Heeley Bottom In The 60'S And 70'S

[tosh13]

The houses on Forster Road were terrible,the front door would not open fully,but Heeley was a great place to grow up & I have nothing but great memories of living there until they pulled it down.

[Bratby]

Anybody remember Firma Chrome and the Wolf Safety Lamp Company on Saxon Rd ?

I used to live on that road and there was even a builders' yard somewhere half way down. All these factories and businesses squeezed neck and neck between all the terraced houses. Plus the River Sheaf and derelict Heeley Station, the Express Dairy and countless other places were all there to see, explore and play on.

There was so much activity then, so many families that everyone knew so many things to see and do. I'm beginning to forget that we hadn't two halfpennies to rub together. The place was a paradise for the imagination. No wonder I'm so bloody eccentric living in that environment.

All bulldozed for a stupid ring-road.

Slum-clearance my backside. That wasn't a slum, it was a community and it's all gone.

I took the opportunity of having a look at it when I was last 'home' - very sad and deserted.

Even Abbeydale Secondary looksas if it's shrunk to half it's size.

[Applegrim]

Tosh, do you remember all the walls on Foster Road had all had there railings cut down for the war effort and as kids we used to start at one end and jump all the walls even where the passages were.

[rubydazzler]

Maybe we should have a Heeley meet ... for all those of us who were exiled from the promised land ... to make way for a by pass that never came to pass!

 

I nominate the Sheaf View pub ....

[Arfer Mo]

Anybody remember Firma Chrome and the Wolf Safety Lamp Company on Saxon Rd ?

I used to live on that road and there was even a builders' yard somewhere half way down. All these factories and businesses squeezed neck and neck between all the terraced houses. Plus the River Sheaf and derelict Heeley Station, the Express Dairy and countless other places were all there to see, explore and play on.

There was so much activity then, so many families that everyone knew so many things to see and do. I'm beginning to forget that we hadn't two halfpennies to rub together. The place was a paradise for the imagination. No wonder I'm so bloody eccentric living in that environment.

All bulldozed for a stupid ring-road.

Slum-clearance my backside. That wasn't a slum, it was a community and it's all gone.

I took the opportunity of having a look at it when I was last 'home' - very sad and deserted.

Even Abbeydale Secondary looksas if it's shrunk to half it's size.

Builders yard was FRED MORTON, Arthur.

[artisan]

my memories of heeley bottom in the early 60s.the tremendous noise and steam from the steam engines.a fire at ponsfords furniture shop.gerry booth from coronation street opening heeley picture palace as a bingo hall-i think?chinese laundry.playing underneath heeley bridge and skimming stones.getting bath tickets from annes road school and going to heeley baths.boys brigade marches.salvation army playing hymns on a sunday morning.the rag and bone man with his horse and cart giving balloons and goldfish in return for rags.

 

It was Pat Phoenix I think (Elsie Tanner)

[Bratby]

Builders yard was FRED MORTON, Arthur.

 

That's the one ! Thank you

[chumpy]

Snelsons had a TV repair shop on Heely Bottom on the opposite side of Chippinghouse Rd next to the corset shop on the corner. There were always loads of hugh TV valves dumped at the back which we used to take down to Skelly's bridge to throw in the river. Then we climbed up the railway embankment to get ballast off the tracks to throw at the valves.

Snelsons had a big TV shop on the other corner of Chippinghouse , next door was Gowers and Burgons ( or maybe Gallons ), then Boots the chemist, Blaskeys wallpaper shop and ended with a gents outfitters at the bottom of Wolsely Rd.

There used to be a Co-op where the mosque is and they stacked up tins or bog rolls in hugh pyramids in the windows. If they built it too close to the window you could bash the window with your arse and knock the pyramid down.

Betting shop on the corner of Gifford Rd where I won the princely sum of £ 11.00 on a 6.4.1 when I was 15, riches indeed.

The Coliseum was shut for quite a time before they knocked it down to build Fine Fare, we used to get in through the fire doors on Guernsey Rd and play about in there for hours , and when they knocked it down we snaffled a load of the bricks to build a wall round our garden on Gifford Rd.

Spoilt for choice with chip shops. You could get the very light soft chips from a chippy halfway up Wolsely Rd, or dark brown crunchy ones from the chippy opposite Lowfields school on the corner, the dark ones were the best, you don't see 'em like that anymore.

I remember the piano shop , and the Cafe across the road where nobody ever spent any money but it was always open.

The Jacksons , the Pellegrinis , the Birkses , the Ochins , the Conroys , all lived in the two big yards on Gifford Rd , with outside toilets that froze in the winter then burst when it thawed.

regards Mick.

[heeleygirl]

God knows why we never caught anything nasty from playing down there all day. The rivers' edge used to be a forest of Himalayan Balsam and you could paddle up to the London Rd bridge past some steel factory on Saxon Rd.

If you followed the river there, it turned right to follow Broadfield Rd. Underneath, near the rickety wooden bridge there was a sewer outlet or something. We used to take torches and follow it as far as we'd dare.

You could also climb up onto the railway lines from London Rd bridge and take your chances until you got to the derelict Heeley Station.

There was a subway of some sort that was blocked off at the Chesterfield Rd side that would have opened right in front of the Heeley Palace.

I can't understand why some of us never got killed or worse.

We never got up to anything wicked - but we were definately out of control at times.

The subway you talk about was in fact the approach to the old Heely Station.

[Cynthia]

Wow, small world.

 

Ask if she lived next to a mad doberman pinscher dog named Prince!!

 

Where abouts in Canada? Been to Calgary 3 times with work this year!!

 

 

Just remembered to ask my sister-in-law if she knew you, she said that they lived at no.65 from 1962 until 1969, she remembers a family with two sons, thinks that their name was Harrop. They bought their house from Bert Fell who had a driving instructing business.

Cheers, Cynthia Canada.