The Nursery

A Memory of West Auckland.

I was born in 4 The Nursery in 1944. My gran Elizabeth Bayles, my mother Emma Bayles. I went to Millbank School at age 4yrs. I can remember my first teacher there Miss Watkins. My Mother worked at Lockeys buses as a bus conductor. I remember Walter Wilsons shop. Reas my half cousins had an ice cream shop next to the WMC. The Nursery was Gaunless Terrace. It was changed due to the amount of children that lived there. There was a picture house which was called The Ranch and sometimes the Loprey Opera. At the back of the Fleece Pub on Front St some of the pit men had their pigeon crees forbidden area for noisy children. At the back of houses in the Nursery is the Beck (river gaunless) Over the beck via a small wooden bridge there were the allotments. Here us bairns would get a stick of rhubarb and armed with a small bag of sugar relish this treat. Further up the river there was a waterfall. We had earth toilets until 1953. Then we had outside WC what a treat. The Manor House was a private home owned by the Brewery owners. Next to there was the doctors. Some of the families I remember were Harkers, Beechams, Browns, Davies, Mundells, Lavericks. At 7yrs I went to St Helens school. Next to the school was the C of E church where I went every Sunday. Also every Sunday armed with a pint jug would be sent to the back door of The Fleece pub to get a pint shandy for my mum and gran for their lunch. We had a black lead coal fire with oven . Only a scullery with sink and cold tap. Our back yard faced on to the river and frequently flooded. When it did the rats used to come up into our yard. I remember on Mondays (washing day) all the women used to stretch their lines out the front and many an argument would break out if some one encroached on anothers area. Stand up fights would ensue much to the amusement of us bairns. In the back yard my gran would have the possing tub and the mangle, a gas boiler for the hot water. Highlight of the year would be the carnival. Lots of floats and much competiveness for the best. Meggy Mundell used to do the outfits for The Nursery s float. I recall having lots of fun and people being poor but helpful and mostly happy. One year I think it was 1951 nearly all of the people in West Auckland hired a whole train and went to Blackpool for a week. What a great time we had. All of the kids were put in the same rooms it must have bedlam but I just remember how wonderful it was. Life was simple but community spirit was strong...

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