Langho memories
Here are memories of Langho and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Langho or a Langho photo.
Memory of Brockhall Hospital
I arrived in Brockhall hospital in 1970 from Mauritius to become a 'Subnormal Nurse' as it was known then. I am still baffled how I managed to reach Brockhall with so little knowledge at the tender age of 19 years. I am not sure whether I was amongst the youngest Mauritian. I was very scared, but very excited to be accepted to train to be a nurse. I was taken to my room in the Nurses' Home. It was such a thrilling experience that I can still recall, of smelling the gliterring steps of the staircase, the smell was so beautiful and nice like the smell of an apple. As soon as I was introduced to my room, I thanked God that I was about to work and train to be a nurse. I will never forget this day of magic and achievement. This was where my life started. I have achieved hundred and hundreds of things in my life to date. Thanks to Brockhall Hospital I am a nurse,... Read more
Mature Student Nurse.
During 1980 and 1981 I was, as indicated by the memory title, a mature student. My memories are, first and foremost, of a very rewarding time as a small cog in a caring environment. Making many friends of both staff and residents. In later years I went back a time or two, even when Brockhall closed, and I was saddened to see the Wards I was seconded to, Ivywood, Sunflower, and Iris, closed. However, the welfare of the residents was the objective, so the move to the various communities was put in place. Now only a few photographs and memories remain. Most of the staff lived in the East Lancs area, but there were quite a few of us from Wigan. Should this be read by any of my fellow students who were somewhat younger than I. (How does it feel to be mature?) My best wishes to you all. Cliff Andrews.
My Brothers' Years at Brockhall/ Calderstones 1973/90's
My memories of Brockhall are with my adopted brother who was placed there to give my mum a rest. I remember Lilac ward, Sunflower ward was a main one my brother was placed on. I remember Mr Buckler and Nurse Maiden, it broke my heart to leave my brother there and I have pictures of us going to see him. I remember my mum taking me the first time on the train and having to walk down a long lane to get to the hospital grounds. As we came from Bury it was a long day and we didn't get home till it was dark... Then there was a little bus put on once a fortnight from Bury bus station which would pick up any families wanting to go visiting there. Brockhall will always stay in my mind as that was the place that took my big brother away from being a young girl and it still hurts now... The only good that has come out of it closing is... Read more
Memories of Lancashire
Simpson's Barn
I was born and brought up here. It's changed so much now but I remember that the 'Black Bull' was never a popular pub for the locals as Old Langho mainly consisted of two estates, Brookside and Larkhill. These were staff houses for Brockhall Hospital, a sprawling self-contained Victorian 'mental' hospital. As a social club existed within the hospital grounds, most chose to drink there, so it always seemed empty. When we were around 15 years old the landlord would let my brother and I in for a blackcurrant and a game of snooker on the three-quarter size snooker table that was in there. I had my first 'real' pint in there too. To the right of the pub was a dirt track that led to a field, at the end of it was a derelict caravan surrounded by a small garden. An old man used to live there but nobody knew his name and he was seldom seen. The barn on the left was called Simpson's Barn. It was... Read more
The Place Where I Was Born
I was born in Whalley, in the second cottage opposite the Catholic Church in the Sands, in December 1924. Next door to us was Mr Sutton who was well known around Whalley for his ice cream. He used to stand outside the abbey gates with his ice cream and he always had raspberry vinegar to put on top of the cones. I went to Whalley C of E School. Mr J Chew was the headmaster, Miss Edith as we knew her was my kindergarten teacher, other teachers I remember were Miss Forster, Miss Baxter [ who I was in Love with], Miss Roberts, Miss Dyson. I was in the church choir when I was 7, also the Boy Scouts when I was 11, and a bell ringer, when I was 14. In 1932 my parents opened a greengrocery and wet Ffsh business in Park Villas, next door to the Post Office where my grandfather was the Postmaster. In 1935 for King George's Jubilee the Whalley Scouts camped on Kemple End... Read more
The Derbyshire Family - Park Villas
My cousin Eileen Vera Derbyshire was born in Blackburn in 1905 and was adopted by the Derbyshire family, when she went by the name of Nelly / Nellie Swales Derbyshire. She was apparently taken in by Nuns at a convent, so I don't know how she came to live with the Derbyshire family. The family lived at Park Villas for some years, and her adopted father was Samuel Derbyshire, who was a joiner (carpenter), and her mother was Mary Elizabeth Haydon.
From what I can remember Eileen had several siblings - Clare Cecilia, John William, and James. Eileen married in 1934, to Clarence Walton, and I believe there is a line that follows on from them to the present day. Eileen was a school teacher when she married, but I don't know where she taught - probably nearby where she lived in Whalley. Later on, she lived in Mellor, but died in Coventry in the 1990s.
You may remember her as Miss Derbyshire,... Read more
The Old House
This is a picture of the house I lived in as a 8year old boy, I used to catch trout and eels by hand in the stream/creek. It was called the old mill house, to the left was the old bobbin mill. The driveway was directly opposite to the Bayley Arms.
Schoolboy Memories
Born at the Risedale Maternity Home in 1933 we first lived in James Street. I think it was 1937 when we moved to Clevelands Avenue in the new Beacon Hill estate. Barrow was bombed in May 1941 but it was the older part of the town that suffered the most damage. I recall, as a boy, going round the streets looking for shrapnel from the AA guns I suppose. It didn't half tear holes in our pockets. Of course it was the shipyard that was the main target, but we could also see the flames from Liverpool on tha horizon.
In 1945 I started at Barrow Grammar school under Mr SM Price the headmaster. Very strong on discipline, I remember being scared stiff of him but he was probably fair.
I left Barrow in 1947 as my dad decided to move to Rugby.
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