Memories of Barnsley Issue 12

New books for the summer from Wharncliffe Books

Barnsley Football Club’s Greatest Games:1890s-2008

Grenville Firth

A variety of games spanning the entire history of Barnsley Football Club, from its origins as Barnsley St Peters to the present-day. Over 50 matches are included, from 4,600 fixtures. They include 2 FA Cup FInals, Semi-Finals, recent cup triumphs against Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Oakwell, the recent new Wembley experience and the last play-off at the Millennium Stadium. Also included is the historic game against Bradford City after which Barnsley obtained promotion to the Premier League. The book details several famous games in which the players performed exceptionally well even in the face of defeat.

More Foul Deeds and Suspicous Deaths in Barnsley

In his second book in the Foul Deeds series relating to Barnsley and its neighbourhood Geoffrey Howse continues to uncover aspects of the area’s darker and more sinister past. Read about the shooting of Lord Wharncliffe’s head gamekeeper at Pilley, in 1867, and the sensational trial; about the murder of William Swann in Wombwell by his wife. Other features included the case of a Polish resident, Wilhelm Lubina, executed at Leeds in 1953 for murdering Charlotte Bell in Barnsley. An absorbing read and source of reference for anyone interested in local social and criminal history.

EDITOR

Rebecca Lawther

The Drill Hall,Eastgate

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DESIGN/EDITORIAL

Paul Wilkinson

Email:design@pen-and-sword.co.uk

I pass by John Rideal house every day and never knew it was previously the site of one of Barnsley’s oldest buildings. Read about the sad demise of the tithe barn which stood in Westgate for over 600 years, and the mystery surrounding what happened to it on page 26.

Here in the Memories of Barnsley office we come across some very unusual stories about Barnsley’s past. Whilst looking something up in the Barnsley Chronicle from the year 1936, Paul Wilkinson stumbled across one such tale: Walter Greaves visited Barnsley whilst on a recordbreaking cycling tour around the UK. What was unusual about Walter’s story was that he had only one arm! Read more on page 46.

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All rights reserved.This material must not be reproduced without the publishers’ consent.

While we strive to ensure accuracy and impartiality of information,final responsibility for this rests with our contributors.

While every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of featured illustrations,this has not always proved possible because of the antiquity of the images Where we have failed to acknowledge copyright please contact us and we will be happy to correct any oversight.

In the last issue, John Threlkeld wrote about the Pavilion cinema in Wombwell, this issue read the history of the cinema at Townend of the same name. It started as a roller skating rink in 1909 and quickly became a cinema, which had ‘Pavilion Townend’ emblazoned on the roof. It survived two World Wars and concerns over fires caused by stray bombs before meeting an untimely end in 1950.

A big thank you to everyone who entered our competition last time, the winner is named in the Readers’ Pages. Turn to page 24 for the new competition, and good luck!

Rebecca Lawther Editor editor@whmagazines.co.uk

Irecently purchased a new car, and had a lot of paperwork to sort out regarding the registration; writing to the DVLA, sending paperwork off to Sheffield and Swansea, and so on. How much easier it would have been to pop into a local office in the Town Hall, as described by Don Booker on page 42.

Dismantling the tithe barn on Westgate.

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6 The end of an era

Rebecca Lawther uncovers the history of the workhouse at Gawber.

12 The rub of the green

Kath Parkin remembers the career of crown green bowler, Colin Hudson.

16 Cudworth station

At one time Barnsley’s main line station, Ken Bird looks at its rise and fall.

20 Working at the Pavilion

John Threlkeld and Rebecca Lawther recall the popular entertainment venue at Townend.

24 Picture competition

26 The mystery of the missing Tithe Barn

Gerald Alliott investigates the disappearance of a precious relic.

34 Changing face of Darfield

A pictorial look at Darfield, past and present.

38 Readers’ Page

Comments and memories from our readers.

44 The ‘HE’ plate in Barnsley

Don Booker MBE remembers Barnsley’s most famous car and the HE registration plates.

46 The one armed cyclist

Paul Wilkinson recounts the visit of a record breaker.

The end of an era

Rebecca Lawther looks into the history of the workhouse in Gawber Road,Barnsley.

Under the Poor Law systems of Great Britain, a workhouse was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could receive board and lodgings in return for work. This often meant women who had been deserted by their husbands, those who were too ill to work, the elderly and the infirm.

The Old Poor Law, which was introduced during the reign of Elizabeth I lasted until 1834, granted legal responsibility to local parishes for taking care of their own poor. This was funded by the collection of a poor rate

tax from local property owners (a tax that survives in the presentday ‘council tax’). The Old Poor Law was intended to provide relief for the deserving poor and work for the unemployed.

In 1834, the Poor Law Amendment Act replaced all previous poor laws with a national relief system based around union workhouses; where adjoining parishes may form a union and jointly set up and operate a workhouse.

Each Poor Law Union was managed by a locally elected board of guardians and the whole system was administered by a central Poor Law

1918 - Life would never to be the same again

Although this was to be the most dramatic day of my life it was not until later that I became aware of it. It had started, as all school days usually did, with a quick wash under the tap in the sink, a slice of bread and jam, a mug of cold water and then my big sister Elizabeth pushing and pulling me through the cobbled streets of Barnsley to the Holyrood School. She had thrown a shawl over my head and shoulders as protection from the rain and cold because all I wore all year round was a pair of short torn trousers and a thin torn coat, stockings and boots with holes in the soles. My shoes were fastened with string and my socks also held up with string. I was miserable and cold, constantly wiping my running nose on the sleeve of my coat that was shiny with regular use. On arriving at the school my sister pushed me through the gates to await the ringing of the school bell. We were formed into lines by the nuns and led into school but within a few minutes we were marched out

again to enter the Catholic Church, which was next door to the school. Here we were shown how to dip our fingers in the holy water and make the sign of the cross on our front. The walls of the church were lined with saintly statues with a figure of Mary and child at the side of the altar. She had a fixed smile and I am sure she was thinking 'poor little sods'. We were told to kneel, which we did, on the cold slabs that covered the whole floor. The nuns stood near the walls and the prayers were said by the head nun. Our knees by this time had frozen to the stone slabs but the head nun kept on, regardless of our discomfort.

On arriving home from school for dinner, we saw a small group of women standing around our doorway all wearing shawls and they appeared to be in a state of excitement. My sister pushed through the crowd into our house but a few minutes later came out crying and eventually I was made to understand my mother had died.

The Workhouse

Here I was bathed and given a huge nightshirt and put to bed in a big ward full of old women. Terrified and feeling resentful against my

OLD BARNSLEY

The wards contained twelve hospital-type beds.

brothers and sisters for abandoning me I cried myself to sleep. Sometime during the night I became aware of the nurses pushing a trolley out of the ward. Later I became quite used to this sight and learned that one or two of the old ladies died every night. The nurses and the old ladies were very kind to me. One old woman gave me a small book and taught me to read the words, which were 'twinkle, twinkle little star.' I kept this book until I was quite big. I remember crying most of the time. I also remember looking through the window and watching the stars, wondering which one was my mother: praying to the angels to come and take me high in the sky to be near her.

I was told I would be going into the Workhouse Orphanage.

The Orphanage, which was a very big building, was surrounded by three walls but was still within the grounds of the Workhouse. We all slept in hospital type beds; the boys on the first floor the girls on the second. Here I just became

one of many and had to stand up to bullying from the older children. There was a big playground surrounded by high walls where we played. One of the big attractions was a big wooden rocking horse, rather shabby, with bits missing from it, but that didn't stop us fighting over it. The longer I stayed the less I liked it and was glad when I was eventually moved to Ashley House, a Catholic Orphanage just off Park Road near to my old home.

It was a big house with the name Ashley House stencilled in faded gold lettering over the front door with two large iron gates to the wide drive. This led past the side of the house into a huge playground, which was surrounded by two high brick walls. At the top of the yard was an open fronted shelter containing a big white wooden table. On the back wall of the shelter was a long seat built into the wall and in front of the table were two wooden forms. This was supposed to be our dining room when the weather was not too rough although I can

remember having meals here during snowstorms. Friday nights were bath nights. Immediately after tea we were given a good scrub with the brushes the girls used on the floor. No fancy smelling soaps, just carbolic, and should this get into your eyes it really was painful. Then we were given a flannel nightshirt each, some reached down to our feet. Some only just covered our knees because they had already been cut down to repair other night-shirts. Then we were lined up in front of the Matron who gave us a dose of brimstone and treacle then off to bed. We used to tie our clothes up with the jacket sleeves and shove them under the bed because we had no other furniture in the room apart from the hospital-type beds which were kept spotlessly clean by the big girls. They also scrubbed the floors two or three times a week. It was a soul-destroying routine but we were much better off than the other kids we met at school, they were dirty and poorly fed, a lot of them dressed in rags with shoddy footwear.

