The sun was out, so I decided it was a good opportunity to go on a photo walk around parts of Stockport this afternoon. From the images I took with my digital SLR camera, I have selected the following to include in this month’s blog post. I had a plan of where I wanted to go and figured out a route which would take me past each building so I was in easy walking distance of each location.
My list building to visit included Strawberry Studios, founded in 1968 by Peter Tattersall and Eric Stewart, where the likes of musicians such as pop group 10cc, Paul McCartney and Neil Sedaka recorded their hits.
There’s a blue plaque on the front of the red bricked/grey painted building which mentions artists that visited the studios back in its heyday.
I decided to climb a rough patch of ground opposite the building in order to get a good vantage point so I could take a face-on photograph. Trying not to squash the bluebells and daffodils in the process, I managed to take a small selection of photos.
My next subject was Stopford House which is in a southerly direction from the former studios towards London road and just off Edward street down Piccadilly.
Stopford House which is the local council civil building for the borough of Stockport, is an imposing mid-1970s building made of concrete patterned reinforced slabs and uniformed windows. It looks like something out of a spy film set in Eastern Europe.
Back 2006, the hit BBC TV crime drama series ‘Life on Mars’ was filmed in the courtyard to act as exteriors for a police station in the programme. The drama follows Sam Tyler who is involved in a car accident and ends up in 1973. A sort of time travelling cop drama with humour mixed in.
The courtyard itself looks a bit neglected and covers a large area stretching up to the town hall.
My last building to photograph was Stockport Masonic Guildhall on the main London Road (A6) opposite Stockport College. Built in the late 1860s, this Victorian red bricked building has some lovely exterior features such as the stone carved window frames and crest of arms. The hall is now a conference centre.
From the images I took today, I hope to create prints in the coming months, which will hopefully capture the look and character of the buildings.
Stockport In Print 