Bersham memories
Here are memories of Bersham and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Bersham or a Bersham photo.
5 Mill Terrace
As a young child, I lived at number 5 Mill Terrace. It was my grandparents' house. Their names were Stanley and Alice Timberlake and they were able to rent the house because my grandad had worked for a local landowner by the name of Fitzhugh. My mother, Jeanette, was born in that house. We moved to the midlands when I was 5 years old but continued to visit until the mid-70s when Nan and Grandad moved to nearby Rhostyllen. There was no bathroom there for many years and I remember taking a bath in front of the fire with water heated up on the stove. I remember the rooms were icy cold in winter and I would stay in bed waiting for my grandad to light the fire before daring to go downstairs. I also remember doing the washing in the backyard in a metal tub, using a dolly pin and a hand mangle. Monday was my favourite day of the week. ... Read more
Magical Bersham
This waterfall held many happy memories for me as a child. I think I can remember every crack and name carved in its stone walls. I seemed to remember a rumour of someone dying in its centre parting, where the water cascaded furiously down to a deep area in the middle of the river. I never discovered the truth about this. I do know that the centre had been concreted over, to make it safer. The hiding places in this area were exciting. The woods opposite, were covered in bluebells in the spring . My father took us for long walks through the woods to the step waterfall by the church. There was also an old house in the middle of nowhere . It was knocked down after the old lady who lived there , died.
Dad ( Fritz Franke ) used to hide sweets in the grass and pretend the fairies had left them for us. What a magical place..like something out... Read more
Mill Terrace
I remember when my uncle Lloyd Pritchard lived in Mill Terrace with his son Jack. Uncle Lloyd was my mother's eldest brother and was the first child of Lloyd and Hannah Pritchard who lived at Bunkers Hill, Bersham. He rode his bike around the village until he was well into his old age. I remember when I was a little girl living in Marchwiel with my mum Mary and dad Archie and my brothers and sister, uncle Lloyd and auntie Lizzie lived across the road from us with Jack.
Joan & Fritz
I have many happy memories of visiting my cousin Joan at the Bridge House when I was young. I would go to play with Susanne & Erica when I was at my Aunty May's house (The Machine House) up the hill in Bersham. We would have some fun paddling in the river and play hide & seek in the garden. There were some little hidey holes in the rooms upstairs where we would play house. My grandmother lived for many years in the row of houses called Bunkers Hill which was just above the old school which was still in use then. My Aunty Nance & Uncle Tom also lived there and my uncle used to keep pigs on the land at the end of the row which used to be the old school gardens. Uncle Alb used to live down by the school where my cousin Den later lived. I have many happy memories of my visits to Bersham and am still very fond of it. Oh by the... Read more
My Sunday School Teacher
Mrs Ingman, my Sunday school teacher, lived in the first house at Mill Terrace. The houses were so small inside, maybe two rooms downstairs and two upstairs but they had so much character. Mrs Ingman seemed so old when I was a child but she was probably only about middle sixties. I considered myself to be a favourite of hers but looking back , she was kind to everyone. I remember a huge, round dining room table in her sitting room ....I think she was very proud of it because I`ve never seen such a shine on a table.
Mr Fitzhugh owned the church in the village and we attended services 3 times on a Sunday and choir practice on a Wednesday. Mr Fitzhugh never failed to turn up even when he was ill. I remember him often sneezing into a huge handkerchief in Sunday school. My father, Fritz Franke of the Bridge House, had a lot of time for him and respected him greatly.
We had... Read more
Erica's House
I remember this house very well. I played with Erica and her sister - whose name was, I think, Suzanne, in Bersham. Like Erica, I was also born in 1955. My grandparents lived in the cottages at Mill Terrace. Their name was Timberlake. My grandad was Stanley and my nan was Alice. My name is Jane and my surname was Thompson. My mum and dad (Jean and Roger) and I lived for a while in the cottages with Nan and Grandad. I remember loving Bridge House - finding it so special because it stood alone, right next to the river and near the waterfall. It was such a great place to play. We moved from Bersham, but continued to visit until my grandparents moved to Rhostyllen in the mid 70s. I still cherish all my memories of Bersham and feel so privileged to have lived in such a beautiful, peaceful place.
