ANSON ENGINE MUSEUM, POYNTON, CHESHIRE

I first got to know about this museum through fellow brick collector & local historian David Kitching. So during my stay in Congleton this year, I went along to see Poynton's locally made bricks & what turned out to be a very interesting museum & a great day out. Outside there are displays of long forgotten trades, wheelwright, wood bodger & blacksmith, with the old crafts being recreated by the volunteers. Inside & out there are working engines of all kinds, starting with steam through to gas & diesel. 

Everything is put to good use, so I hope the blacksmith has a new pair of boots now !

 Crossley Brothers, first style Atmospheric - Free piston engine.

I was told at reception that various engines would be shown in action. So while I was photographing the outside displays the gentleman in the picture above, rounded us all up & the engines were fired up one by one.  He was very
knowledgeable & made us all laugh with his little quips. Especially after the next engine (photo below) had finished & he said " Did you like that - it was a cracker that one" just like Fred Dibnah. I was hoping to put a video of this engine in action, but found it was to larger file to be included. 

This Crossley Atmospheric engine had been used to unload tar from barges to the distillery at Bristol Docks.

A 1865 Hugon gas engine.

A 1897 engine designed by Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel, a German inventor & mechanical engineer who first invented this type of engine.

A Paxman diesel engine.

A 1947 Napier Deltic, used by British Railways in their Class 55 locomotives.

An old type of printing press, which looked like it still worked from the papers on the machine.

One of the smaller engines in action.

Some of the many miniature steam engines.

This a scale model of Poynton & is situated in the local history section along with locally made bricks collected by Les Cawley & other volunteers at the museum. If you wish to read about the brickworks at Poynton, I have pasted David Kitching's link below.
http://www.brocross.com/poynton/book/subsid.htm

The photos I have only shown are only a small selection of many engines that are on display. So if you are interested in visiting the museum, I have pasted their link below. You will be made most welcome by the very enthusiastic volunteers & you may like me, spend 3 hours in looking round this very interesting museum. If you are a serious engine devotee, you my need longer or more than one visit. So after enjoying a cake & cup of tea in the tearoom, I then went off to nearby Lyme Park for the rest of the afternoon.
http://www.enginemuseum.org

APEDALE HERITAGE CENTRE, CHESTERTON, STAFFS.

I came across this great museum on the web while I was doing a brick search in the Chesterton area. My cousin had previously mentioned it's brick collection when she had visited Apedale Country Park. So while I was visiting Jean in Congleton, in July of this year, Apedale was on the list for us to visit.

The museum covers Chesterton's Romans, Mining & Rescue, through to daily life in Staffordshire, but I went mainly to see & photograph Ken Perkins & Eddie Grela's  North Staffordshire brick collections. There is a good collection of roof tiles owned by Gordon Howle who's father Selwyn owned & made tiles locally from 1932 to 1939. There is also a collection of chimney pots loaned to the museum by Lance Bates.

The museum is open on Saturday & Sunday plus other days in the week during school holidays & it's free. There is also a steam train to ride on, plus a drift mine to go down (these you have to pay for), so there is plenty to see & do. 

https://www.apedale.co.uk

History & finds of the Romans living in the Chesterton area.

Life in the 1920's or 30's. No television in those days, only the radio & piano, to keep you amused. 

Computers & the internet were a dream in someone's mind back then !

"Right son, you're in the bath after your dad, it's not that mucky ! "

"Mam, it's not arf cold in that outside privy." 

"While you are out there son, bring some coal in."

How would we cope today, without our little luxuries !

Collection of miners safety lamps.

An underground engine.

Ken's brick collection.

The Potteries Brick Company. 

This was a group of around twenty manufacturer's who produce bricks under the PBC name as well as their own, each stamping the bricks with a different letter to signify the maker.

Gordon Howle's tile collection. 

Ken has sent me this information from Gordon's book about his father's tile works.

Howle Brick & Tile Ltd.

Selwyn Howle at the age of 19 started up the "Merry Hill Colliery" in the Apedale Valley, employing 30 workers. He then sold the colliery in 1932 to start his tile works.

This was a new works, built by Selwyn now aged 23, with his main financial backer Mr. Archie Wood. Modern machinery was installed, producing 14,000 tiles per day. In 1938, the company employed 140 workers.

Selwyn died in a car accident at the age of 38 in Vancouer, Canada. His father was left as the remaining director of the company. G.H. Downing took over the company in 1939, continuing to produce tiles until 1961. The works was then converted to produce engineering bricks until it's closure in 1967. The Rowhurst Industrial Estate off Apedale Road is now built on Selwyn's Brick & Tile Works.

The Train Journey

At £2.50 return, the steam train ride was great value. The track is only about a mile or so long, but you still get the enjoyment of seeing the steam engine in action. On other weekends a small diesel engine pulls the carriages.

Cousin Jean on the left with her friend Thessalie, who joined us for the day.

No matter what their ages, boys still want to be engine drivers !

Ticket's Please ! 

We could not return until our tickets had been punched, So with a wave of the ticket collectors flag, we set off back to the station & a nice cup of tea.

View of one of the sheds & restoration work for the future.

If you would like to see some of the bricks I photographed that day, please click the link below.
https://uknamedbricks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/apedale-heritage-centre-chesterton.html

LOCKO PARK, DERBY

Locko Park near Derby had been on my to visit list for quiet a few years. It was the last of the large Country Houses around Derby that I had not seen and photographed. It was a chance find on the web of the garden being open under the National Garden Scheme, that I put it on my calendar in big letters.
As the day approached, the weather forecast wasn't looking very promising. But as you can see from the photos it was a glorious day.

The House and Estate are privately owned and can only be visited on NGS day, unless you book the House for your Wedding or Corporate event. I am sure that any bride and groom would love to arrive by horse and carriage at this grand entrance portico.   

The day was well attended and I just had to be patient to get that perfect shot.

A professional wedding photographer would be spoilt for choice for photographing the newly weds in this garden.

As the crowds thinned and 4 o'clock approached I got some of my best pictures, with the sun being at the right angle. 

The couple on the bench told me that they had been here on previous years and this one had been the best. Just to be able to sit and look out into the parkland and think if I could own and enjoy this, all of the time ! To say you are only 15 minutes from the centre of Derby you would not believe how quiet and tranquil it is.

A lot of families with children did not venture up this side of the garden, so they missed out in seeing the long border and what was round the next corner.

In need of repair, but it makes a great photograph.

At this point I just timed it right, one of the gardeners was showing a group around the garden and he was explaining how he had created these stone balls. He had used a template to get the shape, but inside he had used plant pots and pins to hold the structure firm.

Through this archway is the arboretum.

After looking all round the garden, it was off to sample the home made cakes and a nice cup of tea in the courtyard. Nice !

So with 5 o'clock approaching there was just enough time to take these photos from the lake. A great day had by all.

If you wish to read a brief history of Locko Park, I have pasted their link below.

http://www.lockopark.co.uk/home/index.php