POGMOOR ROAD

1. The Union Workhouse which later became the Limes Residential Home.

2 & 3. The workhouse infirmary later St Helen hospital.

Commission. In the late 1830s, hundreds of new union workhouse buildings were erected across the country.

In Barnsley, prior to 1834, Barnsley and Hemsworth shared the use of a poor house in Ackworth which had been built in 1736. A parliamentary report in 1777 recorded that there were local workhouses in operation in Barnsley at that time.

An early workhouse in the town centre was in St Mary’s Place. It was decided to build this at a meeting on November 1735 at a cost of £90, to provide employment and maintenance of the poor. Plans for the building were prepared by John Bower. Local constable Francis Batty was described as governor. He died in 1844 and is buried in the burial ground of St Mary’s Church. The site was later used as the office of

the Overseer of the Poor (under the old system, unpaid officials were elected once a year and responsible for collecting and administering the poor rate, keeping the accounts and supervising the workhouse), the fire station and the police station.

Barnsley resisted the formation of a Poor Law Union and the associated large workhouse after 1834. The workhouse at Ackworth continued to operate, though it was described by an Inspector in 1848 as being in ‘a disgusting state’.

The Barnsley Poor Law Union was formed on 15 January 1850. Its operation was overseen by an elected board of guardians. Twenty-two guardians represented the seventeen constituent parishes and townships, namely: Ardsley, Barnsley, Barugh, Billingley, Carlton, Cudworth, Darfield, Darton, Dodworth, Monk Bretton, Nether Hoyland, Notton, Royston, Stainborough, Wombwell, Woolley and Worsbrough.

In the 1850s, a sum of £7,000 was voted for a new workhouse, and the purpose-built workhouse was constructed in Gawber Road, Barnsley, the first inmates were in

by October 1852 and the first master was John Wright.

The building was designed by the team of Henry F Lockwood and William Mawson who were also the architects of other Yorkshire workhouses including those at Bradford, Dewsbury and Penistone. Their design for Barnsley included a low entrance block at the east, behind which stood the T-shaped main building. Other blocks to the west of the main building may have included the original infirmary to which additions were made in 1875.

A major enlargement took place in 1880-3, with a large pavilion-plan infirmary costing around £16,000 being erected to the south of the workhouse (which later became St Helen maternity hospital), and new boardrooms, committee rooms and waiting rooms being added to the workhouse itself.

In 1930 the name of the building was changed to the Municipal Institution when the boards of guardians were abolished and control of the workhouse was given to the Public Assistance Committee. It was taken over as a residential home in 1939 and renamed the Limes Hostel and later the Limes Residential Home.

The building, which was described by the Barnsley Chronicle as ‘drab’ and ‘depressing’, still featured large dormitories and barred windows when it was finally closed for demolition in September 1964.

At the time time of closure, there were only 80 residents in The Limes, which could house up to 200 people. These residents were moved to three new modern homes around the town; The Views, Saxondale and Belmont, which were deemed to be more suitable than one which had been designed as a workhouse and built over 100 years before. It was a building which was said to have sent a

In the 1850s, a sum of £7,000 was voted for a new workhouse, and the purpose-built workhouse was constructed in Gawber Road...

One of the first workhouses stood on this site in St Mary’s Place which later housed the office of the overseer of the poor, the fire station and the borough police office.

shiver up the spine of any old person.

The Barnsley Corporation agreed that the Limes was no longer fitting as a modern residential home, and were awaiting the completion of the

new homes before it could be closed. From the outside, the building could be nothing else but an institution of some kind. It was reported at the time of its closure that if it was not for the low surrounding walls, it would

make an excellent prison.

In 1948, when the name was changed to the Limes Residential Home, steps were taken to brighten up the inside of this austere looking building. ‘A few coats of paint, modern amenities such as television and radio, and some scattered armchairs could not hide the “workhouse” stigma, built in from the start,’ said the Barnsley Chronicle. ‘The dining room, although now furnished with four seater tables and chairs, still holds the

The original workhouse building became the Limes Hostel in 1939 and was later renamed the Limes Residential Home before being closed for demolition in 1964.

Left: After an interior re-vamp in 1948 these double rooms were described as ‘luxury’. Below: The dining room was originally furnished with long tables and benches.

St Helen Hospital was originally built as the workhouse infirmary during an expansion in 1880-3.

atmosphere of the long tables and benches. The tall ceiling on the room gives out a hollow sound as knives and forks click together, providing a somewhat eerie atmosphere.’

Large dormitories containing twelve iron-posted bedsteads and

A career that began at the workhouse

Mr John HNunn worked for the (then) Staincliffe Institute and Infirmary which administered the duties of the Poor Law Guardians, the old workhouse.

‘I started as Junior Clerk at the age of 16 and eventually became Assistant Master. Right at the beginning, my responsibilities were quite something. It was one of my tasks to organise paupers’ funerals – and I recollect one occasion when a group of people turned up at the office door requesting to view the deceased who was to be buried that same afternoon. I gave them the necessary chitty – they returned presently with the news that they had viewed the body, but it wasn’t yet coffined! I was appalled – I had informed everybody but the undertaker. The Master and the whole Board of Guardians took a very dim view of this and I almost lost my job. Everything was so strict in those days – I had to keep records of all stores and provisions and every single rasher of bacon and bar of soap had to be accounted for.

‘[Life for those living in the workhouse] wasn’t so bad at all really. There were two classes of help, the ‘outdoor’ and inmates. Individuals applying for help would be assessed by the Relieving Officer, who in the case of ‘outdoor’ applicants would provide a chitty to be exchanged in a local shop for provisions or perhaps clothing. The system allowed for people who received some money to repay it in the form

little else were a feature of the original building, and some still remained after modernisation. Solid stone staircases, grooved by many heavy feet lead to these dismal rooms.

After the 1948 re-vamp, dividing walls were built to make

of work. They were known as test workers and when they received the allowance decided upon, they would at the same time be told to report for so many days ‘test work’ at the institute. This might be sweeping, washing floors, cutting and bundling firewood (made from pit props and later sold to local shops). They could then also apply to the Master to go on the ‘tobacco list’ and if their work was satisfactory, they could get say 2 oz of twist or shag, or 20 Woodbine cigarettes. A lot of men – I don’t recall any women – came to us for help. Upwards of 80 men a day would apply under the ‘test worker’ scheme in those days.

‘Inmates were entitled to proper allowances of food – such as 8 oz of cooked potatoes, 4 oz of meat (on meat days), one pint of soup (soup days) or 6 oz of fish (Fridays). Anyone had the right to ask for their food to be weighed and every single item in the stores had to be accounted for, even bad eggs!’

In his eight years at the Institute, Mr Nunn worked each Christmas Day, serving dinner and a special Christmas pint of beer to workhouse inmates.

‘They were interesting days, conditions were strict but that was what you expected. My first wage was about 12 shillings a week and dinner, but as I had a long way to go home after work, I managed to get cooked tea as well so considered myself very lucky!’

double rooms, and cubicles around each bed were built in the women’s section in order to give the residents a little privacy. Wardrobes were also constructed, and individual lights were placed over each bed. This was described as ‘luxury’ in comparison with the previous accommodation. The Chronicle reported that,

Two former residents of the Limes Residential Home photographed in 1964. Miss Bertha Turner, right, first went into the Limes at 7 years of age.

after board and lodgings had been taken from their pension, the old people were left with 13s 6d, which many spent in a ‘tuck shop’ run by the manager. Each person

was also given an issue of tobacco. In 1948, their spending money was only 2s 6d, which some supplemented by doing odd jobs.

Former resident Miss Bertha

Turner was 67 years old at the time of the closure. She first went to the Limes when she was 7 years old and was taken to Leeds before returning to the Limes at the age of 16 and beginning domestic work. She described the easing of restrictions in 1948 as a turning point in her life: ‘Previously we had not been allowed to go out of the grounds, not even to church. It was marvellous to be able to go out to church, and walk around outside.’ Miss Turner moved into one of the new corporation homes, The Views, following the closure.

