Trips 2023 - 2024
The Society's trips began this season with an outing to the soon-to-be-closed Robinson's Brewery in Stockport.
On two evenings, the New Horizons Boat took members and friends of the Society on a trip from Marple Junction to Bridge 12 in High Lane, covering a round trip akin to five miles along the Macclesfield Canal (established in 1824), which connects with the Peak Forest Canal (built in 1796) in the area. The third event of the season was not a walk, as the summer events usually are, but an evening cruise along the Macclesfield Canal, starting from the Horizon headquarters at Marple Wharf and passing under twelve bridges to the boat's turnaround point—a relaxing two-hour journey of about five miles. This five-mile stretch is just a small part of the extensive 21st-century canal network. There are now about 4,700 miles (7,600 km) of navigable canals and rivers throughout the United Kingdom; 2,700 miles (4,345 km) are part of a connected system.
How did this come to be?
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- Category: Trips 2023 - 2024
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“I am Lord of all I survey” might have been apt for Cortez when he stood upon a peak in Darien and gazed upon the Pacific for the first time, but it was also appropriate for 22 members of Marple LHS starting out on the summer stroll on a beautiful June evening. The theme of Neil’s walk around the Church Lane Conservation area was to demonstrate just why it has been designated as a Conservation Area by Stockport. Yes, there is plenty of history to be seen. Yes, some of the architecture is memorable. Yes, there is plenty of Samuel Oldknow’s legacy to be noticed. But the point of a Conservation Area is that it takes all these elements, and more, and blends them into a pleasing whole.
An important element in any conservation area is the availability of views, both long distance and those which are rather more intimate so Neil started off by showing the view from the church car park. A superb panorama to the East taking in the three ridges sweeping down from the High Peak to the Goyt — Ludworth Moor, Church Ridge and Mellor Moor. The weather helped, of course, with crystal clear visibility and the evening sun illuminating every detail but a magnificent view whatever the weather.
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After assembling at Marple’s War Memorial on a grey and damp evening, fourteen society members and friends were guided by Andy Cook through both the streets of Marple and the effects of the Great War on the town. Andy is a co-author of the 1999 book “Remembered, Marple Men Who Fell in the Great War.”
The evening’s route encompassed Stockport Road, Market Street, Derby Way, and Church Lane, with a return to Memorial Park via Stockport Road and Hollins Lane. As the walk took us to Market Street and Derby Way, two realisations came to mind. First that many of now ‘shops’ were houses in the 1910s but far, far more importantly, it brought home that in the much smaller, more tightly knit Marple, house was a casualty house, death came every few steps.
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- Category: Trips 2023 - 2024
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We arrived at the hall for a guided tour on a warm and very sunny day. It is a most striking black and white timber framed building and is surrounded by woodlands and beautiful gardens which contain a lake.
Dating from the Medieval period, it has had a succession of rich family owners. Many generations of the Davenport family, in particular, enjoyed living there over a period of five hundred years. It is now owned by Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council and opened to the public, who purchased it in the 1930’s. It passed into the hands of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, in 1974, post local government reorganisation.
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- Category: Trips 2023 - 2024
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This cemetery is the largest in the country and reputed to be the second largest in Europe. The site was established in 1872 when Manchester Corporation bought 100 acres of land for £38,340. Our guide, Jonathan Schofield, pointed out that at that time the water table was at a depth of only 3 feet which made it a little problematic for 6 feet deep graves! A further 90 acres were added in 1926 and opened in 1943. The cemetery buildings (now listed) included three service chapels for Anglicans, Nonconformists and Roman Catholics designed by architect H J Paull but only one of these is still used, the others being semi-derelict. There is also a Jewish chapel to the west of the site and Muslim area to the east. The cemetery layout is attributed to City Surveyor James Gascoyne Lynde, and a few days after its consecration by the Bishop of Manchester, it was formally opened on 9 October 1879 by the Mayor of Manchester Charles Grundy.
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Eighteen members of Marple Local History Society enjoyed a very interesting and informative tour of Robinson’s Brewery on Friday 3rd November. We learned that what is now Robinson’s can trace its history back to the opening of the Unicorn Inn on Lower Hillgate in 1722. At that time Hillgate was on the main road from Manchester to London. William Robinson became the landlord of the Unicorn in 1826 and bought the pub in 1838. Like many pubs at that time, it brewed its own beer. The brewing side of the business was run by William’s son Frederic, who started selling to other pubs in the area. Robinson’s soon started buying up some of these pubs, the first being what is now the Royal Scot in Marple Bridge. From these beginning the business has grown to owning around 250 pubs across the North West and North Wales. It has remained a family business and is now run by the 6th generation of Robinsons.
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