Anyone come from Lansdowne Rd area?

[Poll]

My Auntie Mabel and Uncle Jim Black lived at 133 Lansdowne Road and I visited and stayed with them a lot when I was a child. They had four boys, Keith, Peter, Kenneth and Eric. Peter, Ken and Eric joined the navy in Plymouth. I remember they lived across from the pub, which I think was called The Washington, and a grocery shop where you could ask for the “twopenny tray”, or the “penny tray”. There may have been a “three penny tray” too but if I had three pence I bought a bar of dairy milk. My cousins were friends with Barry Sidebottom, Melvin Bagshaw, and the son of the baker (whose name I have forgotten now, which is a shame because I remembered it for quite a long time).  I remember most of the coal cellar holes in the pavements being covered by old metal plates that had originally being used as advertisement signs. They would probably be worth a bob or two now. My Aunt and Uncle moved to Norfolk Park when their Lansdowne Road house was being pulled down, and are now long since dead, but I have many happy memories from that time.

[DavidFrance]

18 hours ago, elainetame said:

Hi there all Lansdowners  - I came across this forum purely by accident and what a day I've had!  Talk about a trip down memory lane - I have been blown away with happy memories of brilliant people I shared my life with.  My name is Elaine Turner and I lived at 54 - 79 and 85 respectively with my parents Frank and Elsie and my sisters Pat and Joyce.

 

Now where do I start?  Places first - Cheethams  fish and chip shop on Cliffe Street - woe betide anyone who was behind me in the queue on Saturday lunchtime as I took orders for half the street  to top up my spending money.  Mrs Green's pastry shop - now there was a lovely lady who I hold very dear to my heart - everything she made was delicious  from her chocolate lollies  - cream cakes and oh those meat pies!  When she started making them and word got around to Twist Drill and Neill's I remember never ending queues down the street and she was sold out in no time!  However my magic moments were Saturday mornings when I was privileged to 'work' there and see it all happening earning the princely sum of a shilling  (not bad for a ten year old!)  She was a kind lady with two daughters who I only slightly remember but Michael - her son - I remember well.   Then there was Robinsons shop - an open all hours establishment that sold everything bar the kitchen sink?  Fanny - another lovely and amazing woman who was an inspiration to me - working until we all had to leave due to demolition and she would be well into her eighties then.  She put her longevity down to having a guiness every day and by golly it worked because sometimes it would be well past nine o'clock when she closed.  I would be sent each weekday evening for my Dad's packing up and a loaf and the clips around the ear I got for biting the corners off the loaf and  sneaking a bit too much of the cooked meat  came all too frequently.   Her bachelor son Billy was a great guy too helping his mother all he could and always good for a laugh.  Her daughter Fay lived just above us for a while and she was the first person we knew to have a tv  - needless to say my sister and I were very good friends with Barbara her daughter!!!  The Club Garden pub and Mason's Arms round the corner provided a social life for Mum and Dad and I can hear the gatherings now outside the pubs on Saturday nights singing  well after closing time for thats what pubs were for then - a good old sing song!

 

To me the folks on Lansdowne Road were the salt of the earth!   Kids and Mums and Dads - here are just a few of those lovely people - Pauline Clark - my sister Pat's friend:  her cousin Judith next door: Rosie Elliott and her Mum Jesse - both of them always running:  Melvyn and Delyse Humphries:  the Hooper family - Kitty Pauline and an older sister: Patsy Crawford then Janet Douglas who emigrated alone to Australia (brave girl): next door was my friend Janet Foster (who sadly died some 30 years ago) and her brother Les (he used to help me with my paper round) and whose parents Winnie and Eddie always made me so welcome.  Mrs Foster could make a tea party out of bread and jam and their front room was the cosiest place on earth - especially in winter with a good fire and to top it all they had wall lights (a status symbol if ever there was one!)  Glynn Hadfield  was next and then the Baggott family - Hilary Jennifer  and an older sister:  on the other side of the road was Mavis Porter and her brother Brian - poor old Mavis (my sister Joyce's friend) was always getting a good hiding for one thing or another bless her:  next door was the Allen family - Bernard and Doreen whose two young boys Michael and Stephen I absolutely adored - I was their baby sitter and I couldn't spend enough time with them in fact they were both asked to be page boys at my wedding and  luckily for me I got Stephen to agree:  next door I remember our postwoman Ginny Bradley's mum and we used to have card schools there on Sunday nights:  the Websters were a little higher up - Margaret and Malcom their children were good friends: higher up the road were the Beardows - Arthur a really nice lad and his nephew (I think)  Jimmy - if ever I have met a "Just William" character Jimmy Beardow was it - always in trouble and I'm sure often getting blamed  for things he hadn't done but I loved him and would have adopted him as my little brother if I could!  Finally that leaves the Bagshaws - two brothers - the eldest being Melvin who always wore a winning smile and you could not meet a nicer lad - his Dad a jaunty chap always wore a white flat cap I remember and the family moved to Skegness.   I think it was for Melvin's health as he suffered breathing problems and sadly I learned sometime ago that he had passed away.

