Mellor Society Annual General Meeting 2019
The event will be held at Mellor Primary School commencing at 7:00 pm on Thursday 28th March 2019 and refreshments will be available during the evening.
Any business brought forward by the committee or membership will be dealt with. Business brought forward from the membership needs to be in writing to the Hon Secretary (contact details above) and in good time for the Hon Secretary to notify the membership, if necessary, prior to the meeting. To-date we have received one such proposal: “That the Mellor Society Committee, with help from Society members, organise a public meeting to be held in Mellor on the subject of road safety in the whole Mellor and Mill Brow area”. (see page 3 for further information)
We are still seeking help on the committee and with newsletter deliveries and if the Mellor Society is to continue you need to give your support.
The AGM business will again be followed by the Great Mellor Quiz and team entry forms can be obtained from Tim Lowe at lowe_tim@sky.comThere will be a modest team entry fee which will be donated to the Mellor March supporting cancer charities.
The Mellor March, Sunday 5thMay 2019
The main registration point for the Mellor March this year will be at the Devonshire Arms, Longhurst Lane. Registration starting at 10.00am. Walkers will be able to go up Church Road to join the March at the church. For those wanting to start on the traditional route there will be registration at Mellor School.
The March has raised over £200,000 for cancer charities. It is a circular route so people do not have to complete the full ten miles but can head for home at any point to suit their walking ability. All are very welcome to support the March.
The Eye of the STORM
1-day cultural heritage and climate change seminar Mellor, UK
On 11 December 2018 Mellor Archaeological Trust and the University of Salford hosted an admission-free seminar at the Mellor Parish Centre, close to the Mellor pilot site. The seminar focussed on the issue of climate change effects on cultural heritage in the UK and beyond. The seminar was attended by over 50 delegates including STORM partners, other local and national Cultural Heritage projects and the general public.
Speakers from STORM, including Rosmarie De Wit, Filipa Neto, Mike Nevell, Bob Humphrey-Taylor and Robert Williamson who discussed the impact of climate change on the North-West England region, the Mellor pilot site and protection of Cultural Heritage across the UK and Europe from natural and anthropogenic hazards. This combination of talks highlighted the importance of the STORM project to the UK Cultural Heritage perspective.
After a short tea and cake break guests were introduced to other similar projects that are being undertaken across the UK and Ireland. Speakers from the CHERISH project, a Wales and Ireland climate change and coastal heritage project, Louise Barker and Sarah Davies began this section with two really interesting talks. This was followed by the CITiZAN project, where Stephanie Ostrich introduced their project and gave an update on how they are helping Cultural Heritage sites respond to dynamic threats of storms and coastal erosion. Next up was David Knight from Trent and Peak Archaeology who discussed a recent project looking into the effect of climate change and flooding in the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site in Derbyshire England.
Following on from the talks and lunch break were a set of excellent tours of the Mellor Pilot site. Running parallel to one another were tours of the Old Vicarage site, led by Kirsty Whittall of the University of Salford and a tour of Mellor Mill and its history led by Bob Humphrey-Taylor of Mellor Archaeological Trust.
Following on from the Tours guests returned to the Parish Centre, where Mike Nevell from University of Salford presented, on behalf of Historic England, an interesting presentation on climate change and heritage from a UK policy perspective to really highlight the linkage between all of the projects and the creation of new policies to prevent and mitigate climate change risks. Filipa Neto of Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage finished the talks and gave a presentation that led into a discussion slot in which all speakers were positioned in a panel for a questions, answers and discussion session to cap off a great seminar.
The event was recorded live and a video is currently in production. The video will be posted on the STORM blog, YouTube and Mellor Archaeological Trust website (MATrust.org.uk) once editing has been completed. We would like to thank all guests and speakers from across the STORM project and wider for their attendance and making the day a huge success.
Neil Mullineux
MELLOR & TOWNSLIFFE GOLF CLUB CELEBRATES 125 YEARS
For the past 125 years members and visitors have played golf within sight of Mellor Church. In fact when playing shots on some parts of the course, members use the church as a landmark for lining up their shots.
