Peel Brow

A Memory of Ramsbottom.

Peel Brow was laid out in 1789. It links Ramsbottom on the west bank of the River Irwell with the districts of Shuttleworth on the east bank. It joined the Bury-Haslingden turnpike, now the A56. It was built in phases. The OS map for 1890 shows houses at the bottom end but not at the top. Some of the houses nearest the camera were demolished in the 1960s and 70s to make way for the M66 motorway.
I lived in the road for 19 years and went to the local primary school just off the picture to the right. The shop on the right hand side was a general grocers run by Mr & Mrs Kenna. There were other shops further down: a butchers (Taylors), a grocer (Browns), a fish & chip shop, a bakers (Beswicks) and a plumbers. Further up the Brow was a hardware shop run by Mrs Fish who had a bungalow opposite.
As can be seen from the picture people did not have cars, nor did they have telephones. The only cars belonged to Mr & Mrs Fish and to Mr & Mrs Cryer who ran a haulage business. They were the only ones I can remember having telephones. The area was part of Ramsbottom Urban District but that was disolved in 1974 and the area became part of Bury Metropolitan District.
All the houses had coal fires and coal was delivered by the sack ful to the back yard gates. This meant lots of smoke and smog in winter.
The road dips steeply in the distance and could be very dangerous in winter with ice and snow. I used to walk up and down each day as I later went to school in Haslingden and caught the train at the bottom of the Brow. It felt very steep at night with a bag full of school books.
As children we played in the street and in the fields at the back of the houses. There was almost no traffic so it was safe. There were some delivery vehicles: the milkmen came round each day. One milkman used a horse and cart until well into the 1950s. Other tradesmen delivered bread, groceries, hardware, paraffin and pop on a regular weekly basis.
Everyone knew each other and I can still name most of the people who lived in the top 6 terraces. Many had family in Peel Brow. I had my grandmother, two aunts and uncles and two great aunts. At the bottom of the Brow was Patmos Methodist Chapel. In those days many families attended church on Sunday and joined in church activities during the week.