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array_files[0]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Topup/HeritageAlbums/Nicholson.html","2012-01-21","5K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: The Cut newspaper    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: The Cut newspaper HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Can you help return album to family? Some ingenious sleuthing has uncovered a link between an Edwardian photograph album, and our area. The album was bought at a Gloucestershire antiques sale by a woman whose son took on the challenge of trying to find relatives of the people pictured. His enquiries led him to Mexborough, and specifically to Mr Stewart Wentworth Nicholson, who is listed at the Ferry Boat Inn in 1921. He had a brother and sister, Reginald Hugh (born about 1889) and Dorothy (born about 1888). There is also a connection with Nicholsons painters and decorators, of Adwick Road. Some of the subjects of photographs are Tickhill, Whitby, Campsall and Owston, and in our first photo, a royal visit. Its a long shot after such a long time, but the purchaser of the album would like to return it to the family it belonged to, so if you have any information, please email us and well pass the details on. ? clicking on a photo will open up a larger view.     ");
array_files[1]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/index.html","2012-01-21","19K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Newsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Welcome to the Mexborough and District Heritage Society website. Our aim is to record and preserve details of the areas rich past - the buildings, the way of life and more importantly the people who worked so hard to create a thriving community. There are news stories which relate to our work and the towns past; details of our meetings, and publications for sale. The society is committed to keeping a record of the past for future generations, and we hope you enjoy a glimpse into the lives of people who contributed to our community through the years. Mexborough & District Heritage Society Mexborough Library & CSC John Street Mexborough S64 9HS Tel. No. 01709 582037 You can visit us every Friday afternoon in the librarys reference section. Newsletter highlights Current newsletter: Uncovering the story of the Mexborough author who is all-but forgotten in his home town. Recent Newsletters Browse articles over the past months Newsletter archive All available newsletters are now on line, dating back over a decade. Readers contributions Memories and more in our lively feedback section. Mexborough Grammar Reminiscences and photos - the best years of their lives? A vanished terrace Family life captured in a slideshow of a long-demolished row of houses. Spotlight The chance to examine one of our archive treasures in greater detail. Mystery photo album An album bought in Gloucestershire features Mexborough folk from the Edwardian era. Adwick Rd School... ..and more. More family photos are added to our archive, including staff at Woolworths from 1941. Fun on the ferry It was great fun and only cost a copper or two. With the help of a short movie clip we look at Mexboroughs ferry, which linked the town with Old Denaby. Search the Heritage site This website and its contents are copyright Mexborough and District Heritage Society, excluding the Readers sections where copyright is retained by the contributor. Requests for fair use of our content should be made by email. Photo features Including essays on the Parish Church, Market Street, Dr S P Bhatia and much more. High Street video A rare glimpse in colour of Mexborough before pedestrianisation Video: giants tumble Video footage of the demolition of Mexboroughs twin cooling towers. Pottery heritage Expert Graham Oliver sheds light on the areas rich ceramic past with a series of in-depth articles. The ultimate sacrifice The names of the fallen from two World Wars Questions & Answers Help solve mysteries which have us stumped. MGS memories We are pleased to have been asked to add a quite recent memoir to our archive; it is from the late Horace Stokes, kindly provided by his daughter. In it he vividly recalls his schoolboy days at Mexborough Grammar School in the 30s as a scholarship boy. Here is part of his story... The Cut at 40: a celebration The Cut was brash, daring, fun and a breath of fresh air for Mexborough, and it’s still fondly remembered even today. It’s exactly 40 years since this inspired monthly swipe at authority and champion of local Arts hit the streets, and this irreverent mag has earned its place in our ongoing archive. Click here to find out how it all began, and enjoy some of the brilliant artwork which brought Mexborough people to life... Free book download Mr Roy Huggins, Head of History at Mexborough School, has generously offered to share his research and study aid focusing on Conisbrough Castle. Tribute to a much-loved school master Mexborough Grammar School teacher John Fisher is remembered by former pupil David Smart. Our lives, our ancestors... This is our latest publication - The People of Mexborough, The photographs are taken from the archives of the Society, some of which are from the Leonard Harrop Collection, added to and preserved by our late President, Norman Watson, a well-known Mexborough teacher. Other illustrations come from postcards and purchases at antique fairs and the internet; others have been donated by local businesses, individuals and families. This is a ‘snapshot’ of what is available in the archives and it was a difficult choice selecting pictures which justified their inclusion to the exclusion of others. Check here for price and availability. Preserving the past - with your help If you have any photographs or documents which you think may be of interest to the society, please get in touch. The archive, while invaluable as a resource for anyone with an interest in Mexborough history, is also a way of preserving the past for generations to come. Your photos, videos or documents will be treated with the utmost care and will be returned promptly after copying. As you can see from the site, we cover history from the very early days of the community right up to recent years. So if you have photos of people and places now gone which you would like to share, please get in touch. This also includes any video footage you may have, or film transfered to tape or DVD. Website copyright Peter Lee 2011 .     ");
array_files[2]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/","2012-01-21","19K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Newsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Welcome to the Mexborough and District Heritage Society website. Our aim is to record and preserve details of the areas rich past - the buildings, the way of life and more importantly the people who worked so hard to create a thriving community. There are news stories which relate to our work and the towns past; details of our meetings, and publications for sale. The society is committed to keeping a record of the past for future generations, and we hope you enjoy a glimpse into the lives of people who contributed to our community through the years. Mexborough & District Heritage Society Mexborough Library & CSC John Street Mexborough S64 9HS Tel. No. 01709 582037 You can visit us every Friday afternoon in the librarys reference section. Newsletter highlights Current newsletter: Uncovering the story of the Mexborough author who is all-but forgotten in his home town. Recent Newsletters Browse articles over the past months Newsletter archive All available newsletters are now on line, dating back over a decade. Readers contributions Memories and more in our lively feedback section. Mexborough Grammar Reminiscences and photos - the best years of their lives? A vanished terrace Family life captured in a slideshow of a long-demolished row of houses. Spotlight The chance to examine one of our archive treasures in greater detail. Mystery photo album An album bought in Gloucestershire features Mexborough folk from the Edwardian era. Adwick Rd School... ..and more. More family photos are added to our archive, including staff at Woolworths from 1941. Fun on the ferry It was great fun and only cost a copper or two. With the help of a short movie clip we look at Mexboroughs ferry, which linked the town with Old Denaby. Search the Heritage site This website and its contents are copyright Mexborough and District Heritage Society, excluding the Readers sections where copyright is retained by the contributor. Requests for fair use of our content should be made by email. Photo features Including essays on the Parish Church, Market Street, Dr S P Bhatia and much more. High Street video A rare glimpse in colour of Mexborough before pedestrianisation Video: giants tumble Video footage of the demolition of Mexboroughs twin cooling towers. Pottery heritage Expert Graham Oliver sheds light on the areas rich ceramic past with a series of in-depth articles. The ultimate sacrifice The names of the fallen from two World Wars Questions & Answers Help solve mysteries which have us stumped. MGS memories We are pleased to have been asked to add a quite recent memoir to our archive; it is from the late Horace Stokes, kindly provided by his daughter. In it he vividly recalls his schoolboy days at Mexborough Grammar School in the 30s as a scholarship boy. Here is part of his story... The Cut at 40: a celebration The Cut was brash, daring, fun and a breath of fresh air for Mexborough, and it’s still fondly remembered even today. It’s exactly 40 years since this inspired monthly swipe at authority and champion of local Arts hit the streets, and this irreverent mag has earned its place in our ongoing archive. Click here to find out how it all began, and enjoy some of the brilliant artwork which brought Mexborough people to life... Free book download Mr Roy Huggins, Head of History at Mexborough School, has generously offered to share his research and study aid focusing on Conisbrough Castle. Tribute to a much-loved school master Mexborough Grammar School teacher John Fisher is remembered by former pupil David Smart. Our lives, our ancestors... This is our latest publication - The People of Mexborough, The photographs are taken from the archives of the Society, some of which are from the Leonard Harrop Collection, added to and preserved by our late President, Norman Watson, a well-known Mexborough teacher. Other illustrations come from postcards and purchases at antique fairs and the internet; others have been donated by local businesses, individuals and families. This is a ‘snapshot’ of what is available in the archives and it was a difficult choice selecting pictures which justified their inclusion to the exclusion of others. Check here for price and availability. Preserving the past - with your help If you have any photographs or documents which you think may be of interest to the society, please get in touch. The archive, while invaluable as a resource for anyone with an interest in Mexborough history, is also a way of preserving the past for generations to come. Your photos, videos or documents will be treated with the utmost care and will be returned promptly after copying. As you can see from the site, we cover history from the very early days of the community right up to recent years. So if you have photos of people and places now gone which you would like to share, please get in touch. This also includes any video footage you may have, or film transfered to tape or DVD. Website copyright Peter Lee 2011 .     ");
array_files[3]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/lightbox/susan.htm","2012-01-19","5K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: The Cut newspaper    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: The Cut newspaper HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Susan Shaw wrote to us, and included some interesting group shots which weve been pleased to add to our archive. Its photos like these which keep alive the recent past, and which we hope will provide a social record for those future generations interested in how we used to live. Susan writes: I have attached some photos of my mother Florence Winifred Bird, nickname Tut as a child but known as Win all her life. She lived at 79 Victoria Road with her parents Florence (nee White)& William Ernest (Bill) and sisters Anne Doreen & Kathleen. Auntie Kath (married name Hall)became a midwife and worked at Mexborough Montagu asa night sister for many years from about 1956-1979ish when she retired. She will have delivered many Mexborough babies over those years & many people will remember herI should think. She is now 92 years old & moved from Mexborough about 10-15 years sinceto live near her daughter in West Yorkshire. Clicking on an album photo will open up an enlargement and caption. Woolworths staff 1941 Adwick Road School, 1938 Adwick Road School, 1938 Family outing     ");
array_files[4]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/MGS02.htm","2012-01-03","17K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 2    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 2 HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email And then in the middle of serious work, there were the wild moments when he would stride to the window, look out and announce, The school is now anchored off the east coast of Madagascar or other similar improbabilities. Who would not but respond warmly to such a character? Grammar School memories page 1 here JOHN FISHER AT MEXBOROUGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL: A MEMOIR. by David Smart June 2011 Although I was at MGS for most of the fifties, with three years in the Sixth Form, I only became closely associated with John Fisher in my final years. In my earliest he was something of a removed and a revered figure. In my first year I should, perhaps have been taught by him but he was on his American exchange and his American replacement took the class. He, on one occasion, was discussing plurals - ox- oxen, goose - geese etc and then, memorable for an 11 or 12 year old, came the question, What do you do about a pair of pants? Singular at the top and plural down below! This has stayed with me because - a sensitive issue - I would undoubtedly have been unwillingly still in short trousers at the time. But this is an aside. When Fisher returned I registered him only as a tall figure, rarely gowned, not quite gaunt, but with a long, slim face, a passionate reader of The Manchester Guardian which he always seemed to carry. (Later in class, I heard him frequently read out the spelling mistakes that worthy broadsheet was capable of in those days.) He was involved with drama both as producer and actor/director of pupils and also staff theatricals. There were several of these in my time. One remaining fragment has survived: a series of short dramatisations of newspaper names. I remember The Daily Mail in which a pretty young PE teacher was visited by a succession of male teachers each of whom claimed a kiss as she ticked off the days on her calendar. Each caller raised a storm of delight in the audience. I suspect it was Fisher who wrote the witty skits on Flanders and Swann and the political jokes about the Suez affair amongst many others. In my early years at MGS inter-house rivalry burned brightly and I remember him as recorder for the hotly-contested school sports day, seated in a variety of weathers at a table in the middle of the running track keeping scores and announcing results as dramatically as possible.. He seems also to have been responsible for the O level retake examination that took place each autumn and which he dubbed The November Handicap. It goes without saying that he had a lot to do with the school magazine The Don and Dearne. But is was as an A level English Literature student that I made his closer acquaintance and his influence on my life really began. I guess my group numbered no more than ten or a dozen. He announced the course as :The Prospect Before Us and we who had chosen literature and the arts had chosen Life itself. Science popularly obsessed with the Bomb at that time was, by implication, Death. Working with texts, especially Shakespeare, he was well-read and knowledgeable and he knew his mythology and Bible. He was witty and a considerable wordsmith, conjuring up characters (he really brought Falstaff to life) and their historical contexts. He was, for example, brilliant on the First World War background to the soldier poets. He was, of course, near to war itself. Only ten or so years before, he had been in the navy serving on the North Atlantic convoys. When he was passing down the corridor and encountered a crowd he would pass through it with the words gangway for a naval officer... A few anecdotes about life on the ships made it into the classroom: the bitter cold, the high, dark seas, the icefields off Russia... But there was no self-indulgence here. Nothing, not even his own life- stories, would deflect him from his beloved attention to the text. I can still see him stalking around the classroom in flannels, jacket and high-necked jumper dictating background notes to us on Wuthering Heights (which he taught brilliantly), Hopkins etc. Often he had the window-pole in his long-fingered, strong-wristed grasp. This tool was found throughout the school and was used to open the upper reaches of the towering high panes found in many classrooms.. He used the blackboard to write up names, dates, always clearly scripted. When marking homework-essays he would write generously long comments, often in red ink which did not signify censure. He had a clear, fluent, individual hand, a joy to read. But the nitty-gritty of his teaching was working with his students through discussion of the texts and leaving them to make such margin notes as they felt they needed. He recommended critics like Leavis, Spurgeon, Bradley, and the earlier Hazlitt etc. and made sure their books got into the library. He made a personal recommendation of Goddards The Meaning of Shakespeare which I managed to buy. That one book served me well through university and much of my own teaching career. This was a typical choice for him as it placed Shakespeare in the context of world literature and made me aware of the Russian novelists and European writing movements as well. When asked who his favourite writer was he answered wisely, The one I happen to be teaching at the moment. He was broadminded and European in outlook, not to say international. He read well too, strongly in a slightly sonorous, clearly pronouncing, sensitive, expansive, voice. I could never detect the North West in his speech patterns but I feel sure it was there. He grew up, like Wordsworth, on what is now the Cumbrian coast, a fact that made Norman Nicholson a favourite poet. We used him sometimes in our wonderfully elucidatory practical criticism sessions. Fishers expressive eyes would regard our sallies into the texts he gave us quizzically, shrewdly as we tried to assign a passage to its period and perhaps its author. His glasses would be on and off his nose to be grasped at times in his gesturing hands and, at other times, set down on his desk. And then in the middle of serious work, there were the wild moments when he would stride to the window, look out and announce, The school is now anchored off the east coast of Madagascar or other similar improbabilities. Who would not but respond warmly to such a character? I was cast in two plays he produced with the Sixth Form Dramatic Society, being Captain Horster in Ibsens An Enemy of the People and later Danforth in Millers The Crucible. Both plays indicated his close interest in world literature as well as politics, perhaps particularly as practised at town level. (He was a candidate in local elections on occasions.) You would have to describe his production techniques as warm and passionate. To get the moves or gestures right for a character he would walk the actor, arm around his/her shoulder, hand in his/her hand, speaking the words and performing the actions as he wanted them. Both plays feature crowd scenes. In the Ibsen he placed actors amongst the audience in the hall who would call out and heckle on cue. Relations with other staff members must have been good because scenery, props, costumes were of a high standard and he would have needed help here though he certainly did have his own practical streak.. There was lots of support on performance nights with staff coming in to help with make-up and hair and stage management. It was backstage that Fisher brought special academic/university friends he had invited to meet the cast and perhaps help them to a college place. It was at times like these that we all felt gathered into those long and widespread arms of his. He was truly what is now called a mentor. I was almost 19 when I left MGS and had been under his guidance for three years. The university place I secured was in no small part due to him. It was my determination to read for an English degree and so, to an extent, he set about widening my general artistic horizons. He it was who first got me into classical music beyond singing in one of the schools several choirs and in assembly where hymn singing was an almost daily feature. He invited me to his home on Low Road and played me the first symphony I had ever heard in its entirity, an LP of Sibelius Second. I went back several times to listen to others and got to know his daughters, Angela and the one he called Fanny Lizzie Lottie. He leant and, indeed, gave me books from his own collection always inscribed on the fly leaf John Fisher. Symphony sessions usually ended with a stroll along to the Ferry Boat Inn where he bought me and taught me to drink Mackeson. I continued to make this my drink of choice in pubs visited in later years, that is, until it disappeared from the shelves. In the Inn he seemed on good terms with everyone, waving to the other regulars across a crowded bar. On a number of occasions his was the guiding hand behind out-of-school visits we made. There was a trip to see Look Back in Anger, Der Freischütz and the ballet, but the real coup was to be included in a visit he arranged to see T.S. Eliot open a library named after him at Sheffield University. I am sure our small party would have travelled there in his car, probably the Citroen, of which he was so proud. I believe he had his degree from Sheffield so he had a kind of entree. Eliot, incidentally, read engagingly and gave a short, often witty address. The Waste Land seemed easier after that. Which leads me to Ted Hughes, Fishers greatest protégée, who dedicated one of his prose works to his former teacher. It was appropriately about analysing and writing poetry. Hughes had been Head Boy at MGS but I have no recollection of him in that role. By the time I was in the Sixth Form his name was on the literary radar and his first book had been warmly received not least by Eliot himself. Fisher was ecstatic, of course, and had a few reminiscences of Hughes to pass on to us. Apparently Hughes had been very keen on Shelley and was much into the natural world. It seems he brought back arm-fulls of bluebells from the local woods in late springtime but he knew his birds of prey well too. It was no time at all before the library had its copy of The Hawk in the Rain. With Hughes star shining ever brighter it was an outright coup to book him as guest-speaker for the 1961 Speech Day on Tuesday July 18th. Fisher must have been instrumental in securing this. Hughes was not a natural for this sort of thing and, in fact, gave no speech, reading some poems instead. With him he brought the slightly built and smiling, dark-haired Sylvia Plath, then his wife, and with perhaps a year or so to live. I shook hands with them both as I received my certificates on that auspicious stage. I still have the booklet produced for that very remarkable evening. This was unquestionably a high point for me, meeting and sharing a few seconds with two world class literary figures. And it must have been so too for John Fisher sitting on the stage where he had secured for himself and for others so many successes, in the presence of his best-ever pupil and surrounded by an audience of grateful and admiring ones. Mexborough is the best place in the world to go for a holiday -- FROM! (John Fisher who didnt really mean it) READERS COMMENTS I remember an English lesson in the early sixties when Mr Fishermentioned a pyramid in Rome near to the grave of either Keats or Shelley. I stuck up my hand and proudly told him thatI had visited the spot whilst on a camping trip to Rome travelling by Billys Coaches driven by my Uncle, Ron Pattenden, Mr Fisher immediately gave me a two shilling piece as a reward. Peter Shaw (by email)     ");
