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Birstall
Birstall maps
Historic maps of Birstall and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Birstall maps
Birstall area books
Displaying 1 of 26 books about Birstall and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Birstall
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Birstall.
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or of a photo of Birstall.
Jack Garside And Mucky Minnie
Does anyone remember 'Spring-heeled Jack' and 'Mucky Minnie', the local tramp and his partner from the market place? Well, we do, and we also bought his house to sell on. My husband still has the scars from the flea bites to prove it.
Birstall Life, 1970
Does anybody remember Clifford the milkman, he had a barrel in a yard that he used as a dog kennel in the village. Or the Co-op in the village, I think it was that sold record players and I think shirts folded up, and kept in drawers behind the counter. I was 4 at the time of these memories. The dry cleaners that you could get high on walking past at the bottom of North Terrace. Singing 'Lily the Pink' at the working men's club. My dad Ernest Shaw played darts for the Hare and Hounds, if anybody remembered him he died in 1972. Liptons shop in the village. The fish and chip shop near Raikes Lane infant school, they went to Australia from the chippy. Did anybody reading this go to that school in 1970 -72? I still have the card you all signed when I left. Does anybody remember Dr Chong's in the village, didn't he always give you a lollypop?
Cinema on A Saturday as A Boy
I grew up in Driglington late 50s/ 60s and remember going to watch Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy, now that was another lifetime ago.
As I got a bit older lots of us drig lads used to visit a coffee shop in the main street - cannot remember its name, and met lots of Birstall girls there. I also remember the first 3d movie I saw there, it was the House of Wax, we had to wear those red and green glasses.
An Industrial Village
Having grown up in Birstall I have a fondness for this little market town in West Yorkshire, situated approximately 8 miles from Leeds and centrally placed for easy access to other major towns Bradford, Huddersfield and Wakefield.
Fifty years ago Birstall was a thriving village, where everyone knew everybody else (and their business!). There were several mills in the area, Birstall Carpet Company, Holton's, Charles Sheards to name but a few.
The shopping centre was busy and there was a variety of shops, unlike today when the centre seems to be full of beauty parlours, hairdressers and takeaways, with traditional shopkeepers struggling to earn a living.
In the market place stands a statue of Joseph Priestley, who discovered oxygen. He was born in Fieldhead. Birstall also has links with the Brontes, as Charlotte often stayed at Oakwell Hall and Brookroyd House and based her book "Shirley" on the area.
Until the 1990's not much had been written about Birstall. I then decided to write... Read more
West Yorkshire memories
LIFE IN BATLEY 1938 to 1948 Royel Navy To1955 to New ZEALAND 1956 Royal New Zealand Navy to 1962to1988 New Zealand Prison Service Retired Now Resided in Westaustralia Andthat is Another Story W A Clark BCL02059@bigpond.net.au
THE WAR YEARS WAR WEPONSWEEK ANDALLTHEWAR SAVINGS WEEKS VE NIGHT VJ NIGHTSWORKING AT THE BUS COMPANY IN THE SAVEL TOWN DEP OF THE YORKSHIRE WOOLEN DISTRICT TRANSPORT THE ARMY CADET CORP AT THE WARICK ROAD SCHOOL & THE DRILL SHED ON BRADFORD ROAD
Rosies
does any one remember rosies cheap shop on commercial street we all used to go there for our cheap things
Royal Hotel
Does anyone remember the Royal Hotel in Batley, it was on a corner I think of Bradford Road and a road that went up a very steep hill to a village. Lived there from 1963-1965 and went to Park Road School. Looking for a photo of the pub if anyone has one. Remember traffic lights being outside on the corner and a man that used to keep ferrets down his shirt and trousers when he came in for a pint.
