Oddities – Page 3 – The Glossop Cabinet of Curiosities

I was coming back from a visit to the supermarket the other day, and thought it would be a nice stroll, with James in the pram, to go along Glossop Brook and through Harehills Park up to the Market.

Now, if I may digress for a moment, despite the presence of a plaque, I steadfastly refuse to call this ‘The People’s Park’ which is an entirely new invention… and sounds absolutely awful. Even the name Harehills is of recent coinage, dating only from 1921 when the park was given to Glossop by Lord Howard to Glossop in memory of his son who was killed in the First Word War. Prior to that, the rough unused ground was known simply as the Sandhole – named, presumably, for the sand that was quarried here. Indeed, during the Cotton Famine (1861-65, caused by cotton no longer available from America due to the ongoing civil war there) Lord Howard employed the jobless mill workers in the area to dig sand – in essence giving them a paid ‘non-job’ so that they wouldn’t starve. He was alright, was that Lord Howard bloke! The area is still sandy, and indeed sand covers the footpath at one point along the way.

The location, on the brook, is lovely, and several developments have recently brightened up the area, including the redevelopment of the Old Glove Works on George Street (into flats, one assumes, but that is better than a derelict building). The new retirement flats just opposite the park itself went up surprisingly quickly, and look rather nice. However, if you poke your head over the side of the brook (carefully) you can see all sorts of history – dressed stone, drains, the old bridge, etc.

As I was pondering the detritus of history, I noticed a date stone had been cemented into the newly built wall adjoining the brook. Hmmm… I thought.

Datestone 1 — Difficult to see, but just there, on the upper course of stone, a bit to the left of centre.

The date is 1681, refers to the date of the construction of the (now long gone) building to which the stone belonged, and the letters refer to the people who built it, usually a husband and wife. In this case, their initial would be, I assume, I (or J more likely) and E, and their surname began with H. This is important, as 1681 is a particularly early date for a building in Glossop – the Bulls Head pub in Old Glossop, usually reckoned to be the oldest building, has a date stone of 1607. I’m sure someone out three would be able to work out who they were and to what building the stone belonged, but it is beyond me I’m afraid. I am just glad that someone though enough about history to cement the stone the right way round in order to provide us with this little mystery.

As usual, any thoughts, comments, or general pointing and laughing, please drop me a line – email or comment below.

I was walking toward Manor Park the other day, down Crosse Cliffe and then along Milltown past the old Volcrepe buildings (well, the remaining one at least) and toward the Prince of Wales. This area is chock full of interesting historical bits and pieces, some of which I’ll share in later posts. But for now, I present an oddity and a mystery, both of which caught my eye, and which I’d like to share.

First, the oddity.

The derelict Volcrepe buildings, now partly demolished and missing its iron walkway, was a Glossop landmark. Huge and abandoned, they loomed large and formed a stone canyon down which one walked in order to get to the town centre from Cliffe Road. Spooky at night… and day, as it happens!

It is now massively reduced in size, with only the eastern building remaining, the massive western side having made way for housing and Lidl. Alas… progress!

Walking along, pushing the pram, I noticed a bricked up doorway. Nothing wrong with that, the buildings are 150 years old, and doors and windows fall in and out of use. It was what it was bricked up with that puzzled me! London Stock Brick – the yellow brick that was favoured in London buildings during the 19^th century and until the early 20^th Century.

London Brick

It is found all over the greater London area, but particularly in the East End, and is very distinctive – bright yellow, but quite soft – the product of the brickyards of Kent, Sussex, and the inner London areas. It is very recognisable, and a walk along Brick Lane – no pun intended – will show you just how common it is in that area (more details here, or search for photographic examples).

How and why it ended up here, in Derbyshire, being used to block up a doorway, I have no clue. An oddity, as I say!

Now the mystery…

A little further along the road, and on the same side, toward the end of the wall of the Volcrepe factory, a square block caught my eye.

Tulip 1

Distinct from the rest of the wall, I approached, and was amazed.

Behold… a tulip!

Tulip 2

Delicately carved in stone, a carefully cemented into the wall, the flower sits. It was clearly placed into the wall when the wall was built, and is not a later intrusion – you can see that it fits perfectly and deliberately, and none of the stones are cut to allow it to fit in. I don’t think the wall is the same age as the rest of the building, as it seems a little too ramshackle when compared to the wall of the factory, and there are bricks included in the matrix. But it still raises the question of why was the stone placed there, and by whom. And what is the significance of the tulip? Also, it’s such an odd place to put it – not above or near a door, or next to a window or other feature, it’s almost like it was found and cemented in place. And what is the purpose of the surely deliberate hole placed centrally above the flower?

A mystery!

If anyone has any thoughts or comments, please drop me a line or leave a comment below as I would love to know what and why!

Tag: Oddities

Mystery Date Stone

Brick and Stone