Category: Stockport

Stockport Venues 9 to 10

In 1894, 4 acres of land was donated by the local Lord to Heaton Norris District Council. This area then evolved into Stockport Heaton Moor Park, which was officially opened on 17 July 1897, to coincide with Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee celebrations. The ceremony incorporated the dramatic opening of the gates with a golden key, all sounds a little Willie Wonka to me!

Over the corresponding years, facilities such as bowling greens and tennis courts were added, and it was utilised for army drills and vegetable growing during the two World Wars and also won the Britain in Bloom award in 1981. The park went through a period of decline before being revitalised by the Friends of Heaton Moor Park in 1997 where they were assisted by some lottery funding. In June 2020 a blue plaque was installed commemorating the original forerunners who initially created the park.      

Heaton Moor Park. Image Credit heatonmmorpark.co.uk

It is a bonny enclosed green space with an obligatory café at one corner and there is a natural bowl area in the middle of the park. On a recent visit we were entranced watching a dog who had the outstanding ability to dribble with a ball the size of a beach ball, a hugely impressive feat!

The bowl is also a natural amphitheatre for the location of the music stage for the annual Heaton Moor festival. We attended there on an extremely sunny July day for the 2022 shindig, the roster was compered by local Irish singer Paul Hunt who plays regular gigs at the nearby Cassidy’s bar. He introduced a young artist called Alfie who had a fine voice, and he was followed by a Stockport lass Karen James who is a Northern Soul and Motown singer.   

When the railway first arrived in Stockport in 1840, the population expanded and as a result a second place of worship was required, thus Stockport St Pauls Church was built in 1876. The octagonal tower was added in 1900, and the Grade II listed building has a capacity seating of 400. They have developed their own embroidered banners which now hang on the stone pillars, and they have developed a quiet children’s play area with soft furnishings and toys, sounds like a fun area to me!  

Stockport St Paul’s Church. Image Credit stpaulsheatonmoor.org.uk

In the church grounds, a summer event took place in July 2023 where there were interactive stalls including the ‘Electric Wire’ game monitored by the ‘Men in Sheds’ who are a local voluntary group. They commendably aim to tackle social isolation and cover learning skills in fields such as computers, woodworking, photography and general restoration.

As a bonus gig for myself, there was music provided by the Stockport Silver Band, who were formed in 1870 and currently practice in Reddish Conservative Club. They performed some quirky cover versions, but for the life of me I can’t now remember what they played!

As you progress into Stockport town centre across the M60 (not on foot!) you cannot miss the famous Pyramid or alternatively some have cited it as a Ziggurat! The building was intended initially as a ‘signature site’ within an ongoing scheme to build multiple pyramid-shaped buildings on the banks of the River Mersey.

The actual planned number is disputed but is now somewhat moot as the original developers went into administration during its construction and they had to be bailed out by their financiers The Co-operative Banking Group. Despite this it is sometimes called the ‘Stopfordian Valley of the Kings’!     

The six storey 8000 square meter site was completed in 1992 and was empty for the first three years of its life before the aforementioned Co-op took residence there until they relocated to Manchester City Centre in 2018.

Stockport Pyramid. Image Credit bbc.co.uk

The building has laid empty since then but there are now plans afoot for the award-winning restaurant chain Royal Nawaab to transform the pyramid into a huge restaurant and banqueting centre, and I recently saw their name on the structure when I was on a flight back to Manchester Airport. It will comprise a 400-cover restaurant on the ground floor, an 800 capacity first floor banqueting centre for weddings and a further 400 capacity banqueting space on the second floor. There will also be availability for 500 car parking spaces. I am very sure I will make a visit at some point.

Talk of this reminds me of the 1983 Frankie Vaughan track ‘Stockport’ with its refrain ‘Stockport, Stockport, it’s the place for me’ that was recorded at the town’s Plaza Theatre and receives periodic airplay on Radcliffe and Maconie’s 6 Music show.  

More specifically though, there is a 2023 tune called ‘Stockport Pyramid’ by Julian Homer and an even more recent Anthony Szmierek song ‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’ containing the lines ‘Imagine what the Pharaohs could have done, with a four day working week, and a three-fingered Twix’. It is the third track on his most recent album ‘Service Station at the End of the Universe’ which has a terrific picture of the brutalist building of Forton Services on the cover!   