The former manager of the Limes, Mr Broad, also moved to The Views following the closure. He had been working at the Limes for nine years and tried numerous schemes to brighten the lives of the residents such as providing recreational activities. A former Board Room was converted into a billiard room and later a bowling green was laid in the extensive grounds, although the old people tended to spend most of their time just sitting in the grounds.

‘Nothing we could do with the building could make it any less a workhouse,’ he said.

Lyn

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Photographs courtesy of Chris Sharp, Barnsley

Metropolitan Borough Council’s Archives and Local Studies Department and The Barnsley Chronicle.

Howsam, A Child's Life in Gawber Road Workhouse

– The Early Life of Thomas Fretwell 1911-1994

The modern Barnsley District General Hospital was built on the site of the old workhouse, the St Helen’s building remained and was used as a maternity hospital.

The rub of the green

Kath Parkin looks back at the career of Barnsley’s premier crown green bowler,Colin Hudson.

PERSONALITIES

What started out as ‘a bit of teenage fun’ has gone on to be almost a lifetime of dedication to the sport of crown green bowling for former miner Colin Hudson.

It all began when Colin’s family moved from Hoyle Mill to Worsbrough Common when he was 16 years old.

Keen on sport, Colin went along to his local park and, while watching a game of tennis, a member of the local bowling club which was nearby, coaxed him into having a game.

‘At first I thought it was a bit of an old man’s game, but gradually I began to enjoy playing,’ said Colin.

Within two or three years, Colin, of Darfield, was bowling

for Highstone Road Bowling Club’s novices’ first team and was ‘over the moon’ when he won the Novices’ Cup.

Colin (centre) with two bowling pals –Raymond Green (left) and Bill Barlow. Raymond was winner at the All England Bowling Championships.

He graduated to the first team and, by the age of 22, was representing the whole of Yorkshire (later split into West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire).

During his fifty-plus years of bowling in competition, Colin has travelled all over the UK, including Wales and the Isle of Man, many times and has won numerous trophies.

In one competition he faced the world’s best crown green bowlers when he contested the national finals of Britain’s most talented players at the ‘Crown King’ championships held at Blackpool. Colin, who at that time played for Grimethorpe Miners’ Welfare Club, was up against the country’s thirty-one top bowlers in front of BBC cameras. He didn’t win a trophy this time, but played in several close-call matches.

He worked with Grimethorpe pit’s cable team. ‘I am pleased to say that for the eight years I played for the colliery team I never lost a game.’

Colin has played crown green bowling at every level. But one of his proudest moments was when he was a member of the South

Yorkshire team which won the All England Inter-Counties Championships in 1983.

He is also pleased to record that he has been a member of the teams which won the top trophies played for in the

Barnsley area; the Co-op Shield, Greenwood Cup, Saturday League, and the Monday and Thursday Leagues, all in one season. He was a member of Worsbrough Common Highstone at the time.

Bowlers who represented South Yorkshire in the AllEngland Inter-Counties Championships in 1983. Colin is second left on the back row.

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Worsbrough Common Highstone Road BC members with their trophies in the late 1960s. Colin is second right, back row, and his brother Barry is far left on the same row.

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He has also been in the teams which won the Mason Cup, Sheffield Telegraph Cup, Bingham Cup and the Tuesday A Division League. Colin has played for several local clubs. His longest period of fifteen years was at Worsbrough Common Highstone. He was

also at Grimethorpe for ten years and his other clubs include Mitchell and Darfield, Shaw Lane, and Dodworth where he now plays.

During his long and very successful career, Colin will always be indebted to one top player, Herbert Cooke. ‘Herbert

came from Grimethorpe and was a big influence on my bowling. He was captain at Grimethorpe Institute Bowling Club and he instilled in me a lot of confidence.’

One of Colin’s highlights was when he and his clubmates from Worsbrough Common Highstone Club, Bill Barlow and Raymond Green helped Yorkshire to beat Lancashire in a very competitive inter-county Roses match.

It was a particularly special occasion for Colin as it was the first time he had been selected to represent Yorkshire.

Another highlight was when he won the West Melton Victory Cup on two occasions, the first bowler to do this.

A dedicated sportsman, Colin has also won trophies playing darts and snooker.

But the man who has won the Barnsley Singles Merit Finals four times and the Doubles Merit Finals, also four times, as well as winning twenty-nine out of the thirty-three matches he played for the Yorkshire home side, said: ‘Crown green bowling has always been my favourite. Over the years the game has given me lots of pleasure and loads of opportunities.’

Colin gets in a spot of practice at Shaw Lane watched by his clubmates Bill Barlow (left) and Raymond Green prior to their Yorkshire match against Lancashire.

Colin's proud daughter, Tracy, holds the West Melton Victoria Cup awarded to her dad while son, Neil, looks on.

Herbert Cooke (left) who was the inspiration behind Colin Hudson's bowling success.

Buy

More

More Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths In Barnsley

Geoffrey Howse

The second in the Barnsley Foul Deeds series uncovers many more criminal cases in the Barnsley district over the years including murder at Wombwell, robbery at Thurlstone, violent assault at Worsborough, attempted murder at Thurgoland and highway robbery at Gawber. Discover the sinister side of Barnsley in this highly detailed, chilling and absorbing book.

Chris Heath

What connects the Murder of Maria Marten, the Luddites, Baring’s Bank, the Castlemaine Gold Rush, the Marquiss of Normanby, Knutsford Prison, the Archbishop of York, Wentworth Woodhouse, the Earl of Mulgrave, W B Yeats and a Ghost in Denby Dale? They all feature in this fourth addition to the influential and highly successful series Denby & District. This book is a must for anyone with an interest in the area and continues the high standards and traditions set by previous volumes in the series.

JACK THE RIPPER - QUEST FOR A KILLER

M.J.Trow

£10.39 £15.99

For 120 years the identity of the Whitechapel murderer known to us as Jack the Ripper has both eluded us and spawned a veritable industry of speculation. This book names him. Mad doctors, railway policemen, failed barristers, royal princes and white-eyed men. All of these and more have been put in the frame for the Whitechapel murders. Where ingenious invention and conspiracy theories have failed, common sense has floated out of the window. M.J. Trow, in this gripping historical reinvestigation, cuts through the fog of speculation, fantasy and obsession that has concealed the identity of the most famous serial murderer of all time.

BARNSLEY STREETS

VOLUMES 1-4

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For a wide range of local and military history books, please call 01226 734222 for a free catalogue or visit our website at www.pen-and-sword.co.uk

Cudworth Station

Ken Bird looks at the rise and fall of Cudworth railway station.

Robert Stephenson (George’s son) engineered the first railway to the north ‘the North Midland Railway’ by building a line from Derby to Hunslet Lane in Leeds connecting with the London (Euston) to Birmingham Railway and the Midland

Counties Railway to create the first through route between London and Yorkshire.

In 1844 all three of these railway companies merged to become ‘The Midland Railway’.

The route was called ‘the Valley Route’, and went via Rotherham and Cudworth to avoid the heavy engineering costs

of the gradients involved by being built in the foothills of the Pennines via Sheffield, Barnsley and Wakefield. The station at Cudworth was the first in the area and was opened on 1 July 1840 with just one platform, a Station Master’s cottage, goods shed and crane; at that time it was called ‘Barnsley’.

The original station building (which stood on Platform 3) was designed by famous railway architect Francis Thompson and on its opening was described as ‘a gay building with fine semicircular open porch flanked by Venetian windows’.

The hamlets of ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ Cudworth did not warrant a station; but Barnsley, just 3 1/ 2 miles away did, and was connected by a horse drawn carriage that ran between the six departing trains each day and the Royal Hotel in Barnsley from

TRANSPORT

June 1956 view from platform 4 of an enthusiast's special Manchester to Hull.

1840 until 1871.

By 1854 an additional platform was built (Platform 4) and to avoid confusion with the new Barnsley Exchange Station the station was called ‘Cudworth for Barnsley’ from 1 August 1854.

The opening of the branch to Barnsley Court House in 1871 caused more sidings and a bay platform to be built and the ‘pusha’ service introduced which would shuttle between Cudworth and Barnsley for eighty-seven years!

