A selection of images from the Archives, courtesy of Archives +
Heywod Grows as Darnhill rises
Article from the Manchester Evening News 1st June 2005: “THE population of Heywood swelled when thousands of people were moved out of the Manchester slums and into the Heywood countryside of Darnhill” https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/nostalgia/heywood-grows-as-darnhill-rises-1139421
Lots of memories
I moved to Darnhill in 1963 when I was 7. I came from Miles Platting (slums), I lived on Birnam Grove and went to Heap County school and Sutherland Road. There was no shops or flats etc at first. I have lots of memories.
Balmoral Drive
These photos of Balmoral Drive, taken in the late 1970’s, were shared with us by Joan (below). There is a clear view of the flats in the background.
Such a different world
We moved from Blackley in Manchester to Darnhill in October 1962. I was 10 years old my sister was 3 and my Mum was pregnant with my youngest sister. In Blackley we lived in a prefab and I had always wanted to live in a house with stairs. The house we moved into was lovely […]
A ghostly tale from Sutherland High
I attended Sutherland high school in 1966 aged 11 the school hadn’t been built long. The rosla block had just been built …never new that what meant. About the school: Apparently it was built on old ground where many soldiers had died so certain parts of the school were haunted by them. I left at […]
The Darnhill Time Machine
In the Summer of 2019 a group of young people from Rochdale Youth Service worked with artist Oliver Bishop and film maker Lee Marks to create a film about their estate, Darnhill in Heywood. The film was later shown in a time machine which was built for the Darnhill festival. Designed by two children from […]
THE DARNHILL GHOST TRAIN: IN CONVERSATION
P: Here’s one to ponder on , the 1970’s ghost train! Back in 1975/1976 me and my mate from school , also called Paul, sat on the banks of the railway tracks , in the dark I might add, waiting for the infamous Ghost train that was reputed to travel past towards Castleton. On the […]
Ayr Grove
This picture was shared by Lisa the younger girl in the picture. The older girl is her friend who lived on the same road. The photograph was taken around 1977. Lisa no longer lives in Darnhill, having moved away in 1993 My dad would have no doubt taken the picture as he loved snapping everything […]
LIFE IN LOCKDOWN: DARNHILL An online exhibition
In March 2020, as the Overspill project was drawing to an end, the world went into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Here we explore what life in lockdown has been like some people in Darnhill.
