Brancepeth, the Castle 1914

walking with my grandad

in 1961 i would be 5yrs old,and my grandad Sam Gibson would walk with me my sister susan and my brother raymond,along from where they lived round to the wreck,,the name the gave for the local swing park.they lived in doric road,across from their house was a small shop called walter wilsons,he did this walk with us to get us out of the house while my mum and grandma prepared a meal there was a roundabout,and a witches hat,swings and a rocking horse,,we lived in ushaw moor,but we walked up to doric road frequently,,my aunty and uncle lived on cooperative terrace and cousins marion amd margery simpson,we would call on them allso.when we were older we used to walkup a long road outof brancepeth up to wide open spaces above the vilage,as he walked along he told us of his mmories of his time in the coliery,the pit ponies,the clogs.his bait box,all men then wore a flat cap and a jacketand went to the pub in the afternoon and sit outside waching life go by.grandma was allways pegging washing or cleaning,she wore an apron called a pinnie,and it crossed behind her back,and had one big poket across the front,if we had been good she would let us play on the piano in the parlour,we lived at 5 maple park, ushaw moor,just round the corner from my dads parents,gran and grandad jolly.they were a big part of our lives going from one grand parent to another kept us up to date with family news,and there was allways a biscuit or a drink.allso there was a never ending round of auntys and uncles al around us ,making sure we didnt get into any trouble,,as a family we moved,, lock stockand barrel to a village in nottinghamshire just after my 5th birthday,,i was so homesick ,but as a family with 6 children my dad had to go where there was work,since they had been told esh winnign colliery would close,it was a huge move but when we got there most of the village was allready there,,so every time we came back to visit we caught up with all the family,,brancepeth changed beyond recognition each time i was there,

Eric Burn

My grandad and grandma were Thomas and Margaret Burn, who had 3 childen, Jack (my dad), Jean and Marion. .Jack married Mary, Jean married Benny and Marion married Ralph. We lived in Grant Street and grandad and grandma lived in East Street. My grandad was a miner and my grandma was a county council councillor. There were 2 shops, a post office and a fish and chips shop, a school, and a hut which dances would be held in, which are not there now.
My mate was Trever Gobbing. Alan Reed rode over my bike with his milk lorry.
Once a year we would on the buster trip. I would walk into Durham with my grandad when was about 3 years old. We had no hot running water and the toilet outside. My grandad's brother Christopher was killed at pit house.

as i look at these pictures

i was born in ushaw moor, at 5 maple park,,i am the third of six children,,i remember walking around with my family,as my mums family lives in new brancepeth we used to walk up to see gran and grandma gibson,we used to go plodging in the beck on the way back from chappel(once loosing my socks)when i look at the picture of the crossroads i take myself back to being a child and going to my gran and grandad jolly they lived on oakridge road oposite the garages and the swings,since i dont have contact with the jollys (since we moved to nottinghamshire when i was five )i dont really know them,i do remember that you had to go out of the back door then over the pavement then into the back garden via a gate,my dad used to keep rabits,he didnt do much in the way of gardening but some one allways wanted a rabbit for the pot,,and would swap vegetables,,you did what you could for a growing family,,and we all grew up strong ,so my parents must have done a good job

The  Rink

Surely someone remembers Spennymoor Rink in the 1950s or am I the only one left? That last dance! 'Cherry Blossom Pink' etc played by that superb trumpet, the Teddy Boys. The fights, they were not so great! What about the pub next door. Was it the railway or something? Three Newcastle Brown Ales and a rum and pep then off to the dance. The late one... 12 Midnight till 4 am was it, the late buses or if you missed them that long walk to whereever. It seems like yesterday, a hundred years ago.
John Tully