Kirk Ella
Kirk Ella photos
Displaying the first of 2 old photos of Kirk Ella. View all Kirk Ella photos
Kirk Ella maps
Historic maps of Kirk Ella and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Kirk Ella maps
Kirk Ella area books
Displaying 1 of 1 books about Kirk Ella and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Kirk Ella
No memories of Kirk Ella have been shared yet - be the first!
Add your memory of Kirk Ella
or of a photo of Kirk Ella.
North Humberside memories
I Used to Cycle There
I used to live in Carr Lane which was only a short walk across (at that time) an open field, to visit these shops. Comics and penny sweets in the newsagent, where I also paid in to my Post Office Savings account, then later withdrew when I had enough to buy an Airfix model. My mother shopped at the co-op which was several shops to the left and there was a fish-and-chip shop roughly in the middle of the picture.
One of the shop keepers had painted a notice on his window, using a white paint that was easy to rub off the glass with just a finger, saying he had "Boiling Fowl". As delinquents my friends and I just had to alter it to "oili owl".
Foreshore Houseboats
In the early 1950's walking past the little white cottage that is now The Country Park Inn, towards Ferriby, one could see a selection of little ships (Puffers) pulled up high & dry on the river bank. that were used as houseboats. At weekends, visitors to these little boats could be seen painting them, and charging batteries with wind powered car dynamos.
Behind the cottage was the Earles Cement quarry's, one, now the County Park. was connected by a tunnel that passed beneath the A63 to another quarry (to what in the 1980's became the now closed Humberfield Landfill). there had been a narrowgauge railway line through the tunnel to carry the chalk from the quarry to the works, where it was crushed & transferred to the main railway line for transport to their Cement works & rotary kiln at Wilmington.
Holidays
We used to go to Hull to visit relatives. My mam and dad had friends who used to have a shop on the front in Hessle. I went to Little Switzerland as it was called. One year we went there and a man had a barbeque, he put chickens on it, I think he kept them. I spent happy days watching the boats go by too. My mam's friend's names was Harry Marshall, they had 2 boys named Rowland and Malcolm after my brothers. We lived in south Wales.
Choir
Hessle church was and is an example of fine architecture with one of the finest organs in the county. I joined the church choir and attended most services, we were paid for something we enjoyed. I remember weddings paid a half crown each. The church was well set for sound, the congregation could hear every word. When the organ was undergoing restoration the front pipes were taken away, some say they were stolen. The organist at that time was Raymond Taylor, he also owned the tobacconist shop opposite the church hall. The vicar was Rev Hutton and Mr Reeveley was the verger. I was christened and married at this church, I have fond memories of it.
Sunday Afternoon
I would walk through the rose gardens after church and Sunday school.
ORDER BOY
I was order boy for quite a few proprietors, one being Mallorys in Prestongate. This photo is slightly earlier.
The Haven
I spent many happy hours down at the Haven, fishing and playing in general. I also collected coke from the gas house round the corner down what was then the weigh bridge, dodging the steam from the locomotives.
