August 26, 2009, 7:31 pm
On 26th August 2009 a party of 18 Rotarians and friends travelled by coach to Robinsons Brewery in Stockport. An annual brewery trip has now become a fixture in the Club‘s Calendar. Previous trips include a number to Thwaites Brewery in Blackburn and Hydes Brewery in Manchester and in the past the Club has paid at least three visits to the Bank Top Brewery in Bolton to sample the famous Flat Cap brew.
The Unicorn Brewery takes its name from the Unicorn Inn which was bought by William Robinson on 29th September 1838. He was joined in 1865 by his younger son Frederick who started to brew beer. In May 1876 shortly after his fathers death he bought his first house the Royal Scot, Marple Bridge (then the Railway). The Robinson family have continued to develop the brewery with bottling commencing in 1908 and a new brew house in 1929. By the early 1950‘s thoughts were turned to keg beer and subsequently the need for bottling stores rationalisation. Land was purchased in Bredbury with the first bottling in October 1975. In recent years the company has also been responsible for the brewing of Fentimans famous traditional ginger beer and dandelion and burdock. During the tour with our guide, Angela Clarke, we heard about each individual process and tasted the raw ingredients used in the products. We learned about ‘mashing’ ‘wort’ and ‘rousing’.
The tour concluded in the luxurious Unicorn Room where we were invited to sample some of the cask conditioned beers – Hatters, Double Hop, Old Stockport, Unicorn, the bottled Old Tom (recently voted the worlds best beer!) and the recently developed Ginger Tom. There was no limit on the drinks that could be consumed and the party completed the return coach journey in high spirits!
Thanks to Jeff Todd for once again organising the tour and to David Howarth and Stephen Hughes for the photographs
August 23, 2009, 7:43 pm
On Thursday 23rd August 2009, Andrew Peplow was inducted into the Club by President Mike Croft.
Andrew is 40 years old and lives in Harwood with Nancy, his wife and their three children. His classification is Funeral Director and he will join the Community Services Committee.
Welcome Andy and may you have a long and happy association with this Club!
August 12, 2009, 7:41 pm
On 12th August 2009 a group of Rotarians, wives and friends, led by Jean Bailo a Blue Badge guide, took an extremely interesting journey through industrial Manchester and saw sights of which many of us were completely unaware.
The journey began with a glimpse of the dark and murky River Irk whose banks from early as the 14th century were populated by people involved in industry such as fulling and later tanning, slaughtering animals for market, dyeing etc. The river itself became a cesspit of industrial waste and animal entrails.
From there to Angel Meadows, a misnomer if ever there was one as although it is now a green oasis it was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the worst slum that Manchester has ever known. There was one toilet for every 120 people, the average lifespan was 22 years of age and disease and pestilence were rife. The 1832 cholera epidemic ravaged the population Paupers were buried there in a mass grave and Parliament had to pass an Act to stop the practice of digging up the soil from the grave to sell to local farmers as fertilizer (bonemeal).
Leading to the Meadows are The Angel Steps where angels appeared to comfort the needy and which were depicted in their entirety although not in their location in several of Lowry‘s paintings as he knew them from his rent collecting round. By the side of the Meadows was The Ragged School, one of many set up to cater for the children of the poor. Doug Farnworth‘s Dad used to threaten to send him to his local one whenever he was naughty!
On to look at an NCP car park! This was the site of Richard Arkwright‘s first mill where approximately two thirds of the employees were children over the age of six. Built in 1782, it burned down in 1854.
The Victorians were quite proud when Sanitary Street was built as it was one of the first properties to have water and mains sewage but people weren‘t quite so enamoured of it‘s name even though it told it‘s story succinctly so we viewed it in it‘s present incarnation – Anita Street. saw some beautiful architecture around Shude Hill and David Howarth recalled his misspent youth in the Green Door Club frequented by journalists and printers in the 1970s before Eddie Shah put an end to the stranglehold of the printing unions. Three Georgian houses held a delightful surprise as we walked down the street behind them – three bijou residences attached to their backs. These had originally been one up, one down homes housing 12 people.
An Italian meal, a train back to Bromley Cross and a good time was had by all. Many thanks to Jeff Hibbert for the photographs.
