N'But a Lad

1970's View

2011-12-09T11:42:00.001Z

This is a picture from the early 1970's

Cross Roads from the west

2011-12-09T11:33:00.003Z

Looking east from the middle of the road.

Traffic Lights from the South

2010-11-20T01:39:00.005Z

The crazy thing about this title is that there are no Traffic lights. This picture was taken in the late 1920 when the village had it's own Coppers. Enough coppers in fact to have one one on traffic duty. Cannot imagine he will have been that busy. Take a look at the van parked outside
what is now the Raj,wrong side of the Road Facing the wrong way as the Bobby peers west looking for a car from the Arnside direction. Could he do that today ? of course he could we have no Police at all these days,well not any that can get about without being in a car. It would seem that we where more open about things in those times, well maybe not but things that bother some people today did not seem to matter then. If you look closely on the left hand side of the picture there is,strapped to the wall a set of weighing scales. Now these scales may have been "New Fangled" at the time of the photograph and people would put their farthing in and for the first time perhaps found out that they where healthy. I guess people only worried when they started loosing weight. In today's weight obsessed society I cannot see a set of scales positioned for public use taking much money, unless they told you what you wanted to hear. The last set of Public scales I remember where in Rushtons old Chemist shop.So looking North whats changed?
I have to say"not a lot". I stood in the same place as the person who took the photo and things are very similar,obviously he had more time than me, but things look just the same,Ok there are a few of life's essentials Sky dishes etc visible but thankfully things remain as they where. I will be posting a picture of "How we are now" shortly. Being from the North east of the village this area did not play a big part in my early life, I remember being taken to Daffadys, who's shop was just beyond the scales for new shoes. Charming people who had a daughter who was at primary school at the same time as me,blowed if I can remember her name. Later of course this area was central to a young mans life at 13 you where allowed to become a member of Mil'thrups premier club "The Institute" where for an annual fee of a couple of bob you where allowed to sit quietly in the corner hardly daring to breathe and if you where exceptionally luck you would be allowed to have a game of snooker on the "Old" table. Never one for being able to keep still or for that matter quiet the institute soon lost it's appeal. A couple of years later me and my peers where again drawn to this area,this time to a place where people laughed, had fun and talked to us lads a place where sometimes the conversation made us blush and people of our parents age seemed normal. This was The Bulls Head. For a couple of years we had been knocking about (Yesterdays equivalent of hanging out) around the back door in particular when there was a dance on at the Memorial Hall, not daring to go in. Then one night a Lad who we knew said come on in,sit in yon corner and I'll git drinks in.Having previously only ever drunk the odd shandy made by the old fella (Heavy on the Lemonade there Dad) I was now faced with a massive glass of Beer and having tasted it was convinced that I was about to self administer poison. Come on lad tha's backwattering said our chum as I gulped down the evil brew. A'vin another? er no thank,better git off yam..As I walked home I could hardly believe that we had spent all that time hanging around waiting for the time to come and when it did it very nearly killed us Egggh. But as lads are we where still curious and back we went and in time we got the hang of the beer. As it turned out Vaux Beer was renown for being "badtekkin" the trick was a drop of lime in the glass and it
became palatable. I often wonder if Lager and Lime was a Milnthorpe invention.
As time passed from the late 60's to the early 70's we became regulars and during that period we also became legal drinkers.. The back bar had a glass panel and you could make out shapes through it, if a shape appeared that looked like a Bobby's helmet we would quickly slide our pints behind the curtain. In all the time I was an illegal I cannot remember ever being rumbled in the Bull. As I said the beer needed a make over to be able to drink it, but at 1/9d a pint what could you expect. The Bull like everywhere else had it's fair share of characters, and as young lads we would sit and listen to tales of war,Chickens,dogs and bits on the side. The first time I heard the term Bit on the side I was flummoxed ..During a conversation some one said that so an so had bit on the side, the talk then became muffled and I never got to grips with it. Some days later in walks this chap. After studying him for a while and seeing nothing obvious sticking out I said to my mate in a hushed voice "Where's this Bit on the Side then" he said "She lives up Firs Road" then the penny dropped. At this time the Bull was run by Mr &Mr Burchall who had decamped from Manchester to Mil'thrup although originally from Liverpool. He was a big bloke who held court in the Lounge bar while his wife sat regally at the end of the Bar, this was the time of the coach,when a day out in the lakes was a must for the car less masses of Lancashire and on the return from the 8 Lakes tour an hour stop over at the Bull earned the coach driver a free pint a bag of Crisps and possibly a 10 bob note. The Burchalls loved it, greeting the coach party dressed in their finest,him sporting a Dicky Bow and her dressed to kill. They had not been here that long when Mr Burchall passed away leaving a big gap in the fabric of the pub, not to mention the bed,he was a big bloke. Pints in the back bar where most pulled by one of the best Mr Eric Halliwell. Eric was a great chap who by day was "on the bins" and by night The Barman,Eric looked after us young lads and kept us safe and relatively sober, he also had the knack of dealing with difficult situations,and there where many without getting thumped his only down side was the bandit,what ever he earned he must have gambled away,he was never off it. Eric's other claim to fame was he was the Cinematographer at the Village Cinema another job that by all account needed all Eric's charm as the equipment regularly broke down which stirred up a bit of fuss amongst audience.

