My Childhood In Ireby

A Memory of Ireby.

I was born in Ireby in 1955. I had two sisters and a brother, Linda Val and Paul. My mum was born in Ireby and her dad John Coates (my grandad) lived around the corner in the cottages in the middle of Ireby. I went to Leck School and then to Hornby Secondary School. Dad was born in Barrow in Furness and met Mum when she worked at the Copper Kettle Cafe in Cowan Bridge. It was the best childhood and my children like to go and visit the area. We never knew Grandma as she died when Mum was 16. I loved the village and I had lots of places iIused to go off to play in. We knew everybody in the village. We always looked forward to the shop van coming round. We had lovely picnics on the fells. We could not afford to go on holiday but we would go to Morecambe to Happy Mount Park once a year. We used to go to Ingleton and Kirkby Lonsdale on the bus on days out to do special shopping and once we were allowed to go on our own to Ingleton to see Dad who worked for the council and had his depot on the bridge in Ingleton. From my bedroom window in Ireby I could see the fells and the Gaping Ggill pothole trees. Many a night we would watch the lights from the rescue teams making their way up to save someone from the pothole and then making their way back down. Mum and Dad were married at Leck church and we were all christened there. Grandma and Grandad are buried there. We would often go as children to watch weddings and wait for the father of the bride to throw money for the local children at the gates before the bride and groom were allowed to leave. I have recently had a headstone put on grandad and grandma's grave (John and Adelaide Coates). Ireby was a peaceful village. I had an accident once crashing into the phone box with my bike. We used to play tennis against the big house in the middle of the village. Our house was cosey and Dad was a good gardener, looking after it well and growing lovely veg and flowers. He built little plant pots all along the front wall which he kept full of lovely flowers. Grandad died in 1966 and Mum and Dad decided it was time to move as we were growing up and they knew they had to think about us getting jobs. Other villagers could not understand why we were moving and I have often been asked by people why did we move from such a lovely place. It was meant to be and I think Mum and Dad were very brave to do it, especially Mum who had always lived in Ireby. We moved to Huddersfield where Mum had another baby, Mark. We all grew up and got married and had children. I moved to Sheffield and I am now a grandma. Val moved to Sheffield and has two children with good careers. Linda lives in Brighouse with her children and is a grandma. Mark has children but lives with Mum after his divorce. Mum is nearly 80. Dad died in 1997. Paul was killed in 2002 on his motorbike in London, leaving a widow and two children. I always call Ireby my home though and I go up whenever I can. I am very proud of where I was born and hope it never changes. We used to sit watching all the cars and buses go past taking car numbers and often wondering why everybody went straight past and where they were going. I hope people do stop and go have a look or have a picnic by the beck or walk onto the fells, it is a hidden treasure.

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