‘I walk and cycle around the country, intrigued by urbanism and Modernism’.

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Stephen Marland is a photographer with a particular interest in the built environment and how people interact with it. This fascination has led him to unusual and surprising places, that people may not typically frequent to find beauty. His practice encourages curiosity and appreciation of the surroundings that may have become commonplace, stale or undervalued to us in our day to day lives. By reaccessing what beauty on our doorsteps is, we can take pride in our communities and make fantastic things happen. 

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Stephen studied at Ashton Technical College on the Pre-Diploma course, under the renowned tutelage of Bill Clarke. Marland himself has taught photography and design at a variety of further education colleges in Manchester, for some thirty years, and has taken photographs for as long as he can remember. This process of documentation is crucial to his practice, stating ‘My aim is to simply record as objectively as possible’. 

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The work that he creates springs from the location that he finds himself in whilst mooching and exploring, with the photographs produced being a direct response to the mainly architectural subject matter before him. He is eternally curious concerning why these places exist, their interconnectedness with their current situation and how they came to be in the first place. The architecture around us tells the story of our identity and the tastes that made the place before us. How does he gain his unique perspective on his surroundings? ‘I look straight at things’

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Steve currently leads architectural walks for the Modernist Society, you can find documentation and musings from his walks on his website https://modernmooch.com/. He also publishes photographic books, gives academic talks on his practice and exhibits widely.

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During May’s Stalybridge Street Fest, Steve led a Modern Mooch around Stalybridge. The walk took in land marks and less familiar features of the town through Steve’s unique lens. The route and information are here for you to enjoy. It is Steve’s hope that this will give you a different perspective on the town and the endless possibilities for exciting times ahead here.

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Follow the map in numerical order to unearth hidden gems across the town! We begin at Stalybridge Station - built by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway and opened on 23 December 1845. The front entrance of the station still adourns the original GMPTE logo. Designed in 1974 by Kenneth Hollick for the newly unified transport authority, the logo became a modernist design classic. The station is perhaps best known for the Buffet Bar the old refreshment room for the station, originally opened in 1885. There is a blue plaque on the wall inside to commemorate the unique detail and heritage of the late Victorian establishment. Note the stained glass in keeping with much  of the station, which also boasts a cast iron canopy and historic clock. This clock is actually a replica of the original station clock and  bears the name of clockmakers Joyce of Whitchurch. The original clock was removed and, now fully restored, is in the National Railway Museum at York. This replica hangs outside the Buffet Bar on platform 1. 

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1) Our first stop after turning right out of the station, is the Palace Cinema, opened as The Empire Picture Palace on 17th July 1913 with seating for 750. The frontage has some Neo-Classical style touches with recessed windows above the main entrance being flanked by two Greek/Classical pillars. The auditorium was quite plain by comparison, but was decorated in deep reds and velvet curtains in a way which is synonymous with picture houses of the period..

It became part of the H.D. Moorehouse Circuit, and they operated the Palace Cinema into the 1960’s. Taken over by an independent operator the Palace Cinema closed on 26th August 2003 with “American Pie-The Wedding” being the last film shown here. It was converted into a nightclub in December 2004 and was closed in December 2012 due to its licence being revoked. It remains a building with stunning potential and waits to serve the community with arts and culture once again. Its proximity to the station and town centre make it a brilliantly located venue with many a story to tell.

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2) Close to the bus station, at the intersection of Market Street, King Street and Water Street, a Victorian Shop with many interesting architectural details, still displays a ghost sign on the eastern gable - Sydney Shaw House Furnisher. Many of Stalybridge’s older buildings hold these old painted advertisements from the bygone thriving high street. Their remnants look stunning to this day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to make new artisan signage for today’s high street! 

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3) Next we come to the Jobcentre, a fine brick Ministry of Works building dated 1933 above the main entrance. 

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4) Arthur Newton Shoeing Forge, a former blacksmith’s with architectural type style surrounding the arched entrance.

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5) Turning onto Waterloo Road, there is a Clinic, brick built in a curvilinear Moderne style.

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6) Waterloo Road: Fire Station opened in 1905, complete with horse drawn tenders.

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7) SHMD Offices Grade II listed building, built in 1903-4 by W.H. George. It was the former Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley & Dukinfield (SHMD) Tramways & Electricity Board headquarters building. SHMD was a public transport and electricity supply company formed by Act of Parliament in August 1901.

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8) Technical School - opened 1910 later Central Girls School opened 1927, note the Girls and Boys entrances to the opposite sides of the building.

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9) Along Market Street… Lion’s Head- above the door is a mysterious carving.

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10) Boar’s Head-  former pub with carving above the door

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11) Shops retail below flat conversions, carved stonework, columns and striking bay windows.

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12) Ghost Sign on Melbourne Street above the River Tame. Established in 1847, by the 1930s it had become Burgon's High Class Grocers. It was a chain of grocers and most of the sign refers to various tea blends.

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13) Still on Melbourne Street, the Friendship- a former pub with tiling and an architectural typeface slowly being revealed.

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14) As we come onto Grosvenor Street we approach the Sixties Precinct, a mid century development of shops in the heart of the high street which is now looking tired and ready for renovation. 

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15 Legendz formerly the Grosvenor Hotel Lounge. This venue has outdoor architectural type to the side.

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16 Stalybridge Civic Hall. The former Victoria Market Hall, completed 1866-1868 to designs by Amos Lee. It is a Grade II listed building. During Town of Culture year, this site will be opened to creatives and artists to use for studio space and events, with the Civic Space project. The project aims to demonstrate how the town can thrive culturally by opening up its Civic Spaces and creating opportunities for the people to use and programme the important spaces in their own town. The project will also invite talent from outside in, because the town is ideally located for investment and offers the best of both urban needs and natural resources and leisure activities just minutes away.

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17) Public Library and Astley Cheetham Gallery- Built in 1901 and designed in an imposing Jacobean Style by J Medland Taylor, the building shows flourishes of lots of exciting brick and stone detailing. It is Grade II listed and will be programmed with exciting exhibitions year round. The gallery has some stunning hidden gems in its collection, with works by Eduardo Paolozzi, William Pye, Harry Rutherford and a 14th century masterpiece by The Master of The Straus Madonna which is worthy of any collection in the world! Master of the Straus Madonna" is the pseudonym given to an unknown Italian artist who worked in Florence toward the beginning of the 15th century. You can see much of the Astley Cheetham collection on the Art UK site here.

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18) Post Office 1899-1900, by HM Office of Works in ashlar and red brick, with plain tile roofs - Renaissance Revival style and Grade II listed.

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19) Victoria Bridge and War Memorial- The bridge of 1867 has a cast iron parapet with balusters, a post with a coat of arms and an ornate lamp. The Memorial of 1921 was designed by FV Blunstone, angelic figures support two wounded servicemen in battledress, one a soldier one a sailor - Grade II listed.

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20) The Old Town Hall Entrance- in 1831 it was disused and demolished, with the facade retained. It now carries plaques recording the town’s radical history. This was the site of the Plug Riots, which resisted wage cuts in the mills in 1842. It spread to involve nearly half a million workers throughout Britain, making this the starting point for the first ever General Strike, without this action in Stalybridge, regulated working hours, holidays, sick pay and other workers rights may not have been won in the years since. The site has witnessed many dramatic scenes and is now perfect for a different kind of drama, such as outdoor performances and is also a great meeting place.

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This tour just scratches the surface of some of the interesting sites and quirks throughout the town. If you have other sites and stories to add, please get in touch at hello@wearelocal.org.uk

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