array_files[5]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/questions.htm","2012-01-03","11K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Readers questions and answers    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Readers questions and answers HomeNewsletters Readers PublicationsQ&A Essays News Programme email Welcome to a new section, where you can help by providing clues or answers to visitors questions. Enquiry about a Swinton Comprehensive School master Researching her school days led Lynda Snowden (formerly Linda Bilston, of Wath) to our site. She spotted a Mexborough Grammar School student here, called Peter Penketh, and wonders if he grew up to be the Peter Penketh who was her form teacher at the Comp many years ago. If anyone has any details, please let us know and well pass them on. If you can help, please email us here Concertina band mystery and The Cut While archiving issues of Mexboroughs only alternative newspaper, The Cut, we came across this wonderful illustration (below right). The paper, which caused a stir in the town in the early seventies, was full of great illustrations by Derek Allport, and this one caught our eye. It shows five members of the Tina Club concertina band - and we have names for all of them, except the gent on the left. From the left - Unknown, Joe Jevons, Willis Watson, Archie Watson, Stan Caunter. If you could help with his name, please drop us an email. Our thanks to Michael Dilcock for providing a missing issue; Michaels father was the late respected police office Insp Dilcock, who was a some-time target for The Cuts barbs. We have obtained the remainder of the newspapers courtesy of Derek, and have digitised them for our archive. And as 2012 is the 40th anniversary of the first issue, weve put a little tribute together, here >> Spot the pub! Another one which has us stumped. The Society has a number of photographs of local inns and pubs over the years, but a reader sent us this photo which we cant put a name to. If anyone can help please do email us. In any event, its a wonderful photo, and a wonderful collection of flat caps and watch fobs! The Fisher family, and Ted Hughes In bringing to mind a well-remembered master at Mexborough Grammar School, David Boyd wonders if anyone could help with information about Mr Fishers daughters. He includes a relaxed photo of Ted Hughes (right) with Norman Nicholson and Jack Fisher. Davids literary interests can be read: here or here or here If you can help, please email us here UPDATE: October 5 2011 Sue Harris emails with the following:- I can give you a little information about both daughters but nothing definitive. His eldest daughter went to university back in 1964 or so - I do not know anything of her after leaving MGS to go to university. His youngest daughter married Paul Bloomfield (I believe that was his last name) who was in my year at MGS. My Aunt who lived in Mexborough all her life and died earlier this year told me years ago that the youngest daughter unexpectedly died of pneumonia. I think this had to be at least 30 years ago if not more. I assume he is now dead, but in turn, if you know anything of him after retiring from MGS I would be interested to know. I would appreciate any info on Jack Fisher after retirement - he was impressive to all he taught. I was bon in Mexborough and lived there from 1947 to about 1965. Dont ever let them tear down the Empress Ballroom and the movie theater next to it - the Empress looked exactly the same inside as when I used to dance in it and the movie theater was my first, having gone there on Saturday afternoons to watch Flash Gordon among other things, and very often in the company of Tony Capstick , of whose passing I was sorry to learn recently. October 11 2011: We have it on authority that both of Mr Fishers daughters are now deceased, the surviving one passing away in 2011 - Webmaster Where was Corner Pin Yard, Swinton? This next query concerns Swinton. Does anyone know where Corner Pin Yard was? We have an address on a birth certificate in 1888 for 109 Corner Pin Yard, but its proving difficult to locate where this address was. If you can help, please email us here: UPDATE: October 3 2011 Consensus among our experts seems to place the yard in the Swinton Bridge area, in a small pocket of crowded housing as indicated on the map What does DDSS stand for? A reader came across this rare photo of Conisbrough D.D.S.S. F.C. taken on the Welfare Field in Conisbrough 1910. Two names I have - the man with the pocket watch withhat on andhis hand on the footballer knelt down James Preston, and son Arthur Preston from Mexborough. What I would like to know is, what D.D.S.S. stands for.? If you can help, please email us here: UPDATE: January 2012 Lynda Snowden believes DDSS stands for National Federation of Discharged and Disabled ex-Servicemens Society, sounds good to us! If you have any questions - or indeed answers - please contact us.     ");
array_files[6]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/TheCut.htm","2012-01-03","10K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Celebrating The Cut    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Celebrating The Cut HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email The Cut - celebrating the 40th anniversary of its launch About the artist Derek was born in 1945, and spent his early life in Conisbrough, gaining a place at Kingston upon Thames College of Art in the sixties. His professional life has been in further education, mainly at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology where he worked for 38 years and rose to Head of Division of Art & Design before retiring in 2005. He is now teaching part-time, at the WEA, and holds classes at Ulley Country Park, and also exhibits in shows across the north and midlands, and with fellow artists in the Alluvium art group, which was formed in 2007. More details >> The Cut was brash, daring, fun and a breath of fresh air for Mexborough, and it’s still fondly remembered even today. It’s exactly 40 years since this inspired monthly swipe at authority and champion of local Arts hit the streets, and this irreverent mag has earned its place in our ongoing archive. The brainchild of three talents brought together by their love of drama – Geoff Sargieson, Ken Griffin and Derek Allport., the paper published 21 issues over its short life, with Howard Lloyd becoming the third man after Geoff left a year in. It started innocently enough, with three regulars at the Rockingham Theatre Company on Schofield Street deciding Mexborough needed a voice for the thriving Arts and community scene. But it evolved into a strident force in the town, using humour and satire to have digs at civic leaders, and showcase the memorable characters that made the town special. Latterly, the magazine lost its teeth somewhat and settled into a routine of fun and frivolity, with few of the side-swipes at authority which had made it a must-read. Looking back at those 21 issues, it’s clear the Cut’s success and charm owed a lot to Derek’s drawings; each issue is peppered with cartoons and caricatures, bringing the town worthies to life. Derek used a subtle blend of cartoon style and insight to nail his subjects; politicians come off worst, as you would expect, but there is genuine affection for others, all inked with care and skill. And they have stood the test of time – far better than normal photography; there is an immediacy and vitality in them which would never exist in a snapshot. To any one who remembers the subjects, they are captured with affection, and often the devil is in the detail, with hidden gems uncovered only after careful scrutiny. Derek does, however, have one regret and that is his portrayal of Police Inspector Dilcock, whom he was asked to portray in one front-page drawing as a minion of Sheriff Buckroe (larger-than-life councillor Tommy Roebuck). “I know that caused upset, and I’d like to have it on record that I regret it” he said. Indeed, Mr Dilcock’s son Michael said his father was put out by the portrayal, as he had no great liking for the councillor. One of Derek’s favourite drawings of the time was the Catholic Club committee, with the priest in the centre of a scene based on The Last Supper. I have two I rate above all others – the first is the lovely Florence Payling, landlady of the Miners, who adorned the front cover of the second issue, and the second is a remarkable scene showing the homecoming of Iron Hague. It spans two pages and is full of character and affectionate observation. Both are included in the flip-book at the foot of this page. Later issues became more jokey, more rag-mag than news and satire, but they still reflected the town and its characters through Derek’s artwork, and raised a smile as the Seventies doldrums set in. Of the 21 issues, one – summer 1972 – is different in style, and that is because the trio had taken their performing talents on the road, to the Dales. So that publication was masterminded by brothers Denis and Tony Ratcliffe. Meanwhile Geoff, Ken and Derek produced a kind of ‘Cut Lite’ which was in effect a programme of their tour, and we’re grateful to have that in our archive too. The illustration below is from that issue, and shows that Derek could turn his sharp eye to bringing his colleagues to life. In the 40 years since The Cut was launched, Mexborough has changed out of all proportion, not always for the better either. There are fewer characters around, fewer interested in local politics and more of a void where the sense of community once thrived. Which makes celebrating The Cut’s golden age so important. The trio helped us laugh at ourselves while on a serious mission to improve the town’s culture, and they left a lasting record of local life which we’re proud to have preserved for the future. Peter Lee Our grateful thanks to Derek Allport for the loan of his original Cuts, and for permission to use his illustrations. Below is an interactive flip-book document. You must have Flash player installed to view it. To turn a page, click on the lower right corner of the right-hand page, and drag the page open. You can also click on the top right corner too and drag, or simply click once to turn a page. Moving backwards uses the left-hand page edges. You can email your comments to us here: COMMENTS Thanks for the memories! We lived on Doncaster Road - Miners Arms to one side of us, Ken Griffin to the other side. The arrival of Florence and Ken Paling to the Miners was a breath of fresh air to be sure! Ken [Paling that is!] always so smartly dressed with crisp shirts and ties and a cherubic face that always looked like his mother had just scrubbed him! Florence - well her style was certainly a draw for the customers! She was a damned good landlady though. The pub was always vibrant and full of characters during their time. Ken Griffin moved up from Don View with his cat Cleo. Just a streak of a man with wild hair and a wicked sense of humour and strong beliefs, such a pity that health let him down! I remember The Cut, my dad would bring in the copy and it would be picked up and read over and over, and the caricatures laughed at - If only we had those times back at Mexborough! Thanks again, Sue Thomas [Millwood]     ");
array_files[7]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/programme.htm","2011-12-31","5K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society HomeNewsletters Readers PublicationsQ&A Essays News Programme email 2011 Tuesday, 27th September Memories of Sprotbrough Hall The Sprotbrough estate operated for some 800 years until 1926 when the Hall was closed. The film is introduced by the 7th Baron Cromwell who donated hundreds of previously unseen photos. It includes an interview with 102 year old Sabina Stirland who was a housemaid there in the 1920s. She gives a fascinating insight into the daily life at the hall, the staff, her job, events and of the family who lived there. By Giles Brearley Tuesday, 25th October ‘The Great Central Railway War Memorial’ This is located in Sheffield and bears the names of all those, who worked for the GCR, including those from Mexborough, who died in the Great War. Ken will tell us a little of the GCR, the men who appear on the monument, and how it was saved and relocated to a site of safety. An Illustrated Talk by Ken Grainger Tuesday, 29th November ‘Behind the Iron Curtain’ It is not widely known that during the Cold War, when the USSR closed its boundaries with the west, some of our local firms upheld some trade behind the Iron Curtain. Cory worked for one of these firms and will tell us what it was like to visit Russia at that time. By Cory Garner 2012 Tuesday, 24th January The Fight Against Smallpox In South Yorkshire and London By Tony Dodsworth Tuesday, 28th February ‘Transportation to the Colonies’ This is a topic which has never been approached before. In 1610, penal transportation began to the American colonies, followed in 1788 by Australia. Ken will inform us what life was like for the average convict. By K. Rogers Tuesday, 27th March A History of Conisbrough Castle Pat McLaughlin will give an illustrated talk. Tuesday, 24th April The History of Doncaster Royal Infirmary By Garry Swann Tuesday, 22nd May 2012 AGM Followed by: The Glassworks of South Yorkshire Meetings are held in the George and Dragon, Church Street, Mexborough At 7.15 pm on the last Tuesday of the month. Entrance Fee £2 for Members and Non-Members     ");
array_files[8]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/Nov_2011.htm","2011-12-02","24K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Mexboroughs forgotten author - Sarban In this month’s newsletter Mexborough born and bred John Beal and a student of literature gives us a brief insight into the life and works of a locally born author who appears to be little known in his place of birth. John William Wall at his desk I was travelling from st1:place Doncaster to st1:Cityst1:place Hull where I was to meet Melanie, a beautiful student nurse studying at the University. While on the train, I was taking the opportunity to continue reading from the book Ringstones by an author with the pseudonym “Sarban”. I had already read the first two stories – A Christmas Tale and Capra. The first was a story told in Jeddah around the Vice-Consulate, and the second was told at the Turf Club in st1:Cityst1:place Cairo. The Third story I began to read on this journey and the coincidence was uncanny. Calmahain, was the title of the story and it appeared to be set near the outskirts of st1:Cityst1:place Hull during World War II. Indeed, as I settled down to read, the description of a train journey to that city unfolded across the page. As I read on, images passing by the window mirrored the description of the landscape in the story. The striking comparison began to convince me that the author must have intimately known the area that he was writing about. After my trip to st1:Cityst1:place Hull I finished the two remaining stories, The Khan, again set in the st1:place Middle East and the eponymous Ringstones, set in the bleak moorland terrain of Northumberland. I was again impressed by the author’s ability to vividly describe the scenery of his story. After finishing the book, I placed it on the shelf amongst myriad others with the good intentions of looking further into this author. A couple of days later, I received a call from a friend in Sheffield, and after discussing other issues, he happened to mention that he had received a phone call from a mutual friend who, during their conversation, had said “So, it looks like Sarban comes from Mexborough”.  I was astonished, and I believe my reply was something like, “What!!!” This was the spur that began my investigation into the origins of this author, and thankfully it was not as difficult as it might have been pre-internet. In fact, I rapidly found a site that mentioned quite a lot about Sarban, as well as finding reference to him in the books - The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Horror and the Supernatural by Jack Sullivan and Horror: 100 Best Books by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Horror gave his real name as John William Wall, and his birth year as 1910. It mentioned his diplomatic career in the st1:place Near East, including spending sometime at the British Middle East Office in st1:Cityst1:place Cairo. It explained that he wrote a number of supernatural tales between 1947 and 1951, which were subsequently published in, Ringstones and Other Curious Tales (1951), and The Doll Maker and Other Tales of the Uncanny (1953). It also mentioned his only novel The Sound of his Horn (1952) an interesting mixture of horror and science fiction, which occurs in an alternative world where the Nazi rule had continued. Suzi McKee Charnas in the book Horror: 100 Best Books says of The Sound of His Horn, that it contains “flashes from a vision at once false and true, enchantingly beautiful and starkly hideous,” and that Sarban creates “a lasting, eerie echo... in this brief, unforgettable book”. High praise, when considering that Charnas’ appraisal of Sarban’s novel nestles in amongst such genre greats as Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer, M. R . James’ Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Oliver Onion’s Widdershins. However, although interesting, and providing literary leads to other Sarban works, these books did not provide the proof of where John William Wall originated. The internet – that mine of sometimes dubious information held much more information on the biographical background of Sarban. The first hit, as for so many other things, was Wikipedia (if this was the only source I may have been somewhat dubious – even with the useful references). This source stated that most certainly John William Wall was born in Mexborough on st1:date Year=1910 Day=6 Month=11 the 6th November 1910, and also that he died on st1:date Year=1989 Day=11 Month=4the 11th April 1989. His parentage was George William Wall (Born 8th March 1873), a passenger guard on the Great Central railway, and Maria Ellen Wall (nee Moffatt, Born st1:date Year=1873 Day=16 Month=6 16th June 1873). This source didn’t say where he was born, but a further site, The Lost Club Journal supplied this information along with confirming the above. In fact Sarban had been born at st1:Streetst1:address 30 Lorna Road, and was the youngest of five surviving children, Doris Catherine, Ann, Alfred and Jane Adelaide. Whilst growing up in Mexborough John William kept an intermittent diary in which he describes pleasurable trips to his Father’s family home in the Isle of Axholme and also walks and cycle rides in the countryside and villages surrounding Mexborough (naming the village of Adwick* as particularly pleasant). He seems to have had a love of the countryside, and this is evident in his later writings. Wall went to the nearby st1:placest1:PlaceName Mexborough st1:PlaceType Grammar School, where he had four poems entitled “Above the Dearne”, “The Old gods”, “Beyond” and “By Ormuz’ Shore” as well as a short story entitled “The Englishman” in the School Magazine The Don and Dearne (Title taken from the school song) that was later to publish Ted Hughes’ early works. He continued his education from October 1930 at st1:placest1:PlaceName Jesus st1:PlaceName College, st1:Cityst1:place Cambridge where he received first-class honours. It was whilst at st1:Cityst1:place Cambridge that he studied Arabic taking the first part of the Modern Languages Tripos, as well as taking the Consular Service Examination. From there he gained a post in September of 1933 in the Consular Service appointed to the st1:place Levant, or st1:place Eastern Mediterranean as it is now known, where he found himself the Probationer Vice-Consul at st1:Cityst1:place Beirut. Following this, he was stationed at Jeddah, st1:Cityst1:place Tabriz, st1:Cityst1:place Isfahan, st1:Cityst1:place Casablanca and st1:place Salonika in st1:country-regionst1:place Greece. Finally, he became the Counsellor at the British Middle East Office in st1:Cityst1:place Cairo until 1952, and it was in st1:Cityst1:place Cairo in 1950 that he wrote The Sound of His Horn and The Doll Maker. Prior to these works he had written Ringstones and A Christmas Story (around 1947), which he showed to Eleanor Alexander Riesle, who he had met in 1946, and who he married on st1:date Year=1950 Day=20 Month=1 January 20th 1950. It was Eleanor who looked up publishers and got Ringstones published by Peter Davies in 1951. The couple had one daughter, Jocelyn (who became Jocelyn Leighton upon marrying), and she is the source of much of the biographical information available on-line, as well as on Mark Valentine’s excellent biography. Unfortunately, Jocelyn died in the spring of 2010. Wall retired from his position of Consular General in Egypt in 1966, but continued working for the Foreign Office as a teacher in London, and then in 1970 moving to Cheltenham. Finally, after six and a half years he retired to Monmouthshire, and died in 1989 at the age of 79. His ashes were scattered under a tree in the Fellows’ Garden at st1:placest1:PlaceName Jesus st1:PlaceName College. He has left an, at present unencrypted novel, entitled Sysgol, which was written partly in shorthand and partly in Arabic, as well as another entitled The Gynarchs which he wrote around 1965 of which Mark Valentine says, “it was too strange and personal for publication”. In 2011, Tartarus Press published a further novel – The Discovery of Heretics, completed some years ago, but rejected twice by Peter Davies. Finally a biography of Sarban by Mark Valentine entitled Time, A Falconer also published by Tartarus Press is now available. References: Sarban – Wikipedia The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Horror and the Supernatural by Jack Sullivan The Encyclopaedia of Fantasy by John Clute and John Grant Horror: 100 Best Books by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman The Lost Club Journal by R B Russell (On-line). Time, A Falconer – A Study of Sarban by Mark Valentine (* Valentine wrongly mentions Adwick as being a town, a minor mishap in an otherwise valuable and excellent work on Sarban) Bibliography: Ringstones and Other Curious Tales, Peter Davies, 1951 (Also Tartarus Press 2000) The Sound of His Horn, Peter Davies, 1952 (Also Tartarus Press 1999) The Doll Maker, Peter Davies, 1953 (Also Tartarus Press The Sacrifice, Tartarus Press, 2002) Discovery of Heretics, Tartarus Press, 2011 Images – All taken from Internet sites – Wikipedia and The Lost Club Journal, except John William Wall at age 15, which are from Time, A Falconer. Copyright. This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of John Beal and the Heritage Society.     ");
