By Andrew Gwynne MP
I AM incredibly proud of our local community and believe it is vital we protect and promote the things that are fundamental to our identity in Tameside.
Tameside Council recently made the exciting announcement that from February 19 – March 13, they will be running ‘Hats Off to Denton’ sculpture trail. The free trail will consist of 15 hats and will be exhibited across Denton Town Centre. Each hat will be painted by a local artist and the designs will be inspired by the town or a community within the town.
This is such a fantastic idea and a brilliant way of celebrating Tameside’s unique history. As anyone who knows me will attest, I am a massive history buff and a particular fan of the history of hat-making in Denton. We have been making hats for over 300 years and from humble beginnings ended up becoming the epicentre of early 20th century hat making in the United Kingdom.
Denton is home to the only known surviving example of a two-storey planning shop and bow garret.
The structure (which I ended up randomly discovering back in 2013 and found out more about through a local historian) would have been where early hatters worked in the early 1800s. It is a fascinating landmark.
This initiative is a great way of presenting our history in a fun and engaging way. I cannot wait to explore the trail and be given the opportunity to talk to anyone who’ll listen about the history of my home!
There is also the brilliant news that Stalybridge (which sits in the constituency of my colleague Jonathan Reynolds) has been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2022. This means Tameside will be getting some extra attention, as well as the backing of a cultural fund to build on existing programmes.
We are defined by our history. It gives us a sense of identity and allows us to connect to long-passed generations and communities. As a politician, I am always eager to look to the future and try and think of ways that we can improve our society and our communities.
But it’s important that while we continue that work, we do not forget how we ended up here in the first place and how our present is defined by the past.
We live in a part of Greater Manchester with a rich history and we should not be shy to celebrate it.