| Old Businesses |
| anacortesdamp | As I mentioned in my "New Member" posting, my family had the ironmonger's on Towngate just south of the "Regent Corner". I think it was 143 Towngate and originally 27 Water St and we were in the premises where Leyland Motors first started, as the Lancashire Steam Waggon Comapny.
My wife's family had a greengrocery at 90 Hough Lane, taken over after my father-in-law retired by Jimmy Ditchfield.
Rocketman, was it your Dad who had the appliance shop 4 doors closer to Turpin Green from Nixon's? I remember Eileen's dad getting a fridge and a washing machine from that shop and I'm sure the name was Burrell's.
I'd be interested to hear from descendants of other owners of old Leyland businesses.
Frank Damp
Anacortes, WA, USA
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| rocketmanjohn | Frank,
The electrical shop was "Berrills',no relation, but a lot of people think the same as you. My dad was a postman and later a subpostmaster in Preston.
My mum was born across from Rawcliffes chippy, which, as you said, was called 'Water Street' in those days [1912]. Her mum [my grandma] owned a shop [woollens] on the opposite corner to Rawcliffes which I think is now a bank.
I have loads of stories about the area, which I'll post piecemeal.
John
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| noel | Frank my uncle and aunt owned the shop facing Wellfield Rd. back in the fifties/sixties. It was on School Lane looking almost down Wellfield Rd. Not sure what they sold though. There names were Jack and Margaret Watton, Jack died in the seventies I think. They had a daughter Linda , my cousin who ran the book shop on Hough Lane next door to Dean's bakery for a while.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| noel | quote:
Frank my uncle and aunt owned the shop facing Wellfield Rd. back in the fifties/sixties. It was on School Lane looking almost down Wellfield Rd.
Sorry meant looking down Yewlands Drive, towards Wellfield School.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| magicman | Hey, Noel, that was my 'tuck shop' during my time at Wellfield.
Ah yes, I remember it well, and they were nice people too.
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| noel | quote:
Hey, Noel, that was my 'tuck shop' during my time at Wellfield.
Ah yes, I remember it well, and they were nice people too.
Glad to hear that Magicman, the shop seems to change hands regularly now. I guess they need to be in a certain location nearer the town centre.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| magicman | Noel - I didn't realise it was still there! Good to hear.
Does it not still 'serve' the school as a tuck-shop?
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| noel | quote:
Noel - I didn't realise it was still there! Good to hear.
Does it not still 'serve' the school as a tuck-shop?
No . It's been all sorts since, a second hand shop, tool hire shop, record shop, mobile phone shop, at the moment I think it's being refurbished again. The pie shop across the road is the nearest "tuck shop" but a note says school children unaccompanied by adults "not welcome". A sign of the times.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| noel | Didn't there used to be a UCL or Macfisheries at the bottom of Chapel Brow, ? I vaguely remember it being opposite the Co-op .
Thornley's shop on Towngate was something I always regret disappearing. It was like Pandora's box with everyone rushing around in the back of the shop. And all those pork pies in the window.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| noel | Sorry I think I meant UCP not UCL . UCL is the name of the local cinema of course. For some reason I have tripe associated with it, UCP tripe. Surely not.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| anacortesdamp | Yes, it's UCP (United Cattle Products, I think) but I don't remember a shop on Chapel Brow. There was one on Towngate across from the Public Hall.
Directly cross from the Chapel Brow Co-Op (now a music shop) my aunt ran a haberdashery, on the corner of the side street. There was a furniture store on the other corner. Next door (towards Hough Lane) was a greengrocer/flower shop that occupied a double shop front, then a house. There were two more shops up to the intersection with East St., but I con't remember what they were.
Frank Damp
Anacortes, WA, USA
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| noel | quote:
Yes, it's UCP (United Cattle Products, I think) but I don't remember a shop on Chapel Brow. There was one on Towngate across from the Public Hall.
Directly cross from the Chapel Brow Co-Op (now a music shop) my aunt ran a haberdashery, on the corner of the side street.
Frank Damp
Anacortes, WA, USA
What about the Macfisheries Frank, I feel sure it was on Chapel Brow opposite the co-op but on the same side as the co-op where the Fabrik shop is now. I remember it as a big shop on a corner but then I was small at the time and everything seemed big then. Maybe I'm getting confused.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| William R | The fish shop on Chapel Brow used to be called Carlines during the war, you had to queue a long time for fish which was a bit rare to obtain.
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| Caroline | Or does UCP stand for United Cow Products? Don't remember the one you mention, but I remember the UCP restaurant in Preston, Our tutor at Art School once dined on cowheels there, stepped out afterwards into a very cold and windy winter's afternoon, and his handlebar moustache stiffened up and set like strong glue!
Welcome, William, it's good to have some earlier memories from you.
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| Lady Griffin | Yes I'm still around though my sister and I are off up t'North soon to The Bay of Islands- Russell and Waitangi where Victoria had her minions sign the Treaty of Waitangi with the Maori in 1840.
The cowheels were legendary and as you say super glue had nothing on them-really put a lining on your stomach.
It was my grandmother's speciality dish with a crusty pastry on top.
One of my abiding memories is running to her place from school during the war, with the sirens which were tested at lunchtime wailing in the background, and the welcoming aroma of what she called scouse simmering away on the hob.I could smell it from a mighty distance.Everything ended up in that pot.
UCP rings a bell but can't place it.I do remember the White Horse on Friargate where you could get a three course meal for half a crown.
Cheers
LG
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| William R | m R.
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| William R | quote:
Or does UCP stand for United Cow Products? Don't remember the one you mention, but I remember the UCP restaurant in Preston, Our tutor at Art School once dined on cowheels there, stepped out afterwards into a very cold and windy winter's afternoon, and his handlebar moustache stiffened up and set like strong glue!
Welcome, William, it's good to have some earlier memories from you.
Greetings, I seem to have a bit of trouble getting postigs out, UCP is United Cattle Products. Where did my last two posts go to? Regards W.R.
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| noel | Does anybody know what name the shop that used to sell school cloths on the corner of Chapel Brow was called? I think it was somewhere near where the TSB bank is now, maybe a bit higher up. At one time it was the only shop where you could buy school blazers and ties .
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| William R | Noel, How far back? Going up Chapel Brow on the Left was the Gas Offices, then the Co-op Empoprium and a little shop on a corner I think was Barrons? then some more then the Maypole. Now I`m lost. On the other side was a few more but I`ll leave them for now. Any good for you? William R
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| noel | quote:
Noel, How far back? Going up Chapel Brow on the Left was the Gas Offices, then the Co-op Empoprium and a little shop on a corner I think was Barrons? then some more then the Maypole. Now I`m lost. On the other side was a few more but I`ll leave them for now. Any good for you? William R
William it was on the right hand side going up. Currently there's the TSB, Leyland Home Brew Shop then a chemist ( I think) Francis Turner camera shop and it's round here , I'll check with my wife when she gets back from baby sitting.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Lady Griffin | William there is a cryptic post from you at the end of post page 1 ----mR?????
Hope you got my mail-have found two photos but still looking for one.
More searching going on.
LG
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| William R | quote:
William there is a cryptic post from you at the end of post page 1 ----mR?????
Hope you got my mail-have found two photos but still looking for one.
More searching going on.
LG
Sorry forthat cryptic bit, I lost a page somewhere. I can`t trace any incoming from you, I wonder where its gone? Cheeers for now from William R.
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| William R | quote:
quote:
Noel, How far back? Going up Chapel Brow on the Left was the Gas Offices, then the Co-op Empoprium and a little shop on a corner I think was Barrons? then some more then the Maypole. Now I`m lost. On the other side was a few more but I`ll leave them for now. Any good for you? William R
William it was on the right hand side going up. Currently there's the TSB, Leyland Home Brew Shop then a chemist ( I think) Francis Turner camera shop and it's round here , I'll check with my wife when she gets back from baby sitting.
The significant owl hoots in the night.
Noel, that`s a bit hazy, but there was a Magnalls Shoe shop and the fish shop on the right and I believe there was a blacked out window which was part of the "Gold Thread Works". I think it made badges for the Royal Navy (I may be wrong though). Way back I believe there was a Taxi garage at the rear, was it Singletons? They used to run a coach to the Lake District. All very hazy, sorry.Regards, William R.
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| Caroline | Just rang me Mum, who usually has a good long-term memory, she said was it Spate's? However, I still think the clothes shop was perhaps Coutt's- ring any bells? Where one got one's school uniform isn't really information to be retained, is it? Better to forget and let the wounds heal over....
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| noel | quote:
Just rang me Mum, who usually has a good long-term memory, she said was it Spate's? However, I still think the clothes shop was perhaps Coutt's- ring any bells? Where one got one's school uniform isn't really information to be retained, is it? Better to forget and let the wounds heal over....
OOerrr now I'm confused, I've just been told it was Tusons and that they also had a shop on the corner of Cowling Lane. Apparently my wife works with somebody who is married to a Tuson . Does that ring a bell with your mum Caroline??
