Fit for a King!

Hyde Bank Farm dates back to the seventeenth century and has had a wealth of important historical figures living there over the years.

Built in 1655, it was once home to some of England’s Royals. The farm was built for Anne Hyde, who went on to marry King James II.

Anne was the daughter of Edward Hyde, the Earl of Clarendon. She met James when he was Duke of York and they secretly married on 3 September 1660.

The Duchess of York was a woman of great intellect but little beauty and she died of cancer in 1671, 14 years before James was crowned King of England in 1685.

Another important figure to reside at the farm was Samuel Oldknow. Oldknow lived at Hyde Bank in Romiley during the late eighteenth century, whilst his cotton mill was built in Mellor.

During his time he reshaped and industrialised the area. One of his biggest achievements was the Peak Forest Canal, which runs underneath Hyde Bank Farm and helped with the transportation of industrial goods.

The farm first fell into the hands of the Blackhurst family in 1910 and has remained in their care ever since. Comprising of five houses and a barn, Hyde Bank has been able to accommodate the whole family for almost 100 years.

Mary Taylor Augusta and her husband Samuel Dore were the first family members to rent Hyde Bank in 1910. Back then it was a mixed farm, consisting of beef and dairy cattle and horses.

In 1926 Samuel died and Mary retired, leaving her Grandson Harold to take over the farm. Harold Dore took tenancy in 1933 and the farm continued to be self sufficient, producing eggs, milk, potatoes and grain.

One of the farm’s main forms of income was a local milk round. Before World War II, a bike and side-car was used to take large jugs of milk around the area. Harold would then go into each house and pour the milk into glasses or jugs.

During the war, the farm was designated a patch to deliver milk and eggs to, which included around 400 houses. The preferred method of transport switched to a horse and cart, before the milk cart was finally introduced.

In 1939 milking machines were introduced and supermarkets came along, slowly forcing the rounds down. At its peak, the farm was delivering 1600 pints of milk a day, compared to just 600 now.

It became uneconomical to produce milk at Hyde Bank Farm, but the Blackhursts’ carried on for as long as possible. They were the last farm in the area to produce their own milk, before they had to start buying it in.

Without the demand for local milk, the farm began to struggle and the family had to act quickly. This resulted in the diversification of Hyde Bank, which now makes its main income from a popular tearoom and function room.

The oldest member of the family, 74-year-old David William Blackhurst, remembers his home when it was full working farm and is disappointed that it has had to change. He said: “Each member of the family will have different ideas about whether the changes are good or bad, I personally think they are negative changes but for a positive outcome.”

“I miss it being a fully functioning farm, but if we hadn’t done something we would have lost our home, so in that respect the tea room has been a very positive move. It is just a shame that we needed to do it in the first place.”