Yes I remember Albert ..He lived just accross from me ..On Saturdays he used to walk down to Hillsbro...On his way have a kick about with us kids then off to play against some of the best players this country has ever had...We used to jokingly call him big head...he was a great header of the ball..nice fella (our Albert):)

Some people believe that his energy came from eating muffins.

I agree with them.

Originally posted by Wyatterp
I wonder if Miss Bourner is the teacher we had in the last year, don't remember her name but do remember what she looked liked, would wear low cut tops and short scirts, then sit on the front of her desk with her legs crossed.
Thats torcher to a 14 year old boy.

All I can remember about her is that she was quite petite and had short auburn hair. But I can't think of anyone else that were would fit the bill between 1959- 1963

Originally posted by Bushbaby
Co-Op Divvy number - it was as familiar as your midddle name Co-op no 72724 the things you remember!

Originally posted by burnttoast
Yes I remember Albert ..He lived just accross from me ..On Saturdays he used to walk down to Hillsbro...On his way have a kick about with us kids then off to play against some of the best players this country has ever had...We used to jokingly call him big head...he was a great header of the ball..nice fella (o
ur Albert):)


You must have lived on Doe Royd Cresent because
I used to live just across the back gardens from him.
So many days aweek he used to borrow my push bike
to go training on .

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bushbaby
Great player old Albert. Got a few caps as I remember.
(5, I think)

Not wishing to be pedantic but his name was spelt Quixall [/QUOT E]


Sorry about the spelling ,your right it is QUIXALL

Originally posted by Travann
All I can remember about her is that she was quite petite and had short auburn hair. But I can't think of anyone else that were would fit the bill between 1959- 1963

Travan
I left school in 1958 so may be she quit befor you started.

B&C (Brightside & Carbrook) #63751

We also had a S& E (Sheffield & Ecclsall #) but don't remember that one.

Graham

Name: Albert Quixall

Birthdate: 09/08/1933

Birthplace: Sheffield, England

Transferred from: Sheffield Wednesday, September 1958, £45,000

Debut for Manchester United: 20/09/1958 v Tottenham, Hotspur (H) 2-2 (League Division One)

Farewell to Manchester United: Transferred to Oldham Athletic, September 1964, £7,000

I MOVED FROM SHEFFIELD IN 1965.I USED TO LIVE AT 176 CHAUCER ROAD RIGHT OPPOSITE THE SCHOOL PLAYING FIELDS. I WENT TO YEW LANE SCHOOL . I HAD A SISTER CALLED CAROL ROCK . I REMEMBER MY UNCLE BEING A FOREMAN AT BASSETS SWEET FACTORY AND GETTING BROWN BAGS FULL OF SWEETS.
MY FATHER WAS A SHEFFIELDITE AND DROVE A LORRY FOR CHARLES ALEXANDRA OF ABERDEEN AND ALSO A SCRAP LORRY FOR A A BRAMHALL (ALBERT) MY OLD DAD WAS IS FIRST DRIVER AND I AM AFRAID THE SCRAP METAL GOT THE BETTER OF HIM AND HE WAS SACKED. WE HAD A GARDEN FENCE BUILT OF FISH BOXES AND ALWAYS HAD ONE OF THE BEST BONFIRES DUE TO THE CONSTANT STOCK OF OLD BOXES. I REMEMBER THE BEADLE PUB I USED TO GO ACROSS MY BACK GARDEN TO GET TO THE PUB AND GET A BOTTLE OF LEMONADE AND LIME AND A PCKET OF SUNPAT CHOCOLATE RAISINS. ALWAYS REMEMBER THE TRIPE MAN AND PIKLET MAN ON A SUNDAY AND WAITED AT THE CORNER FOR THE BIG RED WALK IN LORRY OF ;PLUMBERS MOBILE LORRY; MY AUNTY LIVED UP THE TOP OF MANSELL CRESCENT HER MARRIED NAME WAS BARKER AND SHE HAD 5 KIDS CAROL MARGARET FORGOT THE OTHERS. WE USED TO GO DOWN TO A OLD DERELLECT CINEMA IN CHAPLETOWN AND GET PIGEON EGGS FROM THE ROOF HOW WE NEVER DIED I DONT KNOW. ALWAYS WAITED FOR THE SNOW TO COME SO WE COULD GO ON OUR HOME MADE SLEDGES SOMEWHERE NEAR ECCLESFIELD MY SLEDGE AS YOU HAVE GUESSED WAS MADE OF FISHBOXES. WHAT A STINK. I AND A FEW MATES USED TO GO TO HILLSBOROUGH TO SEE ALL THE INTERCITIES GAMES STILL GOT THE TICKETS FOR THE NEW STAND WHEN THEY PLAYED BLACKBURN ROVERS.(5/-) AND WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER SANTOS OF BRAZIL PLAYING THERE WITH PELE,GARRINCHA,DIDI,GILMAR AGAINST THE WEDNESDAY WHO HAD SWAN SPRINGETT LAINE,KAY FANTHEM. WE USED TO GO ON THE MOORS CAMPING FOR A NIGHT WED C..P OURSELVES.

PARSONS CROSS TO ME WAS A GREAT MEMORY AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED ON IT WERE A SPECIAL BREED I HAVE MADE CONTACT WITH E FEW ON FRIENDS REUNITED. ROY BILLARD WAS ONE BUT I REMEMBER PETE PEDLER WHO USE TO LIVE UP BY THE FOX PUB I THINK. I HAVE LIVED IN LONDON SINCE THEN NOW (56)YEARS OLD BUT TALK COCKNEY BUT I CAN STILL SAY A FEW REAL SHEFFIELD SAYING ESPECIALLY GIORE AND WHEN I GO TO YORK MY ACCENT COMES OUT. PARSONS CROSS A FOND MEMORY
BEST WISHES KENNY ROCK

Originally posted by ROCKYONE
I REMEMBER THE BEADLE PUB -


Kenny,
You'll be pleased to know that "The Beagle" is still a very fine watering hole and if you follow this link you will find a lovely foto of it, pretty much as you remember it I guess

http://www.picturesheffield.co.uk/jpgh/s22015.jpg

Originally posted by Unregistered
Yes I remember John - I think his mother worked there too.

You're right, the Wordsworth Tavern was knocked down later than 1966. I just know that it was definately still standing in that landmark year, due to the World Cup. It may have come down in 1968 but both pubs were standing alongside each other for a short period.

I only knew the Tanner Hop by that name although I never actually went. I seem to remember going to Youth Clubs at Monteney, Colley and Meynall Schools at various times, followed by that horrid ''in between period of limbo'' when you are ''too old'' for Youth Clubs and ''too young'' to get in a boozer with any confidence. We probably hung around Margetson Shops, bored stiff and being a nuisance - not much different from kids of today, although we did have The Ritz cinema on Saturday mornings!

Probably the first ''underage'' pub we got in was the Ball Inn at Ecclesfield. Old Arthur and Maud Smith never asked our age and it was a case of ''out of sight - out of mind'' in the back room. We then progressed to the Tankard (now the Stocks) run by Trevor who never spent a dime on the place but we loved the jukebox.

The Griffin was also on the go (now closed) with toilets plumbed in by numerous bits and pieces of plastic fittings that the Landlord had obviously nicked from the Public Works Department at the rear of Margetson shops, where he also worked!

In the early 70's the place to be was the Shiregreen Hotel with live bands on Friday and Saturdays. The place was just heaving with people. The greedy brewery ruined it by obtaining a late night extension. The neighbours were plagued by late night noise and got the licence removed - it was never the same again after that.
Hey i used to work in griffin met my hubbie craig tobin there can`t believe its shut down , well actually i can i live in oz now but am coming home next month everyone says i`ll be shocked . most of houses been knocked down and stuff.

