Silver Jubilee 1977
1977 marked a double celebration for Glossop, the Silver Jubilee of the Queen and 50 years since Manor Park opened.
The events were organised by the four main recreational centres at Glossop, Hadfield, Gamesley and Whitfield who ran adult education, youth and community activities in the area.
A two day ‘In the Park’ event and carnival was held in Manor Park. Over 100 societies and organisations took part in a carnival parade.
The proceeds from the carnival street collection went to the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Fund, which was to go to projects to give opportunities to young people to help them serve the communities they live in. One of the big projects that had been called for was a sports centre in the centre of Glossop.
The fun started on Saturday 2 July. The carnival parade of floats on lorries left Hadfield at 1.30pm and proceeded down Newshaw Lane, Dinting Vale and down the High Street, Glossop and ended in the car park at Union Carbide on Shepley Street at 3pm. Prizes were awarded for best decorated float.
In the park were displays of Scottish Dancing, gymnastics and Glossop School Show Band. On Sunday was a display by Glossop Pony Club and an “Its a knockout” competition involving teams from local youth organisations. There was also a grand draw with prizes of a pair of binoculars and a ladies watch.
An exhibition of arts and crafts, history and natural history of Glossop and District was held at Glossop Community Centre (now Glossop Adult Education Centre) to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.
Golden Jubilee 2002
The events of the Golden Jubilee were shared by the legendary reporter, David Jones, in the Glossop Chronicle.
There were no parades in Glossop for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The festivities on the 3 June were organised by the Glossop Town Centre Partnership’s steering committee. The town centre was “likely to be packed…for the bank holiday market”.
Norfolk Square would be the arena for the entertainments. There was the Zambura samba band and dancers. Glossop Old Band and Glossop Junior Wind Orchestra in the afternoon. Glossop Operatic and Dramatic Society (GODS) staged free shows of their production of ‘Oliver’ at the Partington Theatre.
Outside Glossop Heritage Centre on Henry Street was an exhibition of photographs by Keith Bate of shops and staff in the town centre. This is now part of the Glossop Heritage Trust Archive.
The celebrations continued with live bands in Glossop Town Hall organised by the Lift Global Music Club.
Old Glossop had decorated the Old Cross in red, white and blue with a golden emblem hung on the top. They had planned a street party around the Cross.
The rainy weather put a dampener on the day and the turnout was not as expected, but this did not stop most of the entertainments.