array_files[9]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters.htm","2011-11-30","12K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Newsletters    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Newsletters HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Newsletter: more recent issues A collection of Mexborough and District Heritage Society newsletters Make your selection LATEST ISSUE November 2011 Mexboroughs all-but forgotten author. February 2010 I was posted to the Drill Hall in WWII November 2007 A Victorian gentleman visits Mexborough. October 2011 A Mexborough mans war. January 2010 The Oddfellows Friendly Society February 2006 Early Mexborough to Conisbrough horse-bus September 2011 Notes from a Waterman November 2009 The story of Mexborough sporting giant, Iron Hague March 2006 History of the Victoria Cross May 2011 What was Denaby Main like below ground? October 2009 Aviation in South Yorkshire PLUS WIliam Blount, the Electric Man April2006 Sapper Hackett, VC April 2011 Sam Blount: The tale of a local miner. April 2009 The wonder of Woolies... a look back at Mexborough Woolworths store September 2006 Earls of Mexborough Part 1 March 2011 The end of Montagu Nurses Home November 2008 Mexboroughs link with the Golden Flitch PLUS latest society news October 2006 Earls of Mexborough Part 2 January 2011 All the fun of the fair. March 2008 Extracts from Memorials of Old Mexborough by William Glassby 1893 ARCHIVE: All our previous newsletters October 2010 Mr. Bendelow’s Incredible Journey . January 2008 Recollections of life in Mexborough during the last war. April 2010 The ill-fated liner RMS Titanic and Mexborough. More will be added as time goes on, so please check back     ");
array_files[10]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/readers02.htm","2011-11-24","7K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Readers contribution page 2    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Readers contribution page 2 HomeNewsletters Readers #1 Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email FROM OUR READERS 2 To include more contributions from readers, we have expanded this section. READERS page 1 is here December 2011: These two photographs are of Alexandra Road, Mexborough. They were taken in 1954 by Colin S Palmer with his Kodak camera - long before traffic filled the streets. Colin, born on Alexandra Road, has lived in British Columbia for 46 years, and still keeps in touch with his friends from Mexborough Grammar School. December 2010: This series of images comes from Christine Hobson, of Sheffield, via her late uncle, concerning the Tyas family of Mexborough. Herbert Tyas Snr. was a resident of Mexborough, a builder who lived at The Glen (now gone I believe). He was married to Alice for many years and had a large family. After her death he married a Scottish woman named Agnes who was headmistress in a Rotherham school. He had a son with Agnes, Herbert Jnr. Senior was a Methodist minister for many years, and his son married my aunt ,who lived at the White Bear at Ecclesfield, daughter of Harry Percy Lewis who was an ex. football manager and referee. They went to live in Bradford eventually, where he became stage manager of the Alhambra theatre for 29 years. S Herbert Senior is buried in Mexborough cemetery with quite a few of his family. Agnes died in Redcar after the war. Herbert Tyas Snr, ..his wife Agnes Georgina Herbert Jnr (1902 - 1982) The Glen. December 2010: A very nice shot of Mexboroughs Pastures Road bus sheds, around 1920, from a good friend of ours, Pete Day, of Denaby. OCTOBER 2010: This interesting photo of the Mexborough Brickyard in 1925 comes from another good friend of the Society, Keith Butcher (Keiths website). He writes: The faces seem happy despite the working conditions they put up with in those days. My two brothers worked there back in the 50s the condition then was bad there skin was bright red when the finished a shift there. some names are: Top right hand side-the manager/Boss - Mr Sherlock, 4th from RHS bottom -Archer Hague, 7th from RHS bottom-Herbert Holt, 2nd from top LHS- Peter Waddlngton, 3rd from Bottom RHS-Tom Rownsley     ");
array_files[11]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/Oct_2011.htm","2011-11-12","26K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Private William Ernest Bird – A Mexborough Man’s War In this month’s Mexis the Society’s Vice Chairperson Bill Lawrence writes of a Mexborough First World Soldier who faced the horrors of the Gallipoli campaign as well as those of the Western Front, survived, and returned to Mexborough to tell his story. RIGHT - Private William Ernest Bird, 6th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment circa 1914 Courtesy of Susan Shaw The information for this article has kindly been given to the Society by Susan Shaw of Barnsley. Susan has undertaken a considerable amount of work on her family’s history. In doing so she uncovered some remarkable documents relating to her grandfather William Ernest Bird who became Private W.E. Bird of the 6th Battalion of York and Lancaster Regiment during the First World War. Susan discovered three documents, all within the family bible, which had gone unnoticed for perhaps 90 years. First there was a letter hidden within the pages of the many paged bible, second was the writings of William’s wife, Susan’s grandmother, who had copied the sentiments of another letter written to her by her husband. Both letters tell of his experiences whilst in the army. Third and perhaps the most surprising discovery was a poem about William Bird’s experience in Gallipoli, written as far as is known by Private Bird himself. There was of course millions of letters written home from the front by servicemen, and sometimes women who served their country in other ways. Probably many have sadly been destroyed, but others have been extensively published, although it must be said those published tend to be from the pens of the middle class, in particular the officer class, many of them the production of public schools. Private Bird was clearly one of the more literate from the ranks of the working class or “the lower orders” as the officers might say. This ability to express ones thoughts was particularly so when it came to poetry. Martin Stephen remarks in his book, on poems of the First World War, “in poetic terms the true voice of the infantry man is hard to find”. But here we find it and what’s more he was a Mexborough man. The words of William Bird, like others from his background have remained a secret for years. These writings in recently years have been recognised as important literary works, just as worthy of publications written by such as Field Marshals, Generals and other senior officers and as for poetry, such as Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon. There is perhaps something significant about the writing of such as William Bird. He may have never considered himself to be a writer or poet at all. Yet like other men from his class he was just that. But what they brought to their writings and poetry was perhaps a reflection of their background. The experience of the pit disaster, the harsh realities of working life or unemployment had been everyday horrors and experiences of the common soldier. There seems to be a calmness about Private Bird’s writings and his poem, all conditioned by the experiences of his class, and not to be found outside it. There is a unique mixture of emotions found in his letters and poem. A mixture of grief and sadness for his fallen comrades, revulsion at the worst aspects of the war, but also a sense of pride. Staffordshire Lad Settles in Mexborough then off to War. The decade before the First World War saw a massive increase in coal production throughout Great Britain. By 1913 Britain’s coal mining industry was in the forefront of this economic supremacy. By this time output reached nearly 290 million tons of coal per year, the highest figure of coal production in Britain that has never been surpassed before or since. The opening up of the rich seams of quality hard coal within the South Yorkshire area witnessed a boom in economic activity and relative prosperity for its people. Mexborough was no exception. It was this that brought William Bird, who was by trade a bricklayer, to Mexborough in search of employment. He and his friend, Jim Hope, cycled to the Mexborough area from West Bromwich; it is believed, around 1910. It appears that it was not long before William, who was living in Wellington Street, met Florence White who was by then living in Victoria Road. This meeting appears to have been fruitful for William’s pal Jim, for he met Florence’s sister Elizabeth (known as Betty). Jim and Betty married and lived in Albert Road, Mexborough. William married Florence (Florrie) on the 20th July 1912. We don’t know were they initially lived as a couple but later settled in 79 Victoria Road, Mexborough where they stayed for the rest of their lives Sadly, it is thought, Florrie gave birth to a still born child, possibly in 1913, but there are no records to confirm this. Later William and Florrie had two daughters, twins born on 9th May 1914. Both were born small and sickly. Anne survived but Hilda May died on 28th September 1914. Anne died in Mexborough in 1981. The summer of 1914 was particularly hot and very dry. William, Florrie and their new family, would have been experiencing this with some joy and hope for the future. This was to be interrupted by the news of the declaration of the First World War on 4th August 1914. Like many young men of the time William volunteered for Army service within days of the outbreak of the conflict. What motivated him we don’t know but one can guess patriotism and adventure may have featured in his decision to go to war. William Bird would have attended the Mexborough recruiting office, the Register Office within the old Market/Town Hall or the Labour Exchange which was in Bank Street near the Nat West Bank of today (See Julia Ashby’s article in Mexborough Heritage Society Newsletter Achieves May 2000). He would have: gone through the attestation certification process, by swearing the oath of allegiance to king and country; received the ‘King’s shilling’ and quickly sent on the journey to Pontefract Barracks. This was to be the shortest of his journeys in army service and he could not have imaged the long journeys that lay ahead. Pontefract Barracks Main Gates circa 1914 – Courtesy of Pontefract Museum Private Bird’s Own Story - From Mexborough to the Hell that was Gallipoli.Below Private William Ernest Bird tells his own story. It is written as it was in Susan Shaw’s family bible, without paragraphs but this makes no difference to his fascinating story.“It was on the 19th August that I enlisted in the 6th Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment and went to Pontefract on the same day. I was stationed there until September 17th then I was drafted to Grantham in Lincolnshire. We had very hot weather while there, we stopped there until Easter Monday and then marched to Rugby. It took us 3 days and we had a grand reception when we marched through Leicester. The people gave us cigs and cake, in fact they gave us all sorts of stuff. At last we got to Rugby. They billeted us in a School. We stopped there the night and the next morning we marched off to the station, we had no idea where we were going. It took us 12 hours in the train. Of course they took us a long way round. At last we landed at our camp and found that it was a place called Witley in bonny Surrey. We had some very hard work while we were there. I don’t know the dates that I was granted leave. But I know I took one on my own while I was at Grantham. The reason I took it was that while I was there my daughter died. I paraded for a pass so that I could go to the funeral. But the Colour Sergeant passed it off and said it was too late. Well I passed it off as well as I could, but it went down hard. Well shortly after that my grandmother died and they would not let me go to her funeral so I thought I would wait my time and one day I had a letter from my wife to say that the other daughter was ill. I paraded in front of the Captain for a pass but I could not get one so I got my wife to send me the fare. On the Monday there was a big route march. I did not go on it. I went to the butts with a firing party and got back about 1 o’clock and as I sat down, I thought now is the time to go, so I got changed into my clean shift and got to the station about 10 minutes to six. I had a lot of trouble to get a ticket but luck favoured me that day. I only had to wait 5 minutes for a train. Well I got home about 10 minutes to eight. They did not expect me. I had a week at home and when I got back I was tried by the C.O. I explained everything, but I got 7 days defaulters that was my first crime. I will now get back to where we were at Witley. While we were at Whitley we had a surprise visit of Lord Kitchener and later on we were received by the King and Queen. It was on the 28th June 1915 that we had orders that no one was to leave camp and we could not send any letters. We were given our thin suits and helmets. Of course when they gave us those we had a good idea where we were going. On 1st July we left Witley for Liverpool. It was in the afternoon and we were traveling all night. We passed through Birmingham, West Bromwich and we passed within 200 yards of my mother’s house and as I passed I looked out of the window and wondered if ever I should see them again. Well we arrived at Liverpool at 5.30 next morning and we had a lot of stuff to carry. We marched onto the Aquitania at 7.30.pm. she was one of the biggest ships afloat it was just like a floating palace. Well they got everything aboard and she steamed out of the dock in the night and set sail for the hell upon earth place called the peninsula. We had not been sailing long before a submarine sent 2 torpedoes at us. It was 4 o’clock when it happened the first one was about 3 yards away the second about 12 yards. They would have got a good catch as there was between 8 and 9 thousand troops aboard and there was no guns on her except machine guns. Of course they were put at every corner of the ship and ready for firing in case we came upon a submarine. Well as I say, we set sail from Liverpool on the Saturday afternoon and it was a splendid voyage. We never stopped until we got to Lemnes we landed there on 11th July we left on 23rd July for Mudros a place 15 miles from the peninsula. It was terribly hot while we were there then came the order on 6th August to get ready for moving. There was a number left back as reinforcements. All the boys went with a good heart. Although they did not know the fate that was waiting them. It was on the 6th August they landed on the right of a place called Salt Lake they had orders that not a shot was to be fired everything had to be taken by bayonet. While we were landing they were bombarding Anjas and Ashe Baba to draw the Turkish troops from Sulva Bay. It was a terrible spot was Salt Lake we named it Death Trap. We lost very heavy although we drove the Turks back about 3miles, and if there had been another Division to follow us up we should have been well on our way to Constantinople but that was where the big blunder was made. Well those that was left behind came on the next night and when we landed it was awful to see the chaps that was wounded, it was my first experience on a battle field and it made my blood run cold. I was all day before I got over it. We sat down and had a bit of bully beef and biscuit. General Hammersley came along and he was quite pleased when he knew who we were. At last we marched to where the remainder of the Battalion were and we was not long before we set off to capture a village called Anaparta but it was too late the Turks had got their reinforcements up. It was while we were marching that a bullet missed me and killed the next chap on the spot, so I thought that was a bit of luck. At last we found out that we could not advance any further, so we all laid down in a field as we had no trenches. As night time grew on the order came for us to form a square and dig ourselves in. Well we got nicely dug in when another came for us to retire back onto another position. Well we were marching all night and in the middle of the night the order came back for us to about turn and go back to the position we had left. It was while we were going back that a mysterious thing happened. There was 2 men guiding us and our Colonel asked them where we were they could not answer so he pulled a revolver out to shoot them but before he could do so, one of our lads put a bullet in the pair of them and they turn out to be 2 Turks, it was a good job for us that we did stop else we should have been surrounded and God knows what would have happened to us. The order came to dig ourselves in again. We had only been digging half hour when the order came to advance. So we set out and the sun was telling on us all. I am sorry we lost some men too. We were surrounded by snipers and the smell from the dead and dying was awful. A chap had only to be dead about half an hour before he would be maggot eaten. Well we held that position for 2 days when the Welsh Territorial came to relieve us. We left them and we had not been gone many minutes before they started to retire and we had to fall back and take that position back again. At last we got away and we forced to get back over to a place called Salt Lake. It was fairly a death trap the shells were flying in all directions. I shall never forget it but some of us managed to get to the beach safe. We were only out 24 hours when we had to go back, and as we were going back over Salt Lake they started to shell us again and don’t forget they gave us sock.”The Poem Our Gallant FightersYou may talk of Balaclava,And of Trafalgar Bay.But what of the 11th Division.That landed at Suvla Bay. We are a part of Kitchener’s army,Some of us left parent, children and wives.But we fought for England’s glory,Yes we fought for our very lives. It was on the 6th of August, We made that terrible dash.And the Turks along the hillside,Our boats were trying to smash. The order came to fix bayonets,As out of the boats we got.Every man there was a hero,Who was facing the Turkish shot. The funnels of our boats got smashed,While the sea in parts looked red.But we fought our way through the ocean,To the beach that was covered with dead. Creeping at last up the hillside,While shot and shell around.We made a last desperate effort,And charged over the Turkish ground. The Turks at last gave it up, When they saw our bayonets play.For they turned their backs on the British,And retired from Suvla Bay. There were Lincolns, Dorsets, Stafford,And Notts and Derbies too.The Borders were there,The rough and ready crew. Then we got the Manchesters,With the Lancashire Fusiliers by their side.The boys who came from Lancashire,Will fill your hearts with pride. The Yorks, East Yorks and West Yorks,And the Duke of Wellingtons as well.We fought for England home of beauty,Were among the lads that fell. The fighting sixth were at it hard, All Yorkshire lads you lads you know,The sixth York & Lancs were on their guard,,And pushing back the foe. And far away on the hillside,Laying beneath the clay,And some of the lads that died, While trying to win the day.So remember the gallant 11th Division,Who volunteered to go. And fight for England’s glory,Against the determined foe. Concluding FootnotesThe Gallipoli Campaign was supposed to create a back door entry into Germany by attacking the Dardanelles and taking Constantinople. The campaign will always be considered by many as one of the biggest blunders in British Military history. Even perhaps greater then the Somme offensive of 1916, for it was to become a futile exercise which was finally aborted at a cost of many thousands of casualties. The total numbers of casualties on the Allied side is estimated to have been about 265,000 men of which 46,000 died either killed in action, of their wounds or of sickness which was rife. The Turkish casualties were believed to be even greater In 1915, Winston Churchill, then the first lord of the Admiralty, was influential in suggesting the campaign should go ahead when doubts were expressed by others. Churchill was chiefly blamed for this disastrous decision and it took sometime for his reputation to recover. For some of course it never did. The campaign suffered from poor planning and incompetent execution. Private Bird’s description of events eloquently portrays this ineptness and what appears to be almost total confusion. But note there is no criticism of it in the written word but one can only imagine the reactions and emotions of the ordinary soldier to these events.The 6th Battalion of the York and Lancashire Regiment began to evacuate from the areas on 18th December 1915. By 28th January 1916 the Battalion sailed for Alexandria reaching there on 2nd February. From there to Port Said on the 10th and onto El Ferdan reaching there on the 24th February. Later the Battalion was sent to France for engagement on the Western Front, which was now considered to be the decisive theatre of war. Perhaps mercifully Private Bird and his Battalion did not take part in the Somme offensive which began on 1st July 1916. But this day would still be significant for William Bird as he lost his brother-in-law Private Charles Christopher White of the 10th Battalion of the York and Lancashire Regiment killed in action on that fateful first day of the Battle of the Somme. Christopher was a 19 year old lad from Conisbrough and the brother of his wife Florence. Private William E. Bird’s regiment was sent to Flanders hardly more comfortable than the Somme.Private William E. Bird returned to Mexborough after the war and settled in his home with Florence at 79 Victoria Road with their, by now, 4 year old daughter Ann. He returned to his former occupation as a bricklayer. Thankfully he survived the horrors of the bloodiest war in history. He and Florence had another daughter, Kathleen in 1920 who still survives at the time of writing. In 1924, Susan Shaw’s mother Winifred (Winnie) was born. She sadly died in 2003 in Barnsley.William Bird died in 1952 his wife Florence in 1967. They are both buried in Mexborough Cemetery. After nearly a century this Mexborough soldier’s story has been told. We should take pride in his bravery and that of all the Mexborough service men and women to who we all owe so much. RIGHT - Private Bird with insert of his wife Florence and 3year old daughter Ann – circa 1917 Courtesy of Susan Shaw References Private Papers of Susan ShawPeople at War – Edited by Michael Moynihan (1973)Poems of the First World War – Edited by Martin Stephen (1993)Official History of the York & Lancaster Regiment – Colonel H.C. Wylly (1930) Copyright. This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of Bill Lawrence.     ");