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Martin | quote:
OOerrr now I'm confused, I've just been told it was Tusons and that they also had a shop on the corner of Cowling Lane. Apparently my wife works with somebody who is married to a Tuson . Does that ring a bell with your mum Caroline??
The significant owl hoots in the night.
I think we used to go to that one... I thought it was Kens?
It seemed to take all day to get kitted out, or maybe it just seemed a long time.
In The Pink |
| Lady Griffin | The name of the school outfitters is very forgettable obviously but I too remember the expedition to be kitted out was a long drawn out affair.
Whatever name it was they were brilliant salespeople never allowing you to leave without ordering embroidered name strips and many other extras.A long time was spent deciding on the style of lettering for the name tags.I had a rush of school spirit to the head last week and framed an embroidered badge of Lord Griffin for posterity.
Did the name of the shop begin with a G.?
LG
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| anacortesdamp | Tuson's was a Mens Tailor's on Hough Lane about across from the Off-Licence and on the same side as the Post Office. I think a general gift shop occupies the space now. A relative of the Tuson family, David Walden, lives here in Anacortes about 4 miles from us.
Francis Turner's Photography now occupies the space on Chapel Brow that was the Balshaw's uniform supplier.
Yes, William there was an alley entry to Singleton's Coaches, which was eventually swallowed up by Fishwick's as it's "Luxury Coaches" division. It was just about opposite the dead-end street behiond the Queens Hotel.
Singleton's had a unique 6-wheeler tour coach, a Leyland of course. I believe it's under restoration somewhere in Leyland by a commercial vehicle enthusiast. Singleton's also ran taxis and funeral cars, but I think that went out of business after the Fishwick take-over, and may have been picked up by Tomlinson's. I remember going to St. Annes on our annual holiday in a Singleton's taxi, an Austin 16, I think.
Frank Damp
Anacortes, WA |
| noel | I have had the letter G or B transfixed in my mind to associate with the name of the shop. I was never really convinced about the Tuson name, and yes I remember it around where Francis Turner is now.
My dad used to drive part-time for Singleton's , he used to take the Leyland Cricket team all over the North West, I went along as a youngster. He drove a Comet nicknamed "The Rocket" because of it's potential speed, only did about 4mpg though. I remember vividly one time going up to Kendal when a wagon on a sharp bend came round well on to our side and hit the side of the coach. There was a gentleman sat on the front seat by the name of Mr Jolly, who was propelled forward and landed in the stair well approach leading onto the coach. My instant shout was " Good golly, Mr. Jolly". It was not intended as a joke, just an instant shocked response.
Also remember the dolly blue works we used to go past and the houses covered in blue dye.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Lady Griffin | The shop wasn't Tuson's definitely as I was a friend of a Marina Tuson from Lostock Hall and also have an acquaintance here in NZ whose name is Finch and was married to a Marion Tuson who died some years ago, both from the Leyland area.Small world.
Currently he is around the Leyland area touring with a brass band.
The G is maybe a figment of the proverbial as Gooby's came to mind as well but that was a hat? shop in Preston.
Someone find out as it's doing my head in.
LG
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| anacortesdamp | Lady G:
Tuson's was definitely a men's tailor on Hough Lane. It was between the Post Office and the next street towards ther gas works (Dorothy St.?) A relative of the Tuson's, David Walden, lives here in Anacortes, about 4 miles from me.
Next to the Post Office, towards the gas works, was a women's dress shop (now a charity shop) then Tuson's, then a shoe repair (Vladoc's) and a toffee shop on the corner. On the other corner was a small grocery (?), followed by my in-laws' (Nixon's) greengrocery, Thackers' newsagents, a very small shop-front for an optician, then Burrill's appliances. Maybe there was a candy store (sweet shop) and a couple of others before the "backs" and the "Cabin", one of the few wooden strucures in Leyland. There was a quite imposing bank (Midland?) on the corner.
A motor-cycle dealer built on the site of the "Cabin" and the bank on the corner. Now it's a discount furniture shop.
I'm sure I've missed a few,as that wasn't my part of town (except for Chapel) until I started courting.
Frank Damp
Anacortes, WA, USA
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| William R | quote:
Lady G:
Tuson's was definitely a men's tailor on Hough Lane. It was between the Post Office and the next street towards ther gas works (Dorothy St.?) A relative of the Tuson's, David Walden, lives here in Anacortes, about 4 miles from me.
Next to the Post Office, towards the gas works, was a women's dress shop (now a charity shop) then Tuson's, then a shoe repair (Vladoc's) and a toffee shop on the corner. On the other corner was a small grocery (?), followed by my in-laws' (Nixon's) greengrocery, Thackers' newsagents, a very small shop-front for an optician, then Burrill's appliances. Maybe there was a candy store (sweet shop) and a couple of others before the "backs" and the "Cabin", one of the few wooden strucures in Leyland. There was a quite imposing bank (Midland?) on the corner.
A motor-cycle dealer built on the site of the "Cabin" and the bank on the corner. Now it's a discount furniture shop.
I'm sure I've missed a few,as that wasn't my part of town (except for Chapel) until I started courting.
Frank Damp
Anacortes, WA, USA
Was the opticians called Sutcliffes as a branch of the Chorley shop? My dad used to get his specs there. I have a 1948 copy of the Chorley News giving A.T.Dunderdale Ltd. Radio and Electrical Engineers at 159 Towngate (Tel. 81054) I can remember Balls Cycle up at the Cross (I got my first one there) and Holmes Greengrocers opposite the Conservative Club,(why did it stick out in the footpath?) Oh, there was Warings Tailors shop as well. He was Captain Waring in the Home Guard cos I joined up there in the shop, we also had a George Damp in our platoon - I just wonder if he was a relative of Franks. Regards William R.
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| Lady Griffin | LG again.Think I have lost a reply in virtual space again so apologies if you get a double act.
Was very impressed with your memory William for old places since I can't even remember the name of the school uniform shop.
Did you know the sweet shop run by Walmsley's.Julia was a chum of mine in the 40's and her father used to treat us to a few Black Magic chocolates-I think that was the name- during the war and after when rationing was still on.
The shop was somewhere near the cinema I think.
Cheers
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| anacortesdamp | Hi William.
The George Damp in your Home Guard platoon was probably my Dad's older brother. Since he was an auto mechanic, a reserved occupation, he was not required to serve in the military. I think he worked at Leyland Motors during the war.
The optician on Hough Lane was indeed Sutcliffe's. Robert Sutcliffe was a Rotarian at the same time as my dad.
Dunderdale's was in the block that is now occupied by Booths. There was a shoe shop and a chippie (Ratcliffe's?), and Francis Turner had his studio above the shop at the south end of that block.
Holmes's greengrocery was a bit closer to the Cross than the Conserevative Club. A dry cleaners was directly opposite and Singleton's grocery was across the alley on the same side as the cleaners. I never figured out why Holmes's shop stuck out from the others!
We lived at number 7 Church Road most of my childhood, so the area around the Cross was my "backyard". Our house, which had been my paternal great-grandparent's house, became a doctors' facility, with a secretary/caretaker living above. The whole block, including Tomlinson's lumber yard and the terraced houses all the way to the War Memorial, was demolished in the first "redevelopment" of the Cross area. The doctors' practice became the Sandy Lane Clinic.
Lady G,
Walmsley's sweet shop was on the corner of Hough Lane and Thurston Road. It's now a Victoria Wine Shop. I remember spending my weekly ration coupons at Walmsley's. No wonder us wartime kids have dental problems and can't keep the weight off. We "had to" eat our ration of candies every week!
Frank Damp
Anacortes, WA, USA
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| Doreen Hinks | I have racked the brain to recall the shop on Chapel Brow near the Police station, that used to sell all the school uniforms .. was it called Buxton's???? loved Walmsleys toffee shop my Mother loved the Walnut Whirls and I loved the liquorice rock which was a black liquorice wrapped around a peppermint cream MMMMMM
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| Lady Griffin | Could be something like Buxton's Doreen.
Your mention of Walnut Whirls brings back a wartime incident when I was standing on the Dandy Bridge at the Lostock lane /Todd lane South corner and saw floating in the river Lostock a tin of walnut whirls-no doubt dumped by some black marketeer with cold feet. Sheer heaven.
However my dad made me throw them back as they were an unknown quantity and could have been got at by infiltrators.
I've often thought of that tin.What a waste!
Amongst all the worrying times of the war there were some highlights like feeding my grandfather's two pigs-one for the family and one for the war effort.It was a very traumatic and sad time when the truck arrived to take Spot away and he had to be led away with a bucket over his head.
No counselling in those days.
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| William R | I`ve been reading the replies from the young `uns about Walmsleys sweet shop, they also sold cigatettes to you if they knew you. \if you were a casual customer you had to go over the road to Frank Ward`s paper shop for some Woodies. If they gave you a headache you went to Maurice Simmons, the chemist opposite Walmsleys to get some of his "home made" Cephos powders in little paper packets. Who was the man who stood outside North Works gates at dinner time and sold butter pies from a big basket? At that time they tasted brill. Just remembered - when the Regent Cinema caught fire weren`they due to start showing `No Orchids for Miss Blandish`. Too hot for Leyland at that time????? Cheers for now, William R.
