Ashton Fountain
The column found here is what remains of the Ashton drinking fountain and public lamp erected in this area in 1881. It was donated by local MP Sir William Cunliffe Brooks who made several benefactions to Sale, including the site for St. Mary's Church, the tower of St. Martin's Church and the Brooks Institute on Carrington Lane.
The original fountain had this stone column at its heart, with a cast iron lamp on top which provided much needed illumination for the junction of Ashton Lane and Moss Lane and also acted as a local landmark. Additionally it included two large drinking troughs for horses. By 1903 a post box was added and later still a bench was introduced.
In 1964, and again in 1966 it was suggested that the fountain be removed to one of the parks as it was thought to be a traffic hazard. However, it was argued that the fountain, although "not exactly a thing of beauty, being too squat in its proportions," should be saved, as it was "one of Sale's few remaining monuments to yesteryear." The proposal to resite the fountain in Ashton Park raised a storm of protest, particularly because it required the demolition of two mature beech trees.
Finally it was moved to the Barkers Lane side of the junction and reduced to just the stone column - a shadow of its former self but still a “monument to yesteryear”.
This area used to be known as Newton Green and was formerly the site of the local gallows.
Images of the fountain through the years can be found on the Trafford Lifetimes searchable database legacy.trafford.gov.uk/content/tca (search Keyword “Fountain”, Location “Ashton on Mersey”).
The Brooks’ south Manchester legacy
William’s father Samuel Brooks who was born in 1793, joined a Manchester calico-printing firm, Reddish, Brooks & Co and opened a branch of their bank in Manchester at the request of his father. By 1846 he owned 628 acres of Sale and in 1852 he bought the Stamford land in Ashton-on-Mersey. He also bought land in Hale Barns in 1857.
He also astutely foresaw the need for suburban residential land for the burgeoning class of Manchester industrialists. In 1859 he agreed terms with the Manchester, South Junction, and Altrincham Railway Company for land on which the MSJAR could build a new station to serve his select development on Brooklands Road. Brooks' name was also given to the station, which remains today the Brooklands Metrolink Station on Marsland Road.
The Avenue in Sale was originally built for the Brooks family and was formerly known as Brooks' Avenue.
The family came from Whalley near Clitheroe on the Ribble, and Whalley Range in Manchester was laid out by Samuel Brooks and was named after his home village.
Sir William Cunliffe-Brooks later bought more land, until the estate stretched from Davenport Green to Warburton Green and Brooklands, and included much of Hale Barns. By 1862 he created Brooks’ Road, now Brooks’ Drive linking his home, Prospect House on the Wilmslow Road in Hale Barns, and Brooklands Station with the intention of creating a coach route to the station to improve his journey to work.
During the late nineteenth century, Sir William Cunliffe-Brooks planted trees on Hale Barns Green, fenced it and provided a drinking fountain. He removed the old smithy and the cottages nearby, replacing them with a new smithy and houses. He gave land for the black-and-white mission church, built at a cost of £750, and headed the list of subscriptions for rebuilding the Church of England school in the village. He also paid for the installation of lighting and water supply in the village. The shape of present-day Hale Barns was considerably influenced by his patronage. In Altrincham, the spectacular black and white bank in Old Market Place is listed and was formerly Cunliffe Brooks’ Bank, taken over by Lloyds about 1900 and now offices. Originally there was a weather vane with “WCB” in it and his initials are on the left-hand chimney. Opposite, the offices in Market Street around the top of Post Office Street were also built by Brooks. They complement the style of the bank and have wrought iron weather vanes with Brooks’ initials in them.
Image kindly provided under creative commons license by the national portrait gallery (NPG x46525).
Sir William Cunliffe Brooks
Born 30 September 1819, Brooks was the son of Samuel Brooks, a banker of Manchester and his wife Margaret Hall. After his education at Rugby and St John's College, Cambridge he was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1847. He went on northern circuit until death of his father in 1864 when he became sole partner of Cunliffe Brooks and Co, Manchester. He opened Brooks and Co., 81 Lombard Street, London. He was a J.P. for Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester, and Deputy Lieutenant for Lancashire and Aberdeen.
In 1869 Brooks was elected at a by-election as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for East Cheshire. He held the seat until it was divided under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, and at the 1885 general election he unsuccessfully contested the new Macclesfield division. The baronetcy was conferred on him in 1886. At the 1886 election he was elected as MP for Altrincham, holding the seat until he stood down at the 1892 general election.
Brooks married Jane Elizabeth Orrell, daughter of Ralph Orrell in 1842. They had no sons but two daughters (other children died in infancy).
He was involved in and was a member of The Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society (now a registered charity), which was founded in 1883; and became the 4th President of it in 1889.
He also had a major influence on the estate of Glen Tanar (where he died aged 80), near Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, building houses, cottages for estate workers, a school, stables and kennels. He also installed numerous carved stones and memorials in the surrounding countryside, many of which make playful references to his name or celebrate the virtues of drinking water rather than alcohol as Brooks was a committed teetotaler.
Cache Notes
This simple, traditional cache is our first; we hope you enjoy it and enjoy learning some of our local history that was all new to us too. Sorry it got so long, but we thought it was all very interesting – honest, this was the cut down version!
Having lost two lock-n-lock caches to muggling the cache has been replaced with a simpler and "lower profile" cache. We have experimented with a new style so if the pouch fails or any other problems then please let us know in your log.
NO SWAPS PLEASE
Congratulations to jamange with the FTF