array_files[12]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/horace.htm","2011-11-06","3K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: The Cut newspaper    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: The Cut newspaper HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email This is an interactive flip-book document. You must have Flash player installed to view it. To turn a page, click on the lower right corner of the right-hand page, and drag the page open. You can also click on the top right corner too and drag, or simply click once to turn a page. Moving backwards uses the left-hand page edges.     ");
array_files[13]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/ferry.htm","2011-10-26","10K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mexborough ferry    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mexborough ferry HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email The thrill of the ferry It was the best fun a few coppers could buy in Mexborough for many of us - a few pennies not only took you to the greenery of Old Denaby, they also transported you on a magical journey, a real thrill in itself. The following is an extract from the May 1993 article by our archivist Julia Ashby: the 8mm movie which forms part of the video, was taken by former St Johns School headmaster Mr Peter Cook, and we are grateful for permission to use it. Mr Cook was head of the school from 1964 to 1969, and oversaw the move from the old premises on Bank Street to todays building. He died in 2009. By the middle of the C19th the canal had been built, the area was beginning to become industrialised and traffic over the ferry had increased to the point where a larger boat with a deeper draft was needed, so a weir was placed there to lift the level of the water. A small house was also built for the Ferryman and is to be found with house and weir on all maps thereafter. After the First World War there was a typhoid epidemic which was thought to be caused by overcrowded, unheathy living conditions. It was the job of Mr. Simcox the Health Inspector to look at all the houses in our area and consider whether they were fit for human habitation.and if not to have them condemned. It was he who condemned the ferrymans two roomed house. However, unlike most places which were condemned it was not demolished but turned into a workshop by the Nelson family who used it for making their brooms etc. The ferry was actually owned by the same company as owned the canal, and each summer they would send a group of workmen to repair any damage done to the weir or ferry because of the winter floods. In 1851 the census tells us that the ferry was run by Mr. John Beldan, but after him came a family which a lot of our older members will remember at the ferry - the Nelsons. They took over the ferry and responsibility for operating the swing bridge over the canal after the First World War, for which they were paid 10s. (50p) per week. In addition all the takings from the ferry became theirs as part of their wages. In 1928 Mrs. Nelson died and the railway carriage she and her family lived in after the ferrymans house was condemned was burned down. The navigation company then sent Jack Ball from Swinton to man it on a temporary basis until a permanent employee could be found and an advertisement was placed in all the local newspapers to these ends. At last the job was taken by George Ryalls and his son, a barge owner of Church Street. After George Ryalls the ferry was always manned by an employee of The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company and the first of these was Herbert Martin from Swinton. It was he who removed the Manila Rope used to haul the boat across the Don and replaced it with a wire one. When he left the job was taken by Freeman Shaw (he was nicknamed Shay), another character a lot of our older members will remember, who manned the ferry for many years, walking each morning from his home in Swinton. But when the Second World War broke out and officials came from the government to list everyone working for the canal, companies, they.were shocked to find how many hours a week he was working, which, when Please note: this video is retrieved from YouTube from the Heritages channel. After playing, YouTube offer the chance to see videos it thinks are relevant. Unfortunately we have no control over this content, so you are advised to exercise discretion. averaged out, amounted to 16 hours per day 7 days a week. (In the summer it is said that he had a lie in bed and didnt start work until 7.00 a.m.). They gave instructions that he would have to cut his hours by half and work a shift system with someone else. This made him very angry and he went to work for Mr. Sutton at Manor Farm as a general farm labourer. Jimmy Cramp then took over the job. In Mexborough Local Board Book we find further reference to the ferry. On 8th January 1874 the local board had a deputation from the Coroners Office, after an inquest into the deaths of two men who drowned in the canal at the bottom of Ferry Boat Lane on 12th December 1873. Plans were made to fence off the canal, and to put in a small gate for access to the ferry, but this did not stop the old problem of people accidentally slipping off the ferry boat into the River Don as they got on or off the boat) this being a particular problem with children. At this meeting one of the men on the board, made the comment that the especial remedy would be to build a bridge over both the canal and the river in place of the ferry leading to Denaby. This seems to have been spoken of many times over the years by both Mexborough Local Board and Mexborough Urban District Council, and it wasnt until nearly one hundred years later that at last we were successful in getting our bridge. However, in gaining our bridge, I feel we lost something, and certainly when we take our children for their trip to Old Denaby Woods we know they are safer, but where is that sense of magic and adventure felt by us when we boarded that boat which took us over the river to a special place with special memories. Awakening memories Friend and contributor to the Societys web site, Brian Wright has jotted down his recollections of the ferry: We used the ferry to either go fishing in the ponds or to play in Denaby Woods. If the ferry man was not around we would take ourselves across, leaving the boat on the wrong side! We would also cross commando style along the cable if we were without the penny. Dipping in the murky waters around the weir I remember we pulled out cows skulls on one occasion, which had no doubt been thrown into the river from the abattoir up near the engine sheds. An incident I wish I had witnessed involved the vicar, Rev A J Bishop. Apparently he was on his bike going down the slope to the ferry when his cassock got caught in his spokes pitching him into the river!! Preserving the past - with your help If you have any photographs or documents which you think may be of interest to the society, please get in touch. The archive, while invaluable as a resource for anyone with an interest in Mexborough history, is also a way of preserving the past for generations to come. Your photos, videos or documents will be treated with the utmost care and will be returned promptly after copying. As you can see from the site, we cover history from the very early days of the community right up to recent years. So if you have photos of people and places now gone which you would like to share, please get in touch. This also includes any video footage you may have, or film transfered to tape or DVD.     ");
array_files[14]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/cooling.htm","2011-10-23","3K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Cooling Towers demolished    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Cooling Towers demolished HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email A landmark crumples, 1982 Despite the early hour, hundreds of people gathered at the canalside near Pastures Road to see a Mexborough landmark bite the dust. The twin cooling towers of Mexborough power station were being demolished, and this video captures the sights and sounds of the event. Please note: this video is retrieved from YouTube from the Heritages channel. After playing, YouTube offer the chance to see videos it thinks are relevant. Unfortunately we have no control over this content, so you are advised to exercise discretion.     ");
array_files[15]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/jan2008.htm","2011-10-18","10K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email What did you do in the War, Charlie? by Charlie Shaw In l938 there was a war scare and a number of we Parish Church Scouts (the 16th Doncaster) called at the Police Station to enlist as cycle messengers in the ARP (Air Raid Precautions). The war scare did not materialise. In l939 war was imminent so we signed on again at the Police Station. We then had a meeting and lectures over duties as cycle and foot messengers. We were given a meeting room in a house on Adwick Road, which had been the manager house adjacent to the Co-op Stores and Co-op Butcher (which is now a Newsagent & food store). We held weekly meetings and lectures on air raids – gas precautions and the effects of gas (mustard and phosgene – these are the ones I remember). We were allocated to warden posts, which were located in various places of Mexborough, plus gas decontaminant units, ambulance depots, report centres. We had to learn where all these places were to be able to take messages in case the telephones were out of order. We had to go on standby duty one evening a week to learn the way they operated. At intervals we had mock air raids to practice our skills in taking messages and finding the destination in the dark, as there was a complete blackout. No lights to be shown from any building, no street lamps. You could only use torches with 1” diameter glass and you had only to shine them forwards. Cars and motorcycles had to have headlights covered with masks, a metal cylinder about 5” in diameter and 3” deep with slits about ½” wide, there was approximately 4 to each cylinder with louvers to direct the light downwards. When the air raid siren sounded we all had to go to our allocated places. My place was Castle Hills House, a shed in the garden. It had: chairs; tables; a stove in the middle with a chimney up through the roof; a kettle; a teapot; mugs and biscuits; which we were only allowed after about two hours on duty. (1 biscuit and 1 cup of tea). About l942 we had one Dispatch Rider and one Sunbeam Motorcycle model 90 stationed, with the young ladies, at the Ambulance Centre within the old Cosy Cinema on Garden Street. At that time it still had its stage which I found out later was fitted with a full size snooker table. I transferred to be a Dispatch Rider. We had our headquarters in Netherhall, Doncaster and held meetings and lectures every Wednesday night and practice exercises every Sunday morning. This comprised motorcycle riding in formation, doing convoy duties and riding over rough ground to gain experience for bomb sites. I remember one major exercise, which started at midnight on Saturday from Goldthorpe with a large number of vehicles (ambulances, decontaminant unit, mobile canteens, fire crews etc). We had to take the convoy by the back roads to Askern. There were six Despatch Riders. We rode behind the convoy commander’s car. He was reading the map for directions and when we were approaching a road junction he would signal for a Despatch Rider to go forward and instruct the rider to direct the convoy in the direction he had given. He did this at every junction. Later, when we were out in the country lanes, I was sent forward to take the next right hand turn. (My motorcycle had a faulty dynamo and the lights had gone out). As I went forward to take my picket point I could not see the road but I could see the telegraph poles in the skyline so I followed these. Soon afterwards I fell into a ditch. (The telegraph poles went across a field and the road went around the field). Anyway I managed to pull the motorcycle out of the ditch and carry on to my picket point. We arrived safely at Askern and the mobile canteen served a lovely meal. It was a very interesting night out. In the early forties our Scout Group, the 16th Doncaster, and the Girl Guide Group formed a concert party and gave a concert at the Royal Cinema on Sunday nights and at various church halls in the district. We were joined by local dance schools and one Sunday night at the Royal we also had The Shaw Twins, Doreen and Betty (no relation) playing and singing. They played the drums and piano accordion. The first night at the Royal I looked through the curtains before the start and all I could see was a mass of faces. Every seat was full and there were people standing in the aisles. They had all come to see us. The night was a success and all the profits went to the local war weapons week Spitfire fund and the local mobile canteen fund. As the Royal Cinema was once the local jail the stage was over that part with stairs from the stage to the dressing rooms, which were the old cells. I worked with my father and uncles in the family business. My father was a Blacksmith and Farrier. One of the jobs I was given to do was to go to the Parish Church and measure up to make two iron ladders which were to be used to deal with incendiary bombs if any were dropped. I made and fitted them and they were taken down after the war. A few years ago I walked around the churchyard and leaning up on the wall next to what used to be Sutton’s farm was one of the ladders I had made. After sixty years it was still there. (Copyright: this newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety without the permission of Mexborough & District Heritage Society.)     ");
array_files[16]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/april_2010.htm","2011-10-13","20K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email RMS Titanic and Mexborough by Julia Ashby The poster which may have been seen in the window of The Times Office, High Street, Mexborough I’m sure, by now, every one of us must have seen a film about the sinking of RMS Titanic. Whether it be ‘A Night to Remember’ in 1958, which was a docudrama starring Kenneth More & Honor Blackman, or the 1998 multi-Oscar-winning box-office hit ‘Titanic’ starring Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio. But how many of us realized that we were watching stories relating to people from Mexborough and its area? At the beginning of the 20th Century the Mexborough and Swinton Times, later to become the South Yorkshire Times, was not just a newspaper. Its offices on High Street were used by W. Turner, the proprietor, as a Booking Office for ships used in travel, tourism and emigration, and he became an agent for the Emigration Office. It was at this time that two important personalities, to this story, appear in the form of advertisements in the Mexborough & Swinton Times. The first being that of a small mail steamer which carried only 2nd & 3rd class passengers, the majority of which were emigrants to the new world. This being the heroine of our story the Cunard Liner Carpathia. The other couldn’t be more different to her homely sister. On 22nd April 1911 they carried another advertisement this time for the construction of a huge new luxury liner, by Cunard’s rival ‘The White Star Line’, The Titanic. On 10th April 1912, the palace of the seas, as some called her, setting a southerly route to avoid seasonal icebergs, began her maiden voyage to New York, calling firstly at Cherbourg and then Queenstown, in order to pick up additional passengers. The journey went well, with everyone excited to be part of a new venture, and first class passengers thrilled to hear the ships’ officers, at dinner, stating that the magnificent ship was the safest ever built and was so high out of the water that no heavy sea could wash over her and that she was unsinkable. Four days into the voyage, on Sunday 14th April 1912, a beautiful spring day dawned bright, warm, and calm, without a breath of wind then suddenly, as darkness approached, the temperature plummeted. This alerted the highly experienced seaman in Captain Smith, as although he had ordered the ship to take a route below the southern limit of icebergs, he realised that their presence could make the temperature drop in such a way. At 6.55p.m., having received radio messages that icebergs had been seen in the vicinity, he went to the bridge where he stayed for some time, at last leaving instructions that he was to be contacted immediately “if you are in the slightest degree doubtful”. At 11.40p.m., after a warning from the crows nest, a shudder went through the ship as she hit a ‘Blackberg’. This is a particular type of iceberg which is almost impossible to see being clear, reflecting the dark sky like a mirror. Captain Smith, who had been resting fully clothed on his bunk, ran straight to the bridge where he demanded to know what had happened. He then ordered all watertight doors to be closed and sent for Thomas Andrews, the chief designer. Together they went below decks to survey the damage and Andrews’s verdict, after much calculation, astounded the Captain; the ship would sink in approx. one and half hours. Captain Smith went into action immediately; he rushed to the Wireless Room where he ordered the Wireless Operator, using the new powerful Marconi Wireless, to send a distress message to all ships in the vicinity. Luckily, just 58 miles away, was the little Carpathia who, on hearing the Titanic’s distress call made a heroic all-out dash to her aid. The Captain then gave the shocking orders to prepare all lifeboats and to abandon ship Courtesy of Charlie Shaw. Who took this photo’ on our society excursion to Lichfield a few years ago: Captain Edward John Smith RNR RD. Captain of the White Star Line ‘Titanic As sculpted by Lady Kathleen Scott widow of Captain Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic). Walter Francis Fredricks, of Southampton, was a member of the ‘Black Gang’, who shoveled coal to the stokers. He was preparing to go onto the midnight shift and, dressed for the heat in shorts and a sleeveless shirt was descending the staircase leading to the Fireman’s Corridor when the ship violently jolted and a groaning of metal could be heard, and then the bottom of the staircase was suddenly flooded with water. Walter fled on deck, where the air was freezing, lifeboats were being got ready and two seamen were needed, for each, as oarsmen and Walter was allocated to Boat 15. The temperature was below zero and Walter was dressed only in thin shorts and top, he thought of returning to his quarters to obtain warm clothing but instead climbed into the lifeboat and rowed. It was probably this decision which saved his life as many who did return were lost. Instead he rowed franticly, getting his blood circulating and staving off hyperthermia. 2nd Class passengers Mr. & Mrs. Collyer and their daughter Marjorie, who had been asleep in the cabin at the time of the collision, were at the time queuing in their nightwear on the boat deck, for a lifeboat, when the cry went out ‘women and children first’. She stubbornly refused to leave her husband clinging to him, but as a member of the crew tore Marjorie from her arms and threw her into the boat she allowed herself to be pulled from him and to follower her daughter into the lifeboat. Mrs. Stanton Abbot of Albanshurst, wife of the ex English Lightweight Champion, and her two sons were 3rd Class passengers. By the time they had climbed the flights of stairs to their collection point on ‘A’ Deck, and then moved to the boat deck to get into a lifeboat, the Titanic was taking her final plunge. Mrs. Abbot and her sons jumped from the deck into the icy waters where she quickly found herself in a collapsible lifeboat which had been swamped; the people inside trying to balance it in water to their knees. After a while they were transferred to another lifeboat but three bodies were left behind. Her two sons were lost. Captain Arthur Rostron, of the Carpathia, tried to coax as much speed out of the old steam ship as he could. He ordered: lifeboats to be readied; electric lights hung around the ship; all gangway doors, in the ship’s side, to be opened; ladders, nets and ropes to be dropped over the side; hot drinks, including soup, to be made; blankets and warm clothing collected; then lastly first aid stations to be set up in the dining rooms with doctors in each. At 4.00a.m., after a search, a green light was seen from the deck of the Carpathia and the first of the lifeboats was discovered. Walter Fredricks, who had stalwartly kept rowing for three hours, saw rockets on the horizon and the passengers cheered, as dawn approached, and the Carpathia came into view. Walter was almost exhausted and after coming on board, clutching a blanket, he slept for most of the following day. Mrs. Collyer and Marjorie heard that Mr. Collyer had died and, still dressed in their nightwear, were taken, weeping and in agony, for medical care. Whereas Mrs. Abbot, who’s legs, had been badly damaged by standing in the freezing water of the lifeboat, was laid on a padded sheet in the smoke room. Battling bravely, through a thunderstorm, the little Carpathia, carrying the survivors of the tragedy, plus her own passengers, docked in New York on Thursday 18th April 1912 and most of the Titanic’s passengers, included Mrs. Abbott, Mrs. Collyer and Marjorie were instantly whisked away to received medical care, but not so the crew. Walter Fredricks, who, dressed in only shorts and top, who had rowed for hours, almost to the point of exhaustion, to get the passengers of his lifeboat to safety, was left to stand waiting, wrapped only in a blanket, until the following day when he and other survivors of the crew were walked to Pier 61 where they were put aboard the Red Star ship ‘Lapland’ and given a 3rd class berth. The following day they were again marched to attend a memorial service and it was only then that Walter received any dry, warm clothing. The Lapland set out for England on Saturday 20th April and arrived at Plymouth nine days later. The surviving crew believed, after their ordeal, that they would be allowed to go home, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. They were ferried to the docks, where following a wait of five hours, were marched by dozens of police, like a string of convicts for transportation, to a 3rd class waiting room isolated from outside contact. Here they were kept until every one of them had given a statement. Still they were not released and had to sleep in a made up dormitory until the 30th April when eighty-five of the surviving crew were shepherded onto a train bound for Southampton. At last at 9.00p.m. on 30th April 1912, 12 days after the Carpathia docked in New York, Walter was home and in the arms of, a now heavily pregnant, tearful wife. Mrs. Abbott spent two weeks in hospital and then left for Providence, Rhode Island. Some of the passengers returned to England when the White Star Line offered free return passage, but Mrs. Collyer and Marjorie were not among them as they tried to live, as Mr. Collyer had wished, in Kansas, but found it impossible without him and came home to their family in Bishopstoke. It didn’t take long for the terrible news of the sinking of such a beautiful, new, luxury liner, with the loss of 1,503 souls, to reach the Times Office in Mexborough. News that the largest vessel afloat, had sunk with such tragic loss of life, reached British Shores before Walter Fredricks did. The Mexborough & Swinton Times which had: been the local agent for the White Star Line through which residents had booked their tickets; promoted the