From 1885 the Midland Railway built, for the Hull & Barnsley Railway Company, a station adjacent to the Midland’s station and built a bridge for

connecting passengers. The next fifteen years saw a huge increase in coal traffic and

the demand for additional capacity was met by the Midland Railway in 1899 by building two

May 1899 view of the original station. The building stood on platform 3 and was demolished a year later to accommodate the 2 additional tracks.

additional tracks from Rotherham to Royston and remodelling the station entirely.

The original station was demolished and the station most readers remember was built.

Additionally from 1900 a new branch line connected Cudworth with Sheffield via Chapeltown, this enabled the express trains not to get delayed around the busy Rotherham area.

Between 1900 and 1914 the station was at its busiest with 200,000 passengers each year travelling from the station.

In 1905 a serious crash happened just south of the station at Storrs Mill when the Scotland to London express ran into the back of the 2.25 am mail train from Leeds to Sheffield in fog, five passengers and two staff died and many more were injured.

The decline of the station started with the advent of the First World War as the railway was handed over to the war effort and trains were curtailed. After the war the railway never recovered from the competition from coaches and the private car. Services were restricted to Leeds and Sheffield ‘locals’ with the odd seaside special.

Station staff in the early 1930s. In the background is the Hull train waiting to leave. This service was withdrawn in 1932.

1910 view of the station taken from the Station South signal box showing buildings on Platforms 2&3 and 4&5 with the Hull & Barnsley platform to the right.

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Services from Hull were withdrawn in 1932 and after the Second World War the decline continued. From June 1958 the pusha between Barnsley Court House and Cudworth was withdrawn and by 1968 the station was closed.

Although the railway through Cudworth continued until 1996 the once memorable station had passed into history.

Approximate site of Cudworth station in 2007

September 1911 view from the footbridge looking towards Carlton. The brickworks chimney can be seen in the middle and the bleach-work's chimney to the right.

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Working at the Pavilion

Kathleen Robinson recalls her time working at the Pavilion at Townend. John Threlkeld reports.

The Pavilion Cinema in Barnsley was destroyed in a blaze which lit up the night sky on 26 September 1950.

The former skating rink at Townend was constructed mainly

of wood and became a raging inferno, according to Barnsley Chronicle reports.

The Olympia Skating Rink opened in 1909 and was first licensed as a cinema in 1911. There had been a balcony where an orchestra entertained the skaters and this was filled with

seats when films were introduced.

Kathleen Robinson (known as Maud Farrow), who is aged 83, started work at the 1,400-seat cinema in 1942.

‘The manager told me to get a uniform but they were all full of patches and I wore my own until the manager's wife made new ones.’

The cost of seats ranged from 6d to 1s 9d. The latter were posh and were covered after the last performance to keep them clean: ‘They were wonderful, your body melted into them.’ The cheapest were wooden and rattled.

‘I was put in the 6d ticket box and kept the money on one side so it could not be snatched. I wanted to work in the 1s 9d box because it was nicer and you seemed to get more holidays. But my brain went dead and I gave

OLD BARNSLEY

The Olympia Skating Rink on the corner of Peel Street and York Street, photographed shortly after it opened in 1909. In 1911 it became the Pavilion cinema.

out the wrong change.’ So she became an usherette.

‘A man once asked where the urinal was but I did not know what one was and told him to ask someone else.’

All kinds of people went to the cinema. It was war-time and many members of the audience were soldiers.

‘A big fat woman would come in and ask whether there were any soldiers there. She would push her way through and sit in the middle of them.

‘One day a soldier ran out in a

fluster and we never saw him again.’

Kathleen wonders whether the woman's known sexual impulses or her body odour drove him away.

The trainee projectionist fell in love with Kathleen. He sent her a silver chain and cross with note stating, ‘I love you more than life itself’.

Eric Wilkinson was so shy he would not talk to her and eventually he moved on, but

The site of the Pavilion at Townend. ➣

‘Fire guts cinema in 15 minutes’

1950 saw the end of the Pavilion Cinema, Rebecca Lawther recalls the incident as reported in the Barnsley Chronicle.

Fire brigades from Barnsley, Wakefield, Mexborough and Wath rushed to Townend on the night of Tuesday, 26 September 1950 in an unsuccessful attempt to save the Pavilion Cinema from complete destruction by fire.

Their efforts were, unfortunately, in vain as the building which as constructed mainly of wood quickly became a raging inferno.

'Flames from the blazing building lit the night sky for miles around,' a number of spectators were attracted to the scene, although at the height of the fire, which consumed the whole building in just fifteen minutes, onlookers had to withdraw from their positions owing to the intense heat. Within fifteen minutes of the

discovery of the fire the building had been completely gutted, only the front

days.

of the building and the ornamental stone tower were saved.

Detective Constable Green discovered the blaze at around 11.00 pm and immediately reported it to the Barnsley Fire Brigade, who used a sixty feet turntable ladder in their efforts to save the cinema, as well as seeking assistance from Mexborough, Wath and Wakefield Brigades.

A Wath fireman, Stephen Denton, was taken to Barnsley Beckett Hospital

Staff of the skating ring pose for the camera. Note the tables on the left hand side, a trip to the skating rink must have been quite an occasion in those

The Pavilion after the fire looking from York Street towards the front of the building.

Kathleen still cherishes the cross and wonders what happened to him.

She enjoyed the musicals and when no one was looking danced in the dark on her own while listening to the music. That kind of self entertainment helped to keep her mind off fire watch.

One day per fortnight staff stayed behind in case of fire caused by stray bombs. But the bed that was used was full of bugs and she did not enjoy the work.

In the end a fire sparked off in the interior in peace time –and not the result of German bombs – destroyed the cinema.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

with slight burns, along with a Barnsley man named Mr J Anderson who was overcome by fumes whilst assisting the Brigade and received hospital treatment.

Mr Percy Dyke, landlord of the Wheatsheaf Hotel at Townend told a Barnsley Chronicle reporter that the cinema building, 'fired just like a tinder box.'

Salvage bid

Mr Charles Shorthouse, who at the time of the fire had been manager at the cinema for the past ten years and a projectionist there for twenty years before that, said that he left the cinema shortly after the last performance of the night, at around 10.00 pm.

Before leaving, Mr Shorthouse switched off the main electricity supply. He had only just reached his home in Queen's Drive when the fire was reported to him by Mr Dyke.

He immediately returned to the cinema on hearing the news and, along with an operator named Mr George Haywood, help police to save films from the burning building.

Standing in the Pavilion's charred ruins the morning after, Mr Shorthouse

prepared to salvage the safe, which contained the cinema's takings, from beneath the debris.

The building had formerly been known as the Barnsley Olympian Skating Rink, which opened in August 1909, before being transformed into a cinema which could accommodate

1,400 people a few years later. Ironically, not long before the fire, the cinema – which was owned by the Leeds-based Mid-Yorkshire Entertainments Ltd – had been extensively re-decorated and re-wired with steel conduit in order to 'guard against fire'.

Photographs courtesy of Old Barnsley and the Barnsley Chronicle

The cinema after the fire, showing the missing roof and the remaining frontage.

The derelict building before it was finally pulled down.

Photograph Chris and Pearl Sharp

The mystery of thetithemissing barn

The old tithe barn on Westgate had stood for over 600 years. In 1968 it was dismantled. Gerald Alliott investigates the disappearance of one of Barnsley’s precious relics.

Many very large and picturesque tithe barns still exist, after 500 or more years. A fine example at Tidsbury in Wiltshire was built as sturdily as a parish church, with stone buttresses. The Abbotsbury barn in Dorset is over three hundred feet long and magnificent examples can also be seen in Gloucester, Glastonbury and, of course, locally at Gunthwaite.

Barnsley, too, had its own tithe barn which stood in Westgate for over 600 years. One might wonder what happened to it.

Of all Barnsley’s vanishing relics, the old tithe barn in Westgate must be the most deplorable and greatest loss that Barnsley has sustained, of its few remaining historical buildings.

In December 1967 at a meeting of the Estates

Committee, the Town Clerk reported on correspondence with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government regarding the Council’s proposal to dismantle the tithe barn with a view to its re-erection on a suitable site. He reported the Ministry‘s request for an indication as to where and when the barn was likely to be re-erected, if dismantled. The Town Clerk and the Borough Engineer also reported on agreed proposals for the erection of a Crown building on the site of the tithe barn.

It was recommended that the

Ministry be informed that the Council had no immediate plans for the re-erection of the barn.

