FORGOTTEN CORNERS

[Stanley]

This road sign in the far North of Scotland isn't as silly as it looks. There is a hamlet called Strome Ferry but the ferry it is named after ceased many years ago.

[Stanley]

New York Battery and World Trade Towers in 1981 seen from the Staten Island Ferry. Now a forgotten corner.

[Stanley]

Brooklyn Bridge seen from the top of the World Trade Tower in 1980. It was a bitterly cold day and the wind chill was so high we were not allowed out onto the roof viewing platform but had to be satisfied with the observation deck and bar. There was however the bonus that the air was very clear and it felt as though we could see clear into Canada!

[Stanley]

One of my favourite places.... Mallaig Harbour in the 1980s when the fishing boats were moored 4 deep on the quay. The fishermen complained how badly they were being treated with quotas and other regulations but they had no idea what was coming. I doubt if the quayside looks like this now.

[Stanley]

Newtown in 1983. Proper shops..... The occasion then John Elmer, ironmonger, his father the chemist and the Lotus Shoe shop. This was just before the flood of tanning salons, nail bars and charity shops swamped us.
(Oh, and there was a bank across the road.........)

[Stanley]

Some clues in this later picture of which way our town centre was going at the turn of the century. They are 'tanning Salon' and 'Personal Care'. You could also add the Occasion I suppose, another shop that didn't represent a trade or cater for an absolute need. John Elmer on the corner was soon to go the same way.....

[Tripps]

Very niche now I'd say. Though this is only three years old.

Have a look at this bunch of "likeable rogues" at what is effectively a wake, and indeed an oral history of an activity of the past.

All around a table drinking only water and each trying to outdo the other - at anecdotes.

The speech alone is almost a forgotten corner now. Many may not 'get it' all. It could be a reference work for future linguists.

The big lad is bookmaker Gary Wiltshire who went bust when Dettori had seven winners at Ascot - but he sold his house, and paid every penny and made a come back. (I have his autobiography). Note how there is absolute silence when the Irish trainer John McGee speaks . Legend.

Flapping

[Stanley]

I always thought dog-racing was a different world, now I am sure of it. I think the word is arcane David....



Mount Pleasant Chapel at Hey Fold, County Brook. A very early scene of Methodist preaching. I was told that John Wesley himself preached there. It's a private house now.

[PanBiker]

Back in the 1970's when I was in the TV trade. Our firm used to install a PA system each year for use with the outdoor Easter sermons.

[Stanley]

Sutcliffe and Clarkson's mill engine at Oak Mount Mill Burnley in 1979 when it was still driving the working mill. It was a very cramped site and made me realise how lucky I had been with the setting of Bancroft Mill out in the fields.
The engine still exists and is preserved. It runs very realistically driven by an electric motor.....

[Stanley]

Spring Mount Mill chimney, Travis Brow, Stockport. The stack is being demolished here as pert of the preparations for building the motorway interchange that obliterated this part of my childhood. It was on the other side of the road from Hope Memorial, my first school, and was my companion throughout the war. Only a detached chimney stack but at that age it was a mysterious and powerful object......

[Stanley]

Condenser mule spinning at Spring Vale, Haslingden. It was old fashioned forty years ago when I was there but there was still a market for the soft yarns it produced. Particularly favoured by those who were raising the cloth, Winceyette Nighties and yellow dusters being the main markets.

[Stanley]

David Hoyle's joiner's shop on Bank Street in 2003. The red brick building beyond Hill Street is the old ambulance HQ. It was being used as a centre for the street sweepers but that was to move to the old mortuary in Butts. I forget what used to be on the other corner plot that has the hoardings..... Can someone remind me please?

[Stanley]

Local rail transport under 19th century rules around 1950. A guard in a brake van was still needed even for as short a train as this.....

[PanBiker]

The area you question Stanley was Barnoldswick Royal British Legion Women's Section HQ. My mum was womens branch secretary for 30 years or so.

[Stanley]

Thanks Ian, yes, that's it! It was the first of those three buildings to go.....



Here is the demolition. I think it was in 2001 but shame to say I am not sure.....

[PanBiker]

The garage where I used to keep my Honda 500 Four is still there. It was an art getting the bike in when the setts were Icy in winter.

[Stanley]

Four shops on what used to be the Commercial block in Church Street in 1982. All change! Forty years is a long time....

[PanBiker]

Chippy is still there but in limbo at the moment.

[Stanley]

A similar story on the other side except for Redmans. Not a grocery store now but general goods but still there under the same ownership I think as Redmans was always a franchise operation.
At least 50 years, is it the oldest established business on Church Street?

[Stanley]

Can it really be 16 years ago?

[Stanley]

Bleara from Letcliffe. A wintry scene. I wonder what sort of winter we will have this year. Many will be dreading it.....

[Tizer]

I wasn't sure where to post this but here is probably the best place...
We had a very heavy rain storm in the night and this morning. When I first looked out this morning there was a small river running down the street and a manhole cover in the centre of the road had four vertical spouts of water about 6 inches high at each corner. That had me looking on google for more information about road drains and, as usual, I got side tracked. But it was worth while...OG members will enjoy these two web sites and their images.....

Walking on History

Alamy photos of manhole covers in England

Update: 30 minutes later and the heavy rain hasn't stopped and water is now spouting up at least 12 inches high all round the manhole!

[Stanley]

I saw reports of heavy rain heading your way in the morning forecasts Peter.

I've looked at your links and yes, I have been urging people to take notice of manholes for years. We still have some in Barlick cast by Henry Brown well over a century ago....



This one near us goes back to the 19th century and a long redundant pipe from the gasworks to the railway sidings to carry tar and distillates to the tanker wagons on the branch railway.
Th pic of the CI cover with the wooden block inserts reminds me of evidence I was given once of war experience in London. When a wood paved street was damaged by bombs the locals descended on it to strip as many off as they could carry away because, being soaked in tar and set in gas tar, they made wonderful fuel for domestic fires.
[If anyone is wondering about paving streets with wood blocks, they were surprisingly durable and were used in the 19th century to pave streets in the city because they were so quiet when steel shod wheels passed over them.]

[Stanley]

The invincible Driffield Oils.....
You might wonder what is so special about a dirty old bottle of oil. This was standard equipment for vets and many farmers in the days before modern practices became common. They were a good substitute for hot water, soap and water where these were not available and were rubbed onto the hands and arms before calving or similar tasks. They also gave some protection to the person using them as they were strongly antiseptic. I had them as part of my kit on the cattle wagon and apart from their practicality in difficult situations, had a lovely smell due to the pine oils, resins and aromatics in them. I still have mine and wouldn't hesitate to use it as a disinfectant for a wound.....