Saddleworth and environs, May 2006

'When God made Yorkshire and Lancashire, He laid aside the precious bits of jewelled earth. And when He had completed the two shires He took the beautiful things He had saved and made Saddleworth to be a little Shire on its own''. -- Ammon Wrigley

Images of Saddleworth

My great-grand father emigrated from the mill country of the West Riding of Yorkshire England as a boy of six in 1870 with his adoptive father, Samuel Butterworth, to settle in Lawrence, Massachusetts with its own mills. In 1886 when he was about to marry Mary Haynes, his presumed mother, Ellen Butterworth (nee Manchester), explained to him that his name was not really John Thomas Butterworth, but actually John Thomas Wood. Indeed, he still had a father, William Wood, alive in Saddleworth, England. My trip to Saddleworth in May 2006 revisits many of the places that John Thomas's family had lived in and explores the lush hills of this famous woolen district.

St. Chad's Saddleworth and Adjacent Graveyards and Countryside

St. Chad's is the parish church of Saddleworth. There are three graveyards: one in the upper church yard, a second in the lower church yard, and a third a few hundred feet south of the church. All are in striking disrepair. These images are less than perfect due to the wild weather that prevailed during my visit which included bright sun, violent rain and massive hail. Note the stocks ("1698") which stand in front of the church itself at the edge of the car park.

Delph and New Delph

While in Saddleworth, I stayed at an 18th century coaching inn with the name of the Old Bell Inn. There were a few lovely rooms, a charming pub and a first class restaurant. The proximity to the Delph Donkey trail made for a very pleasant and comfortable walk into Uppermill.

Dobcross (formerly Woods)

Uppermill

Heathfields, Saddleworthfold and Pob Green

Marsh Head

Nebo and the site of Limbo

The Huddersfield Narrows Canal, Railway and Stanedge Tunnels

The Remnants of the Delph Donkey

The Delph Donkey was the short spur line railway that went from Uppermill up to New Delph. It was abandoned in the 1950's and is now a pleasant rail trail.

The Saddleworth Viaduct

Other Saddleworth Churches and Graves

The Pennine Moors

Marsden

Huddersfield

Glossop

The ride out to Glossop from Manchester was on a train with a folk music music program, also known as the Glossop Folk Train.

Manchester City

Rochdale and St. Chads Rochdale

Bury

East Lancashire Railway

Saturday May 27th was the first day of a three day celebration of World War II at the East Lancashire Railway. Lots of folks were dressed for the part. I travelled the train north from BURY to the end of the line at RAWTENSTALL and then all the way south to the newly reopened station at HEYWOOD from which I walked a good mile or more to the Northern Railway station at CASTLETON, just south of Rochdale on the Oldham Line.