“Is it a tower for spies to watch over you?”
Denton Rock advertising tower and KFC next to the M60(Image: Gerald England, CC BY-SA 2.0)
The sight of a mysterious blue tower next to the M60 has left locals and passing motorists baffled for years.
It’s been said that the giant blue advertising beacon at Denton Rock looks like a cross between a lighthouse and an air traffic control tower. Locals have speculated on ‘ what was really going on ‘ at the landmark since it was erected in the mid-2000s near Denton Island roundabout, adjacent to the M60 and M67 motorways.
Thanks to its high vantage point and the windows at the top, the idea that it might be some sort of lookout tower for police, highways, or even air traffic control has been suggested. However, this has all been speculation, with no evidence that it’s anything more than a giant advertising hoarding for the roadside retail park.
Before the tower and retail building, now a KFC, were built on the land in the Noughties, many locals recall it as a wasteland they called Thompson Tip.
Other businesses have previously used the location. A photograph shared on Denton history and nostalgia Facebook groups shows Kirby’s Garage occupying the space at one time.
People also remember there being a company called Barratts that sold musical instruments.
However, when plans were first submitted to redevelop the site in 2006, the tower’s original design looked quite different.
Love Greater Manchester’s past? Sign up to our nostalgia newsletter here
Initial drawings submitted to Tameside Council show the tower with a large glass dome at the top instead of windows above the large advertising panel.
Original design for the Denton Rock advertising beacon appear to show a glass dome instead of windows at the top
Looking more like a planetarium or a place to watch the night sky, the building was later revised to include windows, as we know it today.
In addition, photographs claiming to have been taken inside and from the top of Denton Rock tower in 2014, offer some extra intrigue but provide no real evidence for its use other than a unique advertising platform.
The images in an album titled Denton Rock hosted on the Flickr website appear to show the workings inside the landmark, including a spiral staircase to the top.
Other photos show the view through the windows at the top of the tower and stunning panoramic shots over the motorways and Greater Manchester beyond.
Since its construction, the big blue beacon advertising local businesses has become a motorway landmark.
However, it has always attracted some speculation due to its size and unique design.
Despite no evidence of any other use than as an eye-catching advertising hoarding, people commented with their unique takes on the mysterious tower on a recent Denton Memories Facebook group post.
Denton Rock advertising tower has become something of a landmark in Greater Manchester(Image: Gerald England, CC BY-SA 2.0)
One person speculated: “It’s an air traffic control tower for the police helicopter that’s in constant use over Denton.”
Another said: “It’s bloody awful can’t see the point in it. Is it a tower for spies to watch over you?”
Another posted: “I’ve asked several times what it is because of the windows at the top but have never been able to get an answer”.
While another person said: “Stockport’s got the Pyramid, Denton has The Rock.” But added: “[Where] has the name come from?”
Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE
So far, the reason the site and tower were named Denton Rock has never been officially explained.
Perhaps because the tower’s appearance resembled that of a lighthouse, the developers opted to use the word ‘rock’, a practice common in the naming of lighthouses, such as Bell Rock and Bishop Rock.
This may remain all part of the blue beacon’s mystery.