Titanic by broadcasting news of its construction, launch, trials, and maiden voyage, only a few days previously; now had the horrific prospect of telling its readers that most of the 2,200 passengers and crew, some of which must have been local, had died. The journalist, in his article dated 20th April 1912 states “ the disaster to the biggest liner yet known has commanded the attention of a horror-struck universe” he also goes on to say “The Titanic and her sister-vessels were scientifically judged gale-proof; but when they were pronounced unsinkable, the experts were probably thinking of typhoons”. The news of the sinking of the pride of a seafaring nation particularly in an area like Mexborough, where so many still worked on the waterways, sent shock waves through the populous. Our local citizens mobilized immediately, the following Sunday memorial services were held in all our local churches and chapels, to packed congregations. Following which meetings were held in order to plan how they could help the survivors. Funds were established locally to help the widows, orphans and dependent relatives, the proceeds of which were sent to the Mansion House Titanic Relief Fund, London. Their generosity was not wasted on Mrs. Collyer, now trying to raise her daughter single handed in Bishopstoke. She applied to the fund and received a weekly pension of £1 3s (£1.15) to enable her to raise her daughter. Unlike many of the suriving crew of the Titanic Walter Fredricks went back to sea and in 1914 joined the Merchant Navy where he was, for a time on hospital duties. Following demobilization in 1920 he again went to sea, serving for a time on the Titanic’s sister liner the Olympic. In 1939 he again enlisted, working on troop transporters and, still living in Southampton, died in 1960 aged 69 years. But what became of the Carpathia, the heroine of our story? Shame to say she ended her days, in the same way as the Titanic, laid on the sea-bed of the Atlantic. She sank on 17th July 1918, off the east coast of Ireland, the victim of a German U boat. In the Mexborough area rescued passengers from the Titanic Disaster must have began to filter back and I have received information, from two sources, that a survivor lived in, or close to, Adwick Road and also heard, from one person, another survivor of the tragedy lived in Swinton. In an endeavor to discover what survivors returned to the Mexborough area I have consulted www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor, which gives a complete list of survivors, but only mentions their addresses at the time they embarked on the Titanic. This is where I need your help. Can you inform me of more survivors, or information as to who these people, mentioned above, may have been? The Encyclopedia Titanica Website carries a list of all passengers and crew, which has been printed off for the benefit of all those looking for lost family members. If you wish to research them please contact our Chairman J.R. Ashby. Copyright. This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby. Information Obtained from: Harold Alderman MBE, International & National Boxing Historian. Mexborough & Swinton Times: 20th April 1912, 30th March 1912, 27th April 1912, 18th Nov. 1911, 22nd April 1911. www.eszlinger.com/titanfacts.html www.titanis-nautical.com/titanic-facts.html www.compas.dircon.co.uk/1titanic.htm www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/charlotte-annie-collyer.html www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/walter-francis-fredricks-a-biography.html www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/eva-georgetta-dean.html www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/mary-davis.html www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/rhoda-mary-rosa-abbott.html www.titanic-titanic.com/carpathia_found.shtml www.titanic-titanic.com/carpathia.shtml     ");
array_files[17]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/april2009.htm","2011-10-13","16K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Woolworths by J R Ashby Pictured in 1928: Some of the Original staff of Woolworths, Mexborough Branch. L-R Miss Corlett, Miss Ward, Miss Nicholson, Miss Pryor, Miss Gill, Miss Beaumont, Miss Hall, Miss Wigglesworth, Miss Immerson and Miss Walton. Franklin Winfield Woolworth was born on 13th April 1852, the son of a potato farmer, in Rodman, near New York. In 1873 he began work in a shop where he was expected to work for three months at no cost to his employer, who stated why should I pay you for teaching you the business? It was at this shop where he quickly discovered that by reducing items to five cents they sold well. He borrowed 300 and opened his first shop, where everything was five cents, but this failed. But he was convinced that he could be successful and with his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, and his original employer into partnership, he established his second store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in April 1879, and expanding his merchandise to include items at ten cents. It was an instant success and they began to expand until by 1911 the F.W.Woolworth Company was incorporated, uniting 586 stores. Frank, as he was affectionately known, had a great affection for England and believed that his shops, known all over America as the five and ten store, would work in this country. He visited the U.K. and wrote in his diary I believe a good penny and sixpence store, run by a live Yankee, would be a sensation here. Flying the banner, 3d & 6d Store, in 1909 he opened his first store in this country at Church Street, Liverpool. But at first customers were reluctant to go through its doors as previously they had walked into a shop, bought something, and then walked out. Whereas with this strange new American store, items were laid out on counters, and they were encouraged to pick things up and examine them. This reluctance was overcome by opening cafes within the store where pots of tea were offered free of change to shoppers for the first year. The new Liverpool shop sold everything for the Edwardian Household, it was the time of mass production and thus this enabled him to sell china and glassware at lower prices than his British competitors, customers could find everything from childrens clothing and toys to haberdashery and stationery. The British people found they loved this new way of shopping and by the mid-1920s a new Woolworths shop was being opened in this country every seventeen days. Mexborough was not to be outdone in this and on Friday 3rd August 1928 we find, in the South Yorkshire Times, a quarter page advertisement informing us of the opening of a new store in Mexborough and an article covering its construction. The site, at 42, High Street, had previously been occupied by a gents outfitter, by the name of Richard Brown & Sons Ltd. Over this was situated part of the old Times buildings and workshops were to be found to the rear, and work began, on the construction of the new Woolworths by the demolition of these premises in the spring of 1928. But the construction of the new store was fraught with difficulties from its commencement and the South Yorkshire Times describes its construction as a minor miracle in shop-construction. When digging the foundations, and the site where the boiler house was to be situated, a four foot seam of coal was struck plus an expanse of clay. This caused the area of the site between High Street and Garden Street to be excavated to a depth of twenty-four feet, removing 6,000 tons of clay, the seam of coal was also removed and to ensure the stability of the surrounding buildings, and Garden Street, a six feet wide retaining wall was constructed, and all property had to be en-shored and under-pinned to a depth of thirty feet. The South Yorkshire Times goes on to tell us that: Mr.J.Ross, of Woolworths Construction Dept. oversaw the whole enterprise; Mr.B.C.Donaldson, who was the firms architect, was responsible for the plans, and supervision was by Mr.G.Wilson. It goes on to state that all labour was local. Everyone worked well together and because of this and, despite all the problems they had, the store was constructed, and opened for business in no lease than seventeen weeks. Mr.Robert Hull, of Manchester, who was the first Manager, must have been exceedingly proud of his new shop. The floors were covered in pitch pine and the counters, of which there was 358 feet, were made of Mahogany, here for the first time customers were to experience not just the customary counters to be found around the walls, but also, what was referred to as Islands. The walls were panelled in display boards and mirrors, with ceilings covered in Steleonite. this is pressed steel made to resemble enamel. There was also the luxury of electric light fitted throughout. The whole finished interior must have given the store a bright and airy atmosphere, unlike most shops of the day which seemed to favour dark oppressive internal features. The article goes on to tell us that Mr.Hull was to oversee a staff of no fewer than sixty girls, who ran the thirty-two departments which made up the store. Messrs F.W.Woolworths & Co.Ltd., were renowned for being in the forefront of employee care and their Mexborough Branch was no exception as we find that both a rest room and the services of a matron had been provide for their staff, something which was almost unheard of for that time. Mr.W.D. Baxter, Sales Organiser for their Midlands area, arranged the grand opening and inspection by the general public. This was to be at 2.30p.m. on Friday 3rd.August 1928, for which palm trees had been shipped in, I presume by rail, plus a full orchestra had been obtained, which was to play certain selected pieces. My father was only six years old when F.W.Woolworths opened its door. But it must have been such a momentous event in both his life, and the life of our town that sixty years later, before his death, he could still remember the banner Nothing in the Store Over 6d also the excitement and buzz felt by the crowds that day. He remembered the queues down the High Street to go in, and when they eventually got through the doors, even though he held onto his mothers hand so tightly, he was swept along by the crowds momentum, so much that she had to lift him up to ensure his safety. The narrowness of Mexborough High Street had long been a danger to traffic and pedestrians alike and since the 1930s there had been various plans to make it safer. By the early 1960 it began to be rumoured that this would soon come to fruition and in the interest of expansion F.W.Woolworths obtained the property, above and behind, formerly occupied by the South Yorkshire Times. In 1966 the newspaper moved out, with much media coverage, to their new, purpose built premises The White Rose printing site, on Station Road. Then in February 1968 it was announced to the world that the whole of central Mexborough was to be redeveloped and a new By-Pass created on its south side. In 1974 the skyline of Mexborough was to change forever and by April of that year the south east side of High Street, had been demolished and the following year the new Hillards Supermarket (now Tesco) was opened. It was soon after this that demolition, by Bramall & Ogden took place of: the buildings which had been used by South Yorkshire Times above and behind Woolworths; and the well loved Blakes Drapery Store, which was then situated next to the existing Woolworths, thus enabling the construction of a new, larger Woolworths store to be started. It was at that time that an incident occurred, I believe, which some of us will still remember. When, during demolition, tons of scaffolding and rubble crashed onto the High Street. One driver was nearly hit by the debris and dozens of people fled. The street was immediately blocked off and an investigation was undertaken by the Governments Factory Inspectors. How sad I feel my father must have felt, after witnessing the euphoria of its opening, to see the depressing sight my son and I saw just after Christmas. On 26th Nov.2008, Woolworths went into administration and it was announced that the branch at Mexborough would close on 29th Dec.09 and it was on this day that my son and I went for a last look, and how depressing it was to see the staff stripping the shop of all its stock and placing it into boxes for dispatch. A sad end to 80 years of business which for a time left a void in the heart of the town. But let us not end on a sad note as on 29th Jan.2009 the building was taken over by B&M Retailing who, like Woolworths before it, sells everything for the house and family, at reasonable prices. Who says the spirit of the five and ten store is over? I for one wish them all the luck in the world and hope they will be in Mexborough as long as their predecessor. By your Chairperson/Researcher J.R. Ashby Information Obtained from: The History of the South Yorkshire Times by Rex L. Parkin South Yorkshire Times 03/08/1928, 27/04/1974, 15/09/1978, Mexborough Town Centre Map. Consultants Report Copyright. This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby. News From the Local History Room On Saturday 7th March 2009 your society gave a display at the Unity in the Community Event, which was organized by the Don. Fed. Of TARAs, at Doncaster Race Course. There were demonstrations on: juggling; Irish, Street, and Bollywood Dancing; nail and face painting; mounted police horses; the fire service; and many others. It was a beautiful day and I feel everyone enjoyed themselves. The next event your society will attend will be: 10a.m. - 4p.m. Saturday 25th April 2009 Doncaster & District Family History Society, Spring Fair, Doncaster School for the Deaf. This will be followed by 10a.m.- 4p.m. Friday 1st May 2009 Mexborough Resource Centre, Dolcliffe Road, Mexborough. Later this month will be our AGM, held in the Meeting Hall of Mexborough Library. Please keep your eyes on the media for the day and date. (Copyright: this newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety without the permission of Mexborough & District Heritage Society.)     ");
array_files[18]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/May_2011.htm","2011-10-13","16K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email What Was Denaby Main Colliery like below ground? PICTURED: Denaby Main Colliery. To the right can be seen the sidings of the Flameless Explosives Company manufacturer of Westphalite, a safety explosive for mines, better known locally as the Powder Works. Reproduced courtesy of the website Yorkshire Main Colliery and Other Local Mine Last month we covered the life of one of the men who helped to sink the shafts of Denaby Main Colliery. But what was it like to actually go down a mine, in those far off days before the innovation of electric light and the internal combustion engine? To work in a man-made hole a quarter of a mile below the surface of the earth, where the light never penetrated and the dark was so intense that it was absolute, and you constantly worked with your ever present workmates danger and death? At the latter half of the 19th Century an article appeared in the Mexborough and Swinton Times which may give us some insight into this world, belowground, when an unnamed reporter for our local newspaper descended into the depth of the pit and wrote an item about his experiences there. When reading this newsletter we must consider that he was escorted, as a visitor, and as such would have been shown the choice areas of the pit and not the typical work places of the men, also we must take into consideration that his visit was made during the Christmas Holidays, thus only a skeleton staff would have been present. After gaining permission, from the Manager of the Denaby Main Colliery Co. Ltd., Mr. W.H. Chambers (Manager from 1883-c1909), his journey began aboveground, on an icy cold Christmas morning, by a visit to the office and the lamproom, and it was while in the former that Mr. H.S. Witty, Assistant Manager of the colliery, who proved to be his guide for the day, arrived carrying his protective ‘head gear’. This consisted of a stout, leather, scull cap with a ‘neb’ at the back designed to protect the rear of the neck. The lamproom proved to be a large building lined with shelves of gleaming numbered lamps, each number corresponding to a miner and it was the first and last place visited by the miner at the beginning and end of each shift. Our visitor then, as the night shift had recently finished, was shown how the lamps were cleaned, refuelled, and checked by specially trained men, but he was surprised to see not a Davy Lamp in sight. Mr. Willy explained that these had now been superseded by the ‘Protector’, invented by Mueslar in 1885, who’s brass pillared, glass sided lamp, gave more light and was a safer lamp in general. Their next step, while still on top, was to the Engine Shed where the Engineman stood before dials which indicated the rise and fall of cages in the shafts and, by the use of electricity, rang a bell telling him that the cage was sixty feet from its destination, enabling him to slow its speed ensuring the safe arrival of both men and minerals at the base. Passing through the Engine Shed they came to the top of the shaft where our visitor became dazed by the hubbub of: the din of the metal coveys, both full and empty going up and down the shaft; the clanging of machinery; and the eerie, ghostly, disembodied babble of voices, ascending from the cavernous hole below. He was informed by Mr. Willy that the last visitor to the pit, a canon of the established church, enlikening it to Hades and refused to go any further, but our visitor was made of sterner stuff and, although still in a daze followed Mr. Willy to begin his journey into the bowels of the earth. The metal cage, carrying its two occupants, fell like a stone down the cylindrical shaft so quickly that his legs and feet became affected, then came the strange feeling that he was going up the shaft and not down. No sooner had they begun their descent than it was over, as the engineman, above, begun to steady the cage for its final few feet. But it was at this stage that ‘what if’ arose in his brain. What if the machine failed? What if the rope broke? Then the cage with its occupants would crash from side to side as it plummeted down until it reached the sump along with the mangled remains of its passengers. On disembarking from the cage another sensation came over our visitor as he began to feel as though he was aboard a tossing ship. He was assured that this was quite common and was taken to a subterranean office to recover before continuing his journey along the labyrinth of tunnels. They walked for three hours along an underground tramway. Firstly in the direction of Old Denaby and Mexborough Station then towards The Pastures, where aboveground skaters enjoyed themselves on the frozen flood waters. He: squeezed himself between stationary corves; ducked his head beneath protruding overhead rocks; also lifted his feet high to prevent himself tripping. Then came a loud rumble, like thunder, and Mr. Witty dragged him into a refuge hole, which are to be found every 20yds, as a number of corves shot by. Our visitor explained that corves, or coal tub, are metal or wooden wagons, used to convey coal from the coal face to the pit head. Several are linked together, to be pulled along a railway track by a pony or connected to an endless rope which runs between the tracks. An endless rope is made of metal and is attached to a revolving machine and it is the easiest thing to become entangled in it or to trip, thus breaking a leg, or worse, the corves being attached or detached at underground stations. Our visitor had heard of an underground fire in the pit, thought to be caused by the spontaneous combustion of the coal and was taken to the site. At first the heat was hardly noticeable but as they got nearer to the seat of the fire it began to become intense. The seam of coal where the fire had been was walled up in order to starve it of oxygen and when it was extinguished was dug out. He was taken to an area where this was in progress, the brickwork had been removed, and a man digging out the burned coal, worked in the aperture almost naked, with sweat pouring from his body, here the heat was, to our visitor, unbearable, the residual heat contained within the brickwork making it glow. Next on their schedule was a visit to one of the blocks of stables, to be found underground, to see the ponies which pulled the corves, he found the ponies, which he was shown, to be in good health and was informed that mistreatment, of any animal, was not tolerated by the management of the pit, and anyone found doing so was sent before the magistrates. He was also shown an experimental collar being tried. Instead of the usual, made of leather, which accommodated dirt and rubbed the animal sore, this was made of zinc which prevent this and was much cooler. In another empty stable block a strange noise could be heard like shale or shingle on the beach at ebb tide. This was caused by hundreds of mice, which poured out of the straw, trying to flee or climb the walls to escape into niches in the brickwork. Mr. Witty explained that they had reached plague proportions and were becoming a monetary problem as they devoured large amounts of the ponies feed. As they passed through the Montagu District full corves past them coming from an area where men were erecting props and ‘picking’ at the coal, while others were throwing large lumps of coal into the corves. Here Mr. Witty checked that their lamps were suspended at a reasonable distance from the point of their picks. The miners were working extremely hard and he wasn’t surprised to hear that output, the previous Christmas, exceeded any other. Although working hard the men seemed to be happy and their laughter and singing could be heard frequently. At that time the eight hour day for miners was the main point of discussion of the day and our visitor stated that he agreed with it as he did not believe “all his mortal life should be monopolised by labour” he should also have time for “leisure, recreation, and study”. He was then taken to a passage where the return air, smelling like burning wool, was sent up a shaft. Here was an area where only Mr. Witty and Mr. Soar were allowed and the atmosphere was checked on a more regular basis. From here they went to a small underground cabin where ‘Clever Dick’ could be seen relighting lamps which had become extinguished. He was told that this is usually the result of the miner placing the lamp on the floor, where the draught blew it out. He also explained that the collier had to bring the lamp to the cabin to be relit as the management had found it necessary to keep the lamps locked as some miners, in the past, had tampered with the workings of the lamp, thus endangering both themselves and their workmates. Prior to returning to the surface Mr. Witty took our visitor to see an accumulation of fine coal dust which our visitor stated was as soft as velvet. He explained that this was the cause of explosions in the mine and told of the strange occurrence in the pit where, if an east wind was to come into contact with the current that brought the coal dust then there would be a fall of what resembled rain. Then after one last reading with his instruments it was time for Mr. Witty to take our visitor home. But not by the route they originally arrived by, this time they were to travel by the Cupolo Shaft, used to extract steam from the underground engine. Mr. Witty rang an electric bell and the