These aerial views of Penistone's neighbouring village were taken in July 2001. Thurlstone has a lot of character and a lot of characters. Local people were mostly involved in textiles in one way or another, in the old days, and there are still some old weavers' cottages around.
The main A629 Manchester road crosses from right to left at the bottom of the lhs picture, with the Post Office right on the fork of the road which shoots up the picture (also the top-right shot below). This is quite a steep hill until it levels out by the Crystal Palace, the building which is partly obscured by the trees. On the rhs picture, Manchester road is on the left, with Westfield Ave. right up the middle. The single wind turbine of Bullhouse is just visible, top left.
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Top left picture looks up Manchester Road to the West. The red post office sign is just visible on the first building to its right. Rhs picture is dominated by what used to be the post office until 2002. Compare this with the 1933 Whitsuntide parade view. The Wesleyan Chapel has been beautifully restoed as a house. The yellow 30mph speed camera's skidmarks speak for themselves. Someone wants them to be called 'safety cameras'.
The view down the steep hill of Long Lane looks down to Matthew Gap. The row at the bottom of the hill was 'Woodland View', the Briggs' family home for many years. The local paper says that Matthew Gap does not yet have an official name plate and is not shown on any street maps. It hardly matters, as we all know where it is. A local resident has placed his own sign there until the council takes its mind off skateboards, well-dressings and mayors' trophies and does the proper thing.
Have a look at some old views of Thurlstone, before you go.
