to signs, signs.

I is for Images of Stockport

This piece of artwork recently appeared in St Peter's Churchyard. I couldn't see an artist's signature on it. It features St Mary's church, the Market Hall, a sign to the Underbanks and some more esoteric images like a balloon, a chicken laying eggs and a pair of headphones, the relevance of which I don't fully understand. I have been unable to find out any information about who may have painted this nor why it has been placed here. People I spoke to in the church didn't seem to know.

In the background over the railings is the roof of the former Co-op (now Primark) on Chestergate/Merseyway.

A contribution to
ABC Wednesday;
Outdoor Wednesday;
signs, signs.

H is for Hillgate Pharmacy, Holt Street

Hillgate Pharmacy is located at 50 Higher Hillgate on the corner of Holt Street. It has the look of an old Co-op building but in fact the Co-op pharmacy is two doors away at #54 with a sandwich shop between them.

According to the date plaque the building was erected in 1869.

The arms supporting the lamp beneath have horseshoes attached. Does a pharmacy need luck?

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and signs, signs.