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| noel | quote:
I have racked the brain to recall the shop on Chapel Brow near the Police station, that used to sell all the school uniforms .. was it called Buxton's???? loved Walmsleys toffee shop my Mother loved the Walnut Whirls and I loved the liquorice rock which was a black liquorice wrapped around a peppermint cream MMMMMM
Buxtons sounds a bit like the name I was thinking Doreen. You are usually pretty good with these names , I'll ask around if people remember thatname.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Caroline | Mr.Vladoc who had the shoe repairers on Hough lane used to make boots for the Polish army. When we took our shoes to be repaired, he used to moan about the poor quality of the craftsmanship.....I'll ask my Mum again about the blasted school uniform shop!
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| noel | II'm beginning to wish I hadn't mentioned it now but help could be at hand, an old colleague who is noted for his memory might tell me tomorrow.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| rocketmanjohn | Before Mr Vadoc opened his shop on Hough Lane he worked out of a shed behind his house somewhere off Turpin Green. The name'Vadoc Hoyka' was not spelled correctly. The Poles have something against vowels and the correct spelling was impossible for English people. Being a nice guy he had his sign written for us. He was a first class cobbler and was much respected and liked, even in those days when foreigners were viewed with suspicion.
John
Edited by - rocketmanjohn on 18 Aug 2002 22:11:55 |
| Lady Griffin | William.
Mail on the way to you with photos.
LG
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| Lady Griffin | William.
Mail on the way to you with photos.
LG
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| Caroline | Yes,Mr Hoyka was a nice man. Back to the Clothes Shop- if anyone has an old 'Balshavian', I think there may be an advert in there for said commerce, I have one but can't locate it at present.
I have asked before, but does anyone remember the Milk Bar next to Grundy's? It's where I saw my first juke-box!
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| noel | quote:
Yes,Mr Hoyka was a nice man. Back to the Clothes Shop- if anyone has an old 'Balshavian', I think there may be an advert in there for said commerce, I have one but can't locate it at present.
I have asked before, but does anyone remember the Milk Bar next to Grundy's? It's where I saw my first juke-box!
So good you posted it 3 times Caroline
I think I do remember it wasn't it owned by Grundy? My wife certainly remembers it as having a duke box Freudian slip there!! and being a cafe.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Lady Griffin | So glad I'm not the only one with multiple postings.Keep forgetting whether I've clicked or not.OH Dear!!!1
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| rocketmanjohn | Caroline,
I think the milk bar was called 'Robinsons'. Before that I know it was called 'Peter's Snack Bar'.
We used to congregate there after school, although coming from Balshaws I got quite a lot of ribbing from the 'Senior School'lot.
John
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| noel | quote:
Caroline,
I think the milk bar was called 'Robinsons'. Before that I know it was called 'Peter's Snack Bar'.
We used to congregate there after school, although coming from Balshaws I got quite a lot of ribbing from the 'Senior School'lot.
John
My wife told me it was called Robinson's . Those Wellfield lot were a right PITA weren't they.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| William R | I`ve read thro` the pages and Frank`s ref to their shop on Towngate/Water Street. Was Forge St. opposite, leading to Vevy St? If so there was a confectioners shop on the corner - one of the perks of going to school that way was that the bakers in the back of the shop used to put paper bags of cake trimmings on the window ledge in Forge St. As we passed we shouted "any cake for us" and we usually got a bag through the window. This was 1937/8. Was there a garage in Forge St on the corner called "The Leyland Garage"? There were no school buses then and I had to walk from Bent Bridge down Church Rd. past the end of Denford Ave. across the fields to the end of Crawford Ave. Down to Balcarres Rd.,nip along Sandy Lane to Dr.Wilmotts Surgery the left down a ginnel by the Motors Cricket Ground, then Vevy St. Forge St. up to Yewlands Ave and to the Senior School. Home the same way at lunch time and back for afternoon school.That`s why we liked the bag of bits. Sorry if I drifted off the subject, I thought of the shop near Damps and maybe frank remembers it. On old businesses - weren`t there three Tomlinson timber yards, all brothers, John, James and Edwin? Didn`t they all catch fire after the War.One was at the Cross,one near the old Salvation Army Hall and one at the bottom of King Street? Cheers, William R.
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| noel | I heard yesterday that the Leyland & Birmingham chimney is to be brought down in 3 weeks time.
I don't know if it's being blasted, fired or brick by brick but I'd love to be there and take some photos. I'm off on my holidays 3 weeks from Tuesday just gone so it's going to be touch and go. I'll be so annoyed if I miss it.
Planning permission for 400 houses is expected to be applied for by the land owners.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Martin | quote:
So glad I'm not the only one with multiple postings.Keep forgetting whether I've clicked or not.OH Dear!!!1
The new forum software should stop people posting more than once. It won't let people post messages within a pre defined time period.
I need to set a date for upgrading...
In The Pink |
| Lady Griffin | Thanks Martin for message re the postings as I was really beginning to get worried about myself.
Amazing how we can probably all recall so vividly our routes especially to school.They were so much more complicated in the early days before buses dropped you off at the school gate, with lots of distractions on the way.A game of marbles to add interest or a turn of the skipping rope.
I remember trudging from Brownedge Rd past the signal box,past Iron Gate Farm where the soccer ground is now,other side over Red Bridge a couple of turns over some iron bars to liven the journey,turn left at Four Lane Ends,then up the hill in Todd Lane down the stone steps along the railway yards to Lostock Hall Council School.
Going by bus to Balshaw's was much less exciting.
It seemed such a huge distance at the age of four plus.
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| Caroline | Sorry about the multiple postings! Yes, I remember the Milk Bar was Robinson's. Anyone recall the coffee bar at Seven Stars? Was it called the Copacobana? I think there should be a prize for the person who remembers the uniform shop name.....
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| William R | Hi Lady G, When you lived in Brownedge Rd.and Lostock Hall Goods Yard was bombed, did you here of a fire watcher being hit a glancing blow with an incendiary bomb? I have his name etc. and actually saw his alleged steel helmet with the dent in it, Can you verify? One for Frank, my sister went to the Union St. school and said that a man lived in Union St early 1930`s who was the last man to sell his wife at Leyland Cross. She is now coming up 80 yrs. and says this is true. I`ve heard of it way back but, did he? Cheersb to all, William R aka Bill. Spelling mistake `here` should be `hear`, sorry!!!
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| Lady Griffin | I vaguely remember that story but sadly am running out of elderly relatives to verify.My aunt recently passed on but would have known as she was a fire watcher during the war and I remember her going out with her bucket etc on duty plus finding incendiary sticks in the garden.My uncle worked on the goods yard both before and after the war except for war service and I shall ask him.He is now in his mid eighties.
From 1939 -46 I ran along the length of the Goods yard on a regular basis and we kids were under the impression that if a plane came over it was wise to run to keep directly under it, as the plane would not come down straight.Fortunately I never had to test that theory.
What was the chap's name Bill.
The entry in the Preston Directory 1904 for Lostock Hall lists the inhabitants of Lostock Hall and a very high percentage were involved with the railway in some way.
My husband was waiting to leave on war service Oct 1940 and was walking with his mate over the bridges when Ward St was bombed.Was A plaque ever put there? Itwas discussed.
I understood that the enemy bomber was diverted by the army gunners at LM and swerved to release the bombs on Ward St and Princess St.
Still another account is that the target was the railway sidings.
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| William R | quote:
I vaguely remember that story but sadly am running out of elderly relatives to verify.My aunt recently passed on but would have known as she was a fire watcher during the war and I remember her going out with her bucket etc on duty plus finding incendiary sticks in the garden.My uncle worked on the goods yard both before and after the war except for war service and I shall ask him.He is now in his mid eighties.
From 1939 -46 I ran along the length of the Goods yard on a regular basis and we kids were under the impression that if a plane came over it was wise to run to keep directly under it, as the plane would not come down straight.Fortunately I never had to test that theory.
What was the chap's name Bill.
The entry in the Preston Directory 1904 for Lostock Hall lists the inhabitants of Lostock Hall and a very high percentage were involved with the railway in some way.
My husband was waiting to leave on war service Oct 1940 and was walking with his mate over the bridges when Ward St was bombed.Was A plaque ever put there? Itwas discussed.
I understood that the enemy bomber was diverted by the army gunners at LM and swerved to release the bombs on Ward St and Princess St.
Still another account is that the target was the railway sidings.
Lady G, I`ll send the man`s name by e.m to you to `protect the innocent` Your uncle should know my late brother-in law Jim Bolton from Hoghton, he used to be Guard on the 3-17 a.m. goods up to Hellifield I believe, he used to cycle to Lostock yard from Hoghton and then finished his shift as Guard on the local stopper, Bolton to Preston. I don`tknow how he got back to Lostock for his bike. I used to work with Ralph Livesey from Brownedge Rd. Any bells ringing.?? They did say that the Junction at Lostock railway looked just the same as the on at Packsaddle Bridge, Euxton, from the air - I knew a Sgt.Pilot who ferried planes on/out of Salmesbury airodrome who said the Germans could have been mistaken by it, night flying. I`ll do the e.m now, Cheers, William R.