A Dump Called Paradise
I lived in this house until I was 21. My father had already bought the property when this photo was taken and I was also born in 1955. My parents had no hot water, low ceilings, no bathroom or electricity when they moved in. He did all the renovating himself...yet we had a wonderful, rich childhood. There used to be a picnic area across the road by the river...now there is a noisy dual carriageway there. When my father died in 1984 my mother had to sell it because the house needed a lot of upkeep.
In the past the house used to be a pub and Dad found lots of clay pipes in the garden. The horses were `parked` in the white area of the house. The bar was the black and white bit in the middle. The house was built in the 16th century so we were just a blip in its history....but it was a very well-loved home.
Memories of Clwyd
Bersham School
I attended Bersham School until 1950 and well remember the daily walk (or run) from 30 Wynnstay Crescent up West Grove to the school. I believe 1947 was the year that the winter flood happened and Gwylim Williams drowned near the footbridge. I remember all the teachers at Bersham - Mr Hughes, Mr King, Mr Gilla and Ms Mitchel. She had a great influence on me and was instrumental in getting me to Grove Park. I saw Mr Hughes on Bersham Road in the late eighties and he actually said my name when my sister Kathleen asked him if he knew who I was!
How many of my school friends remember me I wonder? Names I remember are: Glyn Jones, Derek Rowlands, Tony Pemberton, Cynthia Rogers, Beryl Davies, Pam Kyffin, Phillip Pierce, John Povah, Colin Humphries, Emily Rogers (Blacky Row, and she had a younger sister whose name I have forgotten). I was a train spotter and remember trying to catch the ZULU express passing Rhostyllen at 1:00pm. Our... Read more
The Steel Houses
Having lived in Brymbo in a very damp two up two down house in 'The Green' my parents were 'over the moon' to be given a new three bedroomed house; 23, Bryn Hedd, Southsea, (which means peaceful hill) became their home for the rest of their lives although there was far too little peace to be had! Dad worked in the coal mine at Gresford and worked night shifts so he slept in the day - that is if he could get any sleep amongst the shouting by the boys playing football on the street outside and me and Maureen playing all the top ten hits of the hit parade inside! Never the less we all enjoyed living there and it was a lovely home to me and my sisters until we reached our middle teenage years; Maureen left to be married when 18 and stayed married forever - she and husband Vivian still live in the same house they bought before they married - I left about the same... Read more
2 Burtons Terrace
As a small child one of the most exciting events was riding on the rear bumper of Lawrence the Milk's Land Rover in the High Street. We had an air raid shelter in the garden which was dark and musty. Do the twins remember this? We lived in Burton's Terrace until 1954. It had just two rooms and a back kitchen. Dad put in electricity when I was about three years old and it was like magic. He also installed electricity into houses on the mountain and after dark we would walk up towards Minera and he would point out solitary lights on the mountain and proudly tell me "your dad put that there".
Evacuated to Coedpoeth 1944
My older brother and two other boys were taken in by Mrs Jones in Roberts Terrace. I was seven and had my 8th birthday there. She was a wonderful lady and looked after the four of use. I remember going to find logs and Mrs Jones would saw them up then chop into sticks, we would sell the firewood by the bucket load. The money paid for us to go to the cinema on friday nights. Also remember going up the mountain and picking whinberries and none left by the time we got home. My favourite girl was Betty Young who lived just round from Roberts Terrace. I visited Mrs Jones when I was in the army, she loved it seeing me in uniform decked out in motor bike gear. I have never forgotten what she did for us, she was a widow and to take on four kids and there was always meals and super before we went to bed. I have lived in Australia since 1965, when war-time stories come... Read more
Evacuation at The Time of The V1 And V2 Attacks on The South East And London
I am adding to my brother's memory written today about our evacuation to North Wales in 1944. A fuller description has been written by myself on BBC North East Wales web site. In fact it is not yet complete. I, too, have always had a place in my heart for Mrs Emma Jones of 6 Roberts Terrace, Coedpoeth. She became our Foster Mother in May 1944 and cared for us until the end of the European War. We, in fact, were repatriated home from Coedpoeth by our own parents after the hostilities had ceased. We came back to Essex in June 1945. We returned for the first time in August 1946 for a holiday with Mrs Jones. I think we stayed with her for about 3 or 4 weeks, which was very nice. The next time I saw her was when I was at grammar school and we were all in the CCF (a combined cadet force) and we came to Chester for a summer camp. The weather was foul... Read more
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