Smith's Field or Smithies Field near Petre Street

[johnpm]

My grandaunt Phillis Beeston nee Moore & her husband Edwin Beeston had a bakers/confectioners at 209/211 Petre St which I think was maybe on the corner of Petre St & Carwood Rd. They had it in the early part of the 19th century perhaps up to shortly before the 2nd war.

My dad Jim Moore was born at 40 Jamaica St & the family moved to 309 Petre St in 1931. Grandad Harry Watson Moore died in 1945 but Grandma Mary Ann Moore lived there until the houses were demolished as did my uncle, Harry Watson Moore who lived at 305. My grandma couldn't cope with losing her home & died soon after moving from there into a home on Barnsley Rd.

Anybody know when the houses on Petre St were demolished - was it about 1974 ?

[andysell]

We called Smith's field 'Smickies' and we used to search for marbles in a company's ash tip at the bottom of the field.

[linwhiterose]

(Quote)"Going back up Petre st on the right there was the fusty sweet shop and then on the corner of Sutherland rd and Petre st Fairbrothers tailors, I went to school with Janet Fairbrother.

Tony Wagstaff, John Timmins, Stu Butler, Tony Saccomando, Phillip Gill all good swimmers because of that sadist Mr Scott."

 

I could have sworn Janet's family name was Fairweather, as I went to school with her younger sister Julie. Maybe my mind is playing up. I lived on the same road as John Timmins on Alliance Street before they were demolished, and Stu Butler and his family lived near us on the new Carwood Estate. A real trip down memory lane.

Hi Shelby

 

I used to live on Atlas Street until I got married in 1972 (my mum lived there until the slum clearance) we lived next door to the Davison family and was friends then and still am friends now with the Timmins and Fellows families

[david weston]

I think there's some confusion over the 'Big' houses on the top of Smith's Field. There was a large vicarage-type house on Grimesthorpe Road at the bottom of Osgathorpe Lane / top of Torbay Road; it is visible on DIDO's second photo above. Further on Grimesthorpe Road, just after the opening to the field, there was a much older, large house which is the one most people are refering to. It backed right onto Grimesthorpe Road with no pavement and its sandstone walls were very weathered. There was a lean-to guard frame made of metal bars around a low window at road level. PSCC cricket club had a player form Sutherland Road ( below Petre Street) called Ken Speechly who was a milk man. The iron rings which held the barrage balloons were still in place in the 60's and may still be there ?

[beezerboy]

I think there's some confusion over the 'Big' houses on the top of Smith's Field. There was a large vicarage-type house on Grimesthorpe Road at the bottom of Osgathorpe Lane / top of Torbay Road; it is visible on DIDO's second photo above. Further on Grimesthorpe Road, just after the opening to the field, there was a much older, large house which is the one most people are refering to. It backed right onto Grimesthorpe Road with no pavement and its sandstone walls were very weathered. There was a lean-to guard frame made of metal bars around a low window at road level. PSCC cricket club had a player form Sutherland Road ( below Petre Street) called Ken Speechly who was a milk man. The iron rings which held the barrage balloons were still in place in the 60's and may still be there ?

 

According to the 1905 survey map,the one at the top Carwood Lane ,above what became Torbay road was Hall Carr House,the one above the cricket field was Meadow Head,whilst the one further east on Grimey Road was Woodhill House and I think the Taffinders may have lived there at some time . We used to sledge down that part of the field. Does anyone remember that there was an air raid shelter dug in the side of the banking at the top .

[rf2690]

According to the 1905 survey map,the one at the top Carwood Lane ,above what became Torbay road was Hall Carr House,the one above the cricket field was Meadow Head,whilst the one further east on Grimey Road was Woodhill House and I think the Taffinders may have lived there at some time . We used to sledge down that part of the field. Does anyone remember that there was an air raid shelter dug in the side of the banking at the top .

Your right Taffinders did live there.Can't recall an air raid shelter but can remember sliding down the same hill on pieces of carboard.

[fleetwood]

I've mentioned this before on the Grimesthorpe thread, after the war when all the Anderson shelters were being dug out of the ground in the Botham St and Cyclops St area the obvious place for all the galvanized corrugated sheets was the 'tip' on the right hand side of Petre St (looking towards town). That tip eventually runs into 'Smithies' if you went far enough, anyway the hill shortcut that ran from Margate St down to the end of Petre St was the basis of a slide that the kids in neighborhood concocted by dragging the curved parts of the shelters to that hill where they made a huge slide, imagine parts like this J J J J J J J J J J laid over each other to form the slide. It was the talk of the town so to speak with the Telegraph and Star sending a cameraman to take pictures, kids were coming from everywhere to use it. I remember seeing the picture(s) in the paper and I've often wondered if they still remain today in an archive somewhere, I have tried to search for it on different sites but with my limited knowledge of such things I haven't had any luck.

[Arfer Mo]

Who knows anything about the history of Smith's Field or Smithies Field between Petre Street and Grimesthorpe Road?

I played there and picked blackberries in the 70s and 80s, and always wondered why there was an open space of this size there, next to factories on the one side and the then new Carwood estate on the other. My family, who lived in the area before the slum clearance, remember from the 40s and 50s, and I think they mentioned sonething about a cricket pavilion.

 

Here's a picture

 

Why is the field there?

Why has it never been built on?

Does anyone else have memories of it?

 

l played on Smiths field in the thirties, there was quite a thriving cricket club complete with all the usual needs, it was in existence to my knowledge to the 40/50 ties, l believe there was a covenant in existence stopping building on the field, at the bottom end there was a balloon barrage and when l used to go on parade at the local h/ guard in the 40 ties l used to be quite friendly with a Scottish girl named Bobbie, especially on her night duty when we used to crawl in the sand bag store, these bags of sand were used to hang on the balloon in windy weather. Arfer Mo

[Arfer Mo]

i remember Smiths fields i used to live at 84 peter st.spent many a happy hour there,didnt need toys just our imagination.we also picked blackberries,that was mid fourties.went to all saints school.perhaps they dont want to destroy our happy little memories:rolleyes:

 

Hi Glen Did all that 10 years before you .Yes its your unky Arty, how are you and your family,mine are all ok.I had a fall ,broke my thigh 3 months ago,Mike and l connect with Skype regularly,l have your Skype name as tweedy84 Australia is this ok , we may be able to join up sometime. Arthur

[Jim Hardie]

Hi Glen Did all that 10 years before you .Yes its your unky Arty, how are you and your family,mine are all ok.I had a fall ,broke my thigh 3 months ago,Mike and l connect with Skype regularly,l have your Skype name as tweedy84 Australia is this ok , we may be able to join up sometime. Arthur

 

I'm not sure Glenda uses SF anymore. Her last post was two and a half years ago.