Engineman, aboveground shut off the seam and sent a cage down the shaft to pick them up. As they ascended through the warm mist Mr. Witty used his prowess as a ventriloquist to play a joke on our visitor and asking, in a disembodied voice, if he had enjoyed his journey below ground. This at first, completely confused our gentleman, and it wasn’t until they reached the surface that its source was revealed, and much laughter ensued. After so much time had been spent belowground he was surprised to find how much snow had been gently falling and he returned home to sit before his warm coal fire and think on the pit where it had come from. Information obtained from: an article, date unknown, discovered in the Mexborough and Swinton Times Copyright: This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[19]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/march2008.htm","2011-10-13","20K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email . Memorials of Old Mexborough by J R Ashby EXTRACT FROM ‘MEMORIALS OF OLD MEXBOROUGH’ by William J J Glassby 1893 Some Old Memorials … we will seek out such old buildings as may repay us for our trouble. On the left of Doncaster Road, coming from the town of that name, and just before we reach Pinfold Lane some old farm buildings are to be seen. The history of them, or their earliest tenants, seems to be unknown; but upon two of the buildings we notice letters and symbol carved on the stone lintel over each of the doorways. The first on the left hand side of the entrance is as follows:- and immediately in front of this a building facing the south, with lettering very similar, and to all appearances cut by the same person who was author of the preceding:- Although no knowledge can be obtained with regard to these buildings, we look with reverence upon the handiwork of past generations, which for two centuries has defied the ravages of time and decay, and remain proofs of the thorough workmanship of those who have long since passed away. Still continuing along the main road, to the right appears the National School, a neat stone building. Upon this site once stood the structure which formerly served in a like capacity, but was far inferior to the present edifice. The first was a long, low stone building approached by the ascent of two steps up to the little porch. The floor and roof consisted of stone flags; the interior being partitioned for the purpose of forming a separate room each for boys and girls. For the Schoolmaster, in one corner stood an old desk and armchair, the remainder of the rooms containing the seats and desks for the scholars. The demolition of the schoolhouse in 1845 has removed from our midst an interesting fabric, but as time cycles the world expands, and that which did duty well erstwhile, becomes all too strait for the enlarged requirements of succeeding generations. Passing along the same side of the road there shortly appears the remains of the old Rock pottery, although at the time of writing the wreckers are in possession, - and speedily upon a portion of the site will be raised a temple to the spread of Wesleyanism; for here will be built the new Wesleyan Chapel. After the death of Mr Reed, the owner, in 1870 the pottery was taken by Mr Sydney Wolf until 1883. Passing to Mr Wilkinson, it was worked by him till 1885 when the place was dismantled, the plant being sold by auction. Little now remains save the old cupolas, recalling to the memories of many the prosperity of the pottery in its palmist days. So, hastening on, we will turn towards the Market Hall, and pursuing an easterly direction make a line for the old Church. On the left of Market Street are two little cottages, types of many in country villages, but to these is attached an interest not exceeded by any other. Here dwelt Mrs Kilham, the Mexbro’ Centenarian, who died in September, 1891, having lived for 103 years, 100 years after the death of her mother and residing in this house for 74 years. A few steps along the same side of the street are six quaint cottages with courtyard running along the front. In these are to be found the old people, who, having passed through their active years, seek retirement from the battle of life and spend their last days in enjoyment of a well earned rest. Upon the wall over the central doorway is the dilapidated form of a stone tablet which originally bore the arms of William Horne, and a Latin inscription. The whole is so corroded by the tooth of time that scarcely any of the carving is discernable. It is interesting, however, to know the inscription which appeared on the tablet – “Deo et pauperibus per Gulielmum Horne, generosum, anno aetatis suae 54 ann D’ni. 1669”; shewing that, owing to the generosity of William Horne these buildings were founded in 1669, the same year in which the farm buildings were erected which we noticed off Doncaster Road. In accordance with the will of one, Calverley, dated April 25, 1721, the Almshouses were endowed with £5 yearly to be derived from the charge upon the “George and Dragon” farm, in Mexboro, now owned by Mr Montagu. Leaving these houses which have proved a haven of rest to so many, we proceed further to where on the right is the house of Dr Twigg, once the home of Mr John Reed whom we mentioned in connection with the pottery. In the grounds adjoining the house is a Gothic arch facing the roadway and richly carved with grotesque figures and heads, the whole having been designed and carried out by the late Robert Glassby in 1859. Continuing our journey to the junction of Church Street and Pinfold Lane, standing away from the road on a rising ground is the house where the last named was born on December 18, 1835, and who after much perseverance, overcame all obstacles and forced his way into the world of Art. His death in London on August 3, 1892, was regretted by many in all classes of society; at his funeral Her Majesty being represented, and sending a magnificent wreath inscribed as “A mark of respect from Queen Victoria”. A few paces onward through Church Street brings us to a group of farm buildings on the left. We will let our minds dwell upon one of these which to many is a spot fraught with hallowed associations, as here occurred the advent of Methodism in Mexboro. Our authority for this is an article from the “Christian Miscellany” as follows:- “Mexborough – now a busy, thriving place, lying on the Don – was about three-quarters of a century ago of limited dimensions and very sparsely inhabited. It had a small Church, and, as our story will show, some form of local government. The parish clerk, Robert Glassby, who was also its schoolmaster, held the office of constable, and evidently considered it his duty to keep the peace and prevent any approach towards disturbance. At this time Methodism had no existence in the village although it is only six miles from Rotherham. A change was, however, at hand. In the year 1804, the Rev Robert Newton, DD, was appointed to the Rotherham circuit. His fame as a preacher of distinguished eloquence and power had already been spread abroad, and he was the first Wesleyan preacher who visited the place. In what is now called Old Mexbrough, near the church, on the opposite side of the road, stands an old farmhouse, enclosed within walls, then occupied by a Mr Sellers. Mrs Mary Styring, of Wickersley, near Rotherh, ‘a mother in Israel’, who felt an interest in the place, got his consent to come and preach to the people. Among the hearers, or perhaps we should say the onlookers, was the important official who blended in himself the threefold office of constable, schoolmaster, and parish clerk. Irritated that anyone should presume to interfere with the religious care of the parish, and zealous to preserve the peace, he told the preacher that if he should presume to come again he would apprehend him. Dr Newton was not likely to be deterred from his work by these threats; he announced another service in a month’s time, and again made his appearance at the place and began his service in the same house. The parish clerk, also true to his word, had engaged several men to render their help in taking the preacher, and had provided handcuffs for the purpose. So well was the intention known that a man from Wath, James Thorpe, an old Methodist, along with several others, came with the expectation of seeing the apprehension. As the service proceeded the men employed said to the official, ‘Shall we take him?’ ‘No’, replied the constable, ‘he has not said anything amiss against the King or the country’. The service still progressing, again they whispered, ‘Sha’n’t we take him now?’ ‘No’, again was the reply, ‘he has said nothing wrong’, and so the service was peaceably concluded and the congregation dismissed.” The untoward surroundings, and grave difficulties under which these pioneers of Wesley’s teachings laboured, explain the cause of their success. The meetings held in the farmhouse kitchen progressed under the feeble light of the old fashioned tallow candle, the preacher aiding himself by holding a “dip” in his hand while reading, the snuffers lying hard by for the frequent trimming of the lessening flame. Truly an uphill fight, yet bearing results which compel the fraternity of to-day to applaud the self-denial and stubborn nerve of their forefathers. The cause of Methodism continued to grow, meetings being regularly held in the farmhouse until in 1833 such progress had been made that a fine chapel was built; soon, however, to be superseded by a new building which is being erected on the site of the Rock Pottery as before-mentioned. We now turn to the next building, - the home of Mr Varah Lockwood. The most interesting portion is certainly the interior, although the exterior still bears the traces of its past history. Here upon our right we notice the large iron ring, still firmly fixed in the wall, where once was tethered the traveller’s horse; for be it known this was the village hostelry graced by the presence of Dame Varah, known far and wide as the vendor of prime home-brewed ale. Close by on our left is the time-worn horse-block, by which many a farmer has remounted his horse after having satisfied the cravings of the inner man. Within the house we centre our attention upon the old kitchen, once used by the frequenters of the inn, and but little altered since it served as the public-room; and as we look at the large open range we feel envious of the times when, as an open house, customers could here seek a retreat from the bitter blasts of the wintry tempest, and find solace and comfort in the imbibing of hot spiced ale and other luxuries. From the Church register we gather that in 1765 Thomas Varoh married Martha Darling, henceforth to be known as Dame Varoh. Now the nearest doctor lived at Wath, so this good lady was singled out to perform the delicate operation of vaccinating the children, her daughter afterwards becoming her successor as vaccination officer for the district. A Dorothy Varah become the wife of the Rev Leonard Jasper Hobson, Incumbent of Melton and Mexboro’, on Oct 10, 1803. The regime of the Lockwoods commenced in 1817, on the union of the two families by the marriage of Joseph Lockwood, of Bolton Mill, to Martha Varah. The Inn was then closed, but while Joseph Lockwood followed the avocation of a farmer and miller, his better-half carried on the business of apothecary, draper, and grocer. Many are the items of interest in connection with this house and its successive occupants, but our time will not allow of a prolonged stay. Two venerable cottages adjoining must not be left unnoticed, and though soiled with the grimy hand of time during latter years, the thatched roof and lattice windows with diamond-shaped panes almost compel us to forget the progress which has been made around. Here to, close by, is the village smithy, or as it is more commonly known Cooper’s blacksmith shop; and though one cannot say concerning it, that “Under a spreading chestnut tree, The village smith stands”, The old shop greatly adds to the charm and picturesqueness of this portion of the district which especially forms our theme. We will now cross the road to a group of farm buildings. Here we see upon the wall over the entrance the name of a former occupier, shewing that they belonged to “William Dickinson, farmer and maltster”. Advancing to the Church gates we come to the spot where formerly stood the stocks and where transgressors of the law, often to their utter chagrin, were forced to spend a few miserable house in durance vile, - hours frequently made viler by wags who indulged in the pastime of plying the victim with sundry defunct and altogether undesirable specimens of the feline tribe, unsavoury eggs, or such sweet missiles as came to the ready hands of the tormentors. With the advance of civilization and the improved (?) method of punishment, the stocks fell into disuse and were removed, no doubt to the disappointment of many of the rising generation who would gladly have availed themselves of an opportunity to enjoy a little sport at the expense of some ill-favoured mortal. Quitting the site ingloriously associated with the faults and failings of men of the past, we will enter the gates of the churchyard, and so proceed to the task of the old Church. More to follow in succeeding newsletters about the Church …. We should like to offer Julia Ashby, our Chair, our best wishes for a speedy recovery after her stay in hospital following a slight stroke. We miss you … get well soon! We are approaching the AGM when it is time to select a new Committee. It has always been our policy to encourage one or two new members to join the group each year – new blood, energy and ideas is most important! You don’t need to have any specialist knowledge about local history, just an interest. We meet monthly and this tends to be a social occasion as well. We are particularly keen to find a new Secretary - Marion Allen has done this job for 21 years. She is willing to work alongside anyone who would like to be trained in the use of the computer to carry out routine tasks. It is not a demanding job and you don’t need to have secretarial training, just an hour or so a week to spare and the interest. Please give Marion a ring on 01709 889775, or speak up at the AGM! NEXT MEETING: Tuesday 29th April Annual General Meeting followed by Bring and Share your Old Photographs Please bring along your old photographs and albums. The Society’s archives will also be available on the evening. (Copyright: this newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety without the permission of Mexborough & District Heritage Society.)     ");
array_files[20]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/January_2011.htm","2011-10-13","16K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email All the fun of the fair by Julia Ashby When we look at the few rides and stalls which constitute the Mexborough Feast of the 21st century it is hard to believe that 120yrs ago the feast lasted for days and the grounds that it occupied extended from: the Red Lion, Bank Street to High Street; along Station Road, Market Street and onto Church Street; and incorporated the Athletic Grounds and many others areas besides. Also that if an ‘Open House’ was to be kept for the fair, where meals and a bed for the night could be obtained, then everyone in the family, including the children, were expected to help in the running of it. Also that individuals travelled from as far afield as Germany, just to entertain us with their huge, brightly coloured, steam, coriate-organs, blasting out the raucous music made popular in the dance and music halls of the day, and that the proprietors could make as much as £50 per day, approx 20 weeks wages. As Mexborough Parish Church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist the feast, which is in his honour, was a holy day and traditionally began on the Sunday prior to St. John’s Day, 24th June, with a church service. This was followed by a feast held on the Green Yard, which was a walled enclosure situated on Church Street between the Ferry Boat Inn and the parish church. This was followed by a trades fair on the Green Yard, which over the years became a fun-fair and, by 1881, had become the main event in the area’s calendar, and a holiday. This month, therefore, I would like to take you back to 1881, when an item appeared in the Mexborough & Swinton Times, written by a visitor to that fair. “Walk up, walk up. “Try and buy”. “Now young gents, have a fly at the eye”. “Only a penny”. Were some of the cries that met our visitor as he begun his preamble. Firstly he was struck by the free entertainment available to the onlooker, with Swing Boats, musical entertainers, painted stalls and the brightly clad procession of performing dogs. He then visited ‘Taylor’s Original Burlington Arcade’ and although not to modern tastes, he viewed the array of ‘freak shows’, one of which displayed a chicken with three legs. The Wax Works came next with, for payment of one penny; he was able to see such sculptured marvels as ‘Daniel in the Lion’s Den’ ‘The Judgement of Solomon’, also ‘The Prince Imperial parting with his mother before he went to the Zulus’ and ‘A collier with his dying child’. Other items were also to be seen within the amusement tents such as sword swallowing and conjuring tricks. All the proprietors of which vide for the attention of the passer-by with blasts on their horns or banging drums, all adding to the deafening cacophony of the night. Meanwhile a troupe of artist performed in a field between the canal and Ferry Boat Lane, I presume this to mean acrobats and jugglers. In this location some residents held ‘Open House’ where a refreshing glass of beer could be purchased with a meal, a group of friends could join together in a song and ‘knees up’, or for those who had travelled a distance to the fair, a clean bed could be obtained for the night. Our visitor goes on to state that “some may think it strange that the residents of this area went to such extremes”. But, although Mexborough, by this time, was the centre for many industrial towns and villages, and the magnet for many of its citizens, there was a decided lack of entertainment, with the nearest adequate venue being Sheffield. This, of course, was prior to the opening of both the ‘Prince of Wales Theatre’, Montagu Square, Mexborough, in 1893, and the ‘Grand Theatre’, Doncaster, in 1899. Our visitor informs us that it was necessary, on holidays, for groups to organise a day out to: the Theatre Royal, opened in 1773; the Surry Music Hall, opened in 1851; the Britannia Music Hall, opened in 1869; or a few years after this article went to print, the Montgomery Hall, in 1886. Our writer goes on to plea for the setting up of a good theatre in the town as many are becoming too fond of the public house and becoming “Lushington”. He also makes the comment: “so that our theatre might be devoted to the proper purpose, instead of being the arena for groans, yells, and other discordant cries, as it is at present”. I ask myself if this could be a comment made about the Paragon Mobile Theatre, the forerunner of the Prince of Wales Theatre or the Hippodrome, or did Mexborough at that time have another theatre, to date undiscovered? The fair concluded on the Athletic Ground, which hosted cricket matches between Mexborough, Hemsworth, and Nether Hallam, plus a fete and gala. Here Professor Bailey, of London, had brought a company of comedians, and a Punch & Judy Show. Professor Tatersall could also be seen there, said to be the strongest man in Europe, he swung a weight of 12st. from his teeth and placed an anvil on his stomach while men struck a plate of steel, on it, until that plate was the thickness of a coin. As night fell, and the fair came to an end, Swinton Old Brass Band struck up, a display of Sky Lanterns, were released into the night sky, dancing commenced, and as the evening’s entertainment came to an end a firework display could be seen, from this elevated position, large enough to be witnessed from many miles around. Oh! What it would be like to see just a fraction of these festivities in Mexborough today. Information Obtained from: Mexborough & Swinton Times 24th June 1881. The Music Hall and Theatre History Website. Wikipedia notes on St. John’s Day. Although Midsummer was originally a pagan holiday, in Christianity it is associated with the nativity of St. John the Baptist, which is observed on the same day, June 24, in the Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant churches. It is six months before Christmas because Luke 1:26 and Luke 1.36 imply that St John the Baptist was born six months earlier than Jesus, although the Bible does not say at which time of the year this happened. News From the Local History Room In the past few months your society has helped to write features for both the ‘Yorkshire Life’ and ‘Picture Post Card Monthly’ Magazines. Firstly may I wish all those of our members, who are of Scots decent, a very happy Burns Night. Well what a busy few months this has been: Yorkshire Life Magazine On 28th October 2010 a reporter, from the nationally well know monthly magazine ‘Yorkshire Life’, having previously interview Brian Blessed, came to see Julia at the Local History Room. There he interviewed her concerning Mexborough in bygone times and also publications written by the society for an article, on the subject of Mexborough, for the December issue of the magazine and was particularly interested in our new book. Following the interview, as it was a bright sunny day, he took a number of beautiful photographs of Mexborough, all of which are to be seen in his outstanding feature to be seen in the December Issue of ‘Yorkshire Life’. This item includes illustrations of: Mexborough Top Lock; the Indoor Market showing the flower stall in the foreground; High Street showing the Outdoor Market; the plaque in honour of Mike Hawthorn, the first British Formula One World Champion, who was born in Mexborough; plus his write-up which covers Brian Blessed and your society. But the whole joyful occasion was yet again marred by the petty bureaucracy of ruling, imposed on us by officials of DMBC. As, following the taking of photos elsewhere, he wished to take some of Julia, at work, in the library, but he was prevented from doing so and we were told that, if in future we wished to take photos in the library, we have to give 48hrs notice, this will enable the staff at the library to contact head office to obtain permission for this to occur on DMBC property. Picture Post Card Monthly In December Julia received an e-mail from the magazine ‘Picture Post Card Monthly’ who had been sent a card which was causing much confusion and was able to identify it as Wath Road, Mexborough. This postcard and its description will be seen in the latest issue. T.V. Programme on Sapper Hackett VC Shortly a film unit from the BBC, led by the military historian and author Peter Barton, will interview Freda Warren, granddaughter of Sapper Hackett. A further interview will then take place, later this year, at the Sapper Hackett Memorial, Givenchy, France which was unveiled in June last year. The Passing of People Well Known to the Society Jim Sleight It is my sad duty to have to inform you of the death of Jim Sleight, who took our society on so many enjoyable excursions over the years. He lost his long fight with cancer on 28th December 2010 at Rotherham General Hospital. As he was a Kilnhurst man his funeral and internment took place at St. Margaret’s Church Swinton on Friday 7th January 2011. Margaret Roper, Secretary of the Society, attended the