The Director of Cannon Hall was asked to make further enquiries as to the removal and re-erection of the barn, and the Borough Engineer was asked to arrange for the barn to be dismantled at the appropriate time and the timbers stored. At a later meeting of the Parks, Cemeteries and Allotments Committee it was recommended that the Parks Department should take into storage the structure of the tithe barn, with a view to its possible re-erection in Locke Park for some suitable purpose in the future.

LANDMARKS

Each piece was meticulously numbered and photographed, and drawings prepared, before being removed for storage in Locke Park...

The barn was later used as a slaughterhouse and Medlam’s butcher’s shop, which is how many readers may remember it. ➣

In March 1968, after more than 600 years and still in sound condition, the old barn was sadly dismantled, timber by timber. Each piece was meticulously numbered and photographed, and drawings prepared, before being removed for storage in Locke Park.

During the dismantling it was noted that no metal trusses or nails, of any kind, had been used during its construction and that all the timbers had been held together with dowel rods or pegs. The aisle posts, resting on their

TITHE BARNS

stone stylobates, were made of solid oak and had survived well after the many years. The barn would have originally had a very heavy stone roof which was later replaced in slate and the stone in the walls would have also been altered later.

By 5 November 1968, after only eight months at Locke Park, the Borough Engineer reported on the theft of timbers from the former tithe barn from their storage accommodation.

In 1977 a report was prepared for the South Yorkshire

The importance of tithe barns, which were generally built and administered by the monasteries, is demonstrated in their very size and structure, which raised them above ordinary farm buildings. Their main purpose, in mediaeval times, was to store the tithes, pending their use or sale. Tithes usually consisted of corn and wool, but could also comprise smaller produce such as flax, apples, cherries, cheeses and honey. A room was usually provided in the barn for the use of the monk or bailiff in charge.

The ancient system of tithes was established and laid down in law by the church, and later, the crown, its purpose being to assist in the upkeep of the local church and Rector. Where the Rector appointed a Vicar to be in charge of the parish, the tithes were divided between the Rector and the Vicar and an Act was passed in 1391 obliging the Rector to use some of the tithe income to support the poor of the parish.

Tithes were calculated at the rate of one tenth of any income from produce and income from labour on the land but allowing an exception for labour on barren, waste, or glebe land.

This system of tithes, in its earliest form, continued until the passing of the Tithe Commutation Act in 1836, under which tithes could be commuted to a rent charge and Commissioners were appointed to agree land values with the landowners. Maps were then drawn up showing the

Archeological Service by Mr Stanley Jones.

He reported on the various types of timber, which then rested in Locke Park, but brought to light a disturbing fact that, from photographic evidence, the total complement of timbers had been greatly reduced since its arrival at the Park. He also noted damage to critical joints in the dismantling stage which ‘squares oddly with the professed intention on the part of the local authority to re-erect the building elsewhere in the district’. He

various land holdings, on which the rent charges were calculated and many of these tithe maps can still be seen in the local archive and record offices. Tithes were finally abolished altogether in 1936.

Interior of the tithe barn at Gunthwaite in use.

The tithe barn in Westgate stood for over 600 years before being dismantled to make way for John Rideal House.

mentioned that the details recorded by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments at No 65 Low Petergate in York were remarkably like those of the aisled barn in Barnsley. This also

applied to buildings in Micklegate, York. It is possible that certain earlier carpentry features were used in the barn, but it is probable that its origins are no later than the early fifteenth century.

By and during 1984, almost all of the remaining timbers vanished. It was said that they were sawn up and stolen, although I find it hard to believe that those oak aisle posts were easily sawn at all. Some people blamed the miners’ strike, others said the timbers were put on the municipal bonfire in the park.

As to its use over the centuries, we know that the original purpose, after being built by the Monks of Pontefract, was to house the tithes of the people of the Manor of Barnsley.

After the civil war and the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII, all tithes were made payable to the Crown. Many were allocated to the noblemen of England, but Barnsley remained under the jurisdiction of the Crown and a collector was appointed. One of the early collectors was a man called Edmund Rogers; a highly respected man who held the post during the period 1625 to 1649. Rogers became very wealthy and left many legacies, including ten pounds for a clock for the Moot Hall. As a collector, he held

MARKET HILL

SHAMBLES ST

An aerial view showing the tithe barn and surrounding buildings.

The building was dismantled in March 1968, timber by timber.

possession of the lease of the tithe barn and bequeathed this to the husband of his niece.

During the reign of William III, the Crown granted the Manor of Barnsley, together with the tithes, to William Bentinck, Earl of Portland, who passed it on to his son. It remained in the family until 1735 when it was purchased by the Duke of Leeds, Thomas Osbourne.

In 1777, when the Barnsley Enclosure Act was passed, the Duke relinquished his right to the tithes of the Manor of Barnsley in exchange for an allotment of land, together with rent of £182-2-6d, an amount calculated on the area of Ancient Inclosures.

The history of the Westgate tithe barn is closely tied with others which formed part of a complex of buildings situated between Westgate and Shambles Street. The building on the Shambles Street side was later known as the Stores Inn, and the

other buildings to the rear comprised of a maltkiln and barns called, at one time, the ‘tithe barns’; our casualty of 1968 being their only survivor. A

house, which formed part of the Inn, was possibly built and inhabited by the Armitage family. A descendant of this family, Edward Armitage, died in 1673

During its demolition, each piece of the timber frame was meticulously numbered and photographed.

The interior of the barn in 1968. ➣

and was buried in St John the Evangelist’s Chapel in St Mary’s Church. His tombstone, with the family arms, was in the church until 1820 and Sir Samuel Armitage, born in Barnsley, spent his early years in this house.

The house later became known as ‘Cutler House’ after a member of the Cutler family, Henry Cutler, left his Feudal Hall at Stainborough and brought his family to live in this very house, where he lived until his death on

20 February 1725. Egerton Cutler was the next owner of the house, buildings and barns; but being a sailor he died on the coast of Africa in 1742. The family experienced further difficulties in 1754 and sold the whole site and buildings to Thomas Taylor, Mercer, of Barnsley for the sum of £800, although they continued to live there for some years to come. Thomas Taylor was a relative of the Micklethwaite of Ardsley where he built Park House and in which he resided for some years, helping to raise money in 1735 to build a workhouse in Barnsley.

In 1777 a James Hindle lived in the house and George Pitt occupied the Maltkiln, barn and buildings. Pitt purchased the house and land with all the buildings and barn for £1000 and lived there until he died circa 1863.

In 1868, the whole site was purchased by William Peckett, a linen manufacturer, who had also lived on the site from 1830; his house was later rebuilt and became part of the Stores Inn, which opened as a beerhouse about 1870. Peckett purchased it from John Wall and Richard Inns who were the Devisees of George Pitt and at that time the barn was

Looking towards the Town Hall in the midst of the demolition process.

The timber roof frame had been constructed using no metal trusses or nails of any kind.

used partly as a joiner’s shop and partly as a stable.

In 1893, Thomas Berry & Co Ltd purchased the Stores Inn, land, cottages, barn, gighouses, etc as on a plan drawn on the 1868 Indenture. By 1924 Berry’s had gone into liquidation and the Company together with properties, including the whole of the Inn and barn site was purchased by Tennant Brothers Ltd, of the Exchange Brewery, Sheffield.

Four years later, in 1928, the

brewery split the site and sold two cottages, warehouse, stables, stores, workshop and slaughterhouse (barn) to Charles Ernest Medlam, who formed a retail butcher’s shop in part of the barn, as well as using the slaughterhouse, which was registered.

In September 1993 I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Ernest Medlam, son of Charles Ernest Medlam, and his wife. The conversation was most interesting and many facts came

huge wheel used to lift the carcasses in the slaughterhouse was heard turning by itself.

to light with regards to the barn.

The most upsetting time for the family was when the tithe barn was put under compulsory purchase from his father, a well respected local farmer, butcher and businessman, who passed away in 1974.

Mr Medlam told of the many trips to London, the Ministry and many other places, as well as spending a small fortune on his quest to get the compulsory purchase order rescinded, but, alas, as in many other cases, he was unsuccessful.

Before leaving the Medlams, I was told a most interesting story of ‘the ghost of the wheel’ by Mrs Medlam and Mrs Edna Coe, Mr Medlam’s sister. The wheel was a huge thing which was used to lift the heavy carcasses of the beasts in the slaughterhouse. It was heard by Mrs Medlam and another lady, on more than one occasion, to start turning by itself. When this happened, the ladies checked for the presence of other people in the barn or outside, but found that there was nobody there. They found this quite frightening, but later it was also heard by a Mr Jack Davies who also swore that he had seen something appear before him and would never return to the barn after this. The ghost was said to be that of a Mr Harry Free, a local resident from the past, but this was never confirmed. Perhaps he also haunts the corridors of John Rideal House!

