FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[Stanley]

I don't know about the wickets Comrade but the date stone was still there....

[Stanley]

George Snowden in Earby in about 1900. Grandson in the chair?

[Stanley]

Picture like this one fascinate me. This young lad in 1976 was brother to two friends of my daughters, Tamara and Sherri. Their father built the new houses on infill land at Townhead and they were a nice family. This young man will be over 40 now, a completely separate life and experiences.

[Stanley]

I can't remember why we had a horse in the yard at Bancroft in 1976 while the mill was running. One thing is certain, it's now a forgotten corner.

[Stanley]

Castle View and Manchester Road in 1978.

[Stanley]

Manchester Road in 1979.

[Stanley]

Hey Farm and Barlick in 1969. Just before road widening and the demolition of the barn.

[Stanley]

Gara Pickles and his dog looking up Manchester Road before it was widened. The barn is still in place and it is very narrow and steep.

[Stanley]

The old road looking downhill from behind the barn. Wild's garage was still there of course. Access off Cobden Street.

[Bruff]

Some evocative photos for me among this latter lot, thanks. I’ve mentioned this before, but for cross-referencing and search purposes, the ladies outfitters by Monks Cottages there was my grandmother’s, called La Mode, and she ran it with her friend Nora (father did the books). Warmed my hands many a time on the storage heater in there on my way home from school. The barn next door hosted the original Gospel Mission Hall, before it went to Valley Gardens and from where it has now moved again.

My great-grandmother lived on Castle View and her and my grandmother were friendly with Gara I think. The cottage front we see in the photo was where a rather distinctive old lady called Bridget lived. Never knew her surname.

Richard Broughton

[Big Kev]

I noticed the "old" Gospel Mission Hall, in Valley Gardens, has been sold. It has a covenant on it restricting use to a church. Be interesting to know who has bought it...

[Thomo]

The Gospel Mission is now in what was Boltons Decorations, previously R & E Baileys fruit and veg merchants on Wellhouse Rd. Gara Pickles's daughter Joan was one of my early girlfriends, later 2838699 ACW2 Pickles J of the WRAF.

[Stanley]

Richard, I knew Bridget well when I lived at Hey Farm. She was of Irish descent I think and a proper character. She was a mate of Rosie across the road in the bottom cottage on Park Avenue and they were a lively pair. I have a vague memory of her rent being put up when the value of houses started to rise but I might be wrong. The house was refurbished and let but had what I think is the worst strap pointing I have ever seen on the gable end.



Click to enlarge. The improvement was a bigger job then it looks because when they raised the road the water main from Whitemoor was over 9ft down and it was decided this was too deep so it was relaid at a higher level. The stone from the barn was used to build up the road on Stoneybank at Earby when they eased the sharp bend about a quarter of a mile up from the town. They left a dangerous bank at the point where the improvement stopped so I 'borrowed' the large tracked crawler the contractors had there (A tenner slipped to the driver for the key and a full tank) and over the weekend I took the bank out and levelled the field behind it, then tracked it all down and harrowed it ready for re-seeding. I think the engineers agreed with me because they extended the fence to the old hedge line had left in. Have a look at it, a big improvement and I did a good job.

[Stanley]

Mrs Brown's shop at the end of Longfield Lane. It was still open in 1978 I think or had only recently closed. At one time it was run by one of the Slater family and was described as a 'tea dealer'.

[Stanley]

Mrs Brown in her shop. She was a very useful asset and the kids loved going round for sweets. Amazing how far 3d went in those days! The shop smelled of bacon, cheese and coffee. Long gone now that everything is packaged.....

[Bruff]

Have to say, that bacon there looks magnificent.

Only places I’ve seen bacon like that recently, is in a grocer’s on the Fish Quay at North Shields and perhaps more predictably in Borough Market, London, where I’ve been partial to a slice or two of Essex Flitch.

I was regularly told as a lad to ‘pop up to Mrs Brown’s’ for a pint of milk or, in a sign of the times, some fags!

Richard Broughton

[plaques]

The Co-operative Hall on Co-operative St. Can anyone tell me what the full banner title was? Did it have a date? (I don't know).

[Stanley]

P. It's quite amazing how, even after years of researching and indexing, someone asks a question that you know the answer to but you can't put your hand on the reference! I looked for my articles on Cooperation in Barlick but couldn't find them so I've reposted them. Still no mention of the name! I think it was called Jubilee Hall but will look at the frontage when it's daylight. The last sign on it was The Mayfair School of Dancing and at one time it was a squash club.

[plaques]

Stanley, My guess at the banner was 'Co-operative Hall . 1900 ' . I'm really guessing at the date from the hole pattern in the stone. Your article 'Co-operative part 3' would appear to confirm this. The funny thing about all this was that nobody appeared to be unduly concerned that you could stand there staring at a wall. Perhaps its a common trait in Barlick.

[Stanley]

I forgot to look yesterday.... The Cooperative Street complex declined in importance when the big building on Albert Road was built. Made sense as we were the wrong side of the tracks which meant that the present town centre was the main focus of development. The ground floor of the Cooperative Street buildings was the Co-op bakery.



The bakery during conversion to flats. The ovens were still in place.

[Stanley]

Cooperative Street in about 1980.

[Stanley]

Hacking's bakery in Walmsgate in about 1890? They were mainly back-stone bakers then making oatcakes, muffins and crumpets. I think they started in a small building near the end of Mitchell Terrace and after Walmsgate built their own premises next to Gott's Garage.

[Stanley]

In Earby one of the main back stone bakeries was in Red lion Street. Run by Jim Pollard's mother and father it was in the end two buildings on this row opposite the Red Lion pub. Oatcakes, muffins and crumpets were delivered door to door through the town.

[Stanley]

The low white building used to be Stanley's Crumpets. We had quite a lot on the old site about that....

[Stanley]

During my digging into Barlick history I found that at one time that site next to the old sidings was Proctor Barrett's builders yard. Amongst other things he built the old Liberal Club on Station Road....