Golf is believed to have been played at Mellor since the 1880’s. Mellor Golf Club was founded back in 1894 on land originally owned by the famous industrialist and entrepreneur Samuel Oldknow, which became part of the Arkwright estate (the family were descendants of Richard Arkwright who invented the water frame to produce a cotton yarn suitable for warp in the 18thcentury).
The Townscliffe Golf Club whose land was adjacent to Mellor Church, was founded in 1908 and dissolved in 1920. Many Townscliffe members joined Mellor Golf Club to form Mellor & Townscliffe Golf Club. In the early days the course was 9 holes which was extended to 18 holes in 1925 in accordance with a promise made to the members of Townscliffe Golf Club at the time of the amalgamation. Six holes were lost to the war effort (1939-45) and the course was not restored to 18 holes until 1965.
The members did their bit for the war effort in inviting wounded soldiers from Brabyns Hospital to tea and a concert on 4thAugust 1915 at the clubhouse. We know that the cost of £3.3s.3d was covered by donations from the members of M&TGC. The profit of 3s.6d on the sale of photographs of the soldiers outside the clubhouse went to Brabyns Hospital and as the event was so successful a second event was held in May 1916 which comprised of a fete and putting competition!
The farm above the 10thhole next to the cross on Cobden Edge is said to have taken its name after a remark by John Welsey on a visit in 1745 who described the view as “paradise.”
In 2019 the club will host several special events including a corporate competition, the Manchester Business Cup on June 28th. Members and visitors will be testing their skills in endeavouring to tame ‘The Mellor’ hole – a par 6 measuring over 700 yards – in various competitions.
This forward thinking club is also freezing its annual £850 membership fee for the next five years until 2023. The club has teamed up with Walksfromthedoor, providing leaflets outlining three different walks from the clubhouse.
There’s no better way to sum up what the club means to so many people then to quote Pat Ward-Thomas, the Guardian’s former golf correspondent: “As one turns from the main road to the clubhouse awareness and freshness and escape is born. It is good for the soul of man to rise occasionally above his normal surrounding and look down on the world about him – few courses in England give this impression of detachment as effectively as does Mellor.”
He concludes “The final charm of Mellor awaits one on the clubhouse balcony, libations will have been earned and eyes as well as limbs may be rested, for across the garden meadows, the wooded value of the Goyt winds peacefully towards the hills.
The Lady Captain
Speed Limits – a Health and Safety Issue
Thank you to all who responded to the piece about Speed Limits in the last Mellor Society Newsletter; responses came from all areas of Mellor. While there was a general agreement that many roads in Mellor are potentially dangerous for people walking and cycling, especially school-children, as well as horse-riders, there was no consensus about the solution. Most of the 13 written responses felt that a 20mph speed limited could be helpful, but there were several concerns about how people could be convinced to drive within the limits or how these limits would be enforced; if they couldn’t, then it was pointless as the current 30mph limit (20mph near Mellor School) is frequently exceeded. A couple of people mentioned speed humps, and others felt that parked cars, although tending to slow traffic down, could be especially dangerous when parked on pavements requiring people with push-chairs or mobility scooters to go into the road. Winter evenings in either poorly or non-lit roads were mentioned as especially dangerous for children. There were several thoughtful ideas and interesting suggestions made which, hopefully, can be taken forward.
The Mellor Society Committee has discussed this issue and invited me to attend their last meeting in December at which it was agreed that:
- a) information is needed on all ‘near misses’ and ‘potentially dangerous’ incidents. In theory these should be reported to the police, but in reality they aren’t. However an email to the Mellor Society website or to myself if easier. I’ve offered to collate these. If you’re not able to email then please contact one of the committee members (addresses on page 1).
- b) a proposal be put to the next Mellor Society AGM on 28th March’19 asking that the Committee organise a public meeting with experts in the field of road safety, including from SMBC, as well as local Councillors, with the aim of clarifying what steps can be taken to reduce risks on Mellor Roads and what has worked in similar rural areas. Of course this would require input from local people who know the area and especially those who have knowledge about road safety issues.
