I sit writing this listening to Estace street school being demolished.
The school was left abandoned for over 9 years and I believe the unscrupulous plan was to let it fall into disrepair and force it to be demolished as it was a grade 1 listed building and there was no other way that the land could have been acquired.
It was Chaddertons first school to be built after its founding and is yet another part of Oldham's history that has been layed to waste in the name of progess.
(You may have read my other journal about Oldham's railway line meeting a similar fate in October.)
With The Radclyffe school also being raised to the ground earlier this year I now have no evidence of a school that I went to, as I spent my entire school life in either one of these buildings.
To add insult to injury chadderton library (built 1863) and sports centre are also to be demolished in the next few weeks leave this town as little more than a waste land of rubble for years to come until the replacement facilities are completed.

I know some people believe that progress is better than history but how many irreplaceable structures have been erased to make room for yet another car park or unneeded housing.

Pictures to follow of all of these buildings and I welcome any and all comments to this and feel free to ask questions

For those unaware of where I am, Chadderton is in Oldham, 6 miles from Manchester city centre, UK.