Gee Cross

Gee Cross
A view of Gee Cross from Werneth Low
Gee Cross  Gee Cross shown within Greater Manchester
Population	31,000
OS grid reference	SJ9593
Metropolitan borough	Tameside
Metropolitan county	Greater Manchester
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HYDE
Postcode district	SK14
Dialling code	0161
Police	Greater Manchester
Fire	Greater Manchester
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Stalybridge and Hyde
List of places UK England Greater Manchester

Coordinates: 53°26′17″N 2°04′04″W / 53.4380°N 2.0677°W / 53.4380; -2.0677

Gee Cross is a suburb and village within Tameside Metropolitan Borough, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies within the town of Hyde and borders Woodley in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport and Godley, also in Tameside metropolitan borough. The centre of the village dates back to the times of the Domesday Book, however the large nearby town of Hyde grew up in the Industrial Revolution, and now Gee Cross merges into the southern part of Hyde.

Historically a part of Cheshire, Gee Cross does not have statutory boundaries, as it does not have civil parish status. Tradition would dictate that the northern boundary is at the corner of Lilly Street and Stockport Road, at a location known as the "big tree". The big tree commemorates those that lost their lives in the Falklands conflict of 1982.

Gee Cross is home to a, recently evolved, Well Dressing festival, which is an ancient custom in the Pennines. There is also another recent addition, an annual village fete, a major fund raising event for local charities which is held on the site of a former reservoir which is now classified as the village green.

Features

The centre of the village hosts a "Tesco Express" convenience store, a recently opened Estate Agents, a village newsagents and shop, a locally owned Café open 7 hours a day, Hairdressing Salons, Barbers Shops, Fish & Chip Shop, Ganjees Indian Takeaway, Stables Bistro, Laundrette, Pharmacy, Bakers, Beauty Salons, Playgroups/Nurseries, Weir Motors Garage, heating and plumbing company PWS Installations, and a few office based businesses. In addition to this at the bottom of Stockport Rd is a Smith Knight Fay Volkswagen dealership which was fully rebuilt in 2008 but has now closed down. As of 2016 it has reopened selling used Audis. The local Post Office was formerly located on the corner of School Lane and Stockport Rd, but was closed in the phasing out of smaller branches. It has now become a private house.

There are numerous pubs in the village, suiting various tastes. These include The Buxton, The Queen Adelaide, The Werneth, The Cheshire Cheese, and the recently refurbished Grapes Hotel and Bowling Club which re-opened as of November 2008 now featuring a full service restaurant. The Lamb Inn has closed and will never re-open as a pub again, and has been converted to a children's day centre. Another addition to the already thriving Gee Cross pub scene is the Joshua Bradley. Named after the former Mayor of Hyde and situated on the borders of the village, this 19th-century former private hall (Bamford Hall in its previous incarnation) has been subject to a £3 million transformation by Hydes brewery into their flagship pub/restaurant and is well worth a visit. Gee Cross can be quite a busy village, particularly at weekends and is a popular night out for those who live nearby and locals, mainly due to the ease in which to walk from pub to pub and the friendly atmosphere.

The two primary schools are Dowson Primary and Gee Cross Holy Trinity (CoE). Just outside Gee Cross is Alder Community High School, which is a new high school built in 2004. It is a computing and maths specialist school which teaches over 800 11-15 year olds.

There are Anglican, Methodist, and Unitarian Churches. The Unitarian Church in the centre of the village is known as Hyde Chapel. The Anglican Church is called Holy Trinity Gee cross.

Gee Cross is built on the side of a hill called Werneth Low.

Werneth Low is mostly a protected country park, that was first created as a war memorial by the people of Hyde. It has a visitors centre and ranger service.

On a clear day, there are spectacular views as far as Bolton, Wigan and, on a very clear day, the Welsh mountains. Sightseers can view Manchester city centre, including the tallest tower in the UK outside London - Beetham Tower. The Hare and Hounds pub sits on the top of Werneth Low, as does Hyde Cricket and Squash club, and Werneth Low Golf Club.

Notable people

• Ronald ("Ron") Hill, MBE, BSc, PhD Olympic Marathon Runner.
• Tom Cassell ("Syndicate"), Famous YouTube Gamer
• Tommy Chow, Olympic Cycling Medallist
• Tony Husband (Cartoonist)
• Brian Day (Musician), Founder member of the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. Also worked with Neil Sedaka, 10cc and Barclay James Harvest.
• Ricky Hatton famous boxer born in Hattersley but now lives in Gee Cross
• Benjamin Rowbotham (Left back, Defender. Hyde United Footballer)
• Warren Bradley - Manchester United Footballer
• Nigel Howard (First class cricketer) was born in Gee Cross, Hyde, and played test cricket for England. He played first class cricket for Lancashire between 1946 and 1954, he played his four tests between 1951 and 1952. He became Lancashire’s youngest ever captain in 1949 and in 1950 he led Lancashire to a shared Championship title.^[1]
• Jack Griffiths - Manchester United Footballer, worked as a physiotherapist, located at Richmond House, Stockport Road. Initially opened in the early 50s, he worked there before retiring in 1980 he was joined by his son, Keith Griffiths, who has been the Principal physiotherapist ever since.
• Mick Coleman (composer and songwriter) of Brian & Michael The Matchstalk Men
• Daniel Benson four time national aba junior champion
• John Bramwell an English singer-songwriter, frontman for the three-piece alternative rock band I Am Kloot.

References