:o :o :o THALL BE SHOCKED AREIGHT NOWT ARDLY LEFT AT AREA , all the characters vanished, parson cross rest in peace. :( :(

Some people say Parsons Cross.


It's Parson Cross.

Of the 700 Parson Cross homes identified for demolition, some 600 have now been demolished and the rest will go in the next few months.

A rebuilding program of nearly 900 homes is due to start in different locations on The Cross between March 2006 and March 2008.

A copy of the Master Plan is available for viewing at the Tennants Association Office, 130 Buchanan Road, and interested parties should call in and take a look at the future.

Originally posted by helentobin
Hey i used to work in griffin met my hubbie craig tobin there can`t believe its shut down , well actually i can i live in oz now but am coming home next month everyone says i`ll be shocked . most of houses been knocked down and stuff.

The Griffin landlord was Eddie Housley who also had a pub in Chapeltown. The Griffin was really too small to be viable. Whilst it was very busy at the weekend it was dead in the week and often didn't bother opening.

To say that ''most of the houses have been knocked down'' is a bit of an exaggeration but it's still a weird sight when you drive past empty plots where houses once stood throughout your childhood.

can you view these changes on line?

Originally posted by Freda
can you view these changes on line?


No - I don't think that the Master Plan is online.

Is there going to be a Parson Cross festival this year?

Originally posted by Unregistered
Some people say Parsons Cross.

It's Parson Cross.

Even some of Sheffield's buses list it as Parsons Cross - the one which goes up Prince of Wales Rd and around Gleadless (49?) often shows the errant 's'.
Makes my blood boil!!

Freda says: can you view these changes on line?


Freda is this what you're looking for, I found this by accident while searching for something else, various masterplans.

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/planning-and-city-development/planning-documents/background-reports/southey-owlerton-masterplans

Be interesting to see if its anything like the finished project.

Originally posted by Bushbaby
Even some of Sheffield's buses list it as Parsons Cross - the one which goes up Prince of Wales Rd and around Gleadless (49?) often shows the errant 's'.
Makes my blood boil!!


I wish I knew what made the Parson cross or who made the cross for the Parson. And when.

Since childhood, I've had an image in my mind of a religious cross stuck in the mud near where the White Horse pub is, in 16-oh blob.

But that's pure fantasy, probably from when I first discovered where Parson Cross Road was.

Less than 70 years ago the whole area, from the Five Arches bridge and Wadsley Bridge to Ecclesfield, was farm land and forest with the odd farmhouse scattered here and there. That's before Deer Land became Deerlands.

Doe Royd was there, as a farm house, but god knows what a Doe Royd is.


.

The origins of the name are lost in the mists of time, but it is quite evident that "Parson Cross Rd" at Wadsely Bridge, is older the Parson Cross itself, so I can only guess that the estate got its name from the street.
I dunno what a Doe Royd is either. Sounds heraldic!!

Originally posted by Bushbaby
The origins of the name are lost in the mists of time, but it is quite evident that "Parson Cross Rd" at Wadsely Bridge, is older the Parson Cross itself, so I can only guess that the estate got its name from the street.
I dunno what a Doe Royd is either. Sounds heraldic!! Doe Royd was a poet or a writer of some sorts .If you notice a lot of the estate was named after poets or writers eg Wordsworth.Chaucer.Browning.Meynell.etc.:thumbsup: Not sure where Parson cross came from though.

Originally posted by burnttoast
Doe Royd was a poet or a writer of some sorts .If you notice a lot of the estate was named after poets or writers eg Wordsworth.Chaucer.Browning.Meynell.etc.:thumbsup: Not sure where Parson cross came from though.

You're right about the other guys, fine poets everyone of them. But I don't think Doe Royd was in their company.

If you do a Google on "Doe Royd", a surefire way of tracking down even the most elusive of subjects, it returns only references to the Sheffield 5 street. It doesn't seem to have any other sources.

The mystery remains...

I have a very old map of Sheffield, but haven't been able to date it yet. There is no sign of the Parson Cross Estate, but there's an area called Parson Cross and Parson Cross Road. The Southy Estate had been built tho', but no sign of Industry on Penistone Road, or The Wednesday Football Stadium. It would interesting to find out what year it was built, as I would love to get even an approximate date for my map.

Deerlands Avenue was apparently named after Deerlands Farm, which used to be there, Doe Royd Lane was already there, so one can only guess that there is a connection between DOE Royd and DEERlands

Pietro - thanks for the link - most interesting :-)
Freda

Originally posted by Bushbaby
You're right about the other guys, fine poets everyone of them. But I don't think Doe Royd was in their company.

If you do a Google on "Doe Royd", a surefire way of tracking down even the most elusive of subjects, it returns only references to the Sheffield 5 street. It doesn't seem to have any other sources.

The mystery remains... Yes thanks I may be wrong.I lived on Doe Royd and always thought it was so,but cannot find a link.The only thing Ive come up with is a Royd in the old days meant a clearing,and it was known that deer roamed the area so Doe Royd:confused: :cool:

Originally posted by Unregistered
The Griffin landlord was Eddie Housley who also had a pub in Chapeltown. The Griffin was really too small to be viable. Whilst it was very busy at the weekend it was dead in the week and often didn't bother opening.

To say that ''most of the houses have been knocked down'' is a bit of an exaggeration but it's still a weird sight when you drive past empty plots where houses once stood throughout your childhood. work
I worked there in 1997, the manager at the time... forgot his name but he was a bit of a fly by night did me out of my tax!!! i then went to work for martin and carol in the ball. That was alrieght, Martin was fun to work for what with his cajun chicken on a sunday for the footballers. Ball supposed to have gone down hill since they left. My hubbie says it was best 20 years ago before they did it up in those dark colours and fancy chairs.

Originally posted by helentobin


I then went to work for martin and carol in the ball. That was alright, Martin was fun to work for what with his cajun chicken on a sunday for the footballers. Ball supposed to have gone down hill since they left. My hubbie says it was best 20 years ago before they did it up in those dark colours and fancy chairs.



Yes, Martin and Carol made The Ball into a really great place. I was sorry to see them leave when they took over a pub at Thorpe Hesley.

Originally posted by Unregistered
The Griffin landlord was Eddie Housley who also had a pub in Chapeltown.
It's the "Coach and Horses" In Chap.
Eddy has also started a double glazing business.

Originally posted by Unregistered


:o @ those photos near the Ritz, so clean and tidy looking way back then. Now it's just depressing looking, completely run down and dirty. It's the first time I've seen any old photo's of the surrounding area where I live, thanks for those pictures Unregistered. I may go down there next week and snap some modern day shots for a side by side comparison.

Oh, and hello everybody. :clap:

Originally posted by Logic3
:o @ those photos near the Ritz, so clean and tidy looking way back then. Now it's just depressing looking, completely run down and dirty. It's the first time I've seen any old photo's of the surrounding area where I live, thanks for those pictures Unregistered. I may go down there next week and snap some modern day shots for a side by side comparison.

Oh, and hello everybody. :clap:

Hello.

I hope you take some snaps of the demolished houses, particularly

Wordsworth Ave/Deerlands Ave
Buchanan Road/Adlington Road
Buchanan Road looking up Falstaff Road and Crescent

I wish I had a camera.

...and don't forget to post a link to them ;-)
I feel much too cheerful - I need something depressing lol!

Supertram should be extended to Parson Cross.

Originally posted by Unregistered
Hello.