funeral, both as a friend of Jim and as a representative of the society. Tony Greathead Last Sunday I heard the sad news that Tony Greathead, Chairman of Conisbrough & Denaby Main Heritage Group, died late on the night of Saturday 15th January 2011. He will be missed by so many of us, not just for his unlimited knowledge of local history but for his happy, outgoing, disposition. Copyright: This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[21]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/March_2011.htm","2011-10-13","17K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email 4th April 1934 - February 2011 Montagu Hospital Nurses Home by Julia Ashby Photo: Ron James When Montagu Hospital was officially opened by James Montagu, on 18th May 1905, the accommodation provided for both the matron and the nursing staff was believed to be some of the best. But as the years past and the hospital expanded, with childrens’ wards, more male and female surgery wards, operating theatres, mortuary and post mortem room, porter’s house, electrical treatment dept., plus the opening of the first West Riding County Council Maternity Home, this once first class accommodation, became inadequate and hugely overcrowded. Thus it was that a need was felt to construct a new Nurses’ Hostel. The search began firstly, by the Management of the hospital, to obtain finances to fulfil this project which, as the country was in recession like today, was difficult to obtain. Although many private individuals and smaller firms helped with this, the vast majority of the finances were gained via grants from three sources: £8,109 came from the Miners Welfare Fund; £2,500 from the West Riding County Council; and the smallest of the three, at £314, came from the Barnsley British Co-operative Society. They began to look for a suitable site and in 1930 purchased three quarters of an area of land, close to the junction of Adwick Road and Cemetery Road, adjacent to the gates of the hospital, for which they paid the princely sum of £500. The search then went out to find someone who had the expertise to design a building which was good enough for our nurses. And just to indicate in what high esteem and what value was placed on our ‘Angles’ I can do no better than quote what was stated at the opening by Alderman Probert, of the West Riding County Council, and Mr. W.A. Lewis, Chairman of the Board of Management, who both made comments, the sentiments of which others in positions of power at present could stand to take heed. Ald. Probert stated that when members found out the purpose of the grant “not a voice was raised in protest against the grant in County Hall” he then went on to say “the hospital had the reputation of being second to none in South Yorkshire”. Mr. W.A. Lewis said “The Board of Management felt that nothing was too good for nurses who were doing their best for the welfare of the public”. Whereas others commented “No one will grudge them this handsome accommodation. Their arduous and unpleasant duties entitled them to a far better home life than it has hitherto been able to provide”. So the designer had to be the best that their money could provide and their knight in shining armour came in the form of a local man, Mr. David Harrop. David William Harrop, to give him his full name, was born in 1889, the son of David Harrop, a carpenter, and his wife Mary Jane, and a couple of years after his birth, in 1891, we find him living at 31 Bank Street with: his parents; brother Frances Horace; plus his three sisters, Edith, Mary and May. He was educated in Mexborough but studied his craft at Rotherham Technical School and during the 1st WW served partially in Russia. On his return home he was appointed Housing Architect to Mexborough Urban District Council, a post which he later left to become self-employed. Prior to the drawing of blueprints for the Nurses’ Home he had designed churches in Ashopton, a village later to be flooded by the creation of the Ladybower Dam, plus another in Woodseats, Sheffield. It appears that their choice of designer could not have been better as everyone who saw the completed Nurses’ Home indicated that it was a valuable piece of architecture in the town, having a neo-Georgian façade with certain art-deco points, such as the datestone and also the stained glass windows. The interior consisted of : thirty bedrooms, twenty, on the ground floor for day nurses, and ten upstairs for those on the night shift; a large recreation room; large lecture room; separate sitting rooms for the home sister, sisters, and staff nurses; study; two reception rooms; linen room; and thoroughly modern and hygienic kitchen. The entrance porch lead to a hall with corridors leading off to the right and left and a staircase took you to the first floor. The walls, in the hall, were covered in tiles and the floor was laid with mock marble flooring consisting of tiny chips of ground stone, known as Terrazzo Flooring. An architect obtained the next person to find was a builder worthy of the project and this came in the form of Messrs G.H. Smith and Sons Ltd., Rock Pottery Yard, Bank Street, Mexborough. The same highly skilled and professional firm that had constructed the hospital itself, some thirty years previously. By the time the Nurses’ Home was constructed George Henry would have been approx eighty years old and his brother Frank in his late seventies, therefore the Frank Smith, who attended the opening, and made a speech stating how proud they had been to be entrusted with the work, is believed to be the son of George Henry, then running the firm. Last but not least came the finishing touches. The first of these was the interior design and who better to give hard working nurses, exactly what they wanted in the form of home comforts, than someone with a lifetime of nursing experience, and came in the form of Miss Wesley, the matron of the hospital who was supported in this by the Barnsley British Co-operative Society, who provided most of the items at bare factory price. Another item not to missed was the garden, where the nurses could sit and relax at the end of long trying day, here Mr. M.C. Martyn, Manager of Wath Main Colliery and member of the hospital management came to the fore and undertook this personally. He also arranged for the General Electric Comp. to provide and install ‘wirelesses’ in both the hospital and Nurses’ Home. The building completed and everything ready the Montagu Hospital Nurses’ Hostel was opened on Saturday 14th April 1934. Hundreds of people crammed the entrance of Cemetery Road to see the opening which was accomplished with great aplomb by Mrs. Humble, wife of Mr. W. Humble Chairman of the Doncaster Collieries Association, of Skellow Grange, Carcroft Doncaster. The ceremonies began by the unveiling of two plaques in the boardroom of the hospital, these being to the late Hon. Mrs. Lindley Wood, who as Mrs. Montagu had been the first patroness and the other to Mrs S.O. Hatherley, who prior to her marriage had been the first matron. A short preamble, through the thronged crowds, was then taken across the road to the nurses’ home where a short service of dedication took place lead by the Bishop of Sheffield, assisted by the Rev. E.A.A. Somerset, vicar of Mexborough, accompanied by the band of Mexborough Salvation Army. Mr. Harrop then past the keys of the home to Mrs. Humble for the official opening, who in her speech reiterated the deep feelings of love and respect felt towards nurses, on the whole, by stating: “It was fitting that such a home should be provided for the nurses. Their profession was arduous, and they needed the relaxation it afforded. One gift every nurse seemed to posses was cheerfulness and she felt everyone owed much to them for displaying that spirit. Some time before coming to Mexborough she heard that the Montagu Hospital had a high reputation for the quality of its nurses and the efficiency of its management. It was an appreciation which she herself would like to offer on this occasion. To the nurses she said, ‘I trust you will always find in this home peace and happiness’”. A bouquet was then presented to Mrs. Humble by Sister O’Callaghan. This was followed by speeches given by ‘the great and the good’ which consisted of Mr. Ashwin Chairman of the Miners Welfare Fund, Ald. Probert of the County Council, Mr. Lewis Chairman of the Board of Management, Mr. Percy Bannister Treasurer of the hospital, and lastly Mr. D.S. Humphreys J.P. and Vice Chairman of the Board of Management. The last two speech, which were given by Mr. Tom Smith M.P. and the Bishop of Sheffield both carried messages which are noteworthy, by the ‘great and the good’ of today. Mr. Smith M.P. stated: “Mexborough, above all other districts, needed adequate hospital accommodation because the industries claimed such a heavy toll”. Whereas the Bishop went on to say “There was no more Christlike and worthy of Christian support than the work of the hospitals. He was sure Mexborough was not going to be behind. It would support its hospital and be sure it was kept on a firm foundation and be a priceless blessing for all time”. Following this they were escorted on a guided tour of the home. After all the pomp and ceremony of the speeches and official opening the doors were then opened to the general public, many of which had indirectly subscribed to its construction via their weekly payments made to the Welfare Fund, and a wave of humanity surged forth eager to see the home they had worked so hard to provide. So many were there that it had to remain open from Saturday until the following Monday and hundreds past through its doors, to inspect its interior and what they had managed to provide for their nurses. The Nurses Home stood, one of the symbols of pride to the working people of this area, from 14th April 1934 to February 2011, when, during that month, it was demolished to make way for housing. Information obtained from: South Yorkshire Times editions dated 13.04.1934, 20. 04.1934. 1891 Census Returns for Mexborough Mexborough Trade Directories. A Short History of Montagu Hospital 1889-1925 The Montagu Hospital Jubilee Handbook 1890-1940 ancestry.com News From the Local History Room The Local History Room As you know the Local History Room, which was opened in 2001 to serve the needs of anyone wishing to know anything of the vast local and family history of the area has had to close. This despite the efforts of the Hon. Ed. Milliband M.P. and local councillors. The increase in rent asked by DMBC was too excessive for us to cope with. But this is not the end as both our Microfiche and Microfilm Readers, and one of our metal cabinets, plus some of our archival material is now situated in a more prominent and accessible area of the library, this being to the fore of the reference section of Mexborough Library and everyone will have access there to: South Yorkshire Times 1928-1951 Parish Church Records and Indexes Census Returns Burial Records Mexborough Cemetery Records 1877-c1930 Also as free internet and e-mail facilities have been offered Julia or another member of our hard working committee, will try to be on hand, most afternoons, in order to answer your enquiries. Many thanks must go to Mr. G. Schofield, ‘The Croft’, Pastures Road, Mex. who came forward with the offer of an office, free of charge at the farm, plus the manpower needed to move everything. Here will be stored items which cannot be contained at the library, such as our computer, printers, scanner, desk, photocopier, stationary, artefacts, and the main source of our archives. Copyright: This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[22]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/April_2011.htm","2011-10-13","18K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Sam Blount The Tale of a Local Miner You will notice, this month, that no photograph of the hero of our tale is to be found at the start of our story, that is because none exist, he’s just another lost soul in the sands of time, as so many of our workaday heroes became. But who played such a vital part in the creation of industrial Britain which became, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the leader of the world. Just one of those who toiled to the end of their days to provide us with the lifestyle we enjoy today. It is believed that Samuel Blount was born in November 1840 and baptised in the old Norman Church of St. Nicholas in, the then small village, of Baddesley Ensor, the nearest principality of note being Tamworth. His father, John, was a miner at the nearby Maypole Colliery and, following his education at the village school of St. Nicholas, at the age of just ten years old, he followed his father to work down the pit. By the age of 20yrs, in 1861, we discover that he had become a skilled colliery worker, and in 1864 he married ‘the girl next-door’ who he had known all his life and who was born in the same year, Mary Smith. But times were hard, the pit was nearly ‘worked out’, and days would go by -2- without any work at all. At best they were living ‘hand to mouth’ and at worse the women folk in his community went without to feed their families. It was at this time that an agent came to their vicinity recruiting skilled workers to sink a new pit, at Denaby, South Yorkshire. The agent informed them that they would be the best paid colliery workers in the country, also transportation, by train, to the site from Warwickshire, and board and lodgings was to be provided free of charge. Sam was sold on the idea and soon after their marriage he and his young wife, along with dozens of others from that part of the country, arrived at Mexborough Railway Station. A rag-tag of grey humanity wended its way behind a black clad overseer, up Station Road. Men carrying their livelihoods, protective clothing and tools of their trade, in canvas Bosses, while their wives carried, or towed, tired, wailing, children. As they passed along Church Street, over protective mothers ran out from house to drag children inside out of the way of these outsides who were know to be wild and ungodly, after all some could be Irish Catholics or even worse members of the murderous ‘Molly Maguires’, the same as lead riots and killed landowners a few years previous. They were lead to a field where their free accommodation was to be found; this consisted of rows of tents, and although life here would be rough Sam was exited. He was now a ‘Pit Sinker’, on contract to the firm that owned the pit, it was dangerous, exhausting work, but of high status and he was now among the precious few who were the most highly paid workers in the colliery system. With such high wages it wouldn’t be long before he could offer his new bride one of the houses he had seen on their journey to the site. After they had been allocated a tent Sam began work the following day and was escorted, with a group of other men, to the site then known as ‘The Denaby Pottery Pit’. The pit was owned by Messrs’ John Buckingham - Pope, Pearson and partners, many of them owners of pits in West Yorkshire, and elsewhere, notably Altofts near Wakefield. Test pits, to see if it was viable to sink and establish a colliery at Denaby, were achieved in the latter half of the 1850’s when the Barnsley Seam was reached at 422yds, beneath the Magnesium Limestone, the thickness of the seam averaging 9ft. The land had been owned by John Fullerton but in July 1863 an agreement was signed with him and after much pomp and ceremony, and the cutting of the first sod; work began at once to dig the two shafts. The circumference of the two shafts, one up and another down, had been drawn; a trench following these outlines had been dug and a brick wall descending to the bottom of the trench constructed; the soil had then been excavated; the wall supported on blocks and the second phase began. It was at this stage that their problems began as water was hit, and huge, heavy, cast iron, horseshoe shaped pieces, known as ‘tubbing’ had to be used to line the shaft. It took a year to alleviate this problem and it was at this stage that Sam joined the digging process. The work was dangerous, the only way of getting to the workings was by descending the shaft in a bucket on the end of a rope, the work was hard, heavy, Sam never seemed to be dry, and quite often he would return home exhausted. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom and towards the end of their first year together Mary gave him the fantastic news that they were expecting their first child and in the spring of 1865 she returned home to Baddesley Ensor and gave birth to a baby boy who they named John, after Sam’s father. Coal was reached, at the pit, in September 1867, with coal production beginning the following year and Sam signed a contract to join the workforce as a miner. But relations between the owners and the workforce had never been good and at the end of 1868 a dispute began, over the size of corves and payment for filling them. Sam was on contract to the pit owners and therefore could not come out on strike, and went to work at one of their other pits, The West Riding Colliery, Altofts, Bottom Boat, Nr. Wakefield, on the Aire and Calder Canal. And it was here that Mary gave birth to another son, this time named Eli. Their stay at Bottom Boat was to have been a temporary one but in 1869 another dispute began at Denaby, this time the miners wanted the right to join a trade -3- union. In September of that year this was settled and Samuel and Mary returned to Mexborough where another child was born, this time a little girl, who they named Mary after her mother. New Years Day 1870 heralded in the Great Depression, which saw a decade of misery for the working class. Sam and Mary returned to Mexborough where they took a little house on Sparrow Barracks, Doncaster Road, and took in 2 boarders, a lodger, and to help Mary, who had just given birth to Rebecca Jane, a domestic servant,. But much of the workforce at the pit still lived in the tent colony, where sanitary conditions were less than ideal, and it was in 1870 that Smallpox swept through the area and in August 1870 both their firstborn son John, now aged 6yrs, and their beautiful little girl, Mary, aged 13mths, died within three days of each other. Despite this it was here that they stayed, until feelings between the management and the workers, at the pit, began to become fractious and another dispute was in the offering. By this time two more children had been born, William in 1873 and Thomas in 1875 and, with a wife and four children to feed, Sam had to work to support them. It was at this time that Sam, possible through relatives, heard of a new pit being sunk in Warwickshire and as an experienced Pit Sinker quickly found work at the Ansley Hall Colliery, near Nuneaton, where they stayed until1880. Again their life had been rough and their little son, Thomas, died, but Mary had given birth to yet two more children Laura in 1877 and Charles in 1880. But the attraction of the good wages paid to the miners of Denaby Main Colliery, and with seven mouths to feed, Sam returned here and in 1881 we find him and his family living in an oasis for those employed at Denaby Main Colliery close to the glassworks, in William Street, Swinton. But in order that Sam could be closer to his work and to obtain larger premises, for their growing family, they moved to 33, Clayfield Road where, in 1885, the last of their children, Samuel was born. Here they were to live for nearly twenty years and with all the lads, at home, working down the pit with Sam and taking in a lodger, the family, for the first time, began to become quite prosperous. Then the infamous, and well documented, 1902/03 ‘Bag Muck Strike’ hit the area like a thunderbolt. The problems began prior to this when the management of the pit tried to contrive any means by which they could reduced the outgoings of the pit, the highest of these being wage paid to the men, and William, Sam’s son, now married with tiny children, was finding it particularly difficult to feed them all and asked his father to look after his son, who he had named after his father, Samuel. As with many families the strike dispersed the our family to the four winds: Sam took Mary, and the two other Sams to Billingley, near Barnsley, where in 1911 we find them living in a three roomed back-to-back house, his son Sam, later went to live in Conisbrough, whereas his grandson settled close to Eli in Goldthorpe; Rebecca Jane was luck, she was in service with the Storrs Family in Cheshire, and so missed the starvation, cruelty and depredation of the strike, she later married John Renwick and settled in Stalybridge, Lancs; Laura again was in service; Eli, Sam’s eldest surviving son, went to live, firstly in Hickleton, but settled in Thurnscoe; whereas William, who had been involved in the riots at the pit during the strike and was refused work at Denaby Main Colliery, after the men capitulated, took his family back to Baddsley Ensor, but returned in 1910 after the retirement of Mr. Chambers, the pit manager. Samuel Blount died, aged 84yrs on 8th February 1924 at 11, Bank St., Mexborough and is recorded as still being a miner at Denaby Main Colliery, a pit that he had helped to dig some 60 years previously. Mary was lost without her lifelong companion. She’d suffered: deprivation and carried nine children through it; endured life in a tent colony, where she had awoken in below zero temperatures to find her hair frozen to the ground, and cooked outside in the bleakest of winters; suffered the humiliation of discrimination, where local shopkeepers had refused to serve her because of her husband’s occupation; but this was beyond her. She died aged 84yrs five months after her husband, at 11 Bank St., Mexborough. They now rest, as they did in life, together, buried in Mexborough Cemetery. Information obtained from: Ancestry.com; Find My Past; Census Returns for 1841 – 1911 Low Seams and High Vistas Baddesley Ensor of Yesteryear by Albert Fretwell; Original documents appertaining to Denaby Main Colliery then in the possession of J.E. MacFarlane; A Railway History of Denaby and Cadeby Collieries, Mexborough & Swinton Times, The Obituary of Joel Kirby, The Devils Acre by Matthew Plampin, Log Book of St. John the Baptist C of E School; Dig with Fred Dibnah; Parish Church Records of St. John the Baptist Parish Church Mexborough; Family Recollections News From the Local History Office The Royal Wedding I’m sure that everyone will join with me in wishing Prince William and his bride-to-be, Kate Middleton, all the best for their wedding at Westminster Abbey on Friday 29th April 2011. Mexborough & District Heritage Society Open Day As you all know The Local History Room has now closed at Mexborough Library. On Friday 6th May 2011 we will commence a series of open days, on consecutive Fridays, in the Reference Section of Mexborough Library, beginning at 10.30a.m. Here you will be able to ask questions via your committee members, view our archives, census returns, maps, photos, parish records, etc ect. We hope to see you there and if we cannot answer your query there and then our committee member will take your address and get back to you at a later date. Next Meeting of Mexborough & District Heritage Society This will take place at 7.15p.m. on Tuesday 24th May 2011 at the Miners Arms, Doncaster Road, Mexborough. It will begin with our AGM but will be followed by Bring and Share Your Photos. This will be an opportunity for you look through our collection of old photos of Mexborough & District and for you show some of your own. Copyright: