Loscoe... A Whole Village Wiped Out

A Memory of Normanton.

My dad grew up in Loscoe, his parents and their parents too; my dad is 69 now. When I was a young un', there was only Mr Mason's shop, the old school and the Loscoe Villas still left in Loscoe - I am 41! Dad rented out the old school when it closed for his truck business and we lived a 4 Loscoe Villas. Most of the people who lived in Loscoe were moved to the purpose built houses in Ackton, they were all new houses, my grandparents also moved up there. My childhood was growing up having factories all built around us, Swifts, Sleepeezee, Britvic, etc. Mr Mason and his daughter moved to Normanton. My days were filled with playing on the building sites, over the road, messing around with making mud pies or pea picking for Bill Womersleys.. loved it! Then mum and dad bought me a pony where I kept it up at Womersleys farm. My sister, Sam, used to get up to all kinds too, the freedom we had at Loscoe was unimaginable. But it was lonely, dark and scary in that big house. Everything creaked and trees in the garden used to tap and scrape on the window in the wind. We had a goat and my dad was famous for walking it down the old Don Pedro railway lines, with two other dogs. I remember the playing field at the top near the lines before factories started being built. Then we had to move house; dad's business wrapped up and we went to Castleford Road because there were plans to demolish this last standing building along with the old school. Today... I pass regular the place where our old house was. There's a factory on top of it, but... the old tree that used to scrape on my bedroom window is still there! I always look, sit and grieve for my old scary house that I loved so much. It's so special to me; my husband proposed to me under that tree 5 years ago. I loved Loscoe, my dad has got a heck of a lot of stories and memories. I wish I could find old pictures and photos of the area of Loscoe, my dad would love them ......Hayley