 

The bottom half of the road I remember the Rowans - Carrie and Fred and their two children David and Carol:  the Odales who suffered the tragedy of their son drowning whilst on holiday - my God that was heartbreaking!  The Windleys - another lovely family whose daughter Jean was a close friend of my sister Pat:  next came Mrs Jepson whose grandaughter Sandra Topliss was a friend of mine:  further down the road came the Corbetts and across the road were the Naylors - Michael and a younger brother I think:  then came the little sweet shop and above them in the yard  were the Days - Lorraine and Rodney and the Kiplings  - Sylvia and George who I knew well and their Dad was  a pub pal of my Dad's.   Mr and Mrs Booth lived in the same yard and as they didn't have any children they made  lot of me  taking me regularly to their tennis club - they made me feel so special bless them.  The yard above were the Wilds: the Hollinsheads and their son Peter:  Aunty Bella who had the fattest cat you have ever seen in you life (Mum used to trade our sweet rations with her for tea and sugar - which didn't go down very well with us three girls I can tell you!)  The Gavaghans  were also there - Nellie and her brothers and in the corner were the Hannimans - I remember Vera and Brenda very well - lovely young women.

 

Others that played a part in my life were from Pearl Street - Betty Smedley: Joy Chapman:  the Butler family with daughters Jeannie and Carol who were good friends of my sister Joyce and myself: then Georgie and Bett Lowe with their son Georgie came next with Bett's sister living next door:  across from them were the Barton's with their three daughters - Judy - Wendy - and a younger one - a real fun family and their Mum especially made me laugh!

 

When I think of all these people memories come flooding back:  sledging on the cobbles and flying after Dad had greased the irons on our home made sledge and then my sister getting a good hiding for sledging in her new astrakhan gloves and putting them on the hob to dry out (utterly ruined!)  - I can't remember if it was Pat or Joyce - I just thanked God it wasn't me!  My greatest hobby was marbles - I loved it and was good at it too.  Whenever possible I would take my oxo box full of marbles and set off to do business - selling them for four a penny  then playing the purchaser and hopefully winning them back.  My favourite hole was in the middle of the road outside Jowett's pawnbrokers and did that hole make me some money?   On many an occasion my lovely Dad would take me on one side and whisper "Elaine lend us half a dollar while the weekend so I can go for a pint" and it was my greatest pleasure to oblige but before he left for the pub I got the same instruction  ".......   and don't tell your mother!"  I also used to join a crowd and go and play on the logs - it was a storage  yard across London Road and off Boston Street - however someone wasn't killed there I will never know because when I think back now it was so dangerous.  Another great memory was marching with Georgie  Ashton and his troupe of kids at election time singing "Vote vote vote for Mr Mulley - you can't vote for a better man etc" at the top of our voices.  Oh happy days!  I feel truly blessed for living where I lived then and with whom I shared my life for as they say in Yorkshire "There's nowt wrong wi reight folk" and the folks around me were as I have previously said - the salt of the earth!!! 

 

Elaine I didn't realise you were not aware ofg the Forum. You have actually featured on it before....in the video of the Sharrow Lane Re-Union. Good to see you're still going well. 

 

[elainetame]

Hi David - I think I saw the reunion video on You Tube.  Good to hear from you too.  

[sharrowyank]

 

Big Georgie,His other election chant was   Vote Vote Vote for Joan Mellors.       Do you remember this.          Happy Hour Oh its jolly fine ,Its for children under 99 ,,   All are welcome . Seats are given Free.   Sheffields Happy Hour is the place for me.

[elainetame]

Hi Alan - yes I do remember Happy Hour at the Methodist church on Cemetery Road.  I went every Thursday night with finders crossed that it would be a “magic lantern” (they were slides projected on to a screen) usually about a poor little match girl or orphan Annie - either way they used to reduce me to tears but they were the nearest thing to a film we could get at that time.   My God I sound like Methuselah now don’t I!  The remainder of that verse you mentioned was “ all are welcome - seats are given free - and Sheffield’s Happy Hour is the place for me”.  Mr Billington was the preacher at the time. 

[elainetame]

I’ve still got a New Testament awarded to me from the Happy Hour for being a good girl in not speaking and paying attention!  Beat that!

[DavidFrance]

13 hours ago, elainetame said:

I’ve still got a New Testament awarded to me from the Happy Hour for being a good girl in not speaking and paying attention!  Beat that!

Bet you didn't get any awards for good behaviour from Miss Roberts!

 

[elainetame]

How right you are David - I was caned by that dreadful woman for talking - only I was not guilty!  The difference between her and the kind and caring Mrs Middleton was vast and we were blessed to have her to have her teach us the following year if only to eradicate the terror of being taught by fear!!!

[sharrowyank]

So while the subject is still hot, some names have come to mind from lansdown rd ,sharrow lane . and the old 139th S johns boy scouts.                     any updates would be appreciated .   John Richardson.  Roger Hunt. Michael Hunt> Harvey Faber. Roy Ratheram. Johnny Mangles. Johnny Briggs. Stewart Mosely. David Donaldson. Peter Deakin. Mike Grayson "139th"  Roger Wade "139th" Roger Stevenson.  They must be all like me now getting on a bit.

[DavidFrance]

18 hours ago, sharrowyank said:

So while the subject is still hot, some names have come to mind from lansdown rd ,sharrow lane . and the old 139th S johns boy scouts.                     any updates would be appreciated .   John Richardson.  Roger Hunt. Michael Hunt> Harvey Faber. Roy Ratheram. Johnny Mangles. Johnny Briggs. Stewart Mosely. David Donaldson. Peter Deakin. Mike Grayson "139th"  Roger Wade "139th" Roger Stevenson.  They must be all like me now getting on a bit.

Their woggles will be well worn, that's for sure.  I wasn't in the Scouts but went to Sunday School at St Johns and just loved it when it was a Parade Sunday. One of the Scout Leaders lived on Fentonville St but I can't remember his name. He kept the pack Handcart in the former stables at the rear of his house  and I recall the Scouts coming along to get it when it was camp time.  Going to hell in a handcart had a different meaning then.