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Royal Oak Yard, STOCKPORT, SK1 1JZ

View south-east from St. Petersgate.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5034435

Looking down at Little Underbank from St Petersgate Bridge. In the foreground are The Fish Inn and Winters Image In the background is Robinson's Unicorn Brewery Image and the clock of St Mary's Church can be seen on the left. There are some Christmas lights still up. Although pedestrians have priority the street is still open to traffic including the #300 Stockport shuttle bus which is travelling towards us.

As part of the "Rediscovering the Underbanks" project https://www.stockport.gov.uk/rediscovering-the-underbanks a full reconstruction of the carriageway and paving between Royal Oak Yard and the roundabout at the westerly end of Little Underbank is being undertaken. Works to divert the gas main between Royal Oak Yard and St Petersgate overbridge have been completed. Tarmac was laid in this area on a temporary basis to maximise pedestrian accessibility in advance of further works. Now United Utilities have started works between Mealhouse Brow and Great Underbank.

As part of the "Rediscovering the Underbanks" project https://www.rediscoveringtheunderbanks.co.uk/ a full reconstruction of the carriageway and paving between Royal Oak Yard and the roundabout at the westerly end of Little Underbank has been undertaken. Until recently it was a through route for traffic, but no longer. Originally it was actually the main road to London. There is scaffolding on the Fish Box but the business is still open. Next door is the Grade II listed https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1067178 "Winters" building which was constructed in the late 19th century. The upper floors are decorated with three semi-circular headed niches, each with a pedimented canopy, hanging bell and a shaped plinth supporting a painted figure, to the left a soldier, to the centre Father Time with scythe, and to the right a sailor, each connected to the bell. A projecting illuminated square clock-face hangs above the doorway. Jacob Winter, a successful Jewish businessman, established a watch and clock repair business at 23 Little Underbank in c.1890, expanding into No.25 in the early 1900s, when the frontage was remodelled. The shop front included a patent mechanism to lower the entire display into the basement, for security. The clock has been restored and re-built on several occasions due to traffic damage. The jewellers closed in the 1980s and the premises were acquired by Holts who turned it into a pub. It closed in January 2018. It has since been extensively restored and is expected to reopen in Spring 2022. On the left is the tower of St Mary-in-the-Marketplace Parish Church. To the right is the Unicorn Brewery of Frederic Robinsons Ltd.

Much restoration has taken place here in recent years. Now a "Pedestrian and Cycle Zone" the street can be accessed by one vehicle only at a time controlled by automatic bollards. To the left the premises on the corner of Royal Oak Yard were previously a mobile phone shop and in the past have been a general store and a hat shop. It opened in autumn 2019 as a Blues Bar and Jazz venue Image To the right is Winter's Image This Grade II listed https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1067178 building was constructed in the late 19th century, remodelled c.1904 and in c.1990. The upper floors are decorated with three semi-circular headed niches, each with a pedimented canopy, hanging bell and a shaped plinth supporting a painted figure, to the left a soldier, to the centre Father Time with scythe, and to the right a sailor, each connected to the bell. A projecting illuminated square clock-face hangs above the doorway. Jacob Winter, a successful Jewish businessman, established a watch and clock repair business at 23 Little Underbank in c.1890, expanding into No.25 in the early 1900s, when the frontage was remodelled. The shop front included a patent mechanism to lower the entire display into the basement, for security. The clock has been restored and re-built on several occasions due to traffic damage. The jewellers closed in the 1980s and the premises were acquired by Holts who turned it into a pub. It closed in January 2018 but has since been extensively restored and has now re-opened as Bistro Marc Image In the background is the Grade II listed https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1067155 St Petersgate Bridge. It was constructed in 1866-8. The designer was R Rawlinson, and the engineer was Brierley of Blackburn. The cost was around £6,000. A contemporary description of the bridge notes 'six arches, the central one over the Underbank-street being of cast-iron, with perforated parapets and a sufficiency of ornament to prevent its being (as many bridges over public streets are) an eyesore and offensive to good taste'. The Stockport coat of arms on the bridge cartouche was adopted in 1836, and was said to be the arms of the Stopford or Stockport family, Barons of Stockport (later superseded by a coat of arms granted by the College of Arms in two stages in 1932 & 1959).

The premises on the corner of Little Underbank and Royal Oak Yard were previously a mobile phone shop and in the past has been a general store and a hat shop. It has now opened as a Blues Bar and Jazz venue.

The former Grade II listed shop building on Little Underbank was constructed in the late 19th century, remodelled c.1904 and in c.1990. The upper floors are decorated with three semi-circular headed niches, each with a pedimented canopy, hanging bell and a shaped plinth supporting a painted figure, to the left a soldier, to the centre Father Time Image with scythe, and to the right a sailor, each connected to the bell. A projecting illuminated square clock-face hangs above the doorway. Jacob Winter, a successful Jewish businessman, established a watch and clock repair business at 23 Little Underbank in c.1890, expanding into No.25 in the early 1900s, when the frontage was remodelled. The shop front included a patent mechanism to lower the entire display into the basement, for security. The clock Image has been restored and re-built on several occasions due to traffic damage. The jewellers closed in the 1980s and has since been in use as a bar. Image Image

Clock on the Joseph Holt's pub Winter's on Little Underbank Image

The former shop building was constructed in the late 19th century, remodelled c.1904 and in c.1990. The upper floors are decorated with three semi-circular headed niches, each with a pedimented canopy, hanging bell and a shaped plinth supporting a painted figure, to the left a soldier, to the centre Father Time Image with scythe, and to the right a sailor, each connected to the bell. A projecting illuminated square clock-face hangs above the doorway. Image