IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Knutsford View, ALTRINCHAM, WA15 8SU

Wire mesh protects the demolition site of The Square in Hale Barns.

Since 1936 (until a few years ago) one of two pubs in Hale Barns village, the other being the Bulls Head. Now HQ for a security systems supplier. An intriguing old photo shows this building in course of construction BEHIND its predecessor - the Unicorn Inn - an 18th century hostelry. This was to avoid losing their license, which had to operate continuously - without closure - at that time. A regular at the old Unicorn Inn was Samuel Brooks, calico printer and banker, whose country residence (Prospect House) was half a mile up the road from here and who was one of the richest men in the North West in the 1850s. He owned 800 acres in Hale Barns and was a considerable local benefactor. His son became MP for Altrincham and endowed Hale Barns with its War Memorial, which still stands on the Green. Also extant is the impressive tudor-style building in Altrincham which once housed the Cunliffe-Brooks Bank. Brooks Drive Image runs from the main road (A538), near modern Prospect House, to Brooklands Road but never became more than a track for much of its length rather than the tree-lined carriage route Brooks had intended - to connect Hale Barns with his then extensive estates in Whalley Range, Manchester.

A retail outlet for wine in the centre of Hale Barns.

The existence of the 18th century tithe-barn here lent its name to the village, which was otherwise just an outlying part of Hale itself. The area grew wealthy, in terms of its agricultural produce, such that it was possible to collect 'tithes' (one tenth) of the yield of each farm as a form of tax. The tithes collected were stored in the communal barn on this site - which is now commemorated by the side road of the same name. An electricity sub station has occupied the corner for many decades. The original barn was recorded in a sketch of 1844 showing it to be a very substantial oak-framed building - 87ft x 18ft x 18ft - with a pitched roof and oak, or elm, shingled sides.

Recently, Hale Barns Garage has lost all its petrol pumping equipment and must come as an unwelcome shock to passing motorists who are used to filling up there. The next nearest fuel would be Altrincham or Morley Green.

Following demolition of the Square, a pillar box has been relocated here, but may move again when current rebuilding is complete. (See also photo Image)

The Square, to the right, has recently seen massive redevelopment after a public enquiry and compulsory-purchase dispute which lasted several years. You can no longer get a drink at the Unicorn Hotel but you might buy a burglar alarm from the company which now operates from there.

The approximate location of the 18th century Tithe Barn, from which both the road and the village (Hale Barns) takes its name. The old structure - which was demolished generations ago - was very substantial (18 yards long and 18 feet wide) - so it could store that portion of produce (one tenth) which local farmers paid to the parish: a practice widespread across Europe at the time.