I hope you take some snaps of the demolished houses, particularly

Wordsworth Ave/Deerlands Ave
Buchanan Road/Adlington Road
Buchanan Road looking up Falstaff Road and Crescent

I wish I had a camera.


I went out with camera in hand this morning to snap away, but when I got home to upload the photos were total junk, quality wise. Maybe some corrupt data on the memory stick, who knows, but I will try again later in the week.

:clap:

So, here are a couple I managed to salvage running them through Adobe Photoshop. :thumbsup:

DELETE THE SPACE AFTER http:

http: //img235.echo.cx/img235/749/436000043cl.jpg

This one is me standing on Collinson Road, across from Southey Green School, looking over to Launce Road.


http: //img211.echo.cx/img211/8404/436000052lh.jpg

This is still on Collinson Road looking at the remains of Falstaff Road and Cresent - the houses on Murdock have gone too.

Apologies for the quality. The retake shots will be better, I promise. :P I will also have more photos of all the areas.

Originally posted by Logic3


Apologies for the quality. The retake shots will be better, I promise. :P I will also have more photos of all the areas.


I look forward to them.


I couldn't live in one of those isolated houses.

A couple for you here.

Falstaff Crescent.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/wharncliffe/Southey055.jpg

Symons Crescent.
[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/wharncliffe/Southey054.jpg

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Unregistered
[B]Supertram should be extended to Parson Cross.


What's Supertram? and where does it go?

Originally posted by Wyatterp
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Unregistered
[B]Supertram should be extended to Parson Cross.


What's Supertram? and where does it go?

Supertram is a modern light rail system that runs on tracks alongside the roads - much like the trams of yesteryear.
It runs from City Centre to:
Meadowhall
Middlewood
Malin Bridge
Herdings (Gleadless)
Halfway

I think that's all except to say it's a superb system and ought to be extended city wide

I have noticed recently that many of the Sheffield buses follow a colour-coding scheme for the routes. I spotted “Olive Line” for Gleadless and “Claret Line” for Totley, so was interested in what colour Parson cross would be allocated - then I found out

“Brown Line”

I ask you…now even the bus companies have a bias against S5. How inspired are you to get on a bus which follows the Brown Line? Not very I guess.
Couldn't we at least make it Beige?

Originally posted by Wyatterp



What's Supertram? and where does it go?


http://www.supertram.net/

sorry for not reply so long loved all the story
would like to thanks ever body and if you know some more please post then

I remember in 1966, a poor family living near the Wordsworth Tavern got behind with their rent.

In the morning the family were evicted and in the afternoon some Council workmen arrived.

They removed the whole bedroom window and dumped all the remaining old beds, carpets and old wardrobes in the front garden to be taken away.

How publicly humiliating. I'm sure it couldn't happen these days.

My dad lived in Parson Cross and i'm going to hand over to him now.
--------------------------------------------------

I'm Paul, lived on Colley Avenue next door to Ray Hind, Pete Green and next door to them Geoff Green (no relation though).

I went to Colley school and left in 1959. My best mates were Jeff Woods, John Naylor, John Nicholas and Trevor Earnshaw.

My brother used to be in Dean Marshall & The Deputies playing rhythm guitar, left before they became Jigsaw though.

Hi Paul, Iwonder if you knew any of the Butler family who lived on Colley Road at 108? Ray remembers us, he and I are in touch now but sadly can't actually remember him from those days - I left Colley Road to live on Tunwell Avenue when I was 10 or 11.
Freda

hello lwas wondering if l could use some of these storys
for when we go into the old peoples home
as you know l belong to parson cross history group

Are you having a laugh Sandy??????
But then again, I supose you just might be going into an old people home.......
What sort of stories are you looking for?

anything about parson cross in the pass l dont mind what you telll

You're welcome to any of mine Sandy...

You really started something didn't you?

bushbaby
your storys are great
but would like a name to the storys o even a e mail adress
if not we would have to call you bushbaby

I never saw a Black person on Parson Cross before 1970.

A great memory I have of growing up on the cross, is of the wide selection of Youth Clubs I was able to attend.
Living in the epicentre, close to the junction of Wordsworth and Deerlands, I had easy access to Mansell, Meynell and Colley YCs. All fine institutions in their own right,
During my early teens, in the late 60’s and into the early seventies, I could go to a club each weekday evening, and often did, meeting many of the same people at all three.

My favourite, and the one at which I felt most at home, was Mansell. Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, myself, and the crew of guys who were my best mates, would go up for a game of table tennis or darts, and maybe even a go on the pinball.

There was a disco, consisting basically of a sqare room with bench seats and tables. The walls were painted black and the fluorescent strip lighting was ultra-violet. It also had (didn’t they all?) a mirror-ball, which spun frenetically in time to the heavy beat of the ultra loud music. You couldn’t hear yourself smoke but boy it was great fun. Occasionally they would play a medley of WW2 singalong songs (“My old man said follow the van” that kind of thing) and we would all sing our hearts out – inserting a few dirty lyrics whenever we could. Then it was back to Creedence or Blood Sweat and Tears.
It was a geat place for boys and girls to mix in comparative safety, and I know of one couple, still living on the cross, who met aged 14 at Mansell YC. They’ve now been married 32 years. (Jeez!)

The team who ran the club (Len, Jackie and others) were all in their thirties and were really dedicated people. I know they got paid but it wasn’t a huge amount, and they did often go beyond the call of duty, training the football team and running guys to and from games.
The Saturday Youth Clubs League saw some very passionate football, and the rivalry between even the three clubs I was a member of, was intense. Losing to Colley meant a long walk home along Remington, and when we at Mansell won that league one year, we celebrated in style with a disco party at the club. We even got Pete Howe’s band to come and play a session for us. (see separate threads for info on Pete)

Like many people, I despair at the behaviour of teenagers today, and I can’t help but feel that the disappearance of these places is a contributory factor. I think we were just as badly behaved potentially, but thanks to Youth Clubs our aggression was controlled, and we were able to direct our energies elsewhere. I’m also quite sure that reintroducing these academies would go a long way to reversing behavioural trends. Sure, this would have a number of implications, not least of which is cost, but it deserves at least to be considered.

Hi Sandy,
I lived on Lindsay Avenue from 1939 to 1960. It was great. Had a lot of pals living there at that time. We often used to go on the 'back fields' to play ( just below the old Lindsay Road school). Our 'gang' also went to Longley Park open air swimming pool during the summer.
Apparently its a bit different nowadays with house being wrecked and boarded up because people don't want to live there any more. gREAT PITY.

Originally posted by sandy
hello lwas wondering if l could use some of these storys
for when we go into the old peoples home
as you know l belong to parson cross history group
Just to say how great the history group are, they have been to Deerlands home and the residents (many of who have lived on Parson Cross for lots of years) really enjoyed all the memorabilia on display as well as talking about local history.

My Son..who plays in a band..went to Sheffield yesterday to Play a gig at Colley WMC..He was not impressed with the area around the club at all..What with derilict burned out buildings..
Chav's and graffity by the Ton..He says he was the only bloke in the area not wearing a baseball cap..But he says the Club was nice inside..Not at all the place I remember.

Does anybody know of a family on Parsons Cross, Housley is the surname, John eldest son this is in the 60`s he played football and cricket for local teams, he had a friend Alan who married Lynn think he lived on Sisey ave not quite sure thats right.

House demolition has created jobs.


Workmen are now walking over the derelict sites - litter picking.