Anthony Szmierek album cover. Image Credit www.normanrecords.com

Stockport Venues 7 to 8

If you turn left off Shaw Road onto Heaton Moor Road in Stockport, you encounter many differing retail units of shops, restaurants and bars. The first of interest is the Cork of the North wine shop and bar, though I have only thus far graced the doors just the once and not frequented any of their numerous wine tasting events.

The next destination is the Stockport Crown Inn. Now, I don’t know if they were short of available names back in the day, but I can think of five different hostelries with the Crown moniker within a five mile distance of this one. This particular version is a highly traditional bar with one long room and two separate back rooms, one an old fashioned mini snug and a small beer garden with barbecue facilities at the rear.

The Crown Inn. Image Credit beerintheevening.com

It was built in 1820 and initially was set back from neighbouring buildings because of the existence in that spot of three poplar trees. A century later the local lumberjack felled them, and the pub was extended in 1930 by building forwards to line up with the other buildings. The pub was originally under the auspices of Richard Clarke’s Reddish brewery before morphing into a Boddington’s Bitter house in the 1960’s. It has retained many of the original floorboards and wooden effects which only embellishes the allure in my view. Apparently also the tabloids were reporting recently that Ricky Hatton and Claire Sweeney were spotting leaving the said establishment after a night out.

They have a few TV screens showing sporting events but also stage live music every Friday and Saturday in the bay window area by the front entrance. Our first musical visit was there on 20/07/19 with Jo and Paul after grabbing some tea at Valentinos restaurant in nearby Moor Top. The band on stage was a local rock covers band called Rock Doctors who mainly play 1970’s tunes and I recall two or three Bad Company and Free tracks.  

We visited again last month just prior to Christmas and the place was bustling with groups of menfolk imbibing prior to the later showing of Tyson Fury’s latest boxing match. There was a duo called Moor Irish playing which consisted of two lasses, one on acoustic guitar and the other playing a suite of instruments including flute and penny whistle and they were very enjoyable. When I look at the roster board outside there is an act who play there periodically called Reservoir Dads, who I must endeavour to witness one day as (Dad gag incoming alert) they could be ‘bloody’ great!    

Reservoir Dads. Image Credit reservoirdads.co.uk

As you progress down the road you pass (or go in) the Plough on the Moor, a regularly visited homely pub where they produce a rather fine Sunday roast, and we have whiled away many hours in one of their cosy corners.

Further on you reach Casa De Moor, our favourite Tapas restaurant in the region. Beyond the fine evening fare, they also provide huge hearty breakfasts where we have frequented a couple of times on Cheltenham Gold Cup morning before heading home to watch the racing. The last bar on that side is an establishment called the Eden Bar and Eatery which has various different incarnations including being called the Scarlet Door. The road then leads you down to the evocative old fashioned Heaton Chapel train station.

Across the road you will find the Moor Club, a private members club (previously the Conservative Club) which has been in place in that location for over a century. They have five snooker tables within and have professional exhibition matches there. They used to have monthly vinyl nights and have jazz musicians who play every Wednesday and in the summer months you can purchase cold beverages as a non-member and bask on one of the tables outside.

A more extensive beer garden is situated next door at the Stockport Elizabethan, though finding a seat in the warmer months can still be a challenge! Originally built in 1874 the pub started life as Bampton House, a private residence before in the early 1900’s morphing into a private members club but retained the original name. To coincide with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, it changed to its current name and became a public house.    

The Elizabethan. Image Credit searchstockport.co.uk

The hostelry is one of many in the area under the auspices of the local JW Lees brewery, which suits me as I am partial to a drop of their ale. It is a large wood furnished establishment and is generally always busy with many sampling the food on offer.

It had a short blast of fame in 2017 when Liam Gallagher’s brother Paul was turned away at the door for wearing tracksuit bottoms, generating an extensive twitter rant from his kid brother. Apparently, they have form in this regard as many moons ago a young David Beckham was refused entry for wearing trainers. For the record, I have never been denied entry, but this is probably more to do with the fact that I have rarely seen a bouncer in residence than of it being due to my sartorial elegance!    

I thought they were a non-live music pub but on one exception on a sunny August evening I just happened to be ensconced there when a local singer called Serena performed a turn.