Heritage Open Days gets the Mayoral Treatment!

Heritage Open Days got off to a busy start on Friday 11th September with over 45 visitors to the Arts & Crafts Church and Edgar Wood Centre, just one of the four Middleton Golden Cluster buildings open. Mr. and Mrs. Wild walked from Norden (most of the way) to visit the buildings! Nick Baker, Edgar Wood Society archivist, showed visitors around the new exhibition while the Middleton Family History Group explained how to explore the lives of our forebears.

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Nick Baker, curator
Mr. and Mrs. Wild
Mr. and Mrs. Wild
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Family History Group

On Saturday, Mayor Surinder Biant and Mayoress Cecile Biant were the first to arrive. They spent a good 45 minutes with Christine Grime before setting off to visit a further four buildings. Then came Merlin the Magician who performed throughout the day to coincide with the ‘land train’ running from the town centre arrived. ‘Train’ turned into ‘trail’ as Christine Grime took a group of visitors around the Middleton Arts & Crafts buildings, designed by Edgar Wood. One visitor came from Liverpool; each year he picks a different location to visit. Then on one land train, Edgar Wood himself arrived, albeit in the form actor Colin Meredith.

Mayor Surinder Biant and Mayoress Cecile Biant
Christine with Mayor Surinder Biant and Mayoress Cecile Biant
Merlin the Magician
Merlin the Magician and visitors
Christine Grime points to the initials of T. B. Wood, Edgar Wood's father carved into the wall.
Christine points to the carved initials T. B. W. – Edgar Wood’s father

 

Merlin the Magician in action
Merlin the Magician in action
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Edgar Wood arrives on the ‘land train’
The prologue to the 90 minute trail which, on Sunday, was extended to over two hours!
The prologue to the 90 minute Arts & Crafts trail which, on Sunday, was extended to over two hours!
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Lynden Easterbrook holding a jug made by James Smithies, and guide Sharon Dawson

A special treat was to meet Lynden Easterbrook, the great granddaughter of Middleton artist and metalworker, James Smithies, who is featured in the exhibition alongside Edgar Wood and Frederick Jackson. Lynden lives in the Inverness area of northern Scotland and travelled 400 miles to be in Middleton for the day, bringing with her various items that belonged to James Smithies, including an Arts & Crafts copper jug made by him.

Meanwhile at the top of the hill…

Walking up through Jubilee Park to St. Leonard’s Square, visitors Middleton Archaeological Society completing their three week excavation of Church House/Grape’s Inn where the rear walls, cellar, cobbled passage and a possible blacksmith’s forge have been unearthed. Norman Redhead, County Archaeologist, visited the site with the dig leader Robert Huddart and agreed there was a lot of interesting archaeology. Finds were displayed in Middleton Parish Church adjacent.

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Norman Redhead and Robert Huddart
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Blacksmith’s forge
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Display in Middleton Parish Church

Visitors were then treated to guided tours of Middleton Parish Church, the oldest building and finest interior of any church in the county. It is jam-packed full of historic art and craft work from medieval to modern times, including many Arts & Crafts workers, such as James Smithies, Edgar Wood, Christopher Whall and, in the 1960s, the designer George Pace. Over the past few weeks and over this weekend, a large number of people have visited St. Leonard’s and, this year, Rochdale Art Society mounted a special exhibition in honour of their late president, Colin Gilbert, who was a champion of the arts, a local historian and member of the church.

Colin Gilbert Art Exhibition
Colin Gilbert Memorial Art Exhibition
Looking through the medieval rood screen
Looking through the medieval rood screen
Visitor refreshments at the back
Visitor Refreshments!

Then down the other side…

Visitors went to see the wonderful sixteenth century Queen Elizabeth I Grammar School. The history of the school was shown on several display boards and around the building. Finds from the Langley Hall archaeological dig were exhibited and two cabinets showed various artefacts relating to Middleton. Visitors had fun locating the initials of the young Edgar Wood inscribed in three places. He was one of the school’s last scholars.

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Visitors exploring.
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Historic china and artefacts
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Grammar School exhibition

Some visitors also went to see the Middleton Tapestry at Jubilee Library in the park and then popped over the road to visit the ancient timber framed Ye Olde Boar’s Head P.H. opposite.

We had a great turnout in all places. In the Arts & Crafts Church it was 45 on Friday, 60 on Saturday and 36 on Sunday afternoon, and there were plenty of complimentary remarks. People can still visit on Tuesday or Friday afternoons during September for ‘A Grand Day Out’ before we wind down – details are here.

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