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| Caroline | I remember my Mum saying she was at school with a girl from Lostock Hall who was killed by a bomb in the war, would this be correct? She also says she and my Aunty Alice were coming home from a dance when the enemy started dropping flares, and they had to shelter under the stairs in someone's house. My dad proposed to Mum outside a barn(Bent Lane?) which was used as a morgue during the War, good start to a marriage which has lasted 56 years!
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| William R | Greetings, I lived at the Bent Bridge end of Bent Lane and I can vaguely remember there being a mortuary, but where? Was it a temporary thing "just in case"? I can remember Ike Dickinson had a scrap yard by Turpin Green bridge, he had a horse and cart and was a well known local character. He used to go for a drink at the Fox Hotel in Preston (Fox Street) and rumour has it that he would lie on the sacks on the cart and the horse found its own way back home. One time he was coming home and collided with a car at Penwortham traffic lights, the shaft went through the car windscreen. Perhaps we should do a thing on local characters long gone. Cheers from William R.
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| Lady Griffin | Thanks Bill for these gems. It was quite something to hear the clop of the horses' hooves on a cold morning.Lovely when it was the coal man coming especially or the gypsies travelling through on their regular route.
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| noel | It would be great if we could do an item about local characters. Hopefully without offending anyone, good idea William I know of a few, I'll have a think.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| William R | Lady G, not only the clip clop of hooves. but the free gifts left behind for putting round the rose trees, and you mention the gypsies, they were the real ones weren`t they, clothes pegs an` all. Regards, from William R.
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| Lady Griffin | They certainly were the real gypsies and it was really installed in us kids not to cross them or refuse to buy their posies or pegs.
They stopped every year in a farmers field off Lostock Lane and what a colourful sight it was.My grandfather used to send me over with a bucket for the horse manure.
Over the years I've read all the books I could find in the local library here concerning gypsy lore including an amazing biography of Petulengro.
So called Gypsies stop not far from me here in Auckland every year on their travels but not a horse in sight-plenty of modern caravans though and plenty of gypsy ware for sale-no door to door selling for this lot.
There was one thing which fascinated me about the new-age gypsies here, I could hear their music-quite loud- and it built up to a crescendo until dead on midnight there was a long high pitched whistle then absolute sudden silence, quite eerie.A bit of ye olde atmosphere.
LG
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| noel | I can remember seeing those gypsies with their tradional wagons in a fiel close to Lostock Hall. Only one or two at a time.
Now the "travellers " just seem like scroungers with a strange Irish accent who just want to sponge steal and make a mess of whereverthey illegally camp. The old rail yard at Lostock Hall was a favourite camp for months on end until they were cleared off and the site sealed up to prevent re-infestation.
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Lady Griffin | Ah,Wise Owl,watch out for the Gypsies'curse.
CAVE!
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| Lady Griffin | Alternative lifestyle followers ,Noel.They are all around us.
LG
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| Lady Griffin | By the way what type of owl is that-short eared?barn?-these thoings are important.
LG
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| noel | quote:
By the way what type of owl is that-short eared?barn?-these thoings are important.
LG
It's described as a " purply/green/white owl flapping wings looking to the left" cough splutter. Hope that explains.
Incidentally if anyone wants to stick an animated gif in you copy the URL of the gif into a word doc or similar to save it , click on the image icon above and paste the URL twixt the img thingimujibs.
so you get " img http://usa.venus.co.uk/weed/agifs/images83/owl.gif img . I've typed that in rather than use the icons so it shouldn't work .
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| LDunlop76 | Looks like a barn owl to me 
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| Martin | I'm almost ready to upload the new forum. There is a feature in it that allows you to preview your signatures before making any postings.
It should be up and running some time this week.
In The Pink |
| Lady Griffin | I think you are right,Wiganer.Beautiful things barn owls.Only hope that there are many still left.I was invited many years ago to Pickerings Farm on the corner of Brownedge Rd to view the hatch left open for the barn owl to come and go from the barn and help the farmer keep down the vermin.
LG
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| Lady Griffin | By the way Noel some of your alternative life stylers turn up on a fairly regular basis in NZ posing as roof painters.Many an innocent has been stung having trusted these chaps to paint their rusty iron roofs at an exorbitant rate.
Thanks for the picture of the samphire and the info.Having looked again I do recall some on the Preston Market but didn't know the name.
According to my dictionary it's also known as herbe de Saint Pierre.
The Spirulina I mentioned is not so glamorous being more like the slimy stuff we collected in jars from the pond at Balshaws-ready for microscopic examination.Remember the hydra,spirogyra and chlamydomonas in Science.I loved drawing them.
Spirulina is common on Lake Chad in the Sahara-or so the pamphlet says.
Keep flapping,
LG
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| William R | Lady G. One of my fitters emigrated to Western Australia in 1954 to work as an engineer. When he got there the only work he could get was putting corrugated iron roofs on temp homes for emigrants, his wife had to go out cleaning, they could hardly manage. he said he was conned with "promises" to go. Perhaps he got to N.Z. Regards Bill.
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| William R | Lady G - Just a quicky, when you were younger,(like about 1955) do you remember an unidentified flying object landing in a poultry farm southwest of Lostock Hall, I believe some hens perished. A fowl deed was committed (humour). One of my "I was there" series to Noel tells all. Regards, Bill.
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| noel | quote:
Lady G - Just a quicky, when you were younger,(like about 1955) do you remember an unidentified flying object landing in a poultry farm southwest of Lostock Hall, I believe some hens perished. A fowl deed was committed (humour). One of my "I was there" series to Noel tells all. Regards, Bill.
That was such a funny story Bill, you should copy it onto the forum. Reminded me of some of the thing's Aurthur Lowe got up to in Dad's Army
The significant owl hoots in the night. |
| Lady Griffin | Hadn't heard of that one Bill but here's another "Murder in the Fowlhouse" story-which happens to be true -at least in parts- and it was reported by a correspondent called Reynolds.Concerns my husbands father who owned the garage in Freckleton.
As well as the garage he also kept hens.
One dark night in 1929 he found six hens lying dead and in the corner a huge black cat -----7 feet long.
He had seen an ad from a man in Blackpool who offered 100 pounds for the return of the cat which had escaped from captivity in Blackpool.
According to the article it was a Ginturong from Sumatra which had been brought into the country by a sailor.
The description of the beast may well be exaggerated but my father in law was reported as saying it was 'a cross between a cat and a bear with fiery eyes and tufted ears and terrible claws.'
At least it was great publicity for the garage as the owner left it there in its cage for a while.It's written of in a magazine called Call of the Wild among other such strange happenings as plagues of mice and rats and twenty men all bitten by a black widow spider in North America.
Cheers
LG
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| Caroline | Bill, Mum was brought up in one of the three old houses with steps up on Bent Lane . I think it was the old barn to the right of the row of shops which served as morgue...?
We have bats in our barn, I've seen the poo! On the radio this week a bloke was explaining how to tell which bats they were from this, but I've resisted too close an inspection!
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| Lady Griffin | Don't blame you for stayin out of that barn Caroline.Keep us posted.
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| William R | Hi Caroline, I`m intrigued with your bit about the morgue/barn in Bent Lane. Steps up to houses? Was this on the bend where a family called Peet lived, there was a short row of houses which stood back from the road. We lived up at the Bent Bridge end (No.20) There were some shop further down on the left. Yes, there was a barn which was down a short road/track, that was way back pre-war. Regards, Bill.
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| William R | Hi Martin, as promised here is another of my "I was there" series on post war transport.When the Tank Factory was operating, many workers were brought in by public transport, Ribble and Fishwick etc. Living in Chorley then transport was limited, so a local coach firm I think it was Cliff Owen obtained some derelict double deck buses to move workers in. He charged less than Ribble and gave door to door service of a sort. Two buses came from Chorley. and the drivers worked at the Factory, so convenient. One day returning home to Chorley on No2 bus, we saw No1 stopped in Dawson Lane (they weren`t allowed on normal bus routes). We stopped to see what was wrong, and picked up the full complement of passengers on our bus. I recall two figures from this incident, they may seem unbelievable but are true. Total passengers on bus - 127, passengers on back platform -16. They were low bridge buses with long seats upstairs 6 or 7 to a seat people sat along the upper deck footway and standing two to a step on the stairs. The lower saloon was packed. When we got to Parkers Arms at Chorley we let off around 27, a large number off at the Grammar School ands a normal bus load at the garage at the Big Lamp. It could never happen now, with so many cars about. I wonder if any other readers experienced these sort of hardships? Regards, Bill. |
| Lady Griffin | Have often wondered how my mother got to Euxton to work during the war from Bamber Bridge.We seemed to be very rarely together as a family.I have an idea there were special workers' buses there too but it must have been hard with young kids to organise as well.Mind you I think we were pretty independent despite our years.
My father cycled to LM and I also wonder how many would be prepared to bike that distance today.He came home looking like a snowman in the winter at times.
