Handforth, Cheshire - Handforth Chapel interior - postcard 1909

^{Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.}

^{Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).}

^{------------------------------------------------}

^{Postage & Packing:}

^{Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).}

^{No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards withother things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).}

^{Payment Methods:}

^{UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order}

^{Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).}

^{NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!}

^{I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.}

^{----------------------------------------------}

^{Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :}

^{*************}

^{Handforth is a suburban town between Wilmslow, Heald Green and Styal in Cheshire, England.[1] In the 1960s and 1970s, two overspill housing estates were built to re-house people from inner city Manchester, Spath Lane in Handforth[2] and Colshaw Farm nearby in Wilmslow.[3]}

^{Handforth's original name was Handforth cum-Bosden, and was for many years in the parish of Cheadle. The name "Handforth" is believed to originate from the Saxon Hanna's Ford, when there was such a crossing on the River Dean. The first mention of Handforth was in a charter which is dated between 1233 and 1236.}

^{During the Crusades, Handforth acquired its own Coat of Arms, which displays the Honford Star. The Honford Star originated from Henry de Honford who, while fighting in the Crusades, painted a silver star on his black shield after seeing a star fall from the sky during a night attack on the Saracens.[5] The town was referred to as Honford in John Speede's map of the area in 1611,[6] after the local feudal family known as the de Honford's.}

^{The oldest building in Handforth is Handforth Hall, a typically Tudor-styled black and white timber building built by Sir Urian Brereton in 1562. It was originally named Honford Hall after the de Honford's. Sir Urian was escheator of Cheshire, one of the privy grooms to King Henry and knighted in 1544 at Leith during an attack on Edinburgh. Sir Urian Brereton died at Handforth Hall on 19 March 1577 and is thought to be buried in a chapel at St Mary's Church, Cheadle. In the south chapel are three recumbent effigies. Two are in alabaster and are thought to represent members of the Hondford (or Handford) family, Sir John, who died in 1461 and his son, also named John. The third is in sandstone and represents Sir Thomas Brereton who died in 1673.[7] The most famous resident of Handforth is Sir Urian's great grandson, the Parliamentary General, Sir William Bereton, who fought in the Civil War.[8]}

^{During the Second World War Handforth, along with Cheadle Hulme, was home to large parts of RAF Handforth. This was a maintenance unit, classed as a 'Universal stores' depot and had the official Royal Air Force name, "RAF Handforth No 61 M.U. (Maintenance unit)". The depot opened in 1939 and closed in 1958–59 and covered large areas of land in both Handforth and neighbouring Cheadle Hulme.}

^{The depot stored and dispatched every conceivable item that the RAF would use in wartime. Everything from knives and forks to aircraft engines were stored and dispatched from RAF Handforth. The site was served by a large, internal railway system which left the Manchester to Crewe mainline prior to Handforth railway station. The site of the exchange sidings and junction is at the rear of the 'Pets at home' offices on Epsom Avenue. The depot had its own shunting locomotives, which were stored in an engine shed that stood at the Wilmslow bound exit slip road for the Handforth Dean shopping centre.}

^{The only surviving buildings of RAF Handforth are the government pay offices adjacent to the 'Total Fitness' gym on Dairyhouse Lane. These buildings were the Headquarters of the depot and have survived in military/MoD use to this day.}