The Lads

2010-11-16T17:48:00.003Z

Looking at the names on the Memorial you can see that these where Milnthorpe Lads,the names Garth,Ashburner etc still thrive in this Grand L'al Spot. You could be having a pint with a descendant tonight !. Today those that are involved in the Afghan conflict and those that served in the Falklands and Baghdad had some idea what was facing them ,many of the names on here would have had no idea what was to greet them on continental Europe,particularly those who fought in the Great War. These Names,this memorial deserves it's day in the spotlight. For those of you who maybe the Great War was" just" a History lesson have a look at this.

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/

Remembrance Day 2010

2010-11-16T17:22:00.003Z

Sunday 14th November ..Remembrance day..A few images from the War Memorial,This was the first time I had been to this ceremony for a few years,in fact it would be more than a few years if I where to be honest. There has always been a reason to remember the fallen,but I think present times bring this reasoning home to roost,more poignant to be less flippant. Part of me thinks that there could have been a better turn out,then I remind myself of the times I have been.

Park Road looking East

2010-07-10T16:13:00.001+01:00

Standing in the middle of the road looking up towards the square, As you can see the entrance to the playing fields is yet to be made. On the right hand side not a lot has changed,may be some slight alterations but it's pretty much the same as the picture. On the left things have changed.
As you can see there is no drive way to Houghtons and the Cottage has gone and been replaced by a tasteful !! block of flats. Further on from the Cottage a building sticks out,I have no Idea what it was then,but it was an integral part of Milnthorpe Modern School in the 50s and 60s and at one stage Mil'thrups only Laundromat name of which escapes me. The thought of having to take your washing to another place to do it appalled my Mother,she wondered how they managed on Mondays as Rain or Shine Monday was washing day. A little further on, hidden by the School building sits the cottage where a grand chap called Bobby Langhorn lived with his wife. Bobby was a great bloke who looked old before his time as many did. Small frail looking and quietly spoken people where quietly taken a back when they found out what he did for a living.
Bobby was a Prison officer at H.M.P.Bela River, I am not certain but I think he did permanent nights in the Gatehouse, anyway myth has it that when Bobby was on nights the car park was busier than Sunday Afternoon,Official visiting time. Clandestine visits from Wives and Girl friends and probably boyfriends was the norm along with illicit delivery's of essentials.
I said that this was a myth but knowing kind hearted Bobby there will be an element of truth in it. Just up from Bobbys on't other side of the Road we had Milnthorpe one and only Department store, This was not Harrod's ,Binns or owt like that this was the CO OP,food stuffs downstairs and a Drapery department on the second floor with a Butchers next door. The main shop was managed by George Elwood he seemed a nice enough chap,ramrod straight and permanent smile (I find people who smile all the time a little un nerving to be honest). I used to run the odd errand to the Co OP as a lad note in hand I would walk up to the counter and just as I was about to read out my requirements a still smiling George would snatch the note out of my hand and proceed to put things on the counter in front of me. The next part of the transaction was the most terrifying. ! George would stick his hand out and say 2/'11 pence and take your money. At this point he seemed to metamorphosis, the smile was gone and the eyes grew wider as he leaned over and said"Divvy Number"Phew Let me explain,Coop is short for Cooperative, in other words the shop belonged to the members and to be a member all you had to do was shop there. A dividend was paid annually to the members and each member had their own number.
At the time it seemed to me that if the "Divvy Number" was forgotten George would hurdle the counter and throttle you such was the look on his face. Once you had blurted out the number George was back to normal,smiling and wishing you Good day. As long as I live one sequence of numbers will be for ever chiseled in to my memory 16568 our "CO OP Divvy Number.

