Tag Archives: stockport

Stockport’s Underground Air Raid Tunnels

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The air raid shelters in Stockport are open to the public so as we were staying overnight in Stockport we decided to have a look around.

The Chestergate shelter opened in 1939 after just over a year of digging out the sandstone rock.

After opening there were ‘open’ days for the public to have a look round and see the tunnels in order for them to know where they would have to shelter should Stockport become a bombing target.

The tunnels are 7 feet high and 7 feet wide, and about 40 feet underground. ARP (Air Raid Protection) Wardens had their own space.

Humans sheltering would sit on the benchs either side of the tunnel with two people standing in the middle between them, so it was quite crowded.

There were flushing toilets with compartments separated by curtains.

These toilets were for the air raid shelter staff, which included the wardens, nurses and canteen staff.

People would travel from miles around to use the shelters as they felt they were stronger and better equipped than other shelters, some spending all night in them, giving the tunnels the nickname ‘The Chestergate Hotel’. Originally the shelters housed about 4000 people, due to the demand was later extended with more tunnels to accommodate 6500 people.

The tunnels are nearly a mile in length, but not all open to the public. They had electric lighting but that was taken out when the war ended and re-used elsewhere.

The ARP had an area to store their tools, which would have been behind a door like this!

There are five underground shelter systems in Stockport but they do not link together. Each shelter was intended to serve people in the immediate area, but as stated above, people from further afield such as Manchester used to travel to spend the nights in the shelters. Stockport did get bombed in 1940 and later in 1944 but wasn’t a main target like Manchester.

There are narrow tunnels accessing the bigger tunnels.

A canteen serving basic food was situated in one area.

There were many bunk beds, 1575 in total.

Basic medical care was available in the first aid post.

I felt a little that I could have ended up going round and round and never emerging as there are so many tunnels!

This is a replica of the sort of air raid shelter people may have had in their gardens. They were called ‘Andersen’ shelters and were made of corrugated iron and were usually partially below ground. My human remembers her mother talking about a ‘Morrison’ shelter, which was used indoors and the shelter could be used as a table when not in use; she remembers her mum mentioning having to hide under the table when the air raid siren sounded.

There are lots of old signs displayed around the shelters, including this one urging people to not waste the rubber by wearing wellies unnecessarily.

After an hour or so exploring we emerged back out into the sunshine.

I do recommend visiting these shelters if you are in the Stockport area, they could be combined with the hat museum for a day out and both are very interesting.

More information about the Air Raid Tunnels Air Raid Shelters – Stockport Council

Link to my blog about Stockport Hat Museum https://horacethealresfordbear.com/2025/11/30/hats-hats-and-history-at-stockport-hat-works-museum/

Horace the Alresford Bear 4/5/2026

Hats, hats, and history at Stockport Hat Works Museum

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Stockport is the home of the only hat museum in the UK.

Hat Works museum is situated inside Wellington Mill, which was built in 1831 as a cotton spinning mill, before becoming a hat factory in the 1890s.

I set off to explore the factory floor, and find out a little bit about how hats used to be made.

150 years ago hats were mostly made from felt which was produced from animal fur. The process was rather gruesome.

Factory workers had to remove skin from rabbits and other furry animals. After that the long guard hairs were removed from the fur using a special tool called a Hatter’s Bow. The hatter would twang the strings and move the fur through them, and the vibrations made them fly up into the air, the fine fur would settle into a even layer.

Here is the sign explaining the Hatter’s Bow:

Below is me with a ‘Planking Kettle’. The fire underneath heated water and sulphuric acid. The hoods were dipped into the acid and rolled with a special wooden pin. The heat, moisture and friction caused the fibres to lock together into felt. After 4 hours of this process that cone would shrink to half its original size into a strong cone that could then be shaped and moulded into a hat.

This was the last hat making process to be mechanised and was used to train apprentices up until the 1950s.

The process used to make the felt hats, which involved shrinking the fur felt reminded my human of what happened when a merino wool jumper accidentally got into a hot wash, and came out very small with the fabric resembling a sort of thick felt.

Hat blocks like these were used to shape the hats.

The hat factory was a dangerous place to work, with many hazards to humans. Fur was treated with mercury which resulted in anyone working there being at risk of health problmes including brain damaged from it. This is where the phrase ‘mad as a hatter’ comes from.

In the photo below I am stood next to the tall chimney that you can see outside from quite a distance. Factories were often situated next to rivers which provided the water used in the hat making process.

Hat making eventually became more mechanised and machines were used to do some of the labour intensive processes. Hat Works museum has a collection of these machines collected from some of the various hat makers that used to be in the Stockport area.

Behind me is a forming machine, that was used to turn the loose fur into cone shapes (called hoods)

The Multi-roller below was used to shrink the hoods instead of the previously used ‘planking kettle’. The display showed a selection of hoods in different sizes illustrating how the size got smaller due to the rolling process.

Several machines assisted with shaping and blocking the hats

Here is a ‘brim breaker’ machine used to form the brims.

William Plant & Co were the last hat block makers in Northern England, and when they shut in 1976 the contents of their workshop and office were carefully removed and now displayed at the hat museum.

The old manual typewriter in the office was of interest to my human: she learnt to type on one like it that had belonged to her grandfather. Modern computer keyboards have the keys in exactly the same place so the skill was transferable!

150 years ago it was considered very important to wear a hat, so the hat making business thrived, but lifestyles and trends changed, and very few hats are now made in the UK.

Next I went upstairs to the Gallery of Hats…

There are hundreds of hats in the gallery!

I liked the one with orange splodges on but it was in the glass case so I couldn’t try it on.

I was jolly pleased to find an area with lots of hats to try on. There were a few humans enjoying trying on hats too.

More hats in glass cases.

Ecclesiastical hats

Pith helmets, which originated in The Phillipines, and made from the pith of cork trees.

Middle Eastern hats…

Uniform hats – this one is a postman’s hat.

I was absolutely delighted to find more hats to try on!

The Hat Museum could be a good place to visit to find out what sort of hat suits you!

There was even a little ironing board for small humans to do pretend ironing.

The splendid red Mini made an excellent centrepiece. My humans both used to have mini cars a bit like this one.

Before leaving Hat Works museum I visited the cafe and had a delicious piece of cake. There was a friendly atmosphere in the cafe with children doing craft activities on some of the tables.

If you are in the Manchester/Stockport area this museum really is worth visiting. At the time of writing this the museum has free entry too. The history of hat making is quite illuminating and it is fun looking a the hat gallery and being able to try on a few hats.

For more information see: https://www.stockport.gov.uk/topic/hat-works

Horace the Alresford Bear 4/11/2025