Turn Right At Mottram Roundabout - Week 4
Tue 30th August 2016 | General | By Stewart Taylor
First of all, the club we were looking for in week 3 was Congleton Town.
The quick link was perhaps a little tricky but I know at least one person who got it. We asked “What links this club with the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea star Nicolas Anelka?” And the answer is that Nicolas Anelka was brought up in Trappes in France and played for the local youth team before moving on to be one of the most well known of recent French internationals. The twin town in the UK of Trappes is Congleton.
The photo showed some of the product range of the Congleton based microbrewery Cheshire Brewhouse. The clubhouse at Congleton Town – the Bear’s Den – usually features two of the real ales from Cheshire Brewhouse on hand pull. A rare and very welcome example of real ale being available at one of our member clubs.
Moving on to this week and the quick link is perhaps not quite as challenging as some.
This small town is one of a number of towns which constitute Greater Manchester. Originally a village, this place grew in significance due, mainly, to the development of the railways in the mid 19th century and, crucially, the Manchester to Liverpool line in 1830.
The original village bordered the boggy area known as Chat Moss. One of the most significant achievements of the 1830 railway line to Liverpool was the partial draining of Chat Moss to allow the railway to cross the area without disappearing into the bog. In essence, the method used was to “float” the line on a bed of bound heather and branches topped with tar and covered with rubble. Sounds a bit archaic by modern standards but it worked and the first railway connection between two major cities was built.
Much of Chat Moss has now been drained although that work continues to this day. The drainage work on the south side of Chat Moss allowed for a waterway connection, via the local river, to the Manchester Ship Canal and the establishment of this now growing town as an inland port. From this connection to the major cities of Manchester and Liverpool came the establishment of industry in the town. As this connection was not established until the last decade of the 19th century the town never developed a textile trade unlike many other towns in what is now Greater Manchester.
Whilst the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 was a great boon to the established cotton industry around Manchester, that industry was already in something of a decline. The story of that decline is mirrored even today as manufactured goods which were made in this country are now produced at cheaper prices using technology which was developed here and exported.
So, instead of going down the traditional textile route, a steel works was established in this town. This became the major source of employment throughout much of the 20th century until the steel works closed in 1979 as smaller plants were “rationalised” into bigger units. The site of the old steel works is now the Northbank Industrial Estate.
But to go back to the railways for a moment. A station was built in this town in 1873 on the route between Manchester Central and Liverpool Central stations. All went well for many decades but some 25 years ago the station buildings were allowed to decay to a level which could be described as dereliction. Hence, this town held the “distinction” of having the busiest unmanned railway station in Greater Manchester with something like 250,000 passengers using the station every year.
In 2015 the now renovated station building was re-opened following the completion of a £2 million project to bring the building back to life. The building now houses the 1923 Coffee Shop and Museum and serves the wider community in the town as well as rail travellers.
As with a number of our clubs, this one can trace its origins to a works team, in this case an engineering company. There are many examples of football clubs being associated with places of work not least of which are the Miners Welfare clubs of South Yorkshire and North Nottinghamshire who many of our sides find themselves up against in FA Vase and FA Cup matches.
Relatively recent, at least from a historical timeline, entrants to the League, the club have gradually developed a strong youth set up and excellent facilities and find themselves currently at the highest level they have ever been in the National League System.
Quick link - In the arts sense, what links this town with the capital of Scotland?
Turn Right At Mottram Roundabout - Week 4
Tue 30th August 2016 | General
By Stewart Taylor
First of all, the club we were looking for in week 3 was Congleton Town.
The quick link was perhaps a little tricky but I know at least one person who got it. We asked “What links this club with the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea star Nicolas Anelka?” And the answer is that Nicolas Anelka was brought up in Trappes in France and played for the local youth team before moving on to be one of the most well known of recent French internationals. The twin town in the UK of Trappes is Congleton.
The photo showed some of the product range of the Congleton based microbrewery Cheshire Brewhouse. The clubhouse at Congleton Town – the Bear’s Den – usually features two of the real ales from Cheshire Brewhouse on hand pull. A rare and very welcome example of real ale being available at one of our member clubs.
Moving on to this week and the quick link is perhaps not quite as challenging as some.
This small town is one of a number of towns which constitute Greater Manchester. Originally a village, this place grew in significance due, mainly, to the development of the railways in the mid 19th century and, crucially, the Manchester to Liverpool line in 1830.
The original village bordered the boggy area known as Chat Moss. One of the most significant achievements of the 1830 railway line to Liverpool was the partial draining of Chat Moss to allow the railway to cross the area without disappearing into the bog. In essence, the method used was to “float” the line on a bed of bound heather and branches topped with tar and covered with rubble. Sounds a bit archaic by modern standards but it worked and the first railway connection between two major cities was built.
Much of Chat Moss has now been drained although that work continues to this day. The drainage work on the south side of Chat Moss allowed for a waterway connection, via the local river, to the Manchester Ship Canal and the establishment of this now growing town as an inland port. From this connection to the major cities of Manchester and Liverpool came the establishment of industry in the town. As this connection was not established until the last decade of the 19th century the town never developed a textile trade unlike many other towns in what is now Greater Manchester.
Whilst the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 was a great boon to the established cotton industry around Manchester, that industry was already in something of a decline. The story of that decline is mirrored even today as manufactured goods which were made in this country are now produced at cheaper prices using technology which was developed here and exported.
So, instead of going down the traditional textile route, a steel works was established in this town. This became the major source of employment throughout much of the 20th century until the steel works closed in 1979 as smaller plants were “rationalised” into bigger units. The site of the old steel works is now the Northbank Industrial Estate.
But to go back to the railways for a moment. A station was built in this town in 1873 on the route between Manchester Central and Liverpool Central stations. All went well for many decades but some 25 years ago the station buildings were allowed to decay to a level which could be described as dereliction. Hence, this town held the “distinction” of having the busiest unmanned railway station in Greater Manchester with something like 250,000 passengers using the station every year.
In 2015 the now renovated station building was re-opened following the completion of a £2 million project to bring the building back to life. The building now houses the 1923 Coffee Shop and Museum and serves the wider community in the town as well as rail travellers.
As with a number of our clubs, this one can trace its origins to a works team, in this case an engineering company. There are many examples of football clubs being associated with places of work not least of which are the Miners Welfare clubs of South Yorkshire and North Nottinghamshire who many of our sides find themselves up against in FA Vase and FA Cup matches.
Relatively recent, at least from a historical timeline, entrants to the League, the club have gradually developed a strong youth set up and excellent facilities and find themselves currently at the highest level they have ever been in the National League System.
Quick link - In the arts sense, what links this town with the capital of Scotland?