It is known that three small pieces of timber survived and are stored at Cannon Hall. Since first writing on this subject some years ago, I have received many calls from people with regard to the timbers which vanished from Locke Park.

For obvious reasons I cannot reveal their identities; the names of people involved and where certain timbers have been used. So, the mystery will remain and continue to be talked about for years to come.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Photographs courtesy of: Gerald Alliott and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council's Archives and Local Studies Department.

The

The solid oak aisle posts rested on stone stylobates.

Several parks were made in the village in the 1920s as part of the Miners Welfare Scheme where local miners could play sports and take walks.

This scene in Old Darfield appears to have changed very little, though the methods of transportation have moved on from the horse and carts which are present in the older image.

The buildings on the left of this photograph of Darfield village have changed but the church remains. The church is believed to have been built as early as 1050 and shows Anglo-Saxon foundations and a part Norman tower. Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn Law Rhymer, was buried in the church yard after his death in 1849.

The Church School in School Street was opened in 1902. The spire of the Barnsley Road Methodist Chapel can be seen in the background which was opened in 1887 at a cost of £1,200.

The row of houses in the fore of this shot of the village has now been demolished, but the one just visible behind it can still be seen today and houses the Maurice Dobson Heritage Centre, not far from the Reading Room which was given to the village in 1879 by then Reverend HBCooke.

The appearance of the people in this photograph would suggest that this public house is the original Bridge Inn which was first established in the fifteenth century in Pinfold Lane, so-called because it was the site of the old Pinfold where stray animals were kept. The Bridge Inn was demolished and replaced in the 1960s.

In Victorian times the population of the village began a rapid growth as mines were developed in the river valleys. Housing for the miners of Darfield and Mitchell Main collieries was built on the low lying land in a part of the village known as Low Valley.

Note the vintage-style street light in this shot looking up Snape Hill; electric lighting was installed in the village in 1898 at a cost of £854.

Readers’ page Readers’ page

A true Yorkshire lass

When I read Barry Jackson's recollections of Barnsley Grammar School it brought back many memories of my childhood days when I lived in 16 Wilthorpe Avenue with my parents, Constance Mary and Larrett Grafton, and my sister Sheila.

I had an operation on my tonsils at Beckett Hospital when I was five years old. Unfortunately, before I could return home I was taken to the isolation hospital in Kendray. At that time diphtheria was rife in the area. Luckily the diagnosis was wrong, I had Scarlet Fever and for many weeks I could only see my parents standing outside a window on my ward. A kind nurse taught me to knit.

I was six years old before I could attend Wilthorpe School. I often wonder when I hear about the present Wilthorpe Primary School how it looks now in 2009. One special activity was being taken across the road from the school to Wilthorpe Park where we were taught to dance around the Maypole. Happy Days.

After taking my scholarship examination, I gained a place at Barnsley High School for Girls and spent the days of the Second World War hoping to achieve my

ambition to go to art college in Sheffield. The school photo was taken when I was at Barnsley Girls High School. I am fourth from the left, second row from the back. The teacher sitting with us was Mabel Vernon, Needlework Mistress, who, when she saw my photograph in the Barnsley Chronicle, wrote to me from Leeds where she is living.

Apart from art, I loved drama, and joined the Drama Group organized by the wife of the Headmaster of Holgate Grammar School. Apart from acting in Shakespearian plays, I played a part in a modern play called 'World Without Men'. Dressing up was a favourite occupation throughout my childhood.

One delightful memory was joining my sister and other girls sitting on a dray portraying 'Mary, Mary, quite contrary'. I was one of the pretty maids sitting third row from the left, past Mary, and my sister, Sheila, was the blonde cockleshell.

My mother's father was PC Waiton of Elsecar. He died long before I was born, leaving my grandmother with two sons and five daughters. I was born in my paternal grandparents' house in Wath-onDearne.

Growing up was not easy in my teenage days. Reluctantly,

Pictured as a teenager at Butlins in Filey.

PC Waiton of Elsecar.

Barnsley Girls High School. Betty Allison is circled.

Betty Allison

If you have photographs or memories you would like to share with us, please write to:Rebecca Lawther,Editor,The Drill Hall,Eastgate,Barnsley S70 2EU or email:editor@whmagazines.co.uk.

Competition Winner

In the Autumn 2009 edition of Memories of Barnsley we ran a competition to win a copy of More Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Barnsley by Geoffrey Howse, published by Wharncliffe Books.

Congratulations to Charles Grimshaw who correctly identified the location of the above photograph as the ‘Y’ junction of Sheffield Road and Doncaster Road.

The building in the background which has a group of children congregated outside is the Wesleyan Day School which was known as ‘Daddy Rhymer’s School’ after a well-known former headmaster.

The school was demolished and the Alhambra was built on the site in 1915 where it functioned first as a variety theatre, before becoming a cinema in 1925 and later a bingo hall. The Alhambra itself was demolished in the 1980s to make way for the new Alhambra Shopping Centre.

The fountain and horse trough in the photograph remained for a while after the Alhambra was built and the remaining parts are now at Elsecar Heritage Centre.

With thanks to everyone who entered, see page 24 for this issue’s competition.

my parents agreed to me joining a school friend and her two older sisters on holiday at Butlins Holiday Camp when it first opened in in Filey.

The war days were heartbreaking at times. We went to Lincolnshire from High School to work in the fields for two weeks with Italian prisoners of war.

I never reached art college in Sheffield. The Headmistress of the High School advised against it, and suggested teaching my be a better occupation. I applied to Hornerton College, Cambridge, but was refused a place because I would not agree to learn to teach infants.

After student teaching at Wilthorpe Juniors, I went to Kendray Infants' School until I started my training at Saffron Walden Training College for Women in Essex, a few miles from Cambridge. Unfortunately, my father, after serving in the RAF, was offered promotion in a Co-operative Society in Durham.

After qualifying at Saffron Walden, I had to live in Durham, and never saw Barnsley again. I retired from teaching in 1989 after thirty-two years. The final eighteen years I worked as Headteacher of a nursery school. I am married with a son and a daughter, and a twenty-seven year old granddaughter.

I still miss Barnsley and will always be a true Yorkshire lass.

The fountain in front of Ebenezer Church, where Sheffield Road and Doncaster Road once met. The Manx Arms (circled) can just be seen behind the church.

Site of the Ebenezer Church. The Manx Arms still remains.

Betty, second from right, and friends on holiday at Butlins Holiday Camp.

Mining memories

Clyde Black

Very well done again on another very interesting issue, (no.11) especially the article regarding the 1936 Wharncliffe Woodmoor pit disaster. My Dad, David, was the last electrician at the mine and was responsible for the power shut-down in August 1966 when the mine officially closed. A photo was taken that I remember was published in one of the local papers, where he was pictured with the then colliery manager andMr Roy Mason. (Now of course Lord Mason, who I believed actually worked at 1, 2 & 3 at some point in his career) I've looked around many places trying to find a copy of this photo, but, as of yet, to no avail.

The Wharncliffe disaster rekindles the memory of the story my Father told me about my Grandfather, John Black, who was undermanager atBarnsleyMain at the time of the 1942 pit disaster. Johnhad just fairly recently moved from Deal in Kent where he had worked as a local councillor and had finished a stay of office as Mayor.

On moving to Barnsley and getting the job of undermanager, and only a few months prior to the disaster, John discovered a high percentage of gas in the workings of one of the coal seams, which was duly entered into the official M & Q (Mines & Quarries) book. Later that particular shift, John was called into the pit managers office regarding the entry he had made in the M & Q book, and questioned about it. He was told, in no uncertain terms, that he had to withdraw the entry.

This was, of course, prior to Nationalisation of the mines and the formation of the NCB. Had he discovered gas during that period, he would have probably received the highest commendation, but, as things were at that point

In remembrance

Bob Wadsworth

Your last issue of Memories asked for any further information on the Wharncliffe disaster. I am attaching photos of the King's message

under privatisation, finding gas would inevitably lead to the loss of coal production which sadly, in many cases, wasa priority, even over concerns of safety.