Buses were a treat especially on t'top and as you say could get pretty jam packed and the daring could hold on to the pole at the entrance and swing as the bus travelled along. |
| William R | Lady G, The R.O.F. used to run big Queen Mary type articulated buses all over the area to bring in workers. They were a large pre-fab passenger body (ugly) with a Bedford truck unit as the power unit. They used to deliver the passengers direct to the clocking station at Euxton Lane entrance. If she came home yellow she must have been working in the filling section with picric acid. We used to see them, yellow hands,faces and hair. Not nice! Cheers Bill. |
| William R | Hi Martin, another of my "I was there" series, I think I should call it "red face day", again the truth is unbelievable. Opening Day for the Tank Factory, October 23rd.1953. As I`ve said elsewhere, a lot of VIP`s were coming from London by Special Train, what better way as we had our own railway platform within the factory limits. The passengers on the train were mainly Service high ranking officers, Civil Servants etc. not the usual commuter. The train pulls in to the platform, reception parties there to guide them to waiting coaches (Standerwicks they were) when CALAMITY!!!! The platform was too high to allow the doors to be opened. You`ve heard the word PANIC but have you seen it in action? Ladders and steps were produced at the other side of the train, coaches repositioned and all were disembarked. Panic over. I wonder if anyone remembers it , or if they dare to! I was the Guide on No.2 coach, I WAS THERE!! |
| Lady Griffin | Thanks William you really should have considered writing a book-it's fascinating stuff.
Then this forum is a book in any case.
Linda |
| dampslad | Wasn't the fish shop in Chapel Brow called Vernon Brothers - at least in the 50s?
I seem to remember it a little further up, near the TSB Bank and Singleton's coach offices.
They would occasionally sell poultry, which was hung outside on S-hooks and regularly got smothered in sulphurous smoke from the gas works when the wind was in the wrong direction.
COLIN DAMP (Plymouth) |
| William R | Hi Martin, Just a couple of quickies to raise an eyebrow about life at Leylands early on. When you got to work there were no cloakrooms - you had to hang your outer clothes on a suspended frame, which was hoisted up into the roof area for safety. you nearly had to get an Act of Parliament made to get at it before the authorised finishing time, Still, wet clothes were always dry and warm. Another is about a practice which I think has gone. When someone was getting married a collection was made among workmates and a gift obtained, however, when the groom to be went for the presentation he was faced with a climb up a long ladder into the rafters to retrieve a chamber pot suitably painted inside with the all-seeing eye. This climb was accompanied with a "hammering in" when everyone banged on benches, brake drums or anything that would make a noise to embarass the lucky man. Then, all back to work. Does it still happen? What about apprentices having their faces blacked on Shrove Tuesday morning, and then given the rest of the day off? |
| Thornley | Hi all, not really sure where to post this. I drove thorugh to Leyland this evening, via Longmeaneygate, the famous Leyland Tiger is no mor ehtan a pile of rubble! I knew that the land had been bought for development but never really thought it would happen. Another famous Leyland land mark gone. I shall have to drive by a bit more often to find what will go in its place! |
| anacortesdamp | Vanessa:
My sister said in an e-mail today that the old "Tiger" had actually been condemned as unsafe for occupation. It was demolished to make way for a 3-story block of 12 flats. My cousin Christine's son, Paul Rowley's contruction company is doing it.
Frank Damp |
| Thornley | Hi Frank, I have to admit the Tiger has been a blot on the landscape for some time now. It is a pity that it was left to get into such a state. Whatever is put in its place must be an improvment. I am away for a week now so I'm sure the building will be well underway when I get back. Maybe your family couls leave one of the dwellings empty for you to use as holiday accomodation[;)]
Vanessa |
| Lady Griffin | Were the Vernon brothers also connected with Vernons factory in Lostock Hall near the old Gas Works.
Several of my family have worked there at times and not so many years ago my husband chopped the end of his finger off on a lawn mower and the special bandage was all the way from Vernons.
It was going well before the war.
LG |
| William R | Hi Lady G, I must have known Sam Sinfield, but there were so many people that I was in contact with. I used to work with Vincent Murphy who was the senior Works Convener for Leylands, always in demand by other conveners, your dad surely must have been one. Now here`s a true laugh, your Dad may have mentioned it, there was a man at South Works who was as bald as a coot who used to paint his scalp with black paint on Monday morning and comb it to show a parting. It looked grotesque, and so obvious. Everybody used to wonder how he went on at night in bed. I`m going to post my experiences of "foreigners" later, watch this space!! Cheerio, Bill. |
| Caroline | I'm lagging behind and I'm going back down Bent lane for a stroll with Bill!The Peet family did live in the houses with steps up, and my Mum was the lovely Alice Peet, who left there to marry in 46.....I have a little book called' Discovering Folklore in Industry' which describes some rituals of apprenticeship, bit dangerous some of them! |
| William R | Hi Caroline, I`m sure I went to school with Alice, were there three sisters? Was one Dorothy or Doris? Was the elder one married to an ex-wrestler? I remember the family very well. Let me know, will you? Some customs for apprentices were in fact quite unusual, not to be repeated in open forums, Martin would get his scissors out and do a bit of censoring. Cheers, Bill. |
| William R | Hi again, I think I`m in the right slot. Another true bit of nostalgia for Noel or Peter etc about Leylands MOS factory. There was a worker called George Lamb in No.8 Shop who was a long distance walker, Manchester to Blackpool type of thing. He was challenged by another so-called "athlete" who said it was all rubbish and George took him on. Object - walk round the outside of No.8 Shop, and george gave him half the distance start. I`ve calculated that one lap was one kilometer, so he gave him half kilo start. It took place one lunch hour, big audience, george won by about three meters. George was well known in road walking circles, perhaps Colin heard of him in his journalistic days. For any body who didn`t know, the walk mentioned was from Manchester Town Hall to Blackpool Town Hall and said to be fifty miles. Lady G may have seen them, I`m not sure which route theytook from Chorley. Cheers, Bill. |
| William R | Hi, I just did a posting on Honesty at Leylands in the old days and its flown somewhere, if anybody finds it let me know. What I said briefly is that "them" the management, put a tren shilling note in a passageway with a big nut and a small spanner. Eventual outcome was, man puts note on window ledge with nut on top to stop it blowing away but keeps spanner. His explanation, someone lost the note and may be looking for it so he put it where it could be seen. The spanner was useful to him in his work so he kept it. What would happen today? Cheers Bill. |
| Martin | I don't know what happened to your posting Bill, perhaps it fell off. |
| William R | Martin, All I did was produce the text, selected `Preview` and checked it. I selected `Post New Reply` nothing happened. I selected `Reset Fields` to see if I could get back, then it was ....oh dear time, it had gone. What did I do wrong? Cheers Bill. |
| Caroline | Bill, Mum was at the Methodist school. She'll be 78 in November I think . She had two sisters, Sarah (Sally) who was a little younger, and Annie, older, who married Bob, who was killed on his bike on Wigan road a year or so later, then married Phillip who looked like he could've been a wrestler.... he was gate policeman at t' Motors. |
| William R | Hi Caroline, I know your Mum she`s same age as me. She will know me and my sister Betty we lived at the top end of Bent Lane next to the oak tree. She used to play at Marjory Seniors bungalow just a step up from your Mums house, on the bend, Muriel Hindle used to live further on the right, her dad sold vegetables and had greenhouses behind the house. Cheers, Bill. |
| dampslad | Funny you should mention Marjory Senior, Bill. We're relatd to her by marriage.
Marjory married my dad's cousing Frank, son of Lizzie and Frank Damp who used to have a confectioner's shop near the Railway Hotel.
Frank Jr started work behind the counter at the GPO in Hough Lane and ended up Head Postmaster of Newcastle-On-Tyne.
They haven't lived in Leyland since the late 50s and I'm sorry to say we've lost touch.
