Holmes Chapel
Holmes Chapel maps (2 available)
Map of Cheshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
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Holmes Chapel books (10 available)
Holmes Chapel memories
Read and share memories of Holmes Chapel and Cheshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Cheshire below.
Cheshire memories
Blackden Hall
My great great grandfather, Simon Myall, had a farm called Blackden Hall according to the 1851 census. The house is still there but no longer a farm.
Audrey Frost
A memory of Goostrey contributed by First name Last name
My primary school
What a lovely old photo! I was lucky enough to spend my primary school years, 1962 to 1968, at Lower Withington primary school as did my sister Cathy and my mum and uncle before us. Our headmistress lived in the house next door to the school and believe it or not she actually taught my mum and uncle also!
We all have many good memories of growing up in Lower Withington and all these years on it still feels like home when we go back even though we moved away in 1969.
The village has changed a bit over the years, what place hasn't; the school is now a large house and the grass in the front ...read more here
A memory of Lower Withington contributed by Margaret Tatton
The Square
I remember Florrie's chip shop, the chips were 6d a bag and were great. The sweet shop next door was called Timmins, and like you said, Mrs Farnsworth's shop was across the road where the betting shop is now. I used to walk through there to go to church school which is now St Mary's church hall.
A memory of Sandbach contributed by douglas coppenhall
Florries Chip Shop, The Square, Sandbach
Florries Chip Shop - what memories - greasy, white chips, but they were the best! Florrie was always dressed in black - like a Victorian (which she probably was). The shop was situated on the corner of the alley between the square and the back of the Black Bear pub. Next door (probably where the Italian restaurant is now - 2008) was a sweet shop where they would split 10 Woodbines and sell the secondary school kids one at a time and put it into a sherbert bag - can't remember the name though - I bet my sister would (Hazel Tilley). Across the road, opposite the Saxon Crosses (where the Post Office used to be and now there's a betting ...read more here
A memory of Sandbach contributed by Sue Tilley
Extracts From Holmes Chapel & Cheshire books
The sham castle on Mow Cop is clearly
visible from much of Congleton.
An extract from from"Congleton Town and City Memories".
The photographer was looking eastwards from the entrance. At this time, all but the uppermost section of the east window had clear glass.
Stained glass was introduced later in 1922. Although not discernible in this picture (perhaps because of the glare from the windows), there
are two oil paintings by Edward Penny on either side of the window, which were painted in 1748. They depict St Paul and St Peter.
An extract from from"Congleton Town and City Memories".
Later photographs from the 1950s show no change to the building apart from the addition of a hanging sign at the front, and the
replacement of the gas lamp-post with an electric, concrete one. This scene looks practically the same today.
Smaller timber-framed buildings can be seen in Lawton Street, Moody Street and Little Street. Others exist but are hidden by later frontages.
A few more survive in the surrounding countryside, and a couple of miles along the Manchester Road is the timber-framed Marton Church,
one of the earliest and most complete examples in the country.
An extract from from"Congleton Town and City Memories".
This view of the roundabout - a novelty in Congleton - shows where the south end of the
bypass joins the existing main road. It looks much the same today, with attractive flower-
beds, although it has been reduced in size to aid the flow of the traffic. The house on the
right is Mortlake House, which was part of the Danesford Children’s Home and is now the
Woodlands pub. Many of the trees behind it have been removed to make way for flats and
houses. The second building from the left is the Catholic church of St Mary.
An extract from from"Congleton Town and City Memories".
Passing through the gatehouse passage into the courtyard, we are faced
with the hall entrance and the magnificent bay windows. Little has
changed here since the photograph was taken - and for centuries before
- except that, as on the gatehouse, the painted quatrefoils have been
removed from the curved coving.
An extract from from"Congleton Town and City Memories".