John refused to withdraw the entry and, to this end, with his concerns duly noted, he handed in his resignation and left to work at the Star Paper Mill on Old Mill Lane. Several short months later the Barnsley Main pit disaster took place.

After a while John (who was a prolific poet and had many of his verses published during his days in Scotland) felt strongly enough to pen a poem about the events that took place. In addition, he named people involved in the catastrophe, and lay blame at the feet of many persons mentioned in the verses.

Both my Dad, David and Grandad John have now passed away but I am absolutely without doubt, of the opinion that what John said was the true version of events.

Fatal decision

Kate Bateman

First of all I have to say what a lovely magazine Memories of Barnsley is. I'm Cheshire-born so I have learnt so much about the area. My name is Kate Bateman, married to my lovely husband Trevor which this letter is really about. In issue 11, there is an article on the Wharncliffe Woodmoor pit disaster. One of the victims, William Arthur Bateman was Trevor's grandfather and he was so touched about the story and was so surprised to see the photograph as he knows very little about William and has no photographs.

There is a slight twist to William's story, he didn't usually work on Fridays but apparently for some reason he insisted on going to the pit and so lost his life, I always thought it was really strange. William was the father of Laurence Samuel Bateman, Trevor's father.

The actual size of the card folded is 4.5 ins by 3ins.

Unfortunately I have no idea how many were issued or who received them. This has been in my possession for over forty years and previously in my Father's.

Father did once tell me that it came via the family of one of the victims but when I asked him some years ago he could not remember

John during his time as Mayor of Deal in Kent.

William Arthur Bateman.

Joseph Porter

Sue Kaye

Iread the latest edition about Joseph whom had he lived would have been my uncle, his father’s name was Herbert Harry, his mother was named Annie. I don't know her maiden name, if anyone does know any more information about her could you please pass it on.

Herbert Harry Porter, my grandfather, was born 1869/1970 died 8/10/1939, I am not sure how old he was in the picture. Herbert was married three times, all his wives died before him, and he had 15 children in total, quite afew did not live past infancy.

He also named a son Joseph from his second marriage.

Were you aware there was apoem written called Barnsley's Little Hero? I am not sure who wrote it. My mothertold us about him and the poem, and on her death we found it and the family tree in her belongings. I would love to know who wrote the poem, if anyone does know?

Just out of shot!

Mary Oglanby

With reference to the Birdwell School May Queens (Readers' Page, issue 11). The missing name in the list for May Queens, 1951, was Enid Carter (my sister was one of her attendants) and in 1953 we believe it was Janet Watkins. I was 'petal thrower' for Kathryn Marshall in 1956 – I am not on the photograph as I had to walk in front of her!

Reader replies

In issue 11 of Memories of Barnsley, Carol Tiley asked about the letter ‘H’ on the tower of the old Co-op building and the whereabouts of Cannon Street.

Bill Strutt

The answer to Carol Tilley's question I think is that the letter H on top of the old Co-op water tower is something new put there when the Hedonism night club opened, H for Hedonism. The other question from Carol regarding where in Cannon Street. I think this is a mistake and should be Canning Street, but I may be wrong. Leading off the old Nelson Street and Blucher Street, east side of Princess Street.

Also, I have a photograph, taken outside a shop, which I would like to know more about, hopefully one of your readers can help answer some questions for me:

I would like to know where the shop was located and who the people are who appear in the photo. I have been told that the lady in the striped dress is my great aunt Tilly Bell, who had the Tobacconist shop on Eldon Street below the YMCA. The lady with the baby is possibly my grandmother, Eliza Acklam, and the baby my mother, but I would like to have confirmation of this. Note the face in the window and a half face top right edge of the photo. Hope someone can help and thank you.

Kathryn Marshall, May Queen, 1956.

Herbert Porter, Joseph’s father.

Tracing a family history

John Walker

Iam attaching a copy of a school photograph which I thought might make an interesting feature in your magazine. It shows my father at school in Wombwell, some time in the early 1920s. He was born on 30 August 1913, so I would guess the picture is probably pre-1925 as he looks younger than 12. He died in 1998.

This is the only photograph I have of him as a child, and sadly he never showed it to us while he was alive; it was tucked away with some of his other private effects, so we never saw it, which is a shame as I would have loved to have talked to him about it. It is only the striking family resemblance which makes it possible to identify him. I was born when he was 55, so compared to most of my friends when I was growing up he was more like a figure of a grandfather than a father. His name was Arthur Walker, the youngest son of George Henry and Ruth Walker. He had three older brothers, Jack, Harry and Leonard, and an older sister, Lily. My dad outlived them all by more than ten years.Leonard was tragically killed in a road accident in the 1960s; Harry moved to Lyme Regis and died I think in the 1970s (my family had no contact with him); Jack succumbed to lung cancer and died in 1984; Lily died I think in the late 1970s. Lily married a well-known amateur cricketer by the surname of Loy, and I am sure older cricket fans will remember him. I never met my grandparents, but they lived on Hough Lane, where George had a joinery business for some time. He was known locally as 'Pop' Walker and was by all accounts quite a character.

I wonder whether there are any readers of your magazine who perhaps can remember him or the rest of the family or who may be able to provide more information about where

and when the school photograph was taken. I seem to recall that my dad mentioned that he went to John Street School in Wombwell, so this may be the location of the picture.

The photograph of him in uniform is a tinted black and white picture of him during WW2.He was called up in 1940, and served in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and The Green Howards. He was a full sergeant and worked on searchlight sites for most of the war. The funniest part of this is that he reported that they never managed to light up a

Arthur Walker’s school photograph, possibly John Street School, Wombwell.

German plane, but did light up quite a few of ours! He was an expert at aircraft recognition, as this was obviously part of his job. One of the most exciting things he recalled to me was seeing a Halifax bomber crash and explode at night time; I think this was somewhere in Yorkshire. He worked for a time at Lutterworth at a site which was very close to the underground factory where Frank Whittle developed the jet engine. His other main claim to fame during the war was seeing Clark Gable, who served I think in the US Air Force.

I’ve also attached another nice group picture, which is dated 25 June 1929. My Dad is kneeling at the front left, wearing the large flat cap. He would be 15 on this picture. Notice how virtually everyone else is wearing hats! He told me that this picture was a works outing to Blackpool. As his first job was working at Wombwell Town Hall I am guessing again that these are Wombwell Council employees. It might actually be possible to identify some of the other people if this is the case. He went to work there straight from school, aged 14, and wore short trousers on his first day at work! Whether he continued to wear them is uncertain! It is a sign of the age he lived in that he never had a day of unemployment in his life – perhaps lucky given that he lived through the Depression of the 1930s. He did tell me that the man third from the right on the back row was his elder brother, Harry.I never met Harry, and if this is him, it is the only picture I have of him. He was a successful accountant and moved to Lyme Regis. He was also an accomplished pianist and organist, and apparently played the organ at the church down Regent Street in Barnsley.

Reader replies

In issue 11 of Memories of Barnsley, Mr Dryden asked if anyone could remember an RAF aeroplane being assembled and dismantled where the tennis courts were in Locke Park. Below are the responses we received:

D S Standring

Iremember the aeroplane in the park in the park, I was about 9 years old at the time. I went up with a school friend and his father. When we got there we were disappointed, it was roped off with a man guarding the entrance. My friend's father showed him a card or something like, by which the man let us go inside the plane. My friend said his father was high up in the Navy. Inside I remember many cables and wires running the full length of the body in the seats. There were many clocks and dials to look at. We thought it was a Lancaster Bomber but it was probably smaller.

John Ramsden

Ihave a vague memory of an aircraft being displayed in the cricket field at sometime during the war or at the end of the war. To the best of my knowledge this was an Avro Lancaster four engined heavy bomber. Due to its size this would have to be dismantled to be transported by road and then assembled on site. The RAF vehicle used for this purpose was known as a Queen Mary.

George Darnbrough

My name is George Darnbrough and I was 15 it was summer 1945 Saturday evening between 8.30pm-10.00pm. Myself and 6 or 7 friends were sat on the then cricket field when this artic RAF vehicle came through Locke Park knocking part of the wall down it was a low loader 60ft long when the driver parked up I asked him what he had and what he was doing he told me it was a Lancaster Bomber he had brought it to be assembled (I cannot recall why). The following day I went back to Locke Park and I remember sitting in the plane I don't think to this day the wall has ever been repaired.