Colin Damp
Plymouth |
| William R | Hello Noel, Another bit of nostalgia for you, which again is truth stranger than fiction. I worked a short while at Leylands with a fitter who was a senior Firewatcher in Wigan. As he was to give a demonstration to his other helpers one Sunday on the use of the stirrup pump on Incendiary Bombs, he had us cutting up a large casting he had "obtained" into very small pieces and generally reducing it to filings in a small box. The casting was of magnesium base, very flammable. Now move to Sunday morning in Wigan, all there with pumps at the "alert" waiting for G.S. to light his box, for them to extinguish. No go, box refused to ignite, end of demo and all go home. He took the box home and later that night, IN THE DARK, he threw a match at it. It is said that the glow could be seen everywhere. Enter the Authorities, emergency fire crews etc, but it would not go out, and magnesium burns very brightly. Eventually they got it out by covering it in heaps of sand. I don`t know what happened after that, but we never had to cut up mag castings again!! Which brings me to a question, do any of our `golden oldies` remember walking in Leyland after dark in the real blackout? We used to wear luminous badges to be seen, cars had tin covers overs their lights with a slot in,buses had deep blue lights inside, cars had white stripes painted on the sides. Wardens patrolled the streets looking for chinks of light through curtains, woe betide you if you showed one. This would have been 1939/40 time. Noel, did I tell you about when we were bombed? I can`t find a reference for it ,so it may be to come. Regards, Bill. |
| noel | No William, you told me about time you bombed Lostock Hall ( purely for research of course ) butnot getting bombed yourself. |
| William R | Hello Noel, A few more memories from 1940, in fact October 21st which was a Monday, the Luftwaffe visited Farington Works and dropped three bombs. The Axle Factory, Foundry and B.X.Factory were hit, unfortunately there was some loss of life, I believe two people, I may be wrong. The sirens went after the event and stopped work for a while, it was a case of everybody out then go back. There was a big funeral, I remember Leylands provided a lorry draped in back to take the dead to church, very sad it was. But, there was a war on and everyone got back to work. If I say here that the works sirens were sounded every day at 9-00am, you can follow the next bit. On the 30th of October I was "upstairs and over the bridge" at the toilets.Ex workers at North works will remember this, when about 11-00am the sirens went, first thoughts were that someone was having another practice, until the rush of feet was heard as men belted down thw passage to the shelters. There was alot of toilet flushing (habit I suppose) before we got the message and joined the rush to get out. We got down to the main door at the bottom of the passage by the Chassis Shop, to be met by men trying to get back in. The gunners on the L&B were shooting at the plane and the spent rounds were falling on our people (friendly fire nowadays). We stayed put and watched the plane drop its bombs on Farington again. They didn`t go off, so we all went back to work. We heard rumours after that the plane crashed in the Midlands and one of the crew was a pre-war student apprentice at Leylands. So there it is, Noel. There are many sequels to this to come later,incidently I have a very small copy of the Luftwaffe map showing Leylands as target "A" and the R.O.F. as target "B". Cheers for now, Bill. |
| William R | Hi Noel again, One for Martin to get his scissors out! Do we have any ex B.X.Factory readers? If so can they answer some of these queries, all true. Who welded the railway trucks to the lines by the Tool room one night? Who put the 5cwt van on the Inspectors table another night? What did the Night Foreman discover when he walked along the roof catwalk and looked down into the stack of tank hull assemblies? Does anyone remember the two "Ladies of the Night" who were directed to work on the capstan lathes at the top end of the factory? Who was the Preston North End player who worked with them? Who decorated the Tool Room with armoured swarf turnings for Christmas? Did anyone EVER get some molasses in the Moulding Shop when they opened a new barrel? (I tried many times). Does anyone remember the fitter who injured himself and was afraid to report it, but was ministered to by the lady storekeeper? What was "Tiger" the welder famous for? If you can get the answers to these Noel, you`ll see it wasn`t all "blood, toil; tears and sweat" in wartime industry. Cheers for now, I can give you the answers by snail mail but not on the Forum. Bill. |
| Caroline | I'm back down Bent Lane with Bill . Mum remembers you and sends her regards. She said she used to play at Marjories because she had a ' fairy cycle' . She used to go over to Harry Hindle's for tomatos and remembers you as a clever lad! |
| William R | Caroline,Ask your Mum if she remembers the Forty Steps and getting "goodies" from holiday makers going to Blackpool. A bit cryptic, but she may remember. Cheers,Bill. |
| William R | Hi Noel, I promised to give you a few lines on "foreigners" in Leylands during the War, here goes. It was nothing to do with people from other countries, this was a term given to work undertaken during lunch breaks, or before work started, you get the idea? Somewhere in Preston, I know not where, there was a small foundry producing rough castings for scale model aircraft. Generally these were Spitfire, Hurricane, Wellington, Fortress. we used to place our order with one of our number and duly received our castings for processing. This meant a lot of hard work filing and polishing the casting with tape emery paper to remove all blemishes ready for finishing. I`ll be fair here, we always did this in our own time, it was a kind of code we had. Anyway, we now had a polished plane and stand ready for plating. By careful negotiation with the operative in the Plating Shop, generally for forty Players cigarettes, the casting arrived back chrome plated in a few days. These were usually made to order for some parents who had son serving in the R.A.F. (I`ve seen one or two about on flea markets and wondered about their origin). Of course you will have heard about the lighters we used to make, these were ingenious. Most of them used two-part plastic containers which were Delivery Note containers on a certain type of product and very much in demand. I`ll spare you the details of how the bits were obtained, but the finished articles were good. We had a good line in pokers with fancy handles at one time. Those were foreigners, Noel, just the tip of the iceberg, all made in our spare time, honest!Remember, that this was at a time when it was impossible to buy the genuine article. Regards, Bill. |
| noel | Bill it never ceases to amaze me what you got up to.
And still the term "foreigner" is used today for earning a bit on the side.
Keep the posts coming Bill, I am enjoying them.
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| Lady Griffin | Am also thoroughly enjoying the tales Bill.Amazing stories.Keep up the good work.
Have just been told the name of the school outfitters on Chapel Brow by an old school friend.
It was Snells -run by two sisters -when I got garbed out.Then became Buxton Bros and I think Doreen mentioned that ages ago.
There will be a write up of the September Reunion soon on the Balshaws Website-mainly early 50's groups.
Linda |
| dampslad | I remember it as Buxton's, run by an elderly man in striped trousers and black jackcet with a tape measure round his neck, plus a doting spinster lady assistant.
Given that Tony Warren, creator of "Coronation Street" borrowed the name "Glad Tidings Mission" from a tin hut church at Walton-le-Dale, I have always been convinced he must have been in Buxtons in Chapel Brow and been inspired to create Leonard Swindley and Miss Nugent!
Colin Damp
Plymouth |
| Lady Griffin | Where was or is the tin hut church in Walton Le Dale? |
| dampslad | Lady G
It was on the A6, on the left going towards Preston, after the big pub (forgotten the name of it, but it was opposite the creamery) and before the hll that descends to the end of Hennel Lane.
It was replaced in the 70s with a single-storey brick and concrete building with a modern church hall appearance and became Christadelphian or some such.
Colin amp
PLymouth |
| noel | quote:
Originally posted by dampslad
Lady G
It was on the A6, on the left going towards Preston, after the big pub (forgotten the name of it, but it was opposite the creamery) and before the hll that descends to the end of Hennel Lane.
It was replaced in the 70s with a single-storey brick and concrete building with a modern church hall appearance and became Christadelphian or some such.
Colin amp
PLymouth
I think the big pub is called The Pear Tree, or it was. It used to be a fish restaurant of all things . I think it's been renamed now to The Sportsman, maybe it's gone back to The Pear Tree now, who knows. |
| anacortesdamp | After 111 replies and 8 pages, maybe we should retire this topic.I'll stat an "Old Firms Page 9" topic as a continuation of this one.
Frank Damp |
| robot1002 | Not been on here for a while,in fact about 6 months really.I have just sat here and read all the postings in this forum and am very interested to know if Bill knew my dad..The stories of the tool room (Farrington)I have heard before I am sure. My Dad was
Fredie Dilworth, and he was in the tool room during the war years.I remember the bombing of Leyland Motors,because dads motor bike was blown to bits. The plane? an ME109 I think,and you would not believe, I saw it. We lived in Lynton Ave then and I can see it to this day.All the Avenue watched it circle.
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| robot1002 | I was just about to go on and say that the forty steps was my playground in thoses days,(when I must of hit a wrong button and my outpourings dissappeared, Posted )so I will try and continue here. I saw mention of the forty steps somewhere,and Bent lane as well.this was my stomping ground for a lot of years.
Now domiciled in Astley Park Village,retired due to having had Leukaemim in 1992,reading all Bills work takes me right back to then, and here's me thinking that I am suffering from a slow onset of Altzimers or worse.....Take care ,and keep up the good work
Tony |
| William R | Hello Tony, Stomping round the Bent Bridge area was you? Our paths must have met sometime. When the bombs fell on Farington tool Room I was down at North Works Tool Room, it was shortly after that I went up to the B.X.Tool Room under Jock Love to work on the tooling up of the A22 tank which became the Churchill, twelve hour shifts in those days. If your Dad was in there he would have remembered all the little things which went on,as I mentioned. Once we got the A22 up and running we spent a lot of time getting the Bomb Shop in operation, I remember Bill Wakefield being the final Inspector there. People nowadays couldn`t imagine what we had to work with then. The machines we got hold of were decrepit and had to be renovated to make them acceptable, it was hard work. The Bomb Shop was at the top of Farington yard opposite the Axle Factory, a real "dark ages" place. I got involved in the Oerliken shell plant we put into Dewhirsts Mill at the top of Mill Street, but thats another story. When I left leyland I went to live in Chorley at Lighthurst Lane up in the Welbank area, I did hear that there was a village complex in Astley Park, it must be nice. Cheerio for now, keep posting, Bill. |
| robot1002 | "Hello again Bill.
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| robot1002 | Done it again, Hi Bill,This gets more interesting by the day.I too lived in Weldbank,Saville street to be exact,No 60.I moved to there in 1961 having just got married.I started my own TV and Radio service busness at that address,in 1964,Oct 4Th to be exact,and I did Tv and Radio repairs to the public and the trade..My local pub was the Mitre on weldbank lane and St Gregories club. We may well have met in either one of those drinking dens .
I moved away after the divorce,and stayed in the trade till 1992 when I became Ill.
