Acton Bridge memories
Here are memories of Acton Bridge and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Acton Bridge or a Acton Bridge photo.
Acton Bridge Cruising Club
My memories of Acton Bridge go back to the mid 1950s and early 1960s. The picture of boats at Acton Bridge Cruising Club takes me back to my teenage days. We had a boat called 'Scampi' which was a 32-foot ex-Norwegian lifeboat. It was our family boat. It was kept initially on the Mersey at Wallasey Dock, then my dad decided to join the then very newly formed Acton Bridge Cruising Club. And so we moved 'Scampi' up the Weaver to Acton Bridge. The boat in the forground on the right is 'Hannah', an ex-fishing boat. 'Hannah' was eventually sabotaged by British Waterways and sunk at Level Lock. What a destructive act on a vessel with quite some history! All because the owner had not kept up the licence. Our boat was more or less moored where the camera would be to take the picture. I can remember names of club members in those days: Stan Davies, Ken Binns, Fred Warburton, Barclay Guy, Henry 'Hatch' Hatchard (my dad), Ken? Shields,... Read more
The Boat Club, Acton Bridge
Laurie, I remember vividly those days as if they were yesterday, strange to see the Jan mentioned which dad bought from the Faircloughs which was moored at Widnes Docks.Do you remember our trip down the ship canal to the boat festival? Our boat at the time was the gorgeous 32ft 'CORAL', Thornicroft powered, I have a photo of the 'CORAL' at Chester with your mum and dad, Roger, my mum and dad and me. Remember 'BOY BLUE' which was moored by the cottage? An ex MTB I think. Names from the past, the 'Barnton', the 'Comberbatch', the 'Wimborne', the 'Polythene', the 'Madge' to name a few.
Acton Bridge
Hello Laurie
My dad had the boat 'Jan' - I still see Roger & Jean from time to time. We still have a boat on the Weaver at AB, and she is called 'Triton'. I have a brother called Peter and my parents were called Peter & Mary - but can you remember my name? I once went out with you just to confuse you further. am now the Hon Sec at AB!!
Hope to hear from you soon.
Island Cottage
My nanna and grandad Noden lived at Island Cottage. Grandad was a bridgekeeper along with Jack Powell and Syd Bebbington at Acton swing bridge from 1945-1960. There was an enormous flood in 1946 when my grandparents were the first to be rescued. The water rose over 12and a half feet. A Bulldog Drummond film had its location at Acton Bridge when his car was supposed to go into the river and he had to be rescued. My grandad was standing by with his rowing boat. During the 1950s the River Weaver was a very important waterway and some very big boats went up and down to I.C.I Winnington. Once when the lock gates further downstream got stuck all the water drained out of the the river and all the boats were stranded in the mud. Also the swing bridge got stuck one day and all the traffic had to be re-routed via Winnington Bridge at Northwich. I used to live at Field Cottage in Acton Bridge, and was a minshall... Read more
Memories of Cheshire
Childhood Memories
My granny used to live in Hole House, Lane Little Leigh, her name was Ellen Frances Hough, and I remember she used to live next door to Mr and Mrs Astbury. My dad used to take me there on a Friday night and pick me up on a Sunday, had to go to Little Leigh church on a Sunday morning which I quite enjoyed, then we would be picked up by my Auntie Kathleen who lives (and still does) at Bridge Farm, Acton Bridge, we would stay there for the afternoon, then attend church in the evening yet again, where she was in the choir. My granny died in 1974, but I still have very special memories of those days. I have lived in Bournemouth since 1973, and I do still go to visit my dad who still lives in Wincham, and I always have this feeling of 'coming home'.
The Old Becoming New!
I arrived in Weaverham in one of its transition periods. ICI had built many houses to house its workers in all the surrounding villages including Weaverham. So Weaverham had already transformed in a way when I got there, but of course for me coming from a city like Liverpool it was a quaint, peaceful village, there just happened to be the old Weaverham and the new!
Several farms still survived and I was fortunate to work on one at weekends for a few shillings. But the days of the big farms had long gone. The one that I worked on had one milking cow and a dozen hens and that was it!
But Weaverham despite its Liverpool influx remained a peaceful village with very little crime or social disorder. Seems a far cry from today. There were still orchards to 'scrump' in and ancient country lanes to ride to school on. I rode from Weaverham to Winsford everyday for several years come rain, hail or snow. Computers and... Read more
Weaverham Secondary Modern
Harry Christian was the headmaster when I started at Weaverham Secondary Modern school in Lime Avenue in 1956. He was the first headmaster of the new school which by then had I think been open one or two years.
Assembly was the big event of the day! I recall that the few Catholic children we had in the school were excused attending and went off for an hours rest and relaxation before lessons started. One or two assemblies stick in my mind. One was at the time of the Cuban crisis when Harry Christian asked us to recall who had backed down and to give thanks for our deliverance (my words). Another was when a poor girl who had been caught stealing was metaphorically put in the stocks up on the stage and publically humiliated and expelled from the school!
Games played a big part in life at Weaverham Sec Mod and we were encouraged to participate. I wasn't much good at football - though I recall... Read more
Grange Wood
Many happy years playing in Grange Wood and surrounding fields and walking through the fields up to Acton Bridge.
Picnics with jam butties and water.
Bike rides up to Cuddington and Hartford. Long summer holidays when the tar melted on the roads and scraping the top of my big toes with those rubber flipflops they used to sell in Woolies.
McNeals sweet shop at the bottom of Forest Street and the old Co-op with really high counters.
It's so sad how things are now
We moved to Weaverham in 1958, at that time it was a good place to bring up children, and a good place for children to grow up in. The village was surrounded by fields and woods, where we played. There was of course the usual childish mischief, knocking on doors, and swiftly running away for one. I left Weaverham in 1968 and only ever went back there to visit my folks. I have now retired, and am enjoying it, but I don't live in Weaverham and I think most of my generation have left the place now.
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