Skelmanthorpe

Read and share memories of Skelmanthorpe and West Yorkshire inspired by Frith photos

Childhood memories

I was born 1949 in Huddersfield and lived in Skelmanthorpe until 1970. I was delighted to see the photos of Skelmanthorpe taken in the fifties. It brought back wonderful childhood memories of things that I'd already forgotten. I remembered going to Bower's Newsagent to pay for our papers once every week, the chemist shop next door and then there was a greengrocer nearby called Wraggs if I remember rightly. Also a small pretty little shop called Lawton's who sold mirrors and plates etc. We also visited the Savoy picture house once a week although the films were over one year old before they got to Skelmanthorpe. It didn't matter because no one had colour TV in those days so the picture ...read more here
Contributed by Angela Reichert

Childhood memories

I was born 1949 in Huddersfield and lived in Skelmanthorpe until 1970. I was delighted to see the photos of Skelmanthorpe taken in the fifties. It brought back wonderful childhood memories of things that I'd already forgotten. I remembered going to Bower's Newsagent to pay for our papers once every week, the chemist shop next door and then there was a greengrocer nearby called Wraggs if I remember rightly. Also a small pretty little shop called Lawton's who sold mirrors and plates etc. We also visited the Savoy picture house once a week although the films were over one year old before they got to Skelmanthorpe. It didn't matter because no one had colour TV in those days so the picture ...read more here
A memory of Skelmanthorpe contributed by Angela Reichert

Ackroyd coffee bar

Just down the road from the Shoulder of Mutton pub was Ackroyds coffee bar. In the 60s we young ones would meet, listen to the juke box, drinking frothy coffee.
The horse and cart outside the pub belonged to Herman Wood the local milkman. The cart was a daily sight outside the pub.
A memory of Clayton West contributed by David Johnson

Central Stores

The large 3-storey building to the right of centre, was the village grocery store at 91 Lane Head Road. My father purchased it in 1961 from Frank Armitage. He sold it in 1984 when he retired. At the rear were stables, groceries used to be delivered by horse drawn cart, but my father used a Ford Thames van, until in 1966 when he got a Ford Cortina estate car from H. W. Gill.  To the right of our shop was Copleys bakery.
A memory of Shepley contributed by Glen Cheney