Eyewitness in Manchester

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CASTLE STREET EDGELEY is at the heart of the suburb of Edgeley regeneration area. It's about one mile from the centre of Stockport - Edgeley became urbanised during the late 19th century.

The four views are captured at points along the street looking towards the Armoury with its distinctive green-roofed tower.

Castle Street was a normal traffic street until a by-pass road was built and it was partially pedestrianised.

EWM says: I don't like the way Castle St has been pedestrianised - It would be better to reserve it for pedestrians and buses by day, and allow traffic to use it at other times. Castle St is important to me as I went to Our Lady's Primary School and regularly went up and down the street by bus or on foot.

GRENVILLE STREET EDGELEY STOCKPORT is seen here in a black and white photograph which I took during 1987. Hollywood Park is behind the railings on the left. Continue straight on and you will reach Castle Street. To left and right of Grenville Street are more residential streets with rows and rows of mostly late 19th century terraced houses.

I was attracted by the cobbled road surface, though part of it has been dug up and replaced by tarmac. The old Bedford horse-carrying van on the right looks in a run down state.

EWM says: Behind the van you can see my Volkswagen Beetle registration CPJ 966H. I owned it from 1985 to 1991, when I left the UK to work abroad.

GRENVILLE STREET EDGELEY STOCKPORT is seen here on Monday the 16th of July 2001. I've captured the view from almost the same viewpoint as in my 1987 black and white photograph.

It's interesting to see the changes which have taken place in the invervening fourteen years. Stockport Metropolitan Borough have covered the cobble stones with tarmac. Where the old Bedford horse van was parked, there is now a 1994 Mercedes lorry.

EWM says: They should have maintained the cobble stones (or setts as they are also known). Setts are an integral part of the 19th century character of the area and are a more attractive way of slowing down traffic than the speed bumps which now blight most residential suburbs.

TWO PHOTOGRAPHS OF GRENVILLE ST EDGELEY STOCKPORT taken 1987 and 2001 are combined in this animated gif which fades from the older to the newer image.

The disappearance of the setts, or cobblestones, the newer van, and, if you look closely, the addition of a new building further down Grenville St, are all made apparent. The photo also documents the transition from a damp leafless overcast afternoon in winter into a dry leafy summers day.

THE VIEW OF STOCKPORT RAILWAY VIADUCT AND TOWN CENTRE from above Hollywood Park is seen here in a grainy black and white photograph I took in 1987.

The railway viaduct is visible crossing the valley of the Mersey. A block of municipal flats built in the 1960's is visible on the right. Blow us to the left we can see a funfair. In the distance, beyond the viaduct we can see office buildings in the town centre and the twin blocks of council flats on Lancashire Hill.

We notice a chimney in the exact centre of the picture, the last remaining of three which used to stand here.

THE VIEW OF STOCKPORT RAILWAY VIADUCT AND TOWN CENTRE from above Hollywood Park is seen here as it looked at around 5.15pm on Monday 16th of July 2001.

It's a pleasant summer's day and we have a blue sky with clouds. The red brick railway viaduct, first constructed in the early 1840's, crosses the picture from left to right, disappearing behind the block of council flats which is now over 30 years old.

Below us, Hollywood Park looks neatly tended the trees have grown a lot since my 1987 photograph. The field on the left is currently empty. Funfairs are still held here at certain times of the year. I'm not sure if the industrial building in the 1987 picture is the one hidden by the trees here.

We notice the disappearance of the chimney which once stood in the middle of the picture next to the viaduct. Some industrial buildings have also been removed, while the trees have grown considerably, forming at least a quarter of the surface area of this photograph.

THAT'S ALL for this update of Eyewitness in Manchester. I'll be publishing more photographs taken out and about in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, and other areas in and around Manchester, in future updates. Remember, if there's a specific location you'd like to see, please contact. Please also continue to add your comments, reminiscences, extra information and corrections via the Reader Messges form below.