Originally posted by Timbuck
My Son..who plays in a band..went to Sheffield yesterday to Play a gig at Colley WMC..He was not impressed with the area around the club at all..What with derilict burned out buildings..
Chav's and graffity by the Ton..He says he was the only bloke in the area not wearing a baseball cap..But he says the Club was nice inside..Not at all the place I remember. Good isnt it, you wear a baseball cap and your a "Chav" could you please explain to me what a CHAV is or supposed to look like?? as i wear a baseball cap, and live on the cross, near colley wmc, but i dont regard myself as a chav?? or are you the type of "normal" person that see's a individual and turns them into the "majority"???
normal people worry me.........................:suspect:

we really enjoyed our self at deerlands home
and would like to come back sometime
would like to thanks all the staff for there help and to all the people we spoke to thanks for the time they give us and to all our friends we made tell then we will come and see then

Remember half day closing ?


Twas a Thursday it twas.


Margetson, Wheta and Buchanan shops were like ghost towns after 1pm.

Even Doctor Bagon down by The Ritz had no surgery on Thursday evening.

Margetson Chip'oil used to only open two or three times a week in the late 60s, and instead of having a steady trickle of fresh chips, they used to wait until they ran out, then Mrs Lee would shout "More Chips!!"
At this point they would get the chipper out and begin the process of making some fresh. The tatties were poured in at one end, and as the machine kicked into life, sounding a bit like a Francis Barnett, something resembling a pile of albino slugs would slowly emerge from the other end and drop into a yellow bucket. Eventually, enough of these were produced to justify dropping them into the sizzling friar, kicking out enough steam to power a small train.
Of course, by this time the queue was nearly round to the Tavern, and kids were keeling over from starvation. The priest had to come over from Tommy More's and administer Last Orders to some of 'em.
Mind you, when the chips did eventually come, they were the best for miles around. (and Mrs Lee used to give me extra scraps 'cause she knew my mum). I used to soak 'em in vinegar, and they were that hot that I had to blow on 'em or they would burn my tongue

Originally posted by Unregistered
Remember half day closing ?

Twas a Thursday it twas.

Margetson, Wheta and Buchanan shops were like ghost towns after 1pm.

Even Doctor Bagon down by The Ritz had no surgery on Thursday evening.

My dad used to own the hardware shop on Margetson,which is where I grew up, and the half day closing on Thursday was to allow him to go to the warehouses/cash& carry to re-stock. In those days, there was no such thing as a delivery lorry.

I also remember the Lee's at the chip shop on Margetson - I used to play with the 2 sons, one of whom was called Martin but unfortunately I can't remember what the elder one was called but he was profoundly deaf. The only other kids on the shops were Jayne & Robert Hulley, whose parents used to run the butchers.

Originally posted by Unregistered
Remember half day closing ?

Twas a Thursday it twas.



And of course the Co-op (or "Stores" as we used to call it) also used to close at lunchtime on Saturdays, which I could never understand.

Bushbaby, Pete Howe was my mate in the 70s. We once spent a night in the cells together for drunk and disorderly. As you probably know, in those days it was a chargeable offence to drunkenly stagger in the street. The bingeheads of today would never be out of court if the same applied today. Pete's most famous composition was a song called "King of the Saucepans". Brilliant. He played guitar and piano.

Is he still alive? Anyone know?

Yes, he is.
I recently received an email from his nephew (Ken's son) who tells me that Pete now lives at the end of Wordsworth (not sure which end though) and is still as outrageous as ever.

Excellent, Bushbaby. Thanks for that good news. I was afraid Pete might have succumbed to the excesses of our youth.

Opposite the Forty Foot Pub, between Wordsworth Avenue and Halliwell Crescent, there used to be what to us as kids was a massive valley. It had loads of trees and a stream running through the bottom.

It was later used as a dump-it site where Council bin lorries used to dump all the household refuse, until it built up to the level where it is today. As the ground was too unstable for housing, it was made into a bit of a park.

All that area, (before Wordsworth Avenue was built in the 1930's and down to Herries Road and the Five Arches) provided a meagre living for several families as they produced charcoal for the steel industry from the trees in Scraith Wood.

At the junction of Adlington and Deerlands was a large cornfield which we often played in during the summer, when it was dry, and the corn grew past your head (except for Peapod, he could still see over it)

When it was harvested, a huge pile of straw was left behind, and that’s when the fun really started.
We would pile the straw up against the side of the powerhouse, and start leaping off into mid-air and falling onto a giant cushion of straw. There would be Superman flying leaps, forward somersaults, backward somersaults, and a whole myriad of airborne poses. Gymnastic prowess suddenly became the norm. Kids from all corners of the cross would magically appear and queue patiently to have their turn, shouting “Geronimo” at the optimum moment. Territorial issues were left to one side as we all made full use of this “Once a year” phenomenon. Even some Foxhill kids were allowed on. (Only a few though, and then only if they brought girls or fags with them!)

As it got darker, big kids would come and set fire to it, then Bill Moyer would leap into a pile of burning straw, pausing only to sniff back his hay fever before having another go. He would still be risking 30% burns when the fire engine came down Buchanan and we all scarpered back to our own niches, eyes watering and breath coming in heavy gulps.

I don’t see many cornfields today. It’s all Rape Seed. Can’t leap from 12 foot up onto that during harvest time, can yer?

Parson Cross shopping areas are a disgrace.

Margetson, Buchanan, Wheata, Wordsworth Drive, Chaucer and Lindsay.

I visited "The Cross" today..went to see a relative...Question, why dont the Council cut the grass verges? they make the place look really bad.

Originally posted by Timbuck
I visited "The Cross" today..went to see a relative...Question, why dont the Council cut the grass verges? they make the place look really bad.


Answer, Because it costs money and people complain about the level of their Council Tax.

I got to thinking recently about one of the great rites of passge which most boys (and quite a few girls) went through some time between the ages of 13 and 15.
I refer of course to “The Paper Round”. This was the first chance many of us had to top up our “Spendo” with a few bob, honestly earnt.
I went up Chaucer Rd and approached Mr Fogg (Harry to his friends and cheeky paperboys) shortly after my 13th birthday, and asked him if he had any jobs going.
“Thy art 14 aren’t tha?” I was asked.
“Cooerse I am” I responded, sucking on a woodbine for effect.
“Cum in Sunday morning then, and tha can be ’t spare lad - an don’t be late”

I was excited come Sunday, and got up as soon as it got light. This being July, that was well before 6 o’clock, but there was no way I was going back to sleep. I hunted around for matching socks (vainly as it turned out), ran a damp flannel over my face, and listened to the radio until 6:30. I then headed up the garden path and across three more shortcuts, on schedule to meet Harry’s famous bonus time. (In before 6:45 for six out of seven days got you half-a-crown bonus!!)

I skipped into the shop whistling Gershwin’s Foggy Day, only to be greeted by my new boss asking
“Who’er tha?”. I’d obviously made a good impression.
“Bushbaby! – tha genn me a job last week”
He gave a grunt of vague recognition and then got me to help him marking-up. This process entailed Harry shouting
“No 42. Observer”. I would then scamper round, pick an Observer off the pile, and write 42 on the front upper border. Harry knew the habits of the lads, and so we marked-up the rounds in the order the team came in.
The first was “Rocher”. This was a small private estate just off the top of Yew Lane, and due to their inflated incomes (I was off Wordsworth don’t forget) they all had Sunday Times’s, complete with all the magazines and supplements. That bag weighed a ton, and the delivery boy, Pod, split the load into two and waddled up Chaucer, paper bags criss-crossed around his straining neck, ready to face the rigours of schnauzers and French poodles.