Small world as they say see you soon Bill
Take care Tony
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| William R | Hello Tony, I always check for emails first thing every day, I too moved to Lighthurst Lane in 1960 (No.62) next door to Frank Hatton. My wife died in February of this year and was very friendly with Mrs.Joan Martin who lives in Plock Green. Her husband Joe died a few years ago, you must have known him, I think the Mitre was his local. They had a big family who all seem to have done well for themselves. I used to work for Leyland Motors, travelling every day but changed jobs to Star Paper Mill at Feniscowles in 1958, part of the deal being that I came to Barnsley to undertake a large expansion of the plant, so I`ve been here since 1960, but still a Lancastrian. Where the paper mill was is now a large ASDA, the mill dissappeared with all the coal mines in the area. Anyway, nice to hear from you, keep in touch and keep well. Regards, Bill. |
| Alan Marsden | There were two shops
Going down School lane from Hough Lane there was a bakery shop on the left on the corner of Yewlands, and a shop on the right on the corner of the street going back to Hough Lane.Just past the latter shop was a row of houses and I recall a male living in one of those houses who chose a double deck bus as his individual mode of transport rather than a car,he parked this vehicle outside his home on School lane. Can anyone explain this unusual activity ?
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| Bill Rigby | Cannot explain the double decker, Alan, because it was evidently after my time, but you recollection of Hough Lane in interesting. On the corner of Hough and Twongate was a rather 'posh' house the residence and business of P.E. Grundy, dentist. There was also a dentits on the other side just about as old fashioned as "Pea" Grundy was up to date. On the corner of that same block was a pharmacist, is I recall, or was it lower down at the main entrance to Leyland Motors?
The early posting from a Damps relative struck a chord, since it recalled the greengrocers. My mother used to shop at Iddons, grocery store near the Post Office. We bought all our rationed foodstuffs there, partly because my dad was an insurance agent and Iddon was one of his insured families. I am also wondering if the Iddons were not relatives, since one of my dad's aunts married an Iddon from Eccleston.
Next to Iddons was a sweet shop where a friend of mine, Vincent Waterhouse, astounded me by stealing a candy bar when the shopkeeper's back was turned.
Down from there was a bike store owned by the Bretherons. This would be about 1946/47. I remember it well because the oldest daughter had a crush on me that I was not aware of at the time. We used to go to Preston Baths with Fox Lane Youth Club and I recall her weariong a white bathing suit that when wet left little to the imagination! I discovered this when in the pool with her standing at the side; when I looked up at her to chat... I blushed! Who recalls the Bretherton sisters?
On the corner of Hough Lane opposite the gasworks was an unpaved short road on the corner of which was a shed which sold second hand books and odds 'n' ends. while on the other corner was a very well stocked grocery.
Opposite the Methodist hall on - is it Turpin Green Road at that point? - were three shops. The end one was a butchers, Singleton's. I knew Frank Singleton, since we went to school together and I recall his dad was in the RAF during the war. His mother was a very nice looking lady, I recall, and kept the business going. I fell out with Frank due to a stupid joke on my part of which I am still ashamed; why do we do these things?
Next to Singleton's was a baker/confectionery who sold rather mediocre products, I recall.
I do not recall a UCP in Leyland, but I do remember Thornley's on Towngate.
What happened to Molds, the printers, next to the Post Office? I knew John Mold, the son, and Ursula, hus sister. John went to the college and was maybe two years older than I was. Ursula was about my age.
When I started this post, the only was to mention Pea Grundy, but recollections began to flood my head, though some may be chronologically inaccurate! Have not even thought about much of the above for years and years!
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| Alan Marsden | Bill , the Posh house you mention at the corner of Hough Lane and Towngate, was in 1962 a rather nice hotel called 'The Gables', I know this because we held our wedding reception there. In fact,'Sniffer Grundy' the dentist of sorts, was next door. |
| anacortesdamp | Bill:
The toffee shop on the corner of Hough Lane and Thurston Road was Walmsley's. We used to get candy there when it was still on ration in the early 50's.
The baker/confenctioner on Turpin Green was, I think, Marginson's. they had two shop fronts, next to the bank on the corner. About 1955, Singleton's and Marginson's sold out to Bob Barton, a motorcycle dealer, who made a single large shop out of the three. I bought a 1958 Vespa there. The property was demolished, along with the "Cabin" for the roundabout. Barton built a new facility, but closed down a couple of years later. Last time I was in Leyland, it was a furniture store.
Frank Damp |
| Bill Rigby | William R: Coincidence! I just wrote about the bombing of the Farrington plant, but did not know the date, I remember it well although only 8 years old because I was in class at St. Mary's and Mrs. Dobson had divided the class into three in order to sing 'rounds'. We had just launched into "London's Burning" and were into the second line, "Pour on water" when Mrs. Dobson (who had already spotted my contribution and asked me to stop 'singing')stopped us all to demand who was singing 'pour on petrol'. The culprit did not own up, but Mrs. Dobson knew and called out a girl called Joan Goodier. As Joan faced her, the air raid siren went off and Joan shouted "Siren!", startling Miss Dobson so much she instinctively lashed out to smack Joan across the face. By the time both recovred we were on the way to the shelters behind the school, built on what had been the school 'garden'. In the shelter, we all are sat in a row each side of a small aisle and Mr. Coffee, the head arrives to ask Mrs. Dobson is we are all here. She had not had time to ascertain this and finds that Charlie Bibby (who lived in the cul de sac opposite the entrance to Fishwicks on Chapel Brow) and John Hart are missing. Meanwhile we hear, if I recall correctly, two explosions that shake the shelter. The slight panic at the pair's absence soon settles when they enter full tilt the shelter. In answer to the question where they had been, Charlie said they were on their way to the shelter when they saw the airplane and saw a bomb falling so they took shelter in the only place they could see; a plywood tea chest that they upended and put over themselves!
The only casualty from the daylight raid that I recall was a Mr. Valentine, who according to the story told at school by a relative had been hit by machine gun fire, since the plane strafed the area after dropping the bombs. The cotton mill tower on the other side of the main line had clear traces of where MG bullets hit it - I remember going to look with Arthur Ball and his brother Norman but how long after I have forgotten.
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| Bill Rigby | I should have added that rumor had it the pilot was a former 'premium' at Leyland Motors which was supposed to explain how he knew where to go! The other rumor was that the plane was shot down over Longton Marsh. However, I may confuse the Longton Marsh plane with the one that bombed Lostock Hall one Sunday evening. |
| William R | Been reading this thread and trying to get my thoughts in order. I well remember the bombing of Farington Works and agree that the pilot was indeed reputed to have been a former Premium apprentice from Germany. We had many of them pre-war, who suddenly dissappeared, possibly "planted" and then recalled for service. When the plane flew over the L & B there machine gunners on the roof did fire a few rounds which nowadays would be termed "friendly fire" as they fell in the roadway by the Plating Shop (as was) and we all tried to get back into the Chassis Shop to get out of the way, up the slope. However, we decided that a good view was worth the risk and watched the bombs fall out of the plane. I have related elsewhere about the aftermath, but I remember that when I returned from serving my Country (?) in 1948 I was re-employed in the Tool Room which was now in the Axle Factory and had a workbench next to a large compound stanchion, the base of which was deformed by the bomb which fell on the Axle Factory and did not explode. The actual bomb was recovered and stood at the entrance to the Tool Room with a brass plate telling the story, I think it was a 250 kg one, (not sure). The fitter on the next bench was Vin Murphy works Convenor, who was visited by various Shop Stewards "on Union business", one of these was Lady G`s father, (name with held) so our association goes back a long way!!!! Does anyone remember the large static water tank outside the Axle Factory as an emergency water supply? When it was emptied after the war, a lot of interesting items came to light. Must not keep rambling on, Cheerio for Now, William R. |
| Bill Rigby | Yes, William R, I remember the static water tank there and by St.Ambrose Sunday school on Bow Lane. We used to play around them,'sailing' bits of wood and stuff. I was astonished to find the one on Bow Lane had fish in it and believed for some time thereafter in 'spontaneous generation'!
That water in the tanks developed greenish hue over time and the one you refer to had an oily slick, which we did not much like and prevented us from playing as we did with the Bow Lane one.
Since you lived up Bent Lane, you must know the good walk we had to get to Farrington!
At the top of Bent Lane, where Heald House Road began was a small store that sold sweets, if I recall - a pebble dashed bungalow type structure. At the curve in Bent Lane, where the road rose used to be a telephone box. I remember it being demolished after a motor cycle and, I think, sidecar, crashed into it. We went to look after hearing of the crash and I recall my horror at the congealed blood on the smashed call box floor. I think the motor cyclist was killed; the accident happened either at night or early morning one weekend and I seem to recollect talk that help did not come quickly because no one saw the accident. Does this ring a bell? The call box was never replaced.
I see my recollection of two explosions appears accurate... I recall many things but the chronology is often off as I discover with surprise sometimes.
I remember |
| Bill Rigby | Frank and Allen, I did not thank you for your posts adding to my recollection of Hough Lane. As I recall there were two stores on each side of the Regent cinema, on the right facing was a barber and on the left a greengrocers.
