Memories of Goldthorpe
Get involved in the Frith Memories Community
Savour and share Memories of your favourite places.
Start now - Add your own Memory of Goldthorpe or to a Goldthorpe photo.
Shared Memories of Goldthorpe
|
Goldthorpe In The Fifties.
I was born in 1946 and lived in Manor Avenue. Cricket with dustbin lids propped up with a house brick in the "backins" were our stumps and we played from dawn to dusk during the summer holidays...except during Wimbledon when we played tennis without a net. Bagnall's field on the corner of Straight Lane opposite the shops, and the old farm next to the fire station. Being in the chippy opposite Travis's corner shop and watching the guy frying suddenly hare off down the road carrying his fireman's gear as he ran. Barnburgh Colliery sports day at the Welfare ground. Goldthorpe Infants School...headmistress was Miss Anderton I think. Junior School next door and the thugs who were our teachers. Dearnside when JKL Davies was headmaster...we called him Jekyll behind his back. Dondo, the eccentric art teacher with his french beret but no strings of garlic. The weekly matinee every Saturday morning when Reg Jackson was manager. I used to produce a sort of variety show before the films started for a time. Various deaths and emergencies at the pit...young men old before their time with the effects of coal dust. Phillipson's bus garage and the games played up and down the railway banking, often with the added excitement of being chased by the signalman from the signal box. Painting my name on the corner stones of Straight Lane bridge 50 years ago (still there I'm told). The Sally Army band every Sunday morning. Old Ben the milkman who used a huge handcart/barrow to deliver the milk. How he controlled it I'll never know. Pantos at the Welfare Hall by the Community Miner's Scheme. Sid Robinson I recall from those pantos. Club trips to the seaside with my bag of freebie goodies and my name tag. Pleasure my a***! I just got too many clouts. The neighbourliness and sense of community. Doors were rarely locked as I recall. Daily runs to the Coop and back on Barnburgh Lane before I went to school. Made me fit as a butcher's dog though. 5 different Working Men's clubs, all busy. The old air raid shelters next to the gym at the back of Dearnside. We used to play submarines in them if old man Johnson the caretaker was'nt around. The old air raid shelter on what we called the army field which stood next to the Sally Army Citadel. We used to sneak in there to smoke Woodbines and Park Drive until my dad caught us. My behind was redder than the end of the lit woodbine. Climbing the high wall at the back of the Union Jack to raid the bins for empty cigarette packets with my mates. Remember that game where you skimmed the flattened packets against a wall until you got one to lay atop another and claim all those thrown? The Nipsy Tournament held annually on the bridle path. Is Nipsy dead? I remember the Riley family from the top of Manor Avenue being hot shots at the game. Sunday School at the Baptist Church on the main Donny Road. I hated the boring stuff but as a kid the happy clappy singing bit was pure delight. Weetman's offy opposite Tommy Hartly's tobacco shop. Both shops had such wonderful smells. Kirk's butchers, the Frederick Street chippy (my favourite), Doctor Magill's surgery further up Frederick Street which was first come, first served and always packed. The old farm and farmhouse and being sent to get milk if Ben the milkman was late. Worst of jobs because to walk the short way to the door meant being gassed by pig smells...yuck! Enough for now...I have rambled on. Posted: 29/10/2008 16:57 by First Name Last Name |
|
 Add your Memory
 Add a comment  Add to your Album
|
 Goldthorpe, Doncaster Road c1965 (ref: G110011) |
Year: 1960
Goldthorpe
Pauline's memories of the market stalls reminded me as well.... swinging on the cross bars especially. I also went to the Saturday matinees. We got a little card stamped each week. Our main amusement was to get cardboard boxes from the shop (usually Vaughans? at the end of Kelly St.) to flatten out and slide down the railway bankings. These were, of course, disused and a great place to play. Often, 'dens' were to be found and you wondered who had been on your 'patch' to make a den, if it had been left empty. Also the lanes and allotments beyond King Street leading towards Hickleton pit were a vast area to explore and play. My dad had some allotment land down there, near Oscrofts with their lovely flowers, so much of my playtime was there as well. I'm not old enough to remember the knocker-up, but remember being on Dad's shoulders above a crowd of people at Highgate pit. Dad says it must have been the opening of the pit baths. Prior to that they came home in their dirty clothes. Other memories... coal deliveries in the 'backings', metal dustbins, and before we had our bathroom put in, bathing in a tin bath. It sounds like something from Catherine Cookson, not the 1950's. Highlights of the year.... Ascension Day trip to Cleethorpes with Goldthorpe Church (my dad didn't belong to the Clubs for their trips) and the fairground, or the 'Feast' as we called it. I also loved going to the old library, squeezed in between the shops near the cinema. Through the door and up the stairs. Sugdens gift shop opened up their back room before Christmas and had an exciting display of cards and other Christmas things. Our 'local' corner shop was Elsie Flints on Queen Street. She collected all sorts of stuff to sell for the church, as well as bazaar tickets for the Christmas bazaar. Wouldn't be allowed to mix goods now. You could choose sweets from the 1d, 2d or 3d tray, and in summer she froze orange 'Jubblies' which cost 4d and lasted ages. As Pauline says, we had nothing but wouldn't dream of defacing or damaging the streets on purpose, and used our imaginations for play and activity. I attended the Infant and Junior schools but managed to pass 11-plus in 1960, so missed out on Dearnside. It is a pity, but the town has been looking run-down for years. I think this is partly because modernisation does not always fit with older style buildings. The council should have some control on the design of the main thoroughfare so enhance the outlook. Last edited: 05/09/2007 10:29 by Sandra Turner |
|
Add your Memory
Add a comment Add to your Album
|
|
Goldthorpe, Doncaster Road c1965 (ref: G110011) |
Year: 1948
Childhood Memories
I came upon the website by accident and although I don't live far away now I started to remember my childhood days there. Born and brought up in Goldthorpe by my parents who both went to the Salvation Army I have many happy memories of playing on the market stalls. They could be anything in our imaginations, house, bus, pirate ship, whatever we wanted tham to be. We never thought of damaging them or destroying them, for after the war we didn't have many toys and made our own amusement. Another special place was the Empire picture house on a saturday where we used to pay 1d (one old penny) to go to the matinee. The local policeman was always on hand to keep an eye on us (I think we called him bobby Dick? if my memory serves me right). Most weeks it would be Roy Rodgers with Trigger his horse and I remember it always used to get to the most exciting bit before saying "to be continued next week". My dad was a miner like most of the men until he was injured in a pit fall. I remember well the sound of the clogs sounding like an army as the men walked to work on day shift (about 5am in the morning). Also the knocker-upper tapping on the bedroom window with a long wooden pole (or clothes prop) to make sure they were up in time. I think he got a penny a day for this service from each miner. Hope this brings back memories from someone else! The thing I really regret is the look of Goldthorpe now, dirty, depressing and looking unloved, where has all the pride gone for our village? Last edited: 05/09/2007 11:18 by Pauline Seddon |
|
Add your Memory
Add a comment Add to your Album
|
Need to revise your search? Click here for our Search Homepage, where you can browse by Place, Postcode or Keyword.