Station Town Then And Now

A Memory of Wingate.

I was born and brought up in Station Town in the 50's and 60's and I too remember the rows of streets starting with Acclom, Vane, Roderidge, and Garden Street. Our favourite place was Dent's fish shop on the corner and queuing up for 'scraps' meaning the batter left over from the fish frying. The front street was a hive of activity with the Station Hotel pub at one end, Lowe's motorbike shop, Harrison's Garage, Nixon's butchers, Winns grocery shop and Duke's on the corner. Now there is only one shop left. However, I was back there recently and a few improvements have been made - new houses built on the main road and old buildings cleared away. It's more like Hutton Henry now I think, a quiet little village. I went to A.J. Dawson Grammar and left to live in London when I was 19. One minute I was working in the dole office in Wingate then next I was in Whitehall working in the Treasury! It was quite a sea-change, I can tell you!