Remembering Bredbury

A Memory of Bredbury.

I was born at 7 Osborne Street, 1948 and grew up there. I got married at 21 and moved to Tarvin Drive for several years before moving on to Hull and then Little Brington, Northamptonshire where I still am.
I remember all the places that are mentioned and played as a child in many of them.
I must have been one of the first intakes into Arden which was the only building at the top of Osborne Street at the time.
We had fish and chips from Black's most Friday nights (6d bag of chips and a fish which was 9d I think). I remember Howard and Billy who lived there as well as Jean Smith from the chemists and Jacqualine Ingle from the corner shop.
We used to play "Kick Can" outside the chippy a lot at one time which was really good fun. The alleyway that runs up behind the shops on Osborne street was a really good hiding spot. My fondest memory was of everyone being caught apart from Billy Black. He was hanging from a lampost (one of the old ones with the cross bar near the top) right opposite in full sight, the only person who couldn't see him was the guy who was "on".
I'm suprised that no one mentioned the Daisy Field where we must have spent an eternity playing football over the years.
Dark Lane was also a favourite place leading up, first to the stream, then if you went left up to the cemi pond or if you went straight on up to the fork - right to Barlow's (Alan was in my class at Arden) and left to Riley Woods and the Black & White farm (Derek Walworth was also in our class). I remember some of the other kids as Valerie Oldfield, Pam Walton, Pat Walton, John Clayton, Barry Barb, John Goodwin, Vic Johnson, Hazel Burgess, Judith Peters and Yvonne Malpas who lived somewhere off Bents Lane I think.
My first experience of Bredbury Hall was when I went to Sunday School there when I was about 6 or 7 - only went twice and really didn't like it.
I remember "Pop" Kane very well, also Miss Leamon with the mesmerising hips and Mr Hibbert who followed them wherever they went! Mrs. Fields was my personal favourite in class 3. I seem to recall that Robert Humphries, Jack Mason and I were always in trouble. I spent many a break under the clock where there was a little slope going up the hall. I remember being dragged out of class by Mr.Kane to clear up my cream cracker crumbs which had formed a nice semi circle where I'd been stood, never one for missing my food.What happened to all these people I wonder?
I remember that we always had a bonfire night party in our garden; We used to play a game running over the embers when the fire had died down but was still red. I melted my wellies one year; it was before health and safety caught on! I remember the parkin and treacle toffee, the 1d bangers and 3d rip raps too.
We sometimes used to hang around outside the post office which had a good selection of sweets for a 1d. I can't remember the name of the guy that ran it, but I did a paper round for him from being 13 to 17. My round was Osborne Street, up Stockport Road to Arden Park, round Arden Park and finishing at the Traveller's Rest and back down the hill (the best bit). Twice every day including Sunday, once to deliver the papers and once to collect the money - all for the princely sum of 17s 6d.
It was a great environment to have grown up in, nearly everone knew everyone all the way up and down the road. The road wasn't busy then as it was a dead end at the school; it only got busy when Bredbury Hall took off as a club "in the day" and it became a through road once all the new houses went up.