The marking-up took us until 8 o’clock, as a steady stream of half-asleep kids came in, picked up their bags and set off for sleepy suburbia, or Mansell Ave as we called it. By half-eight there was one forlorn bag left, sat in the corner trying not to look sad. A card sticking out of it said “Deerlands” and it slowly became apparent that Syd, guardian of the Deerlands circuit, wasn’t coming in.

“Weere’s tha live Bushbaby?” I kinda knew what was coming
“Wordsworth”
“Well, tha should know Deerlands alreight. Does tha fancy tekkin sum pappers?”

And so, five minutes later I set off on my debut round.

And I absolutely loved it.

I felt really important making sure that Mrs Heyward got her Sunday Mirror, and delivering a News of the World for the Websters. I went up one side, towards Halifax Rd, detouring around the Mount for a single Sunday Post. I then came down the other side, and finished off with the last few on Wordsworth, my own house being the coincidental last stop. I had a quick cup of tea (still no-one else up) and listened to some more kitchen radio.
Harry had asked me to come back to the shop after I’d finished, and when I did, he gave me my first pay, sixpence for being marker-up and a bob for the round. He also winked at me and slipped me five parkies, then said
“See thee tomorra – an don’t be late”

I worked there for over two years, finishing off as head lad, which meant dishing out the Stars to the other guys, and working in the shop if they were short.
It was a great introduction to working life, and I’m sure helped me to appreciate endeavour, and indeed, its rewards.

I wonder if paper boys still get the same level of achievement?

I used to deliver for Jacksons.
They lived at the corner of Remington Ave & Remington Rd just across from Colley School.
My memories are not as elequent as Bushbaby's nor as memorable.
This was in 52-3 -4.
For 12/6 a week I delivered Morning papers and the Star.
Thursday was an extra round with the Radio Times.
Saturday was also an extra round with 'The Green Un'
Sunday I had to have a wagon to haul them around..
Then I had to collect on Friday night.
My round went from Margetson along Wordsworth to the house past Bushbaby's,back down the other side of Wordsworth ,Milnrow road and Milnrow Drive then both sides of Wordsworth up to Colley on one side and Margetson on the other.
I handed the earnings to my mother and she gave me back 2/6.
See the kids doing that today? Not likely.

This photo of the Fives Arches was taken in the 1920's before Herries Road and Parson Cross was bulilt.

Taken with back to the Sheffield Wednesday ground, a mere dirt path led under the centre arch to the farm lands of Parson Cross.

The Five Arches (http://www.picturesheffield.co.uk/jpgh/t01585.jpg)

I'm sure they used to try poisoning the Kids of the Cross with cod liver oil tablets.

My friend Wriggo used to call "Castor Oil" - castrated oil.
And he wasn't being ironic.....

Throwin’ arrows

When I was about twelve we had a short lived but very intensive craze based around Throwin’ Arrows.

Kids of all ages would assemble at the "Cleveland" garage on Wordsworth, with their home made arrows, ready to see who could throw the furthest.

The arrow was in fact a cane, between two and three feet long, with a notch 9 inches from one end. This end was then split with two cuts, made at right angles to each other.
Using thin card (Sugar Smacks packet?) flights would be made by carefully folding squares of card, and then inserting them into the cuts in the cane. (Here’s one I made earlier). Two or three flights would be used, depending on taste and weight distribution. The gaps between the flights, and at the end, were then sealed with a good wrapping of sellotape.

At the other end (the business end) was a weight, and picking the right weight was an art. Knocking a small nail in (or even a big one) often sufficed, but these were the days when many of the kids were employed in craft engineering, and there were some very elaborate points turned, courtesy of EITB, which were then fashioned on to the arrows, rendering them quite lethal.

A piece of string or bootlace, with a healthy knot at one end, was then wrapped twice around the stick, just above the notch. The thrower would grip the sharp end, picking up the excess string in a few hand wraps, run across Wordsworth at full pelt, and throw the arrow down the field, using a kind of cricket bowling action. The string would act as a Bolas, and propel the arrow down as far as the bottom of Ray Burns’ garden.

Competition was fierce, and some of the older kids (upto 17 or so) could really make those things fly. Many of the cycle speedway riders (see elsewhere in this thread) were the dominant throwers, but a few younger kids also got a look in, as throwing style could be a real art form.

I don’t recall anyone ever getting hit by an arrow – the mind boggles at the mere thought – but those long school holiday days of 1968 were a memorable time of experiment and enlightenment.

Throwing arrows were pretty big in the late 70's too - nail in the end , see if you could get them to really fly on the brook - opp the Garage on Wordsworth - god only knows what would have happened if we'd have hit anyone...didn't seem too much a risk in them days..

Pete Howe lives on the estate on the hill at the hillsborough end of Wordsworth Ave - where Ken lives - I ain't got a clue.

Went onto the 'Cross' recently - its a shame seeing all the houses being ripped down and the land to be left to go to seed - prime site for any would be developer though (probably the councils plan) - I remember my grandad saying he remembers when all this was fields - seems its going full circle.

Originally posted by Internetowl



Went onto the 'Cross' recently - its a shame seeing all the houses being ripped down and the land to be left to go to seed - prime site for any would be developer though (probably the councils plan) - I remember my grandad saying he remembers when all this was fields - seems its going full circle.


Many of those demolished houses were wrecked by people who had no respect for neighbours, property, gardens or even themselves. In the end, many houses couldn't be rented out so they came under the big hammer.

When we moved onto the" New Parson Cross" just after the war .It was a new beginning for a lot of people.
Even though we did not have a 'pot to p**s in 'We were thrilled to have indoor toilets and baths.
Where it went off the rails I do not know.
Was it the influx of immigration?

Originally posted by sweetdexter
When we moved onto the" New Parson Cross" just after the war .It was a new beginning for a lot of people.
Even though we did not have a 'pot to p**s in 'We were thrilled to have indoor toilets and baths.
Where it went off the rails I do not know.
Was it the influx of immigration?

Why should it be? The majority of people on PX are native white.

thought they were being knocked down because they were too expensive to modernise?

On a seperate related issue - why is the council funding the repair and upgrade of private houses in Firth Park / Fir Vale yet struggling to manage to repair their own housing stock - its a disgrace?

Originally posted by Internetowl
thought they were being knocked down because they were too expensive to modernise?

On a seperate related issue - why is the council funding the repair and upgrade of private houses in Firth Park / Fir Vale yet struggling to manage to repair their own housing stock - its a disgrace?

Very simple - money comes to Councils for different purposes - and why are peopleliving in private houses so undeserving?

Originally posted by Internetowl


Pete Howe lives on the estate on the hill at the hillsborough end of Wordsworth Ave -


I guess you mean Donovan, up behind the Fourty Foot. Might pop round next time I'm up there

Originally posted by sweetdexter

Was it the influx of immigration?

Parson Cross's problems certainly can't be blamed on immigration, unless you count those families who came from Brightside Lane and Staniforth Road in the sixties.
Much of the trouble stemmed from the mass unemployment of the eighties, but even that shouldn't be used an excuse.
It seems reflective of a general breakdown in society, pandemic in many areas of Sheffield and beyond.
The turning point for me was Britain going decimal, and the education authorities getting rid of the eleven plus.

Bring back the half-crown!!

Originally posted by Bushbaby
I guess you mean Donovan, up behind the Fourty Foot. Might pop round next time I'm up there

No, right at the end - off Herries Road built into the hillside..
opposite the pond - which is still full of fish..

Slightly off topic, but has anyone driven along Buchanan Road recently?

In the places where houses have been removed the land is awash with colour from wildflowers.

It seems as though the ancient farmland on which the estate was built must have been full of dormant seeds and they are now coming up with a vengeance.

