Cleator Moor memories
Here are memories of Cleator Moor and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Cleator Moor or a Cleator Moor photo.
Childhood Memories of Cleator Moor
I was born and lived in Reada Terrace near Frizington, Cleator Moor, my parents were Jerry and Margaret Hayhoe and we moved down to Doncaster in Yorkshire roundabout 1964. I can remember St Paul's School in Frizington, the pond in the woods on the way to school where a little girl was unfortunately drowned, I can also remember the sound of the hounds on the hunt. We had to walk to school of course which was about a mile walk I think. Does anyone remember my family at all? I would love to hear from you. My father was from Hensingham and my mother from Egremont, mother's maiden name was Murdoch. It would be lovely to hear if you did remember us.
"Mainscroft"
My father was headmaster, I think at St Cuthberts or St Patricks secondary school and we lived at" Mainscroft" in Cleator Moor. I remember going to school at St Mary's infants and have memories of fr Clayton and the grotto at the church. I remember the walk to school, the quarry pits and the doctors who lived opposite, one of whom drowned tragically at sea when we lived there. We moved to London in 1952 I think. I still have many memories of the streets, the surrounding mountains and the slate roofs of the houses and the stone steps.
Slag Heaps
I was born in Birks Road, Cleator Moor in 1954. I was from a large family called Sheldrake. We lived over the railway bridge towards the brewery. The neighbours that I know of are: the Watsons, the Moors, the Wrights, the Richardsons, the Sumptons (I married one), the Rogans, Dempseys and Brocklebanks. Does anybody remember the old gasworks house that the Lister family lived in? Also John Kirby that lived at the brewery. My brothers, sisters and husband re-enacted many a cowboy film that they had seen at the Hip on the slag heaps.
My family moved to Birmingham in 1959. A lot of my relatives still live in the area so I still visit occasionally. My grandparents used to live in Egremont Main Street. Their names were Elizabeth and Philip Andrews. Their house was converted into a hairdresser's shop after their deaths. My mother had a large family and maybe someone can remember some of her siblings if not my mother. Her name was Elvina Andrews. There was also... Read more
Memories of Cumbria
Happy Days
I have great memories of growing up on Frizington. It was such a close knit community where everyone knew everyone else. I can remember Stewarts delivering milk with a horse and cart. ''Jinkies'' coming round with fruit and veg, in winter the van lit by a tillie lamp. The farmers coming round with their own home-grown potatoes. The fish man ringing his bell on a Friday, with fish fresh from the dock. St Joseph's with its gas lighting and coke stoves. School Christmas parties where the mothers made jelly and custard, fairy cakes etc and we all froze in our party outfits after being in winter clothes. Summer picnics with a bottle of spanish water and jam sandwiches down Yeathouse for the whole day. The sun never seemed to stop shining then. Nobody had much money but that didn't matter. We would make a ''house'' with stones laid out in a square and used leaves for plates with rose hips or similar as food.... Read more
Childhood
As a boy I thought my hometown of Frizington to be a wonderful place. We played football for hours on the Ball Alley or on the square. (Trafalgar Square)
Also hours of fun "up the backs" The houses behind Nook St playing marbles. Sublime days which never seemed to end. I often wonder if today's children are as carefree as we were. I certainly hope so. Summer days at school when on hot days our teachers would occasionally take us "down the beck" with our cossies and a towel on the pretext of a nature walk. I am not particularly one for "the good old days" but I do have some lovely memories.
The Metal Bank
Lovely to read your memories, I used to play as a child on the metal bank near Stewarts farm, we would walk up the Lonning to Yeathouse then have a picnic at the boilers, we would visit the baby houses before making our way home. Happy Days
1950's Frizington
I grew up in Parkgate when there were three pubs and three shops, I schooled at St Pauls Junior School, Headmaster was a very strict Mr Moore with Mr Teare, Ms Bowness I think, Miss Martin and Mrs Crossthwaite. Those were the days when we could run for miles unsupervised all the way down to Hen Beck and beyond, playing outside on dark nights for hours until called in. The rivalry up and down the village no better revealled as bonfire night approached and each bonbfire was raided or prematurely set alight. And yes the many metal banks surrounding the village, I remember one being used to fill in a big hole that appeared overnight up by the Frizington gasworks. One night the gasholder itself tipped sideways like a cocked hat splilling water into the gas main and flooding the houses down the hill at Parkside. What a great downhill boggie run that hill was. Stewarts Farm delivered the bottled milk in a chariot, then there was the Bewley -... Read more
Bonfires
I remember most fondly the bonfires og Guy Fawkes Night in November. These structures would take weeks to build and always had a three piece suite at the centre. This was where the gang would 'live', yes live for some time prior to the 5th in order to guard the bonfire from envious onlookers and spies from other parts of the village desperate to burn it bown. Camping out night after night with mates like Whacker, Biscuit, Ronnie and Toshack. Sadly Toshack is no longer with us but the memory of him at silly o'clock in the morning would wake all gang members with his imaginary bugle! The bonfires were so big that tar from Jenkies sheds would melt many metres away. What great times, great people and fantastic places to play-yeathose, line-wood, woodhouse, blue dub, scars etc. Peter Walker
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