Macclesfield, Chestergate 1898

Photo ref: 42600X

My 3rd Great Grandfather, Sylvester Smith, was admitted to Parkside Asylum, Macclesfield in 1889 where he remained until he passed away in 1901. He would have been residing there at the time the picture was taken.

It was early summer in 1967 when suffering from a 'mental breakdown' I was admitted into Macc in the middle of the night, horror upon horror me and my mates had often talked about and even took the piss out of this place even though we lived over the hill in Buxton, it was a place we use to pass if we were on a coach trip to Blackpool, a monstrous unwelcome ...see more

My Aunt, Lily Hewitt, owned a 19th century greengrocer's shop down on the left side of this view. She and her Husband Frank (who died in the 1940's) had run the shop from well before WWII, and went most days to Manchester Market for fresh produce. She lived above the shop and opened at eight each morning. I used to spend a week of the summer holidays with her and remember well the smell of fresh fruit and ...see more

My grandma, Mary Bowers, worked at Parkside Hospital in the 60's & was there the day Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon in 1969. Mum talks of Grandma & how she found it so funny as the patients were all sat round to see the 'The first man walk on the moon'. One patient, my grandma told mum, said 'I don't want to sit here' and she replied to her 'but you're going to see the first man walk on ...see more