I’m sure that most reading this agree that safety on our local roads is an issue, but this can only be taken further if people are willing to help with organising the meeting and following up any decisions taken. A solution is likely to take time and persistence but must be done before someone is seriously injured.
Ann Papageorgiou, lakispap@hotmail.com
0777 560 5062
Proposal for Mellor Society AGM on 28th March 2019
Given the response to the article about safety on Mellor Roads in issue 73 of the Mellor Society newsletter I propose that the Mellor Society Committee, with help from Society members, organise a public meeting to be held in Mellor on the subjects of road safety in the whole Mellor, Mill Brow area. The aim of the meeting would be to:
- establish that there is a consensus that ‘something’ needs to be done to make the roads in Mellor safer for people, especially children, who are walking, cycling or horse-riding.
- hear about the type of safety problems experienced by those using the roads and pavements but not in vehicles
- agree what information is required for decisions to be made on how to make the roads in Mellor safe for all users
- establish what road safety measures have worked in similar area in the UK and abroad
- learn what options are available and which are recommended or ruled out
- set out the steps which will need to be taken next
- establish a small group of interested individuals who can take the suggestions forward
Ann Papageorgiou
MELLOR COUNTRY HOUSE CHARITY
Visitors will return on the 1stMarch with a group of adults with mental health issues who love coming to us as it is safe, and they are now familiar with all of the rooms where they stay and love the countryside. We have 11 bedrooms, 24 beds and a beautiful disabled suite with a very popular spa bath for everyone to relax in. If you know of anyone who is in desperate need of getting away and nowhere else to go because of their circumstances, please recommend us and ask them to get in touch to see availability.
Our first fundraising event this year is our annual Plant sale which is on Saturday 18thand Sunday 19thMay 10am until 4pm each day. As usual wonderful plants and a great variety of beautiful shrubs all at very reasonable prices. You can also enjoy our now famous cream teas and bacon butties. You will be able to pick up an order form for the bedding plants and hanging baskets from several places, please watch out on Face Book and our website for more details. If we have your email address you should receive an email, probably towards the middle of April which will give us time to get the orders together.
Thank you, Margaret Powell Chairperson
February 2019 Newsletter
We are delighted to confirm we have been officially “designated” as a Neighbourhood Plan. This means we can now start working on our plan! It also means we can draw up a bid for some money from the Government Fund to help with getting information and consultancy help etc.
First things first though. We are required to have an AGM, appoint our Management Committee and from them, appoint our officers. We have set our AGM for
Saturday 9thMarch,
in St Paul’s Church Hall in Compstall
starting at 2.30, over at 4.30
The notice of the AGM and nomination forms for the management committee are available on our website below. We hope to keep in place the small team who have been steering things through so far, but we need more help and are keen for maximum involvement. We need local residents to participate as much as they can, but if you’re not feeling able to be on the committee we’d love you to join one of our working groups. The time we’d need you to spend will not be onerous and you can dedicate as much or as little as suits you. What’s most important is that we have local views and knowledge built into the plan we write.
We are now in contact with the other three plans which are being written in Stockport, one almost at the very final stage, and us just starting. The other two are somewhere in between. This is hugely valuable for us in particular, and we also know that the Council are learning as they go and so we stand to gain most!
Publicity and Engagement
We’d like to ask you to help us in a very simple way. Please do chat to your friends and neighbours about what we’re doing. Tell them about the AGM and the opportunity to work in writing the plan in areas of interest. Affiliated groups can help by circulating this to their members. All this is a huge help towards spreading the communication further in the area of the Plan.
Nomination forms, new member’s details and just simple enquiries can be sent to us at
Also have a look at our facebook page at MMMC Neighbourhood Plan
The Steering Committee for the Mellor, Marple Bridge, Mill Brow and Compstall Neighbourhood Plan.
The Mellor Society 
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