Aston Furnace Location

[Rupert]

Here are two links for pictures of a Newcomen steam engine probably very similar to the furnace one. Built about the same year.

https://www.ashton-under-lyne.com/history/fairbottombobs.htm

https://technology.niagarac.on.ca/staff/mcsele/newcomen.htm

 

[Wendy]

Here's another photo of Furnace Lane taken from Clifford Street about 1965.

 

[Bazaston]

This is not a great photo but, it's Furnace Lane Aston about 1900.

This view was much the same until I left the area in the 1960s,to the left of centre of this picture is our garage which was at the top of our garden.Furnace Lane ran from Lozells Rd to Porchester st,crossing Gerrard and Clifford sts,parallel to William St,the picture shows section halfway between Gerrard st in the foreground to Clifford st in the background.There is also a picture on the main site showing section between Clifford st and Porchester st.The lamp-post shown on the latter is just above the rear gate to Alma st J&I school.Incidently the tree that was in the top of our garden is still standing on the renamed Clifford walk,but now surrounded by the 1960s development.
I used to go onto the Ralp Martindale (Crocodile) site as child when it was being built.A friend of mine worked for a building company when they did some under pinning work on that site some years ago,apparently to stop the building sinking into the brook below.
The stuff you hold in your memory !






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[Big Gee]

Martindales make machetes for export to Third World countries, for sugar-cane harvesting and similar industries. Their trade-mark was a crocodile etched onto the blade of their machetes. My company still supplies them with felt bobs for polishing the blades, and I visited the old works on numerous occasions. I always made sure I wore something less than my best suit when visiting... Oddly enough I've never been to their new factory at Willenhall.

I can remember when I was a nipper travelling from Witton to Portland Road on the No 7 bus (I went to George Dixon Grammar School) and for years and years I wondered just what a factory called the Crocodile Works actually made. My dad thought they made 'crocodile clips', but how wrong was that?

Big Gee