Barnsley memories
Here are memories of Barnsley and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Barnsley or a Barnsley photo.
A Back Hander
I was a chain lad when the M 1 was being constructed. I was working for Amy's the asphalt company. Amongst other things I was to make cups of tea and also collect thousands of pounds in wages for the work force. My boss who's name I canot recall told me of some special people coming and that I had to get the china tea set out and simply make tea and pour it out. When they arrived, some twenty management, I was somewhat courteous in every detail with much politness. Ive always known how to make a good cup of tea and never use tea bags; anyway the big boss was so pleased in me being so polite and as he said having the best cup of tea made for him, he simply looked over to my boss and asked him how much my wages were, and on telling him that I was earning around £27 a week, he told my boss to up my wages to £60 per... Read more
Paper Trail
Lundhill is a steep hill that leads into Royston, where the Monkton coking plant lies. Just at the side of Lundhill was Monkton Row, it was to be demolished in the 1980s. But before then a big flat bed lorry failed to take the corner of the hill and ploughed into the wall - there was hardly any give in the wall because there was a raised field behind the wall. The noise of the crash could be heard some half a mile away where many a folk ran either out of their homes or up the street. The lorry was carrying Sheets of A4 printing paper. the impact of the Lorry hitting the wall sent forty or fifty parcels shooting off the lorry into the field. The lorry driver was somewhat shook up but not badly hurt. People from Monkton Row descended upon the lorry and began to pull off the paper and run off with it and by the time the police had come, the Lorry was half... Read more
Oatfields Caravan
As a young child mother would always take me to Barnsley where she'd do most of the shopping. Barnsley may have been something of a rundown town but one could always have a bargain. There in the old market was Oatfields caravan which would have been a three berth, but it was gutted on the inside with forms to sit on. Nearest to the door was a small cramped kitchen and bar. Oatfields would serve home-made mince meat pies and mushy peas. People would queue up outside waiting to get sat down to eat. When I look back at it all I cherish that memory more than anything. To me, I'd rather have had a pie and peas rather than a meal in a cafe. Finally when Barnsley was to have its multi-car park and its indoor market, Oatfields had to move indoors to some cafe. The quality of food went down the hill and the tea was unbearable to drink. Barnsley was just not the same. I recall there... Read more
The Wire Trellis
I was something of a naughty boy back in those years: there were four of us young lads who were to bus it to Barnsley from Royston where we were barely old enough to go sampling Barnsley Bitter. If we were sixteen let alone eighteen we went into the pub which was where the In-door Market stands. although the Landlord asked us of our ages where we were to tell him Porkies, he was to simply frown upon us and poured out the beer. There within this pub were old codgers where I noticed some of these men having a Ten shilling note pinned onto their top pocket. At first I never knew what this signified until many years later, shall we say that there were young women of misrepute where a woman would tap one of the men on their shoulder, where then they'd disappear through the door way. On reflection I was but four years of age when my mother ordered my dad out of the house until... Read more
Poggy Post Office
Poggy post office, Dicky Molloy, does anybody remember?
Raynors Cafe.
Raynors Cafe was a favourite place to eat, besides being reasonably priced the pork pies and sloppy peas were the best in town.
Memories of Childhood
I also queued in the shop for bread with my gran. Can anyone remember going in the public hall for dinner and Raynors cafe? Ooh, those pies...
Barnsley Town Hall - 1955 The Year I Started to Work There.
I was two weeks short of my 16th birthday, when I started work in the motor tax office which was situated in Barnsley Town Hall. Although we were employed by the Borough Treasurer's Deptment, we were an agency for the Ministry of Transport we reimburse our wages to Barnsley CBC. I loved the job, it brought me into contact with so many people, issuing driving licences, road fund licences, registering new vehicles amongst many other things. When I started work the licence plate number started with JHE, the motoring boom in Barnsley was starting. My bosses were Joe Burton and Arthur Walker.
www.barnsleyandfamily.com
BROADHURST or APPLEYARD
Please does anyone remember any shop in Royston or Barnsley owned by my grandparents? They either used the name Appleyard or Broadhurst. I would be very grateful if anyone could remember. debasket42@aol.com
Wrights Chemist / Goodworths Bread Shop
Most of my working life, to this day I have walked daily down Market Hill. In the 1960s I worked at Wrights chemist. I remember Guest's provisions shop, very classy, wonderful smells of fresh coffee. I remember Goodworth's bread shop, where you could buy real, 'proper bread.' It was difficult to get the bread all the way home, it smelt so good. I remember the market stalls on the left hand side going up. All the shops had standards. As shop assistants we had to behave in a certain way.
