Anyone from Gleadless?

[Plain Talker 11]

Hiya, I was in the John O gaunt last weekend and got talking to a couple of locals about the 'Bean' I'm interested in finding out more. Do you have anymore memories about it? Ta, Gareth

 

One of the local lads belted me in the nose with a half-housebrick on there when I was about 2 1/2 or 3 yrs old. Blimey, my nose did bleed! And I was only looking at the lad's fire engine truck, which he'd made a garage out of bricks for... I war'nt hurting owt! heheh.

 

I remember playing in the gorse bushes that surrounded the bean, one of them was "my" den, the other was Stephen Wells's den (Stephen lived in the maisonette directly under ours)

 

sadly the bean no longer exists, nor do the Gaunt Road maisonettes in which we lived...

 

I had the ex mr PT drive me past there, about five years ago, to look where we lived. the street lamp is still there, which my dad bumped into with his wagon, one snowy day... it STILL lists, a little, downhill, *sad smile*.

 

Speaking of my dad's wagon, I remember way back when, my dad trying to help drag some lorries off the "backfield" where the bean was (as the field was known) when they were delivering oil to the communal heating system

 

I remember the massive commotion, heaving the wagons off the field with his wagon.

 

Pretty much everyone came out of the maisonettes, and surrounding houses, to have a noo-ersy at the "to-do" ! hehehe.

 

Eventually with a lot of brute-force-and-ignorance ( ) the trapped wagons were freed. It was quite late in the evening, by this time.

[sares67 10]

old argument, top of blackstock road years and years ago was hemsworth not gleadless, to us locals anyhow. we always called it hemsworth and never thought of it as part of the less that is glead!!!

[davep 10]

I think you will find that this thread is mostly about Gleadless VALLEY rather than Gleadless, and we don't mind you Hemsworthites joining in, since you haven't got a thread of your own !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sares67 10]

I think you will find that this thread is mostly about Gleadless VALLEY rather than Gleadless, and we don't mind you Hemsworthites joining in, since you haven't got a thread of your own !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

wasnt disputing anything just saying how we saw it as kids. funny how we used to see it. used to think townend was soooo far up the hill when was only 5 mins away. never thought of that as gleadless either, just townend. actually never knew back then how big gleadless actually was. was like our own closeted big garden in the valley, absolutely fabulous it was. the best of times.

[Merlina 10]

Sadly t'valley has gone downhill (pardon the pun) a bit in the last few years .....where did you go to school sares67?

[davep 10]

Merlina, my dear. That avator looks NOTHING like you at all, PS who is she anyway ???

[Plain Talker 11]

wasnt disputing anything just saying how we saw it as kids. funny how we used to see it. used to think townend was soooo far up the hill when was only 5 mins away. never thought of that as gleadless either, just townend. actually never knew back then how big gleadless actually was. was like our own closeted big garden in the valley, absolutely fabulous it was. the best of times.

 

I, quite seriously, aged just 3, asked my mum "Mummy, do we live in the countryside?" (I used to enjoy my mother taking me for walks down Lightwood Lane as a child) the area seemed so, well, verdant, really, what with the woods behind gaunt road, etc.

[Merlina 10]

Merlina, my dear. That avator looks NOTHING like you at all, PS who is she anyway ???

 

I know .........I mean you don't seriously think I'm gonna put an avatar of myself up on here do you? Only resemberlance to me is the.... erm.....big chest .

 

And sorry haven't the faintest who it is.....it's just something I got from Google Images

 

PS Did you used to live in Gleadless Valley then?

[davep 10]

Longer than you, my dear !!!!!!!!!!

[sares67 10]

i wouldnt say it was like countryside, think all the houses would have given that away, plus the dual carriageway running along top of lightwood. we were lucky tho in the fact that there was so much greenery around us. Awards were given to the area long ago in respect of that. we had so much play area so never really wandered much back in the day. we always stayed around where we lived, we knew everyone and everyone knew us.

[blueshaz 10]

Do'es any one remember Johns mobile shop a converted single decker bus that used to go all around Gleadless on Sun mornings in 60s

[Plain Talker 11]

i wouldnt say it was like countryside, think all the houses would have given that away, plus the dual carriageway running along top of lightwood. we were lucky tho in the fact that there was so much greenery around us. Awards were given to the area long ago in respect of that. we had so much play area so never really wandered much back in the day. we always stayed around where we lived, we knew everyone and everyone knew us.

 

The view from our maisonette was from the tip, (which was well-Screened with trees) across the wood, and the back field (with the "Bean") with Newfield school and the golf course. It looked pretty darn rural to a three/ four year old's eyes.

 

(and psssst:- When my grandparents moved onto Gaunt Close in 1957 ish, when they were newly built, the land between Gaunt Close and the lees hall (?) wood where the maisonettes were built, on Gaunt Rd was a farmer's field. My dad watched the farmer harvest the crop from it, just before going into the army, in the September, of 57, and when he came out of the army in 1959/60, the maisonettes had ben constructed.)

 

The feel of the Valley, back then was certainly not "urban", even if it was not entirely rural.