Victoria Works, Two Trees Ln
The engineering firm of John Brown (Denton) Ltd was founded in 1880 and it specialised in the manufacture of hat wire and spokes for the cycle and motor trades.
The second-generation head of the business was Alfred Brown J.P. and he played an important role in the life of Denton and Haughton Green over many years.
He was a vocalist and musician as well as being a respected member of St Mary's Church, Haughton Green. He was elected as a Denton Councillor and he was the Chairman of the Council on three occasions, 1911/12, 1912/13 and 1927/28.
He was also leader of the local Conservative Party.
John Brown, 1925.
Alfred Brown was born in Denton in 1867 and the 1901 census describes him as a Hat Wire Manufacturer (Employer). His wife, Mary Marsden, was born in Denton in 1866 and the couple were married at Haughton Green, St Mary, in 1892. By 1901 they had one son, John, who was born in Denton in 1893. The family lived on Two Trees Ln close to Victoria Works.
Architecturally, Victoria Works has a strong resemblance to the Wesleyan Sunday School on the opposite side of Two Trees Ln (now much altered), which was built in 1877, and it is possible that the same architect designed both buildings. It has a slate roof, a gable at each end and plain rounded windows and doorway. Above the doorway there is a circular window containing eight panes radiating from the centre and a small stone cross is mounted at the apex of the gable. It is brick built with a header bond, which is a bond composed entirely of headers. In this bond, the short face of the brick (the head) faces outwards and the bricks are in courses that are offset by half a brick. This produces solid load-bearing walls.
From Church to Works
The church was built next door to the Cock Hotel, which predates it, and Slater's Trade Directories for the early 20th century list the building as being industrial premises:
1903 & 1909: John Brown, wire manufacturer and cycle spoke maker, Victoria Works. 1911: John Brown, wire manufacturer, Victoria Works. 1914: Alfred Brown, wire manufacturer, Victoria Works.
The date of closure of the church is unknown but trade directories suggest that it was prior to 1903. Similarly, its date of founding as a church is unknown. However, its strong architectural resemblance to the nearby Wesleyan Sunday School indicate that it may have been founded around 1875-1880. Another possibility is that John Brown first opened his business in adjacent premises before moving into the disused church building.
Two Trees Lane United Methodist Free Church
The church does not have a graveyard and there are no marriage registers for it at Tameside Register Office.
Likewise, no registers of baptisms are known to exist.
The United Methodist Free Church was an English nonconformist community founded in 1857 by an amalgamation of the Wesleyan Association and the Wesleyan Reformers. In 1907 the United Free Church merged with the Methodist New Connexion and Bible Christians to form the United Methodist Church. In 1932 the United Methodists joined with the Wesleyan Methodists and the Primitive Methodists to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain.
