Jump to content


Ernie Wise Lodge Moor Petrol Station

Recommended Posts

In January 1953 Ernie Wise and his new wife camped in an old bus at a petrol station "in the Lodge Moor area Of Sheffield" while Morecambe and Wise were in the pantomime "Dick Whittington" with Ken Platt. I have seen a picture of the bus up to it's wheel tops in snow but am now unable to trace the image although I've spoken to a number of people who have also seen it.

 

Ideally I'd like to see the picture if anyone knows where one can be found!

 

However, failing that I'd welcome suggestions as to which petrol station it was- along with a similar vintage picture if possible

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you. Any extra information is welcome.

 

---------- Post added 18-04-2017 at 18:54 ----------

 

Can anybody point me in the direction of finding out what petrol stations there were in the Crosspool/Redmires/Lodge Moor areas in 1953?

Edited by Person6

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

PictureSheffield has a picture, s33762 which is captioned "Redmires Service Station, Worcester Road, Lodge Moor". I can't imagine, now, where on Worcester Road it would be given that it is entirely residential. It has been suggested to me that it was actually on Redmires Road, possibly on the site of The Shiny Sheff but any information would be welcome.

 

I'm trying to find out which garage or service station Ernie Wise camped at in 1953 and this looks a possibility. Anecdotal evidence leads me to believe Eric Morecambe and his wife rented a house in Fulwood at the time of their stint in pantomime in Sheffield, and the Lodge Moor garage was as close to Eric that Ernie could park his Bedford camping bus.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a vague memory of the filling station being on Redmires Road. In 1953, Lodge Moor was undeveloped, Hallam Grange Road for instance existed, but the major developments Barncliffe, Winchester, were started around 1960. Worcester Road was much later than this, so the filling station must have fronted Redmires Road, there was nowhere else for it to be, in my opinion. The only other filling station I can think of between Crosspool and Redmires, is Sandygate Motors, next to the Plough.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The general lie of the land next to The Plough looks similar to that in the PictureSheffield photograph which was taken in the mid 60's but isn't enough to confirm one way or another. There are quotes elsewhere that imply the garage I'm looking for is indeed Sandygate Motors but so far I haven't been able to find the original photograph that prompted my search or a contemporary photograph of Sandygate Motors. I think the Worcester Road caption is simply an error.

 

---------- Post added 21-04-2017 at 16:09 ----------

 

I've just been informed by a someone who was resident in the area in the 60's that the Redmires Service Station was indeed on Worcester Road until the early/mid 70's.. The proprietor was called Gordon Levick.

 

So, I now need to find pictures of two service stations!

 

If anyone can point me at 1950's pictures of Redmires and Sandygate service stations I'd be immensely grateful.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Redmires Filling Station was on Worcester Road adjacent to the top shop, surgery?, on Rochester Road. At that time the top shop was a Gowers and Burgons supermarket.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oddly maybe, pictures of Gowers & Burgons seem easier to come by than pictures of the service station.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Picture Sheffield s33762, or just enter picture Sheffield Redmires Service Station, apparently it was at the junction of Worcester Road/Drive.

The picture is dated 1964, not sure that this is correct as it is not listed in my 1968, Kelly's.

The questions remain - was it there in 1953, when the area was very sparsely populated ? - what reason was there for Ernie to go out there in the middle of a snowy winter, it is a road to nowhere ?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There are several reports but two agree and are directly attributable to Ernie Wise.

Morecambe and Wise were performing in Sheffield for the duration of a pantomime.

Eric Morecambe and his wife rented a house, possibly in the Fulwood area.

Ernie Wise and his wife had the use of a converted Bedford bus which they drove up from Peterborough and the site they chose to park it was as near to the Morecambes as was practical.

He states that the garage he parked at was in "the Lodge Moor area of the city".

 

The two main possibilities are the Redmires Service Station and the Sandygate Service Station. The Picturesheffield photo of the Redmires Station is taken after it had been rebuilt and doesn't show the whole site and if it did it could eliminate it for sure. I'm pretty certain there was enough space on the Sandygate site to accommodate a single decker bus without obstructing the day to day business of the garage. The Redmires site I'm not so sure.

 

Some years ago I saw a photograph of the bus on site in snowy conditions and I think I can remember roughly the general layout of the garage. A contemporary photograph of either site would fix the location for me

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dave Barkers Dad ran the Sandygate Filling Station but he's probably not on this forum. The family moved to North Wales - I think.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been told there used to be, and hopefully

still is, a photograph of the Sandygate station in "The Plough" so unless I sort it by other means I'll try to get up there next weekend and have a look.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.