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What's Your Town Got?

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Bush Tucker Man:
I was chatting to a couple of our younger Nurses & Doctors this morning at work.
They'd moved to live around Wakefield after getting jobs here, and the more inquistive one was asking if I'd lived around here a long time (all my life) and was it famous for anythng in particular, so I thought for a few minutes and came up with these items (not in order);

Chantry Chapel (1 of 4 remaining bridge chapels in the country, and dates to approx 1350)  

Wakefield Cathedral, dates from the mid 1400's. The highest steeple in Yorkshire, 4th highest in  England.

Stanley Ferry Aquaduct. The only cast-iron suspension aquaduct in Europe (1839), it carries the Aire & Calder Navigation canal across the River Calder.
Visually almost identical to Sydney Harbour bridge.

First privately built & owned water tower (1640) to supply Heath Hall

Worlds first public railway, one on which anyone could place their own wagon (Lake Lock Rail-Road)

First 'new-town'/suburb. St Johns, built almost in its entirety circa 1830

Countries largest excavation at the time, the  Notton cutting for the Barnsley Canal

Longest, most complete Manorial Court Roll in the country (almost complete from 1274- 1920's)

Stanley (my village) a unique bridge which carried 2 railways, and the road over another railway.

Oldest railway tunnel in the country, dating to the 1790's

One of the earliest town by-passes (now, Ings Road) built by Act Of Parliament in 1831.

Westgate (area of the City centre) has the oldest surving purpose built banking offices in the country - outside of London.

Wakefield was the most inland port that could build sea-going vessels.

Westgate Chapel may have the oldest known catacombs under a place of worship (beforea anyone responds, Churches & Cathedrals have Crypts)

Stanley Royd ( was called West Riding Luantic Asylum) one of the first rates financed asylums in the country.

Stanley Royd is responsible for the phrase 'As mad as a hatter'. One of the first patients was a milliner, Mercury fumes from the process affected the brain & caused severe affects.

The hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers' was wrote & first performed in Horbury (suburb) by the local Vicar.
Believe it, or not, Horbury has a brown tourist sign that declares 'Home of Onward...'

Wakefield Prison is responsible for the childrens rhyme 'Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush', as one grew in the prisons exercise yard.


I would say, does anyone live anywhere with a more varied past?, but of course they do.

There are a  few related photos on my Webshots.

Ben:
Not lived here very long (about 2 and a half weeks), but apparently Tibshelf is the site of the UK's first inland Oil well. Probably dried up now though  :(

Wonder if Tibshelf services might be the most mentioned single place outside London on travel reports...

Certainly not much else to shout about!

My home town has a building that got to the final on "Restoration" though...

Cheers

Ben

Bush Tucker Man:
Which was that then Ben?, I know the wonderful Manchester 'Victoria Baths' won.

I take it you're back from Aus then?

richardb:
I grew up in Chesterfield, famous for it's Crooked Spire & George Stephenson.

Any Good?

Bush Tucker Man:
Know Chesterfield spire well, and the 'stories' about its origins.

Of course it was due to using green wood in the construction, and as it dried out it twisted.

There's absolutely no truth in the highly scurrilous rumour that the bride was a virgin & the spire twisted round as it couldn't believe it. One of our departments Nurses is a Chesterfield girl & she hadn't a clue about any of the stories.


Stephenson, certainly worthy of note & a huge statue.

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