Location: Fauvel Road/Norfolk Street/Talbot Road, Glossop
Donor: Mrs Matthews-Donaldson and Mrs Winslow, Daughters of Mrs Partington
Builder: Arthur Sparkes
Date Opened: Saturday 24th April 1954
Owner: Glossop Borough Council (1954-1974), High Peak Borough Council (1974-present)
Mary Alice Partington, M.B.E., J.P.
“Mrs Partington was a most distinguished citizen. She was born in Glossop, her roots were in Glossop, and she worked for the good of Glossop and its people.”
She was Glossop’s first lady Mayor, after her husband Herbert Partington died in 1916 during the middle of WW1. She was a great hospital and social worker, raising considerable funds for the local hospitals and other social schemes. For these reasons she was made Freeman of the Borough.
She was well respected by the town for all her work.
Memorial
The daughters of Mrs Partington offered to build a memorial in honour of their mother in the town. There was much discussion with the Council about a suitable memorial. Alderman R. Sellers suggested a bandstand in Manor Park surrounded by flowers and railings. In the end it was decided to let her daughters make the choice.
By late 1951 the daughters of Mrs Partington had decided on a wayside shelter where older people could rest, sit and chat. The offer was made with one request that the shelter would be sited on the junction of Norfolk Street, Fauvel Road and Talbot Road. This was made for the personal reason that “Mrs Partington had been in the habit during the evenings of strolling along Talbot Road and exchanging greetings with the elderly people meeting on the seat at that spot.”
Difficulties of the site
There was one issue with this site. The Council would need to use some of the playing fields belonging to Glossop Grammar School. A letter was written to the governors of the school to ask permission to build it there. They refused as it would reduce the privacy of that piece of the field. The County Council who owned the land upheld the governors’ decision.
Negotiations were made for a long time on both sides but the governors and the County Council would not give permission and the donors would not agree to any other site as this was so important to them.
After three years the donors advising they had decided to withdraw their offer. The then Mayor, H. Cooper, arranged a meeting with the chairman of the County Council. A meeting was arranged in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Town Hall for a number of officials and after discussion and amendments it was agreed the memorial could be built on that site.
Progress
In June 1953 the contract was signed by Mrs Matthews-Donaldson to allow building to begin.
By January 1954 progress was being made. The memorial was built by local builder, Arthur Sparkes. The shelter was built in dressed stone with windows through which you could view the surrounding hills. There would be shrubs and plants laid out around the shelter.
Welcome resting spot for Glossop
The Partington Memorial Shelter was officially opened on Saturday 24 April 1954 by her daughter Mrs Matthews-Donaldson and accepted by the Mayor, Alderman Beckmann. The plaque on the side of the shelter commemorating their mother was also unveiled by her daughter. Speeches were made outlining Mrs Partington’s service to Glossop.
“Now this this shelter is a welcome resting spot for Glossop folk and a permanent reminder of a kind and remarkable lady”
The shelter was well used as her daughters intended. Old people gathered to rest and chat protected from the “wretched weather”. “There is nothing the late Mrs Partington would have liked better than to see us chat in here” was one of the many comments made.
Sadly over the next few years the memorial suffered from repeated vandalism. Some years later it was decided to remove the windows and frames for safety reasons from the damage being done.
The memorial still stands at the junction of Fauvel Road, Talbot Road and Norfolk Street as a lasting reminder of the “good work and noble life” of Glossop’s first lady Mayor.
Memories
“My dad, Arthur Sparkes, built the Partington Memorial”
Liz Sparkes
Sources
Glossop Chronicle, various dates
Glossop Borough Council Minutes, 1951-1957
Photographs (GHT Archive)