Let's get it right!

A STONE tribute which misspelt the names of two Macclesfield icons and omitted another is to be replaced.

Just 18 words written in stone stand as a lasting tribute to two prominent Macclesfield statesmen from the early years of the twentieth century.

But the good intentions behind the gesture - to replicate a 1923 foundation stone when a building on the corner of Castle Street and Mill Street was rebuilt - have been carelessly undermined by errors.

Both the names of mayor Edward Eaton and his highway committee chairman Alfred Frith have been misspelt, and poor Mr E Hamson, the surveyor who featured prominently on the original stone, has disappeared altogether!

Readers besieged the Macclesfield Express office to point out other mistakes after our story told how the family of Mr Frith were stunned to discovered he had been incorrectly billed as Mr Firth.

The council has now promised to replace the present stone with a corrected replica of the original.

John Gee, of Coare Street, Macclesfield, was asked by the Civic Society to research the wording on the original plaque after it was found to be missing.

"The misspelling of the name of Alderman Frith is not the only mistake on the new plaque," said John.

"The name of the mayor is misspelt and should read Eaton, not Heaton.

"The other mistake is the omission of Castle Street, rendering the meaning of the plaque ambiguous. What are they opening?"

He added: "This is part of Macclesfield's history and part of our heritage.

"The town never had Aldermans Heaton or Firth and is, therefore, historically inaccurate and misleading to future generations."

James Offer, of Prestbury Road, did some family history research for a friend in London whose name was Frith, and so took photos of the original stone.

He noted that the borough surveyor, E Hamson, had not been mentioned at all on the stone.

He said: "I recall seeing a reader's letter which sought assurance that the original stone had been removed for safekeeping and a reply confirming that this was the case.

"Can any of your readers recall this correspondence?"

Mr Offer said the developers had confirmed to him that they could not find the original stone and that the replacement was supplied to them by the planning department.

Local historian Geoff Hunter first noticed a wrongly spelt name on the stone, which replaces the original stone commemorating the opening of Castle Street in 1923.

But as luck would have it, Firth and Frith both mean the same thing so his descendants were not too upset. "It doesn't really matter," said his granddaughter Audrey.