Are we getting older, when we think the past was better?
Lovely to remember though.
Denise.
School Days at Barnsley Girls High School
I remember travelling by bus from Wombwell to Barnsley Bus Station to go to school, I then had to go through town past the Town Hall and up to the top of Huddersfield Road where Barnsley Girls High School was situated. I met lots of new people there and made friends with a few, one of them was Susan Margaret Ward as she was known in those days, at that time she lived in Monk Bretton, obviously her name will have changed now as I believe she later married. We lost touch as those were busy days and we both moved to different areas, I moved to Lincolnshire with my husband and family and where we still live. I am retired now but still keep busy and I would love to be in touch with Susan again or at least know that she is ok and happy. if anyone knows of her whereabouts or contact details I would be grateful to know about them. If there is... Read more
Shambles Street
I am researching my husband's family tree and it appears that one of his relatives was an innkeeper and musical instrument maker in Shambles Street. The tavern was called The Musical Tavern and I think they must have also sold the instruments from there. Does anyone have any other info about the tavern or the instruments that were made there.
Millhouse
I would love to know if anyone knew of a large house in Smithies around abouts where the council depot is now. The building was called Millhouse as far as we know it was pulled down in the mid 1950s, the building would have been at the side of the reservoir.
Memories of South Yorkshire
Miracle on Hope Street
Many years ago I was a window cleaner and would often do my rounds on many of the small estates in Monk Bretton, many of my customers would bring me cups of tea and sandwiches out and in one case an Italian lady invited me in her home to sit at the table and have a pizza with her daughter and husband, odd jobs like fixing a broken T V Arial on top of their roofs. I've even swept a chimney out for my brother John. It was a hot summer's day when my brother asked me to go up on top of the roof and use the chimney brush, of which I obliged. The problem was that I had no roof ladder and all I had was a pair of trainers which gave me good grip to push myself up the slated roof. Having thrust the brush and the chimney rods down the chimney I then began to throw the brush on to the ground. Then I hit on... Read more
Life Underneath The The Arches
Does anyone remeber playing under the arches at Stairfoot? It was great, we could play out in the rain because it didn't rain under the arches. I was born under them, the steam trains went over my house, what memories. Can anyone else remember those days?
Stairfoot in The 1920's
Unfortunately I have never ever been to Stairfoot. However, my mother, Mary, was born there in June 1920 and was the 5th of 7 children born to William and Emily Tooley. From what I gathered from my dear mum prior to her death in 1998, my great-grandfather owned a shop of some sort in the village. Behind this shop was a field which it seems is still called Tooley's field. Does anyone remember them at all or has anyone been told about this shop? My mum's family moved to Kent around 1929 or so but my uncle, Bill Tooley, stayed in Stairfoot as he was working at the time. He met and married my auntie Jessie who hailed from Ardsley.
I now live in the United States and so it is unlikely I shall ever get the opportunity to visit Stairfoot or Tooley's field.
My Sweetheart Days
Actually it was not Stairfoot but Lundwood. I met a young girl at the Barnsley fairground and it may have been love at first sight and we were to be married at the Barnsley Town Hall but after a few years of us being married things did not go to plan and we were divorced: it would be improper to say why we were to be divorced but for many years I still thought about her: my wife's maiden name was Shirley Hutley, she had one brother and two sisters, Jean, Sheila and then Raymond. She also had a friend Susan Geldheart. They both went to the same school in Lundwood. Whilst living for a short while with my wife and I, we were to go to some club in Royston where she was dancing and then simply went to the toilet and dropped down on the floor, she was to be rushed to hospital where it was discovered that her lungs had dropped out of the ribcage. It could... Read more
The Wrong Guy
There at the time when Cawthorne was a tour operator and whether it was coincidence or not the tour operator was called Harry Cawthorne coach tours. I do believe that they were an established firm; it could well be that the village was named after the Cawthorne family. My mother who was called Ivy Mitchell was to organise a trip to Blackpool to see the Blackpool illuminations. The thing about it was that we lived in Royston in South Yorkshire, and we were to travel to Cawthorne to start our journey. When we got there some forty-seven of us found that the coach that we were to travel in was an old Guy's petrol engine coach, and even back in 1952 it was considered as a museum piece. Being an inquisitive young lad, I asked Harry why the Guy coach was being used and not one of the modern buses of which he had in the bus depot: apparently those coaches were in need of repair and that it was... Read more
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- Pant, Shropshire
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- Blaenllechau, Mid Glamorgan
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- South Kirkby, West Yorkshire
- Salford, Lancashire
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