Viaduct from Haverbrack

2010-07-10T16:09:00.000+01:00

"Back till it"

2010-07-10T02:09:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I posted anything new on here. I sort of turned this blog in to a historical
picture archive of Mil'thrup and ended up short of material to post and comment about.
Never fear over the last 18 months more photos and post cards have come my way and will soon be here for you to look at and comment on please. Oh and by the way if anyone out there has any old and interesting photos of Milnthorpe PLEASE let me have them so I can scan them.
We are in an interesting time, we know very little of what happened 200 years ago,what we do know is gleaned from records,diary's etc. Our time here will be well documented,not only historical events but individual lives will be laid bare for all to see, no painting to record events but live footage (Is that the right terminology for the digital age ?). So what about the recent past,some of us have lived through quite a few decades,decades when cameras where for holidays and weddings ..But some of you must have pictures,Pictures of the early days of the Carnival for instance, Lets get these images saved so that in 200 years the people of Mil'thru can see that it was a "grand l'al spot" to live. If you have something for me th'a nar's where to find me.

Beetham Paper mill (Since when ?)

2008-04-18T00:39:00.000+01:00

I know this is not exactly relating to spring,but it could be given the weather we have had.

A week or so ago I was in some great company including some dear friends long retired,I had the job of taking a photographic record of the event. Photos where loaded on to emails and sent far and wide. The next day I received an email from one of my retired work colleagues and attached where this photograph and the business card below. If you have browsed this blog you will now know I cannot resist a bit of history,so here they are. I was kindly sent some information on the two Items and the following is from R.M.T.'s email..

Richard Batt was born in 1807 to a Quaker family in Yealand. When part of the mill was being demolished in 1917 ,prior to rebuilding,a sealed bottle was found containing the following memorandum.

Richard Batt took possession as tenant of Waterhouse Mill in May 1842 his predecessor Wm.Turner,becoming bankrupt.It was then a Vat mill-and in or about 1848 was converted in to a one machine mill,first making grocery papers on January 15th 1854. A lease for the mill was taken for 20 years from G.E.Wilson of Dallam Tower (£150 rent).

You will see that the roof lines are at right angles to the river though,nowadays they are parallel to the river. This is because there was a big fire in 1855 and the mill was rebuilt to take longer machines. The etching (on the business card) must have been drawn from a view point in a field beside Paradise lane.

Have you noticed, the Mill is said to be in Milnthorpe and also we have an"E" in the county.

2008-03-27T23:52:00.001Z

Taken in October this is a photo of the Heron Corn Mill on the Bela at Beetham the last working
water powered mill on the river.

Stoneleigh and Mallow House

2008-02-07T17:12:00.001Z

Stoneleigh is the nearer,one of the finest houses in the village. My first memory of this place was as a Doctors Surgery,they later moved across the road hence the present name "Stoneleigh Surgury". Later this became home of "The Bull with the Bowler Hat" brigade or to give them their proper title Milk Marketing Board artificial insemination department. From here a fleet of ford Anglia's driven by men who where always in a hurry,screeching off all over the place to carry out their duty,which basically meant sticking their up a Cows bits. After the Anglia's came the Mk1 Escorts,this would be in the early 1960,the first to get one was the No1 inseminater Mr Ossie Collinson, I don't know if he was The No1,but he thought he was. Above Stoneleigh stands Mallow House,another fine building. Memories of this house revolve around the patch of grass next to it. The family that lived there in the 60's sort of laid claim to this land and woe betide anyone who stepped on it,this was the Wembly of Mil'thrup KEEP OFF THE GRASS. Well this did not go down to well with the lad's and the more we got told to keep off,the more we went on. The situation at one stage got to be a bit sticky with said resident chasing around the square and threatening us with "Tiny". We all eventually grew out of this silly situation, but till his dying day the chap looked at me with hatred every time we passed in the street,tells you something about the bloke I think..

Moody Picture of the Bela Viaduct.

2008-02-01T18:12:00.001Z

Moody indeed,I am not certain when this shot was taken,ecept to say it must have been prior to 1966. Through the main spans you can make out "Whitbarrow".

Bela Viaduct Some time prior to 1963

2008-02-01T18:04:00.001Z

Dallam Drive from the New Bridge

2008-02-01T17:50:00.002Z

Photo of the drive,that leads to the "Tower" from the North lodge.The only decernable difference from todays view is the lack of railings or more correctly Deer fence.

