Thomas Middleton in his book 'History of Hyde' describes some dark parts of Hyde's history, including the murder of a mill owner, Thomas Ashton, in 1831 which Middleton describes as being 'regarded as an attempt on the part of the extremists in the trade union movement to terrorise the employers'. Three men were charged with the murder and two of them were hanged after the third man turned King's evidence.
One of the chapters of 'History of Hyde' is entitled 'Some Grim Happenings of the Past' which details such things as suicides and body snatching, including the aftermath of one burial:
'The day after the interment, the sexton noticed that the gravestone was not in the position in which he had placed it after filling in the grave. The grave was then opened in the presence of some hundreds of people, and on the coffin being reached it was found to contain nothing but the grave-clothes which had been buried with the corpse; these were then given to a woman residing near, who made them into under-garments, and afterwards wore them.'
The things Thomas Middleton writes about are in the distant past, but evil deeds have been visited upon Hyde in the more recent past, and the names of Ian Brady, Myra Hindley, Dr Harold Shipman and Dale Cregan are reviled not just locally, but nationwide.
So what's going to happen next to bring Hyde to the attention of the whole nation? When I was walking down into Hyde town centre recently I passed a car parked at the side of the road and spotted this logo behind the rear door:
Oh dear!
One of the chapters of 'History of Hyde' is entitled 'Some Grim Happenings of the Past' which details such things as suicides and body snatching, including the aftermath of one burial:
'The day after the interment, the sexton noticed that the gravestone was not in the position in which he had placed it after filling in the grave. The grave was then opened in the presence of some hundreds of people, and on the coffin being reached it was found to contain nothing but the grave-clothes which had been buried with the corpse; these were then given to a woman residing near, who made them into under-garments, and afterwards wore them.'
The things Thomas Middleton writes about are in the distant past, but evil deeds have been visited upon Hyde in the more recent past, and the names of Ian Brady, Myra Hindley, Dr Harold Shipman and Dale Cregan are reviled not just locally, but nationwide.
So what's going to happen next to bring Hyde to the attention of the whole nation? When I was walking down into Hyde town centre recently I passed a car parked at the side of the road and spotted this logo behind the rear door:
Oh dear!
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