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Ashton-In-Makerfield
Ashton-In-Makerfield photos
Displaying the first of 17 old photos of Ashton-In-Makerfield. View all Ashton-In-Makerfield photos
Ashton-In-Makerfield maps
Historic maps of Ashton-In-Makerfield and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Ashton-In-Makerfield maps
Ashton-In-Makerfield area books
Displaying 1 of 4 books about Ashton-In-Makerfield and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Ashton-In-Makerfield
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Childhood Memories
I spent many happy days fishing in the park lake, permit purchased from the town hall for 6 pence per year, old money, then the council in their wisdom decided to fill the pond in with all the dustbin refuse, and it never had the same appeal afterwards. The photo shows what was always called the flower park, it had a bandstand and was always well cared for. The park on the other side of Wigan Road was also called the Jubilee Park and even though both parks had lakes in them this was the only one I remember, as the other one was filled in before my time.
Thomas Cromptons
I worked in the office at Thos Crompton, as a wages clerk. I remember having to go into the sawmill to collect the time sheets. It scared me stiff seeing the saws whizzing round and the whining noise they made. My overactive imagination gave me a fear of saws which still stays with me. On quiet days I manned the switchboard. There were wires all over the place. I shudder to think how many calls I disconnected in those early days. One of my duties in the reception was to enter sick note details in a ledger. Even in those days doctors' writing was unbelievable ( I think some of my entries must have given the bosses a few grins) I loved it there, and eventually learned so much. A friend I made when working there remains my friend to this day, even though I have lived in the Scottish Highlands for 30 something years.
Good Yimes
Lived on Windsor Rd... Ashton Heath... 68 to 81 when I first got married. Good times in the Eagle and Child .. Hingemakers .. Commercial .. pubs etc. Are they still there?
Bill Harrison, Canada.
Lancashire memories
The Plantations
Well not just for the 1930's but for twenty years after as well. Memories come flooding back - not just for this picture but for Wigan itself. I was born there in 1931 - in my grandparents home 38, Dicconson Street - a section no longer in existence although others that belonged to my gt Uncles do remain intact but in a sorry state compared to the days that I recall. What I don't remember however is being removed from my pram - outside either Woolworths or Marks & Spencers (can't identify which from any of the photo's I've seen) when I was a few months old, by one of the Mill girls returning home from the Mill. Apparently after many hours searching by the local Police one of the other Mill girls said her friend had taken me home to show me to her mother - apparently her mother knew my grandfather's family and so there was no malice aforethought in the daughter's action!! Just a great deal of... Read more
Re Comment by John Howard Norfolk on Wigan Clogs
Wigan-made clogs always did have a reputation even way back when - so it's nice to have this confirmation of their quality holding up even to today. I've even discovered that one of my ancestors made his living as a Boot and Clog Repairer having been Apprenticed to a Clogger at a very young age by to-days standards. I unfortunately never did get to own a pair - but oh! how I envied my school friends who did wear them, and could make sparks as they walked along the pavement!!
I do remember however getting a few demerit marks for my House at school in Essex because of clogs - thanks to a few extra notes I added to those I had to write up following a Geography lesson on the cotton industry in Lancashire. Somewhere along the line when visiting one of the more up-to-date mills in Wigan with a teacher from St Michaels (when we were buying muslin to make the angels costumes for a Christmas... Read more
Wigan Clogs Made Especially For Old Bull Clog Morris Dancers
The clogs I wear were made by an old craftsman in Wigan. I had them made around 1980 at which time I was dancing with a morris side in Barnet named Old Bull Clog Morris Dancers - so called because they practised each week at the Old Bull Arts Centre in Barnet.
It was nearly thirty years ago and my clogs are are still looking good and are comfortable despite the knocks they have taken at folk festivals, in processions and in pubs and on hard pavements! Over these years I have graduated to a morris musician, firstly with Old Bull Clog Morris for a year or two, then with Pumphouse Clog Morris in Watford for four or five years, and mostly with Whitethorn Morris almost continuously since 1979. These morris sides have provided my excuse to travel around much of the country and I reckon my Wigan made clogs may be good for another thirty years yet!
Latterly I have been wearing my clogs while... Read more
Family Life
I was 3 years of age when my dad came home from the army (national service). We didn't have a car or much money, so my mum, dad and myself took long walks, Upholland, Dalton, Newburgher, Parbold. When I was tired my dad carried me on his shoulders. We knew all the farms which served tea and cake (still rationing), my dad loved cake and would have lived on it, with a large mug of tea and a woodbine. My mum knew all about flowers, trees, and birds and taught me about them. I too am a keen gardener and encourage birds and butterflies into my garden.