Dallam Tower Built around 1740

2008-02-01T17:17:00.001Z

Could be that this picture was taken at the same time as the one of the drive. Again a lack of Deer fencing.

Dallam Tower

2008-02-01T17:10:00.001Z

The Square circa 1970 (ish)

2008-02-01T17:05:00.001Z

Bela Viaduct

2008-01-29T20:41:00.000Z

Couple of images of the Bela viaduct that stood on the edge of the estuary until 1966.It stood for nearly 100 years,the pivotal component of the Arnside / Hincaster branch line.The line had 2 Stations one at Heversham,the platform of which can still be seen and the other at Sandside where the Kingfisher Restaurant is.Towards the end of its life the line was mainly used for coal deliverys. In 1963 Dr Beeching swung his axe and the branch line along with many others was closed.The structure was demolished in 1966,a disasterous decision

The Bela Viaduct R.I.P.

2008-01-29T20:18:00.001Z

Cross Roads from the East 1961

2008-01-29T19:52:00.001Z

Apart from the lack of traffic there does not seem to many changes to the area over the last 47 years. If you enlarge the picture you can see that Barclays Bank was then Martins Bank
and just on your left you may notice that the Cottages that can be seen on the similar photograph taken from the West side of the lights have now gone.

Cross Roads from the West 1924

2008-01-29T19:40:00.001Z

Looking east from outside what is now the Post office. The small Shop on the Right of the Picture is the "Bonbon"
Fag,s sweets and Newspapers.
I suspect that the grand looking car outside the Cross Keys Hotel is in fact the pub car,which was driven by a Chauffeur. Many years ago an old friend Jim Fishwick told me that his Father was the last Chauffeur at the Hotel,having started out in the stables.Beyond the car a row of cottages that had gone on the later photograph.

Main Street.

2008-01-27T16:01:00.000Z

If you stood where this photographer stood today,you would be run over in seconds. But prior to that you just might notice not much has changed.On the right of the picture you can see Jasmine Cottage as It is now known,further down Mallow House and Stoneleigh. On the left the Queen Victoria Jubilee trees,planted around 1887.Further detail can be seen if you Click on the image

Swinging Square.

2008-01-25T12:03:00.000Z

This picture is from the early 1960's ,simpe to deduce as there are a couple of Mini's parked up

The area
if you compare with the picture from the early 1900's has changed little.The old toilet block can be seen and if you travelled back in time and visited the gents as they are today you would have been in the Gents then.Parked in front of the block is an old Austin van,this was Daish's
delivery van. Daishe's was the Spar shop of the era Situated where the Spar shop is now I remember 2 big counters a massive set of scales and lots of people serving your every need,no self service in them days.During the 50's and 60'sMilnthorpe could look after your every need.Shops and services in abundance,as well as Daish's across the Main Street there was Ethel Spry's Fleet Stores. This was demolished in the 60's to make way for the bank that stands there now. I have a suspicion that Ethel's Shop would not pass muster today's squeeky clean environment,shall we just say things where "A little untidy "
This

Milnthorpe Square

2008-01-25T11:51:00.001Z

Village square in times past,don't know when exactly but may around the time of the "Heading" picture above which is around 1900.
Until the year 2000 the square had not changed a lot. Now we have a bit of street furniture and a flagged
pedestrian area. Check out the cottages leading up to what is now Firs Road. Not a lot has changed.
Click on image for more detail.

DALLAM "NEW BRIDGE"

2008-01-23T23:16:00.001Z

This is perhaps the oldest picture I have,just to point out it's not me in the picture! Dallam "New Bridge" from the weir. I guess it's fair to say it would be difficult to take this photograph today,not because of the
dapper clothing our chap is sporting but never a second goes by without
a car or Truck passes over the Bridge

Where Firs Road should be !.

2008-01-23T22:32:00.000Z

This old shot is from behind the Church.The cottages in the left foreground have long gone and have
been replaced with No 1 and No2
Firs Road.Apart from this the view today is pretty much the same.
If you "click" on the image and get the bigger picture,quite a lot of detail can be seen around the square and beyond. In particular trees growing on the "Strand Medow,which is now the Football and Cricket pitches,also the Cottage on the end of "Flowerden"
poking out in to what is now the A6.
This was demolished to remove the "dogleg" when road traffic increased.