It looks really good and seems to be getting left alone to do its own thing.

Originally posted by saxon51
Slightly off topic, but has anyone driven along Buchanan Road recently?
In the places where houses have been removed the land is awash with colour from wildflowers.
It seems as though the ancient farmland on which the estate was built must have been full of dormant seeds and they are now coming up with a vengeance.
It looks really good and seems to be getting left alone to do its own thing.
I walk down Buchanan alot and i must admit it does look nice to see all the wild flowers, you also seem to notice the lay of the land more now, how it slopes down towards deerlands etc, I can now see from chaucer right across to the far end of parson cross park.

Originally posted by Internetowl
No, right at the end - off Herries Road built into the hillside..
opposite the pond - which is still full of fish..


That area all used to be woodland - Scraith Wood.

Originally posted by saxon51
Slightly off topic, but has anyone driven along Buchanan Road recently?

In the places where houses have been removed the land is awash with colour from wildflowers.

It seems as though the ancient farmland on which the estate was built must have been full of dormant seeds and they are now coming up with a vengeance.

It looks really good and seems to be getting left alone to do its own thing.


I noticed that - how beautiful - but I assumed that the Council had scattered a shed load of wild flower seed around to bring a bit of colour to the mess they have made.

I think its a real plan by the council - there was some posters explaining it on the shops at Margetson - didn't take much notice at the time - but it does look quite pleasant until the chavs tear them up with their motor bikes and scooters...

Originally posted by Internetowl


it does look quite pleasant until the chavs tear them up with their motor bikes and scooters...


Give them some rope - I've heard about hanging chavs.

hello turfittmar i also lived on wordsworth avenue.we first lived near the tavern. i remember the shops on margetson cres.being built i used to go to school at grenoside, because the local schools had,nt been built. when we moved further down wordsworth, it was into what were called the yellow houses. iwent to colley school.i remember all the shops on wheater road.one of the first shops was called the maypole. friends i had were anne coleman,georgie laycock,berly pease, margret rose.two of my sons in the 1980s had paper rounds for mr aldams.mr and mrs bellhouse moved to longley. weused to have a week off school in october it,s called half term now ,then it was called potatoe picking week. we used to go to the farms in ecclesfield for about 4 shillings a day.we really only went for the lads. they were very happy times.rock and roll had just started. the sun seemed to shine all of the 6 weeks holidays, or is it me getting old? i would love to hear anyone else,s stories. pollyann.

Originally posted by pollyann
[B]i had were anne coleman,georgie laycock,berly pease, margret rose.B]

Hi Pollyann.
I knew two members of the Pease family, Aubrey and Avril. Both lovely kids. It sounds like the same family.
What was the role of that big tower at the top of the hill next to St Paul's?

I was involved in the Parson Cross Festival around 1981. Anyone remember that? Not very festive really, not much happened and we didn't have much money, but I was supposed to be organising it! I didn't live there - it was one of those fill-in jobs you get when you're long term unemployed which, as you may know, wasn't unusual in Sheffield in the early 1980s. I met a load of nice people on the estate.

Avril Pease (now Bishop) owns what was Mr Aldams shop. She worked there for years then bought it when Mr Aldam retired.

Originally posted by pollyann




we used to have a week off school in october it's called half term now, then it was called potato picking week. we used to go to the farms in ecclesfield for about 4 shillings a day. we really only went for the lads. they were very happy times.



I'd forgot about spud picking week, we went somewhere up Grenoside but I've no idea where. The five bob or so a day was most welcome but the back ache for the following week was murder.

I did Spud week in 1967, up Salt Box Lane.
There were about six of us and we got ten bob for each half-a-day.
Bearing in mind that ten No 6 Tipped was 1/9 we were quids in. Enough fags to last till bonfire night

Originally posted by babyboom
Avril Pease (now Bishop) owns what was Mr Aldams shop. She worked there for years then bought it when Mr Aldam retired.

I remember she had a boyfriend call Trevor Bishop, so I guess she married him

The concrete Wordsworth Avenue was partly built by Prisoners of War. It's a shame that their inscription in the wet concrete near to the Wordsworth Tavern war covered in tarmac before being photographed.

Remember the mobile shops ?


Click for mobile shop (http://www.picturesheffield.com/jpgh/u03398.jpg)

Alfs van... about 8 o clock at night on Deerlands...

God knows how it ever moved, overloaded with goods to buy and local kids hanging on the back - used to park it at top of Fox Hill.

You don't see these types of thing anymore :(

even the Fletchers vans seems to have disappeared..

Originally posted by Internetowl
Alfs van... about 8 o clock at night on Deerlands...

God knows how it ever moved, overloaded with goods to buy and local kids hanging on the back - used to park it at top of Fox Hill.

You don't see these types of thing anymore :(

even the Fletchers vans seems to have disappeared..

There used to be another van called Marigold.

Fletchers Bakeries were bought out by Northern Foods in 1999. Nowadays they mainly produce bakery products that you see with Tesco and Sainsbury wrappers. They operate a fleet of 30 articulated trucks from Claywheels Lane and employ about 600 local people, many from Parson Cross.

Gunstones Bakery at Dronfield and Binghams Cooked Meats at Crookes are now sister companies in the same Northern Foods group.

We used to get "Worth Brothers' " Van (also known, for some strange reason, as "The Sunday Man") from Hillsborough.
Driven by Bernard Worth it came down Doe Royd Cres, along Wordsworth, past the garage, and stopped outside Wriggo's.
Bernard was a bit miserable and was very impatient. If a kid asked "Do you have anything for a penny?" he would whip the coin from your hand with lightening speed, and replace it with something rubbish like a banana flavoured Penny Arrow.
If you tried to complain or change it for four Black Jacks, he would push past you and start driving off down Milnrow.

I seem to remember the van having the worlds longest gear stick. We used to climb up it, swing on it, and even tie ribbons on it and dance around as though it were a maypole.

He once accused Wriggo of trying to nick a lettuce?
The cheek of it...?

I remember Bernard....he had a shop on the corner of Dutton Road and Penistone Road. He accidently ran over a young lad called Baldwin somewhere around Doe Royd Crescent....poor little bugger lost his leg.

Originally posted by RoyalRegular
He accidently ran over a young lad called Baldwin somewhere around Doe Royd Crescent....poor little bugger lost his leg.

He was probably waiting for his Black Jacks!!

Was the Parson Cross Hotel ever a hotel?

anyone go to Parson Cross infants school and then on to Chaucer around 1975-6? anyone remember Ross Crowe, English teacher at Chaucer?

Originally posted by Bushbaby
We used to get "Worth Brothers' " Van (also known, for some strange reason, as "The Sunday Man") from Hillsborough.
Driven by Bernard Worth it came down Doe Royd Cres, along Wordsworth, past the garage, and stopped outside Wriggo's.


A bit later on in time - there was a bloke who ran a mobile shop out of a ice cream van for a bit - his name was Mick Smith and he lived on Wordsworth near the garage.

He also used to sell concrete garden ornaments- the garden was always full of them back around 1980 time.

Round about the same time there was a spate of car fires on estate too - I think Smith's caravan went up in flames one night full of stock.

Don't think anyone ever got caught for them though....

Originally posted by Internetowl
A bit later on in time - there was a bloke who ran a mobile shop out of a ice cream van for a bit - his name was Mick Smith and he lived on Wordsworth near the garage.


