A Corner of Kingston Rec.

Kingston Recreation Ground lies off Mill Lane above the River Tame. The area was originally the site of Hyde Hall the family estate of Hyde John Clarke. The original Hyde Hall, dating from the seventeenth century, was considerably altered in the mid eighteenth century creating a Georgian country house. The hall was demolished in 1857, although a farm building survived into the twentieth century. The site of the Hall was purchased by Hyde Corporation in 1924.

From this bottom corner of the Rec a footpath leads through the trees around the back of Fairhaven Caravan Park to Raglan Street and the Peak Forest Canal at Over Yonder.

Another photograph of Kingston Recreation Ground can be found on Hyde Daily Photo.

A view of Hyde Hall in 1794 and more details about its history can be found on Old Hyde.

Shadow Shot Sunday:Broadbottom Station Car Park.

The trees lining the car park at Broadbottom Station cast long shadows.

At the end of the car park is what was one of the first examples of a stone built Victorian Goods Warehouse.

The property and surrounding land were purchased from British Rail Property Board in 1985. Renovation work began in 1986 and the initial phase was the restoration and adaptation of the lower floor to create an indoor riding centre.

The second phase of the renovation work in 1987 involved the adaptation and restoration of the upper floor to create a permanent indoor gymnastics facility.

In 1989 funding from Children In Need, small charitable trusts and individual donations enabled the building of an outdoor riding area for the Kingfisher Riding for the Disabled Group.

In 1997 a stable block was added.

In 2009 the Tameside School of Gymnastics moved to Pinfold in Hattersley and the upper floor of the centre was modified to provide a home for indoor bowling and other community activities. The Etherow Bowling and Activity Centre, run by Tameside Sports Trust features an indoor bowling green built to national league standard.

See Hyde Daily Photo for a view of the riding area, The Etherow Centre's website for more about their work and Hey Harriet for more shadow shots this Sunday.

Weekend Reflections: Hyde Market

When the heavy rain hit Hyde last Saturday the market traders hardly had time to cover their wares.

I took a shot of the Town Hall reflected in the waters across the market ground.

For a closer view of the reflection visit Hyde Daily Photo.

For an original colour version see Geograph.

For more weekend reflections visit Newton Area Photo.

Skywatch over Dowson Playing Fields

A cycle path from York Road provides access to the playing fields of Dowson Primary School.

In the foreground are Gower Hey Woods. In the distance are the Pennine Hills.

Another part of the cycle path can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

For more sky shots visit Skywatch Friday.

ABC WednesdayA is for Adamson's Mills

Adamson's Mills by the Peak Forest Canal were built before the turn of the 19th century. Joseph Adamson and Company was at one time known all over the world for their engineering skills and products. Boiler making was just one of their products. Joseph's uncle Daniel Adamson was the founder of the Manchester Ship Canal.

By 1981 as seen in Dr. Neil Clifton's photo the mills appeared derelict, but now they are just part of the flourishing Adamson Industrial Estate offering a wide range of office, industrial and trading units over an area of 165,000 sq. ft.

This part of the canal is called Over Yonder and on the other side is the Animal Shelter which can seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

For more A posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Lily Bank Cottage 1862

This plaque on the wall of Lily Bank Cottage dates it as 1862.

The adjacent Lillybank Stores (see Hyde Daily Photo) lies at the bottom of Lilly Street, both spelt with a double-L.

Queen Adelaide 2010

The Queen Adelaide public house in Gee Cross is still open for business but presently like so many pubs is up for sale.

See how the Queen Adelaide looked in

• 1982
• 2001
• 2006
• 2008

In most old pubs the rooms were divided into various classes such as Public, "Saloon", "Snug" each catering for different types of clientèle.

The front rooms at the Queen Ad were the "Bar Parlour" which probably housed a piano for entertainment and the "Vault" which was probably for the more hardened regulars.

The names are etched on the windows. You can see the window of the Vault on Hyde Daily Photograph.

Foxholes Road (East)

After its second junction with Grosvenor Crescent Foxholes Road divides into two arms which meet again at Thistley Fields.

This is the Eastern arm looking North.

On the right a short footpath gives access to the Trans Pennine Trail.

Booth's Well 2010

A close view of Booths Well decorated for the 2010 Gee Cross Well Dressing ceremony.

Booth's Well is decorated by members of the Gee Cross & District Women's Institute.

The 2010 theme is "Over the Rainbow" from the "Wizard of Oz".

More information about the Well Dressing in Gee Cross can be found on History Alive Tameside.

Grosvenor Crescent

Grosvenor Crescent is a continuation of Grosvenor Road from its junction with Foxholes Road (left).

The Crescent goes around in a loop to meet up again with Foxholes Road.

You can see the other junction of Grosvenor Crescent and Foxholes Road on Hyde Daily Photo.

Tree close-up

A close-up of a tree-stump by Dowson Road bridge.

See it in context on Hyde Daily Photo.

Yellow Irises

This bunch of yellow irises can be found on the Trans Pennine trail near Dowson Road bridge.

See how they looked last year. They were cut right back down to the ground during the winter but are now back with a vengeance.

See a close-up on sithenah.

For more Y posts visit ABC Wednesday

Moss Lane

Moss Lane at Broadbottom crosses over the Glossop to Manchester Piccadilly railway line.

The station lies to the right and you can see something of it on Hyde Daily Photo.

Footpath with Willows

This footpath is part of an ancient route between Apethorn and St George's Church.

This section leads from the junction of Grosvenor Road and Grosvenor Crescent with Foxholes Road to Clough Fold Road and is here fenced in between the gardens of modern houses.

The view in the opposite direction can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo.

Harry Rutherford

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This plaque on the house at 17 Nelson Street celebrates the artist Harry Rutherford (1903 - 1985).

A duplicate plaque can be found at the entrance to Hyde Town Hall.

Harry was born in Denton in 1903 where his father, William, had a hatting business. William himself was a gifted amateur artist and with a group of friends had formed the Hyde Art Group. His three brothers were Bob who became a script writer, Donald, a musician who, because of a weak heart, changed to repairing and tuning pianos, and George, the eldest, whom Harry described as a "born philosopher".

During his childhood the family moved from Denton to New Mills then to Hadfield and then settled in Hyde at 17 Nelson Street. Harry's affection for his family home is clear as he nicknamed it "sweet seventeen".

While still at school Harry attended the Hyde School of Art on Saturday mornings. On leaving school aged fourteen he continued to develop his skills through evening classes at the Manchester School of Art where he met another artist L.S. Lowry.

Although his career often took him away from this area, he always returned to his northern roots and he was a familiar figure in Hyde. The Clarendon public house was his "local" and many of the regulars there featured in his paintings. He had a simple philosophy of life summed up in the phrase "Thou shalt be interesting".

He loved to sketch ordinary people and his favourite party trick was to draw someone's likeness whilst keeping the paper and pencil in his pocket.

Harry's painting "Saturday Afternoon", now called "Northern Saturday" depicting Hyde town centre, is arguably his most famous. It was acquired by Hyde Corporation in 1948. Harry is also remembered for the impressive mural depicting scenes of the town that he painted in Hyde Town Hall for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

More information about him can be found on the Tameside MBC website.

Hyde library recently opened the Rutherford Gallery. The works on display span his entire artistic career.