Station destination

The Friends of Heaton Chapel Station are fast making this little local train station a destination in itself. This amusing sign points to the location of the old covered footbridge which once joined the two platforms. The footbridge was demolished a few years ago as part of the main line upgrade, and passengers now have to go out of the station and use the pavement to cross to platform 1. Built in 1851 – on the instigation of a local vicar using his influence – the station now caters for over 700,000 passengers a year. It once boasted three waiting rooms, coal fires, a branch of WH Smith and lots of porters.  It’s now entering a new kind of heyday thanks to the Friends of the station, who have supplied vintage ads, pretty plants and a wonderful new clock – as well as this bit of much needed humour for your morning commute.  

Plough on

This handsome stained glass window advertises the Plough on Heaton Moor Road in Stockport. Heaton Moor is now a thriving suburb, but it was largely farmland until the mid -19^th century. The railway station, just up the road from the Plough, was built in 1852, and shops and houses developed along the road to service the needs of the new commuters. The Plough was built in the 1880s, and reminds us of the area’s rural roots: over its door is a lovely sandstone picture of a ploughing scene.