He was my next door neighbour.....
Never did an honest day's work in his life

When it was the original Ice Cream Van, he used to plug it into the streetlamp overnite to charge his fridges, and Wriggo used to unplug it and make the ice cream melt

Mick used to go on holiday in an old Wigfalls delivery van, with beds, setees and his family all in the back.
They would park up at Ingoldmells and and live in the van for a week.
When they came back they all looked like refugees...

Smithy's were always a bit weird - the Wigfalls van does not surprise me in the least - I was in the same year as his daughter Tracy - they were definite candidates for 'humdrum' existances and very strange with it. (if she's reading this sorry!)

So did you live next door to Booths then -by the jennel or the other way towards Alan Ponds as it was?

Have you been back recently - half the estate has gone now - its weird as you drive along and there's sunflowers growing where there used to be houses.

I was about 13 when the Smiths moved in (there goes the neighbourhood!!)
I lived towards the garage. My elder sister helped deliver one of their kids - Pauline I think

Mick's wife, Dahliah, was nice. She saw sense and moved out some years ago, taking all the kids (bar one - that might be Tracey) to live on the Flower Estate

One night in the early seventies I came home late from a night club (Tiffany's I guess - be about 3am). As I walked up the path a bright flash came from the entry. Scraed the bejasus outta me as well nearly blinding me. As I looked closer I saw Mick, bent over on the floor, welding two bits of angle iron together, and for eye protection he was using a blue crinkly sweet wrapper.
I bet he still sees those little black spots.....

I think Tracy was the oldest of the kids - she's probably joined a circus or sommat by now - well she's tried the zoo :)

Mick still used to weld on the front when I lived on the road - looking back he just seemed a little weird but now he was probably mentally disturbed.

Also used to remember the two tramps who used to walk about the estate - Eddie Bedstead and Daft Dennis. I wonder if they are still alive?

Hi everyone !

I was born in Grenoside, can't remember the name of the road , it was down the hill from the mormon church on the corner of Salt Box lane, if it's still there !

From about 62' onwards i grew up on Wheata Road.

Your memories have really brought back hundreds of my own !

The 2p busfares on the 79,89 and 49 buses.

The shortcut through the fence, across the fairground field on Wordsworth, and sports field to Colley, frowned on for years before popular pressure turned it into a proper route (i think).

Hanging around on the council garage sites on Tunwell Avenue and Colley Crescent (Tunwell was better, as it joined onto a big area of open land that was a battlefield, bike track,hiding place etc).They must have gone now ?

What were seen then as normal walks to the woods behind Gatty Hall, Kepples Column, Greno Woods, and up Station Road.
Kids would be horrified to walk half those distances these days !

The not so good behaviour in the old boarded up cinema at the end of the common, next to the Arundel , what was it called ?

Scrumping, hedge hopping, go karting on old pram bodies down Colley Crescent at break neck speeds, insane !

Colley , St Micheals, Meynell and Mansell schools all fighting at lunchtimes (not together).I remember the ice cream vans had policemen in them at one stage outside Colley.

The nearest families and friends were the Lally's, Wilson's, Armitage's, Greens,Duffin's.

I,ve got to go and sit down to gather some more memories !

do the duffins you mention include graham,gladys ?

Hi Whisper

No , i don't think so , the Duffin's lived on Tunewell Avenue, i only knew Andrew, and he had a sister , Linda , or Lynne i think.

Andrew Duffin was completely bonkers, and i,m sure he won't mind me saying it.

He would do anything for a dare, i remember him laying in the stream in Ecclesfield park (the one by the car park at the common entrance, fully dressed, did'nt bat an eye)

I think he went into the army after he left school , and onto the marines, a worthy addition if you ask me !

yes thats the same family.the people i mention are his aunt and uncle.sisters are jayne n jackie.

Small world Whisper !, have'nt had any contact with Andy since we left school, hope they are all o.k., salt of the earth family, a i think most of ours were back then.
A friend of mine has just pointed out that three adjacent houses (ours included) on our street had 25 kids between them , how scary is that !

Originally posted by relight9




The nearest families and friends were the Lally's, Wilson's, Armitage's, Greens,Duffin's.



I knew One of the Lally's. His name was Vincent and I think he was the eldest of 8 or 9 kids. He was a great guy. Had a "Goon" type sense of humour.
At Junior school (Tommy More's) he was the only kid in the class who didn't play football.
The family moved to Wheata from Foxhill (1965 ish) when the family got too big for the house

Originally posted by relight9
Small world Whisper !, have'nt had any contact with Andy since we left school, hope they are all o.k., salt of the earth family, a i think most of ours were back then.
A friend of mine has just pointed out that three adjacent houses (ours included) on our street had 25 kids between them , how scary is that !

yes relight9,they are a lovely family,and all are ok.Andrew has got twin boys now who he dotes on.

Lally? - was there a Leena Lally?

I seem to remember a Leena Lally marrying a son of the big demolition company - Whites.



It amazes me how people disperse over the years - most of us went to school and knew hundreds of kids - where are they all now?

Well didnt i get told off for the brevity of my response, not sure i wanna play anymore

Originally posted by theStudent
Well didnt i get told off for the brevity of my response, not sure i wanna play anymore

What the f*** The're back . Chuffin students.

:loopy:

There was indeed a Leena Lally i think.She was one of the older kids, so i did'nt know her very well at the time.

If she did marry well , good luck to her, the family deserved a few breaks, they had i tough , as we all did compared to nowadays, blah blah blah.

:help: Can anyone remember the kay family who lived in the cross area circa 1950 any info or former friends please get in touch!

Our fridge was a concrete slab in the corner of the kitchen, I think we called it the pantry.

Lah-di-dah.

Our oven was alongside the coal fire in the living room. Above the oven was a small compartment with a drop down cast iron lid, I assume that was for keeping plates warm but we used it for drying sticks and orange peel for lighting the fire next day.

The coal fire heated all the hot water. If we wanted a bath in the height of summer, that fire had to be lit. Raking out the ashes, stuffing the grate with newspaper, piling on the sticks and then the coal - that was the daily routine.

Emptying the ashes into the metal dustbin with its metal lid was a right ordeal on windy days - ashes blew everywhere from the end of the shovel. At least when it snowed in winter we could spread them all over the path and leave a fine mess in Spring. The binmen collected bins back then - they needed no wheels - they slung them up on their shoulders and into a dustcart with three slide up lids.

Cable TV ain't nothing new - many peoiple on the Cross had British Relay in the 1960's.

british relay - on the black cables?

weren't the cables the only way to get C4 at first? I remember nipping to my mates Friday t-time to watch it :)

Originally posted by Unregistered
Our fridge was a concrete slab in the corner of the kitchen, I think we called it the pantry.

Lah-di-dah.

Our oven was alongside the coal fire in the living room. Above the oven was a small compartment with a drop down cast iron lid, I assume that was for keeping plates warm but we used it for drying sticks and orange peel for lighting the fire next day.

The coal fire heated all the hot water. If we wanted a bath in the height of summer, that fire had to be lit. Raking out the ashes, stuffing the grate with newspaper, piling on the sticks and then the coal - that was the daily routine.

Emptying the ashes into the metal dustbin with its metal lid was a right ordeal on windy days - ashes blew everywhere from the end of the shovel. At least when it snowed in winter we could spread them all over the path and leave a fine mess in Spring. The binmen collected bins back then - they needed no wheels - they slung them up on their shoulders and into a dustcart with three slide up lids.

Cable TV ain't nothing new - many peoiple on the Cross had British Relay in the 1960's.