Lesley Dutton

Iremember the aircraft in Locke Pak which Mr Dryden refers to. It was a Lancaster Bomber and was there to promote National Savings; for a half crown (2' 6d) savings stamp you could go in and view it.

Technical college

Geoffrey Sowerby

Iread with interest the article about the technical college.

Before the first college was built it was the junior tech, a collection of prefabricated single storey buildings, where I first started to learn about my trade of bricklayer. After leaving school I started work with a local firm of builders Vernon Dunk of Summer Laneand had to attend the Barnsley Mining and Technical College as it was then, up to four evening each week after doing a full days training at work to get ones qualifications.

I enjoy getting the Memories of Barnsley each quarter and looking forward to the next.

The ‘HE’ plate in Barnsley

Don Booker MBE looks at the oldest car in the area to carry the prestigious HE 1 number plate.

There was a time when every motor vehicle or motorcycle that was sold and registered in Barnsley had the letters HE in its registration number.

Personally, I had a Barnsley Chronicle scooter that carried the plate CHE 274 and in later years my first new car, an Austin Farina A40, had the number RHE 200. A Mini was VHE 11. Now in an era where cherished numbers are much sought after, they could be worth a fortune.

Today, two of Barnsley Council’s great assets are the THE numbers they have retained for civic cars.

In 1974, another personal touch to our motoring way of life disappeared due to Government re-organisation. From 1 October, new cars had to be registered at the Sheffield vehicle licensing office, and not at the Barnsley Motor Taxation Office at the Town Hall.

Can you remember, it was through the side entrance and

then the first office on the right?

Local car distributors over the years had tried to meet requests from buyers who wanted certain registration numbers. But from the change over, buyers of new cars in Barnsley got index letters which in the past had related to Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and even Bradford.

With the change, I remember noticing that our HE letters were appearing on cars in the Chesterfield area.

The only chance of getting HE in the registration was when certain numbers were produced by the computer at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre at Swansea.

TRANSPORT

Preparing for a rally at the Town Hall. The passenger is believed to be Arthur Raynor who had a pie shop in The Arcade.

This time with a trade plate 047 HE, the Napier takes the Vicar of Dodworth for a trip down HIgh Street in 1935. Behind is a YTC bus carrying number HE 4721. The vicar is believed to be the Rev W S Barker.

At the time a spokesman at the Sheffield office of the DVLA which was dealing with motor distributors in a 1,500 square mile area, said it was impossible, for administrative reasons, to take the numbers out of sequence.

Jack Schofield, who was sales manager of Eyre Bros (Barnsley) Ltd, and still selling cars today, said it was a sad day for local motorists and part of the local motoring way of life had gone. He said: ‘So often a chap wanted to add a personal touch to his car by having a special number and all distributors have tried to help. Those days have gone.’

The 1902 Napier on its first visit to Barnsley as transport for Squire Micklethwaite of Ardsley House.

Yes, our HE 1 raced at the world famous Brooklands circuit, with George Eyre, flat cap back-to-front, at the wheel.

A well polished Napier outside the Peel Street showroom of Eyre Bros.

The oldest car in the area to carry that prestigious HE 1 number plate was a 1902 Napier which was owned by Eyre Bros. Highlights of its old age were runs in the famous ‘Genevieve’ London to Brighton Run, the Hull to Scarborough Run and also trips to the South of France.

Many people who saw it on its trial runs in Barnsley before the big events, wondered how it came to be in town. Well, Hubert Eyre, managing director of the company, told me his brother, George, was employed at the Napier factory, and actually helped to build the car.

When it was made at the Napier factory – they also built aero engines – it cost £1,000, which was a lot of money in those days!

George was learning motor engineering at the London factory and the first owner of the car was Squire Micklethwaite, who lived at Ardsley House, Ardsley, now a hotel. In 1908 it was sold to a man in Dorset, and George drove it there.

About twenty-five years later he called at the owner’s home and found the car buried under scrap agricultural machinery, it had not been used by him. George bought it and had it brought to Barnsley by rail. It was overhauled at Eyre Bros and in 1935 won the London to Brighton Race, covering the distance in one hour and fifty minutes.

Every year the car was

competing in rallies, but in 1949 he was disqualified for exceeding the speed limit. He said at the time: ‘She averages 30 mph and in that event I let her go a bit and at one point was doing 60 mph.’

No alterations were made to the high-seat car, which was the envy of members of the Veteran Car Club. It was the Rolls-Royce of its day and King Edward had a similar car.

The Napier had a 20 horse power engine that averaged 25 miles per gallon on a ‘long run’. Its specification said top speed was 50 mph, but George gave it that real test.

Nearly forty years ago the car was sold to an enthusiast in Jersey, but is now back in London, where early last year it went on display at the Royal Automobile Club in London’s Pall Mall.

What is also amazing about this car, which was restored in Barnsley, is the fact that it raced at the famous Brooklands circuit.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Every year the car was competing in rallies, but in 1949 he was disqualified for exceeding the speed limit...

Victor Medlam drives the Yorkshire Miners’ Coal Queen in the 1957 Mayor’s Parade. This was when traffic could drive down Market Hill.

With thanks to Victor Medlam, who often drove the car, and his sister Joyce Stables for the loan of these previously unpublished photographs.

The one armed cyclist

On Wednesday night, 9 September 1936, the Mayor of Barnsley, Joseph Jones, stood on the Town Hall steps surrounded by an expectant crowd. They were awaiting the arrival of Walter Greaves, who was at that moment making his way along Doncaster Road into Barnsley to complete the day’s journey.

Walter had set out on 6 January, to beat the record of miles travelled in one year on a bicycle, which had been set three years earlier by Australian cycling professional Ossie Nicholson who had cycled some 43,996 miles. What was to make Walter’s attempt more remarkable was that he had only one arm.

Walter Greaves was born in 1907 and lived with his mother in Newlands Place, Undercliffe, Bradford. Walter’s life was to change dramatically, when, at 14 years old, he was involved in a road accident which resulted in him losing most of his left arm.

The accident occurred whilst he was out driving with his father, who was an alcoholic, and driving the car under the influence of drink. No doubt fearing for his own safety, Walter opened the car door and stepped out onto the running boards which ran down the side of the car, ready to jump out, but as he did so, he was hit on the arm by a passing tram. His arm

was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated below the elbow.

Although he had trained as an engineer, finding work was to prove difficult for Walter as unemployment was high in Bradford. He had developed an interest in communism, causing him to have a reputation as a ‘lefty trouble maker’, which meant potential employers were reluctant to take him on. Walter was described as an outspoken teetotaller, he was also a vegetarian.

Walter had little success in raising sponsorship for his record attempt, in contrast to Ossie Nicholson, the then record holder, who had achieved his feat with the best equipment, a back up vehicle, a masseur and a manager who did all the planning. Walter’s was an altogether different experience.

Three Spires Cycles of Coventry provided a cycle and a small weekly sum in return for advertising rights and cyclists around the country offered him accommodation. Walter was so short of money that he wore clothes that were little more than worn-out rags, and he was constantly concerned that his lack of funds would cause him to have to abandon his record attempt.

His bicycle had a modified handle bar and twist-grip gear change with a single lever which operated both brakes to accommodate his single arm. His three-geared cycle was heavy by

today’s standards, with thick tyres to cope with snow and the pitted roads. He rode with mud-guards, lamps and a saddlebag, which added to his impressive feat as much of his riding was in the Pennines, up long steep gradients, as well as having to endure one of the hardest winters for years.

His due start date of 1 January, was delayed by five days as his bicycle didn’t arrive on time. The delay increased the daily distance Greaves was obliged to ride, so as to finish on 31 December of that year.

He covered 500 miles in the first 5 days but fell off 19 times, including 8 times in one day while riding through snow on high roads.

In July, Walter collided with a car and developed an abscess as a result, causing him to spend two weeks in hospital. He rode 160 miles a day while recovering from the operation, and from 20 September to 8 October he rode 180 miles a day. His greatest distance in one day was 275 miles.

He finished his amazing feat at midnight on New Year’s Eve at the steps of the Town Hall in Bradford, amid scenes normally associated with famous film stars. He had broken the previous record, travelling some 45,383 miles during that year.

In later life Greaves contracted Parkinson’s disease and died in 1987, aged 80.

In 1936,twenty-nine year old,Walter Greaves set out to break the world record for distance cycled in one year. Paul Wilkinson looks back at his amazing feat.

PERSONALITIES

Walter Greaves in his cycling days.

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