A couple of years ago, I got a book of old pictures of Leyland from Chalford Press. The first plate is of Jack Iddon, the Leyland and Lancashire cricketer. I did not realize he died in 1946 at age 44.
There are many interesting photos of the town from the turn of the 20th C. to the 1960s. I was delighted to find one of our family doctor, Dr. Cank, in a home guard uniform as MO of the local HG whatever.
Frank, the name Damps means something to me; was the business an ironmongers? My wife and myself were friends of a Damps and his Irish wife when we lived in Kenilworth. He was a draftsman at Dunlop and know Stirling Moss due to his work. The name is not a very common one... |
| William R | Hi Bill. Remember the telephone box accident very well, we all went down to see the blood covering the floor, I think it was early morning when it happened, a right mess. The little shop you mentioned at Bent Bridge belonged to a family called Holden, and at one time it was a chippy, but when the war came it was just a toffee shop and general grocery store.. We used to stand outside asking for "fag cards" every time anyone went in or out. I used to live at the first semi-det house next to the oak tree (remember). The farm was owned by Bill Hart, whose cows used to break down our fence to get into the garden. If you knew the Forty Steps you must have been one of "our gang" who used to wait on Saturday mornings when the holiday trains were going to Blackpool for Wakes Week holidays. We used to get chocolate bars and toffees thrown at us. The trains always stopped at the signals by the Forty Steps, generally three or four in a row, We sometimes got comics given to us, remember? You keep mentioning Ryden Avenue, at the top of Young Avenue, Remember Arthur Williams, went to school with him. Cheerio, William R. |
| William R | Remember Frank Ward who had the paper shop opposite Grundy`s, always plenty of good cigarettes under the counter if he knew you. The Chemists shop was next to the road into North Works, he used to make his own headache cure, was it called Cephos Powder, wasn`t he called Maurice Simmons? On the other side of the roadway was a shoe repairer I believe. During the war you could always get a good "barm cake" at Parkinsons with marge and raspberry jam on, at certain times.. Toffee ration always came from Firth and Fishers at the corner of Thurston Road, and the big house called The Gables used to be the home of Dr. Johnson, who always grumbled at us because we sat on his wall on Sunday nights, I can hear him now with his "Get off my wall or I`ll get the Police", so we went into Leyland Construction Company yard just in School Lane. Trainee Vandals we were, all members of Fred Pennington`s Gang. Happy Days. Cheerio, William R. |
| William R | Do any old Leyland Motors men remember the works toilets down North Works yard where "Sailor Wright" used to have his "office" where he tore newspaper up into the required size and handed them out two pieces at a time? And the cigarette machine there which gave a pack of five Woodbine Red Label? How we lived in those days. He was on charge of turning on the water when it was coming up to finishing time for us to wash our hands, we even had liquid soap!!!! Cheerio, William R. |
| William R | Lady G, Ten to go. W.R. |
| anacortesdamp | Bill R:
Yes, our shop was an ironmongery, George Damp and Sons. We had a machine shop behind the shop, did machining jobs for BTR, L&B and Leyland Motors. The shop was substantially remodelled in the late 50's and the machine shop closed. We also did auto repair and servicing and had the petrol station at the corner of Turpin Green and Canberra Road.
Your comment about Kenilworth is interesting, as we live there for a couple of years, on a Wimpy estate just off Windy Arbour. I was working for Wickman Machine Tools at that time (1965-66). There is a branch of the family in Leamington Spa, though we don't know them. Phillip Damp is a big wheel in the British Dahlia Society. I wasn't aware of any Damps in Kenilworth, though, except us.
Frank Damp |
| skitzy | I've just looked at the family tree that Syd & Sheila did, Frank, I cant find a Phillip, which branch of the family does he come from?
Eileen |
| Bill Rigby | Frank, Well that was a surprise! We used to live at 68 Windy Arbor in Kenilworth from, let me see, 1959 to March 1963, at which time we sold the house and moved to France, I still have the bill for shipping the furniture; 110 pounds!
I am trying to remember the first name of the Damps we were friendly with in Kenilworth, but I cannot even recall his wife's first name! We kept in touch with them for some years; the wives were greater friends than the husbands, actually.
The gas station you mention did not exist when I lived in Leyland, but I know where you mean. It was 'spare ground' for years. I do remember the air raid shelter under the 'rec' as a vast maze of trenches with walls and roof made of railroad sleepers. We used to 'explore' it, feeling our way along in the pitch black and occasionally getting scared out of our wits meeting another party doing the same.
I once had a fight on the 'rec' with a Robert Burns (sic) that also went to the Catholic College, but was in a higher form. He was on the top deck of a Fishwicks sat behind me with some of his pals. I had received a rock on the noggin from Arthur Ball in an exchange of rock throwing coming back from 'up' Runshaw and had a silly bandage round my bonce. Burns kept tapping me on the head and in the end we arranged to settle each other's hash. Burns and his pals lived off Towngate and got off the bus with me at the gasworks, prematurely for them, in order to see me off, so to speak. We took off our blazers - his held by one of his cronies, mine by a Ronnie Bird, a friend who lived off Bent Lane. We squared off and I waited for Burnsie to try to land one, but he just kept his fists up and circled. As much to my surprise as his, I let fly and caught him square on the nose! He threw up his hands and doubled up; the fight was over. He left with his pals, wiping blood from his nose and muttering he would 'get' me again! He never did, of course, avoiding me thereafter...
The business did not take apprentices, did it? I ask, because somehow I seem to connect the name with Arthur's brother, Norman Ball, who still lives on Bent Lane, who apprenticed as a tool and die maker. I know it was not at Leyland Motors, but it may have been at Iddon Bros. |
| Bill Rigby | Astonishing to think, William R, that we may have been looking at the 'evidence' at the same time! Do you have any idea when that was - the accident, I mean?
I saw a reference to the 'Forty Steps' several posts back and was somewhat astonished that anyone knew the name! I thought we - Arthur and Norman Ball, Dinky Duffy and Brian Broadbent - had invented it! I remember counting the steps and anouncing there were not forty at all!
I know the house where you lived, but cannot for the life of me visualize an oak. Heald House Farm orchard we once attempted to raid with dismal success; we did not even get near! On the other hand, there was an orchard on Bent Lane in front of the sand pit, or 'tip' as we later called it. The orchard had a substantial fence around it, but we managed to scale it. The owner was a milkman, but the farm buildings were uninhabited if I recall. I am thinking the milkman was Charlie Walmesley, who used to come around in a milk float and ladle the milk out from a churn. One took one's jug out to get it.
I think, William, you must be somewhat older than me from your previous posts. I have to say that even though we may have lived relatively close to each other, 'territoriality' was a major item in those days. We were always at war with a bunch from, I think it is called Lynton Avenue, since they claimed their end of the sand pit. Since the Balls lived on Bent Lane, I spent most of my time with them, along with Dinky Duffy, whose parents lived in the end shop at the end of Young Avenue. It was not used as a shop for many years (was it ever?), but Mr. Duffy had his tools in it and Dink and I used it as a workshop for making a sled and fixing up bikes.
I remember the Williams family as a name, but I think the son was quite a bit older than myself. Though as you know when a kid, two to three years is a big gap! In my first post, I mentioned we lived in Ryden Avenue from 1935 until 1947 or 8. I was going on four when we arrived and nearing 16 when we left to live in Ainsdale, near Southport, where my maternal family came from. My dad bought a grocery business there after selling his insurance 'book'.
We used to have phases of collecting train numbers, particularly 'namers', but we did this not at the Forty Steps, but the pedestrian crossing towrd Turpin Green Bridge. I guess this is why I never had any largesse from wakes' folk!
Across the road in an old row of houses was Calvert's shop. Mrs. Calvert was an aged lady and the store always had wooden shutters at the windows; she never took them down since I guess during the war there was little to put in the window! Sammy Calvert was either her son or grandson and quite a character; they came from Preston I think and it was quite a numerous family. My dad was an insurance agent for Royal Liver, General Accident and the Sun; Calverts were one of his customers.
I remember the shop now you mention it as a chippy, but only vaguely. During the war it was closed more than open if memory serves me. |
| Caroline | Bill, you may remember the Peet family who live in one of the three houses up the steps on Bent Lane, next to the track that led to Wigan Road and past the gypsy caravans . My Mum was one of the Peet girls, tho' she's about William R's age . I'll ask her if she remembers the accident! |
| Bill Rigby | Sorry, Caroline, cannot say I remember the Peet family. The track you refer to we called the 'backs' and it entered Ryden Avenue between our house and the Aspinalls next door. Continuing acroos the avenue it went a short way down an unmade road that had a row of houses on the left before becoming a path through the fields and alongside Brownie Brook for some way before reaching Wigan Road. The pathg continued across Wigan Road and ran by the brook with Leyland Golf Club on the opposite bank for several fields.
The row of houses in which the Peets lived had the end house away from the 'backs' rented by the Ball family. Arthur and Norman were my biggest childhood friends along with Dinky Duffy who lived in the end house/shop at the intersection of Young Avenue with Bent Lane. The only family I remember in the Ball row were the Winstanleys, an elderly couple. Perhaps we are talking of big time gaps here! |