Catley Lanehead

A Memory of Rochdale.

I was born in Catley Lanehead in 1955 and lived in the back of the shop at the top of Smallshaw Road with my mum and dad. My nan Agnes lived across the road from the Chapel further down and not long after we moved a few doors down from her next to The Black Dog pub. I remember open doors in the street and freely going in to play. One day when my mum was having a chat and a brew with the lady in Brown Hill farm I went up to have a nosey and the geese chased me back down! We had tub toilets at the back of the row and I remember holding on tight in case I fell in ! A wagon used to come up and empty them out. Nearly all the village would go up to the WamDam (not sure if I spelt that right) in the summer and us kids would have knotted hankies on our heads to keep the sun off. Wonderful memories of feeling part of a close knit village with
family and friends. I went back a few years ago and its all gone now, no shop, chapel or pub although that went not long after we left including the house we lived in, but I still have fond memories of Catley Lanehead. Sue Barrett.