Remember it well .In the winter we had the fire roarin it used to boil the water,you could hear it bubbling away.If nobody wanted a bath we had to run some water off or it used to make it go brown.Remember toastin bread?, or better still piclets.It only heated one room so when you went anywhere else in the house you were frozen.many o time we used to wrap the oven plate in a towel to warm the bed before gettin in.When the coal man came one of us had to stand at the side of the coalhouse and count the bags he put in ,in case he miss counted;) Memories eh...wunt swap them days for owt!:thumbsup:

Originally posted by burnttoast
It only heated one room so when you went anywhere else in the house you were frozen.

Can you remember how cold it was if you needed to go the bathroom in the middle of the night?

Originally posted by Bushbaby
Can you remember how cold it was if you needed to go the bathroom in the middle of the night?

No toilet in the bathroom ,only a cold concrete floor downstairs in the loo in the porch. Mind you that must have been a luxury compaired with the privvies at the bottom of the yard:o Mam wouldn't let us have a po in case we knocked it over in the night;) When it got really cowd shed let us put some coats on the bed as extra insulation:D .We would often wake up to find ice on the inside of the windows.Got soft now what with central heating and d/g windows.:thumbsup:

Burnttoast - you must be my brother - your house sounds exactly like ours used to be - oven plate in the 'nall lol!

Originally posted by burnttoast
When it got really cowd shed let us put some coats on the bed as extra insulation:

Did you ever play the game where you tried to put your feet down the sleeves and then tuck them into the pockets??
Kept us amused (and awake) for hours...

Originally posted by Freda
Burnttoast - you must be my brother - your house sounds exactly like ours used to be - oven plate in the 'nall lol!

Our house too, we would stand with our back to the fire place and get those blue lines in the back of our legs, i often slept with the tea cosey on my head.... but we did have a tiddle bucket on the landing.....

now i think back it would have been a good idea to leave the airing cupboard open to let some heat out, we always kept it closed...............i hated that lav with cut up newspaper in it.

cut up paper - I was always left with just the string :(

In 1951 we were so happy to get an exchange (after a borrowed £50 or so changed hands) from Dunlop St in Carbrook to Milnrow Rd on New Parson Cross.
We found a house that overlooked a field with an indoor toilet, a bathroom with a proper bath - not made of zinc- and a proper garden with flowers.
I suddenly didn't have to play on bomb sites and by the canal but in grass with a bit of dog **** mind!
I felt that for the first time in my life genuine happiness was that place.
Fantastic neighbours with the Shutts, Colletty and Platts and we lived there very happily until we again managed a move, this time to the Birley.
Since then I have lived in germany, Cyprus, Singapore, the Maldives etc etc and still remember the Cross.
But most of all I still remember the flowers in that garden .

My parents moved onto Wordsworth in about 1947 . They had 3 kids with another on the way, and had been sharing a house with two other families on Albert Rd.
Like Dunlop St. To them, it was a palace. Mom still tells how she sat down and cried she was that happy

They've put up signs to show people where Parson Cross is.

Its only taken 67 years.

When ''New Parson Cross'' Corporation house building restarted in 1947, after a break for World War II, the houses were said to have cost about 200 quid each.

Does anyone remember the cost of rent in those days?

A two bed house in the area now costs over 50 quid per week.

I seem to remember Vic next door saying "one pound nine and thruppence" was the first rent they paid - that would have been in '47

Originally posted by Bushbaby
I seem to remember Vic next door saying "one pound nine and thruppence" was the first rent they paid - that would have been in '47

It think it must have been less than that in 1947 because I remember it being 17/6 (or 87.5p) for a 3 bed semi on New Parson Cross, but I don't know exactly when.

I know that in the late seventies it was still only £5.95 rent for a 2 bed semi.

Originally posted by Unregistered
It think it must have been less than that in 1947 .

Vic's mind must have been going.....

When I first started going in "The Beagle" (1970 I think) you could still get eight pints for a quid. It was half-a-crown for a pint of Bitter in the Tap Room. (Best Room was a penny dearer)
It was a nice pint too I can tell you. Joe Williams kept a good cellar
If you went downmarket and had Mild you could stretch a pound out to eight-and-a-half pints.
Decimalisation in the following year put paid to all that. Suddenly it was 15p a pint and we were off down inflation alley.

Aaaah. Happy days!!

Originally posted by Bushbaby
Vic's mind must have been going.....

When I first started going in "The Beagle" (1970 I think) you could still get eight pints for a quid. It was half-a-crown for a pint of Bitter in the Tap Room. (Best Room was a penny dearer)
It was a nice pint too I can tell you. Joe Williams kept a good cellar
If you went downmarket and had Mild you could stretch a pound out to eight-and-a-half pints.
Decimalisation in the following year put paid to all that. Suddenly it was 15p a pint and we were off down inflation alley.

Aaaah. Happy days!!

I was never a fan of the Beagle, we always headed for Ecclesfield in the early 1970's, followed by some good nights with live bands at the Shiregreen Hotel - which is now closed and boarded up.

We lived on Colley crescent (@ the bus stop) from 1966 to 1986 (mum still lives there). Went to monteney infants, juniors and then colley. Left school in 1983. Look back at these times and laugh quite a lot, usually out load. We messed about loads, dont think it would have been classed as "anti social behaviour" but boy we had some laughs. Dont see many people from back then but would love to catch up with every body just to make sure everybodies still with us

Originally posted by Unregistered
I was never a fan of the Beagle, we always headed for Ecclesfield in the early 1970's,

We sometimes wandered down to the end of Worsdworth and would have a beer in those two pubs right at the end (names escape me - those little brain cells don't come back, do they?)
Then we would troll up into the village and have a drink in The Griffin, Black Bull and the other place.

I remember one night in the griff, there was a going away do for a guy who was joining the navy (Ben somebody, 1973). It was a good turnout, family, friends, loads of people came to see him off. Two weeks later he was back - didn't like getting up early and being shouted at.

On the way back home we would stop off at the Fighting Cock. Does that place still exist?

Yes the Fighting Cock is still in business.

The two pubs you're on about at the bottom of Wordsworth would be The Greyhound and The Ball Inn.

Originally posted by Tintsexpert
We lived on Colley crescent (@ the bus stop) from 1966 to 1986 (mum still lives there).

I seem to remember that that was the Ecclesfield terminus for the 110 bus when it was extended from Adlington Road and renumbered 10. It stopped half way up Colley Cres and then reversed onto Rokeby Drive before going back to Bridge Street in town. Eventually it was replaced by the 79 and 89 that linked it with Monteney Road and Yew Lane.

Originally posted by Unregistered
[B Eventually it was replaced by the 79 and 89 that linked it with Monteney Road and Yew Lane. [/B]

I remember one day there was nearly a riot.
The 89, which should have turned down Southey Hill, went straight on and down Adlington.
There was uproar!!
The poor driver ended up going along Buchanan, turning up behind the shops and meeting his nominated route half way.
The grumbling lasted all the way to the turnimus.
In fact they still talk about "Black Tuesday" in the Parson Cross Hotel

Originally posted by Bushbaby
We sometimes wandered down to the end of Worsdworth and would have a beer in those two pubs right at the end (names escape me - those little brain cells don't come back, do they?)
Then we would troll up into the village and have a drink in The Griffin, Black Bull and the other place.

I remember one night in the griff, there was a going away do for a guy who was joining the navy (Ben somebody, 1973). It was a good turnout, family, friends, loads of people came to see him off. Two weeks later he was back - didn't like getting up early and being shouted at.

On the way back home we would stop off at the Fighting Cock. Does that place still exist?

The Greyhound and the Ball Inn.

My biggest disappointment - Wards Beer - some said it was like wine, to me it was revolting.

Ben Kubon 1973 - still a clown 2005.

The Griffin closed long ago but the Fighting Cock survives.