The weather forecast was again pessimistic but when we emerged, this is what we saw:
Yes, sunshine! Let’s hope it holds for our outing.
The number 2 free bus brought us here, to Manchester Piccadilly Station.
First, though, we came to Caffè Nero for our usual coffee-and-croissant breakfast.
Next was to address a ticket machine and buy tickets for today’s destination.
Then we hurried to the train. Photo by Tigger.
And this is we went – to Stockport.
We passed by Stockport Library. Perhaps we will visit it later if we have time.
We had come to visit the Stockport Hat Factory Museum. In the 19th century into the 20th, Stockport was an important centre for hat making.
In the early stages, the various parts of what was a very complex process in proceeding from fur or wool to finished hat were done by hand. Those involved, though highly skilled, worked and lived in appalling conditions with little or no regard given to their health and safety.
The process was gradually mechanised and finished hats were often labelled with the names of prestigious “hat makers” who were in fact nothing more than retailers.
We took a paid tour which showed us all the stages of manufacture both by hand and by machine. In both cases, the process was too long and involved for me to retell it here.
This is a planking kettle, used by hand workers to compact and shrink the “hoods” (the first-stage cone-shaped forms that were to become hats) by dipping in boiling water and rolling them.j
This is a mock-up of s hat-worker’s cottage. A lot of hat workers would have lived in far worse conditions, however.
A general view of equipment used by William Plant, makers of wood blocks for shaping hats.
Blocks for shaping “hoods” into hats.
Conical “hoods”, prior to shaping into more familiar hat shapes.
We explored the museum which had more general exhibits on the subject of headgear such as these fashion hats.
We went for a walk around Stockport.
The River Tame runs through the town.
There are a lot of disused properties suggesting a town in need of regeneration.
This is an old Burton’s store (see previous post) with 1932 foundation stones by Barbara Jessie Burton and Stanley Burton.
This and some other signs of trading success, such as this probably early 20th-century department store,
indicate a happier economic climate in times past.
These 15th- and 16th-century buildings also tell of a rich historical past.
In contrast, Stockport today seems capable only of commissioning monuments to architectural tastelessness like this:
I feel sad for a town that once had much going for it and now seems to be stuck in the economic doldrums.
Fascinating, and slightly mysterious, traces such as this probably late Victorian grand entrance, isolated in a much later building, indicate a more illustrious past. There were more of these than I could easily capture, let alone research, in one day.
We went to the library (photographed above) hoping to find the Pevsner guide to the locality but it was not to be found. Perhaps some modern inhabitant of the town will undertake to survey and catalogue the nobler vestiges of Stockport’s past for the interest and pride of its modern day citizens.
This fine library, incidentally, was built in 1912. Tigger took the two following photos:
Stained glass window commemorating Corporate Reform 1856.
Ceiling dome
We walked back up the hill, making for the station. We spied the imposing Town Hall and, all other things being equal, would have taken s closer look. However, being tired, I persuaded Tigger that a distance shot would do. Here it is:
The Town Hall opened in 1908 and was designed by Sir Alfred Brumwell Thomas. It is a good example of what I think was the grand era of town halls and public buildings. We shall not see their like again.
We stopped at Cafelito, opposite the station to take refreshment and there I published this post.
Spider-light at Cafelito. Photo by Tigger.
SilverTiger at home and abroad 