Bower Yard

A Memory of Ironbridge.

We have many happy memories of the Bower Yard in 1962. We moved into our first marital cottage at 75 on the day we got married. The cottage was mid terrace overlooking the river and the wharfage on the opposite side. We paid the princely sum of £475.00 for it of which we had saved £250 and we borrowed the difference from a very kind relative. The house had no toilet or bathroom or hot water. Our toilet was an Elsan chemical toilet which had to be emptied into a hole dug into the back garden about twice a week. Baths were taken at my Moms house in Broseley once a week washing was hand done, and either dried outside or around the fire on a clothes horse. My Mum cried her eyes out when she first saw the house as she thought it should have been condemned. Our neighbours were John and Noreen Barnsley on one side and Miss Howard on the other - she had been Pauline Longtons Nanny until she retired. Mrs Beddow, Walter and Bette (who still lives there) lived in the cottage in front and Longtons' lived further along at the Wayfayrers - they had a cafe across on the wharfage and also catered for many of the social dances and occasions in the area, they lived with their daughter Pauline who still lives there. Mr. Longtons and my husband Neil became great friends and he would come knocking at our door after his wife had gone to bed to see if Neil was 'coming out' as he called it! That meant he wanted to go to the Blue House for a pint (his wife was teetotal) so he had to call after she went to bed. He was just like a naughty kid. He was all meek and mild when he called and then Neil said after he had had a pint he was ready to fight anybody. When he was ill not long before he passed away Neil went to see him and he recognised him straight away even though Pauline said he was so confused that the majority of the time he didn't even know her. When we finally moved to Broseley the cottage had had a bathroom, new bedroom and a new kitchen added with the help of a council grant. We had many lovely years down there and many memories both funny and sad and still look on our time there as quite magical.