IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Banks Close, CONGLETON, CW12 1LF

Congleton fire station, West Road, Congleton, Cheshire.

Showing the north and east elevations. There is a bench mark on one of the buttresses at the south-east corner (Image). The first stone to be laid in the building of the Church of St James the Great was done by the then High Steward of the Borough of Congleton, Randle Wilbraham Esq, in May of 1847. The architect was James Trubshaw of Newcastle under Lyme; the chief contractor was Samuel Faram of Odd Rode with the woodwork being under the direction of Edward Massey of Lawton. The building work was paid for by public subscription along with grants from the Chester Diocesan Society, the Incorporated Society and the Church Commissioners. It is built in the style of the transitional period of Early English; this is evident in the steep roof that forms an equilateral triangle to the windows and doorways. The church is built of local, Cloud-side, gritstone with a Westmoreland slate roof. The church was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester Dr Graham on Wednesday 27th January 1849

Looking at the north and west elevations. The first stone to be laid in the building of the Church of St James the Great was done by the then High Steward of the Borough of Congleton, Randle Wilbraham Esq, in May of 1847. The architect was James Trubshaw of Newcastle under Lyme; the chief contractor was Samuel Faram of Odd Rode with the woodwork being under the direction of Edward Massey of Lawton. The building work was paid for by public subscription along with grants from the Chester Diocesan Society, the Incorporated Society and the Church Commissioners. It is built in the style of the transitional period of Early English; this is evident in the steep roof that forms an equilateral triangle to the windows and doorways. The church is built of local, Cloud-side, gritstone with a Westmoreland slate roof. The church was consecrated by the Bishop of Chester Dr Graham on Wednesday 27th January 1849

Located at the base of one of the buttresses on the east end of the church (Image). For more information on this and other bench marks go to http://www.bench-marks.org.uk/bm37363 .

Looking towards the next roundabout at the junction of West Street and the A34 from the roundabout at the junction with Image The picture was taken from the traffic island at the bottom of Clayton By-pass.

Attached to Image, there appears to be a little artistic licence here- the real Durham Ox was a lot bigger! The Durham Ox was a huge animal that was bred in 1796 from a “common” cow and a Shorthorn bull by the brothers Charles and Robert Colling of Ketton Farm near Darlington in County Durham (see Image by Hugh Mortimer). The ox was bought by a wealthy aristocrat for £250, a lot of money at that time, who built a specially designed carriage for it and for six years sent the animal touring England and Scotland, it would travel from one agricultural show to another, the owner receiving a portion of the show’s admission fees; on a single day during 1802 in London it earned its owner a total of £92 (a small fortune in those days). Whilst touring it achieved a fantastic maximum weight of 270 stones (1715 kilograms). During those five years on tour the Durham Ox travelled over 3,000 miles, before it dislocated its hip during a show in Oxford in February of 1807. Slaughtered two months later it weighed 189 stones (1200 kilograms). Not only did people pay to see the Durham Ox, but in 1802 alone over 2000 prints by John Boulbee of the squarish, roan ox were sold; these prints were hung in homes, inns, and coaching houses. The ox's image even appeared on blue and white Staffordshire dinner services. It became so famous that many inns were named after the Durham Ox of Ketton Farm.

West Street in Congleton.

Located on the corner of Elizabeth Street and West Street, this pub is all boarded up and waiting for a buyer. It looks as if it has been on the market for some time, the big sign says the price has been reduced. For a close-up of the sign see Image