This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[23]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/October_2010.htm","2011-10-13","17K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Mr. Bendelow’s Incredible Journey by Julia Ashby RIGHT - Map of Canada showing the 3,889 mile rail journey across Canada from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Victoria, British Columbia. Mr. Herbert Bendelow of Mexborough was born in Sheffield in 1857 and came to Mexborough when he was still a baby. Here his father took over the Plough Inn, situated next to Hillerby’s Tobacconist, and recalled the rhythmic beat of the cooper, across the road, as he hammered the hoops into place around the barrel. He well remembered: Barron’s Glassworks, when it was in its infancy; Emery’s Pottery, Garden Street; and the Don Iron Works. He went to four schools: Mrs. Anderson’s, Tap Yard, alongside the Civic Hall; Mr. P.W. Holmes’ School, which was situated in what is now a car park to the east of the fly over; he then attended Swinton National School and finally Mexborough National School. His father moved from the Plough Inn and converted a shop on High Street, close to Post Office Square, into a public house which he named the Sheffield House, the license of which was taken when the Commercial Inn (now the Boy & Barrel) was opened. Under the care of Mr. Tandy, school and choirmaster combined, he joined Mexborough Parish Church Choir rising to become lead tenor soloist. It was also at the National School that he became interested in athletics. He was one of the founder members of Mexborough Cycling & Athletic Club winning the first cycle race held at what was to become the Athletic Ground. He was also an accomplished footballer and played for Aston Villa. In 1882 he married Harriet Clayton, of Sheffield, and they had five children together: John, who at the time of emigration, like his father, was a successful building contractor; Percy, Laurence, Victoria, and Harriet. All the children went with him to Canada but unfortunately, before Harriet, his wife, could follow them she died, in 1913. Mr. Bendelow wished to give his family a better life by establishing a farm and a new branch of his successful building business Bendelow & Bennett, this to be in the fastly growing city of Victoria. He left Liverpool on 4th April 1912 for Canada, on ‘The Corsican’, a steamship of the Allan Line and from his descriptions I assume he travelled 1st Class as he states that where they were located on the ship was “like a floating hotel. The voyage went well and the passengers: promenaded the decks; attended concerts in the Music Room; took part in the ship’s lottery and watched a boxing competition. But as they approached the Newfoundland Bank things began to change. Heavy rain, strong winds and high seas hit the ship and they ran into fields of ice, and Mr. Bendelow began to become very nervous. The captain had to stop the engines, reversed and then lay-to. There were large floes of ice in the sea, and Mr. Bendelow states that one berg, was like a great white cathedral standing up in the middle of a group. The temperature began to plummet, nearby could be seen three other ships, all of which had been ice-locked and the captain, wishing to ask advise, communicated with them, he then altered course for one more southerly. After a time, in the interest of safety, the ship was stopped again and they gave up any idea of reaching Halifax on time. Mr. Bendelow wrote that the day which ‘The Corsican’ reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, is one which he would never forget, the relief he felt, to have come through the ice safely and to go up on deck to witness a bright fine morning, knew no bounds. Yachts, and ships were everywhere in the beautiful harbour, tugboats began to manoeuvre the ship alongside a wharf, steel ropes were attached, and with much shouting and clamour from the men ‘The Corsican’ docked and a band played lively tunes as they disembarked. They alighted from their ship to begin the next leg of their journey. This was to be a marathon railway voyage of almost 3.900 miles across Canada. On this journey he was to witness Canada as a country in the making at a never-to-be repeated time in history, on the cusp of civilisation. At the ticket office Mr. Bendelow was to get his first surprise, when, instead of the customary ticket he was used to seeing, he was shocked to receive one 15in x 2.5in (45cms x 7cm). His next was on leaving Halifax when he saw that life, for the average settle on the outskirts of Halifax was rough indeed. Firstly a shanty town appeared, some of the homes being boarded up, then tiny, shabby, scattered wooden huts, but these were the fortunate as some were living in tents in below zero temperatures, the forestry was thin and spars, and the land rocky and swampy. But this was soon left behind them as they sped on their way past frozen lakes carrying horse drawn sleighs, hills, woods and larger better settlements, on their way to Montreal. On arrival they discovered that they had missed their train to Toronto and stayed in the waiting room where they heard of the dreadful fate of the Titanic and thanked the captain of ‘The Corsican’ for his actions and thought themselves lucky that they had come through the ice field unscathed. They felt very sad for the men who had had to sacrifice their lives in order that their women and children could live, but, at the same time, felt proud of them. Their next stop was at the prosperous city of Toronto where, in order to take a rest, they visited three old Mexboroughites. The first two were Messrs Gibson & Ford, once of Garden Street, now both successful businessmen. The third was Mr. Albert Downing a Tenor Soloist. Then at 10.20p.m., they caught the express to Vancouver, the carriages of which were extremely luxurious with sleeping berths, hot and cold running water on tap and cooking facilities. Mr. Bendelow stated that “These facilities are better than some had in their homes”. They past through acres of land where the forest had been felled, cleared and burned, whereas in others miles of felled trees could be seen. They travelled by Lake Superior passing through tunnels. Mr. Bendelow describes ‘The Lake in the Wood’ as being the prettiest place he had seen in his life, dotted with tiny islands on which were the summer houses of the wealthy from Winnipeg. They passed over the prairies, where miles of wheat are grown. Then trundled through the open farmlands of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and witnessed trains of wagons carrying the goods and chattels of emigrants from America. In Calgarey, their next stopping point, they saw where 3,000,000 acres of land had been cleared, irrigated, divided into lots, and houses constructed on them. This in order that settlers could purchase them and convert them into farms. So successful had this been that the population of the town had increased by 20,000 in two years and property trebled in price. He crossed the Rockies witnessing the never-to-be-forgotten, awe-inspiring sight of the sunset, with the flaming red of the setting sun casting a rose tinted hue over the snow capped peaks. They then began to enter the national park where they saw bears and vast herds of buffaloes. The snow-topped mountains and glaciers towered thousands of feet above them as they thundered through the river valleys. The train began to sway but it did not prevent him from donning his overcoat, muffler and gloves to stand on the viewing platform, found at the rear of the train, he states that the scenery was so stupendous that words failed him. They travelled by the Columbia River which, at this point, showed no sign of the mighty torrent it was to become and that night passed the Great Divide where one branch flowed to the Atlantic, to become the Hudson, and the other into the Pacific. They began to descend and then joined the range known as the Selkirk Mountains, which he states, if possible, is even finer than the Rockies. They began to descend and travel through tunnels and, what he learned were ‘Snow-Slide Sheds’, made from wood they were constructed over the track to protect trains from avalanche. He also noticed many line-men, employed by the Pacific Railway, to ensure that the track was free of snow and safe to pass, these men carried an apparatuses which could be clipped to the telephone cables, by the trackside to give immediate warning of danger. At last they began to descend to sea-level and reached Vancouver. But their journey was not at an end as they had another sea voyage to complete, in order to reach their final destination, Victoria. This was accomplished on the steamship Vancouver City and took another four and a half hours, until at last after travelling 6,620 miles they had reached Victoria, on the extreme southern point of an island off the extreme western coast of British Columbia, Canada. But that isn’t the end of the story as, after one year, the family split up: his son, John, moved to the USA and became a profitable builder; Mr. Bendelow, finding that Canada was a place for the young, returned to Mexborough, taking the rest of the family with him, here he finished his working life, remarried, and settled down in Tickhill; Lawrence, his second son, became warden of Mexborough Parish Church and became an engineer of a water works; whereas three of his daughters married businessmen. He died, aged 73yrs., in a Doncaster nursing home, on 13th November 1930 and is buried in Mexborough Cemetery. News From the Local History Room Over the past few weeks I have been studying the travels of Mr. Bendelow and in an article found in the Mexborough & Swinton Times, dated 6th April 1912. It states that his greatest achievement, which he was known nationwide for, was that he ran to Paris, with Mr. G. Kemp, in celebration of the opening of the Paris Exhibition in 1878. In his obituary, in the same newspaper, dated 21st November 1930 it contradicts this by saying that he rode to Paris and back on an old ‘Bone Shaker’ bicycle, in less than two weeks. Whichever is the correct of the two it is still a magnificent feat of endurance. An interesting fact I discovered, while researching Mr. Bendelow’s journey was that I expected, as I suppose many of you did, that the Titanic sank close to New York, its destination. It did if fact sink off the coast of Halifax, where Mr. Bendelow landed in April 1912 and this is where many of the unidentified bodies, from the Titanic Tragedy were buried, not at New York, where the survivors were landed. Copyright: This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[24]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/November2008.htm","2011-10-13","14K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email The Golden Flitch by J R Ashby In bygone times life for the everyday person in the street was hard and winter was looked on with dread as it was common for many to go hungry, none so than the appalling winter of 1811/12 when many starved to death. Winter supplementary feed, such as turnips, from which to feed farm animals over those cold bleak days of winter was unheard of, and therefore on St Michaelmas Day, 29th September, it was customary to herd all the animals into the local pinfold and decide which were to be kept and which were to be sent to market or slaughter. It was also at this time that the family pig would be killed and butchered, to ensure that there was enough meat available to last the family over those lean winter months. During this process the carcass would be divided lengthwise into two, half being used as fresh meat and the other, after salting, would either be hung, high in the chimney over a log fire or placed in the smokery, where it would be cured over the sweet smelling smoke of apple wood, until it took on the beautiful golden hue of autumn leaves. This is when it became known as a Golden Flitch. From the Victorian Era, until the street was widened and straightened in 1928, high up on Bank Street on the edge of Dolcliffe Common, opposite the Royal Electric Theatre stood a small, stone built, public house. It was owned, for much of its life, by the Mexborough Bolsover Brewery and was named the Golden Flitch. In my naivety I have always presumed that the name derived from a former building on, or near, the site. A pork slaughterhouse or where sides of bacon were cured perhaps? I couldn’t have been more wrong! It appears that a golden flitch was a fertility symbol which goes back into antiquity possibly to pagan times. The belief being that if a husband and wife began the winter with a golden flitch they would avoid the riggers that winter could throw at them, and have enough to live on to begin Spring in a healthy manner. Therefore more able to conceive and have live children and many parishes, held a celebration every four years on Whitsuntide Monday, in honour of the holy state of matrimony this being known as the Golden Flitch Trials. There is now only one existing parish where this ceremony survives, this being at Great Dunmow, Essex. Here a mock trial is held and a golden flitch is awarded to the married couple, who can convince a judge and jury, consisting of six maidens and six bachelors that they have not quarrelled since they were married and have been happily wed for at least a year and a day. The court is held in a meadow, once common land, named Talberds Ley and couples, or claimants as they are called, who have been married for “twelvemonth and a day” come from far and wide to claim a golden flitch. The ‘Claimants’ are represented by their ‘Council’ who pleads their case to the judge and jury. While the ‘Donors of the Flitch’ employ a ‘Council for the Defence’ who will vehemently put a case forward to dissuade the Jury that the couple have been happily married and thus prevent the jury from granting the couple a flitch. All the couples who claim the flitch could be successful but only those who the judge and jury believe to be truly happily married win. The successful couples are carried, it turn, shoulder high by eight burley, smock clad, yokel, farm workers, in the ancient carved oak bench known as the ‘Flitch Chair’ followed by another four hefty men carrying their prize, a golden Flitch. The group are accompanied alongside by huge cheering crowds until they arrive at the Market Place where, in the centre, can be seen a plinth bedecked in gaily coloured swags of silk. Here the couple are summoned to kneel on pointed stones while they take an oath, similar to the old marriage vows, before taking their golden flitch. Whilst watching the crowds of people on T.V., all with happy smiling faces, I began to wander, at some time in our dim and distant past, could such a scene once have been played out on the streets of Mexborough and could this ceremony be the reason why our small ale house, on Bank Street, got its unusual name. Maybe built over or near to the site of the ancient ceremony of the Golden Flitch, from which it took its name. After much research the evidence seems quite favourable.In bygone times all parishes held festivals, from Egg Rolling and Cock – Fighting at Easter to Harvest Home in the autumn. Mexborough during this time was no exception with the feast of St John the Baptist on Midsummer’s Day followed by a Trade and Jollities Fair the following day. In Great Dunmow the festival of the Golden Flitch is held in a field known as Talberds Ley. This name in itself gives us our first clue as to whether this ceremony could have taken place here. A Ley is arable land owned by the people, better known as common land. This has something in common with the Golden Flitch Ale House as this was situated on the extreme edge of Mexborough’s main common, Dolcliffe Common. The item went on to state that a mock court is held during the Golden Flitch Trials with Counsel necessary to argue cases. As Mexborough’s Ley Court, at this time, was situated on land to the rear of what is now, the Royal Electric Theatre and was adjacent to the site of the ale house, it would take little or no time for Council to make the short journey from the Ley Court to the ceremony. As you have read, in Great Dunmow successful couples are carried to the Market Place, where the ceremony is completed. Until the beginning of the nineteenth century Mexborough Market Place was situated in the Green Yard, now the site of the ‘Old Rectory’ and ‘The New Vicarage’, Church Street, east of the parish church. The Green Yard was also the site of summer church services, the Whit Teas, the Feast of St. John the Baptist and the Trade & Jollities Fare. As the Green Yard was but a short step from Bank Street and the edge of Dolcliffe Common, it would seem logical to presume that the two occasions of Whit Tea and the Golden Flitch Trial should be blended together. It is therefore evident that prior to industrialisation, when Mexborough was a small agricultural village, that ceremonies such as this were a common sight on the streets of Mexborough. It is therefore my belief that in 1860 when the enclosure of the commons of Mexborough began, and were later divided into lots, and sold by auction. A brewery, purchased the lot where the ceremony of the Golden Flitch Trials took place and later when they constructed an ale house on the site they named it after the ceremony which once took place on this spot. Information obtained from: Trade Directories of Mexborough 1822 – 1927 Various Internet Sites including www.dunmowflitchtrials.co.uk News From the Local History Room A Stage Play and Film for the BBC This summer your heritage society has been involved with many projects. In 1992 Julia, our Chairperson/Researcher, wrote a small booklet, which has been very popular and has sold to all quarters of the globe; by the title of ‘An Everyday Story of Mexborough Folk’ one of the stories in contained was ‘Jim Rownsley – The Horse Marine’. A few weeks ago she was contacted by a script writer by the name of Richard Cameron, who requested our help, as he had used a portion of that story as inspiration for the writing of a play. ‘The Horse Marines’, as he has named the finished play, is a modern day story of four people in a rehabilitation centre, one of which uses the wartime story of his father as therapy for the others and they re-enact- the epic journey, which was made in reality, walking from Goole to Liverpool none stop, by Tommy Norman. Rehearsals for this play began on Mon. 8th Oct. 08 and it went on stage at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth on the 6th Nov. 08. It is hoped that it will soon be transferred to London and the script is, at the moment, being re-written for the BBC. The Royal Engineers and Another Monument for Sapper Hackett V.C. Your society has also been working with the Royal Engineers. As many of you will know Sapper Hackett V.C. who was so tragically killed in Belgium during the 1st. W.W. was a resident of Mexborough. A few weeks ago we were contacted by the Royal Engineers, which was his regiment, to inform us that a monument, costing between £20,000 -£30,000 is to created and placed over the spot where he was so heroically killed, in Belgium. They are also to create a unit, named after him. Your society has been working with them, to provide information on his life, this to be used to educate the young people, entering the Engineers and being placed in the Hackett Unit. We have provided information on: what he was like as a man; what his life was like before he became a Sapper; why he received the V.C. and the reason why he stayed in the tunnel and was buried alive, along with his comrade; the effect of his bravery on the town he lived in; and how, even though the citizens of Mexborough were very poor, they collected money to provide him with a monument. Ron James has also provided them with a DVD showing the rededication of the Sapper Hackett Memorial. Working with Weatherspoons As you know Walkers Bingo, purchased the Old Market Hall a number of years ago. They then closed and this old building was bought by Weatherspoons, another entertainments consortium, to be turned into a restaurant and bar. A display, illustrations provided by your society, is to be placed in the entrance of the building. This will show: famous residents of Mexborough and well known old buildings. Change in the Opening Hours of the Local History Room Opening times for Mexborough Library are now as follows: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – 9.00a.m. – 6.00p.m. Wednesday & Saturday – 9.00a.m. – 1.00p.m. Due to the alteration of the Library’s closing times the Local History Room will no longer open on Wednesday & Saturday. Our Next Talk Provisional arrangements for our next talk are as follows: 7.15p.m. on Tuesday 24th Feb. 2009 at Mexborough Working Mans’ Club & Institute. Graham Oliver with inform us of famous entertainers of the past, who have visited and played at Mexborough. It is hoped, during the talk, that we shall have the pleasure of hearing him play. (Copyright: this newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety without the permission of Mexborough & District Heritage Society.)     ");
array_files[25]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/October2009.htm","2011-10-13","18K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email October 2009 newsletter by J R Ashby As I have stressed frequently items of our local history never fail to surprise me. Like the part played by South Yorkshire in the history of aviation. On 25th January 2003, 25th March 2003 and again on 26th October 2004 I wrote newsletters on Mexborough’s promotion of this innovative form of transport between the wars: how Sir Alan Cobham’s, fantastic, flying circus would visit; the talk, given in Mexborough, by Amy Johnson after her solo flight; and the temporary airdrome at Highwoods, on fields now occupied by the Firestation. It was at this time that Mr.Philip L.Scowcroft came to give us a talk on the subject of the Doncaster Air Shows and its involvement in pioneering flight. He also left an article, which could be use as a newsletter, for the benefit of those who were unable to attend that night. As it is the centenary this year, of the first flight across the English Channel by the Frenchman Bleriot, I thought it would be a fitting time to put it into print. Apart from various nineteenth century balloon ascents Doncaster’s, far from undistinguished, aviation history began in 1909 with an Air Display, Britain’s first, beating Blackpool for the honour by two days and scheduled to take place at the racecourse from Friday 15th October 1909 to Saturday 23rd.October 1909. This was less than six years after the first heavier – than – air powered flight by the Wright Bros and only months after Bleriots pioneering cross – channel flight. This was a major feat of organisation, run by the two committees, a local one of councillors and another, including celebrated contempory names in flying like aircraft designer Louis Voisin and prolific thriller – writer William Le Queux. The centre of the course was cleared by lopping bushes, filling in ditches and moving railings. Local builders H.Arnold & Sons built four hangers, all be it only small ones, measuring 40ft 3in x 45ft 3in, and also observation stands. A hundred policemen were drafted in from the West Riding -2- Constabulary to reinforce the Borough Police. The major railway companies made excursion provisions; the Great Northern Railway provided facilities for foreign visitors at Doncaster Station and donated a trophy. Extra taxis were brought in and Doncaster’s trams were expecting rich pickings; indeed the Racecourse Route carried over 50,000 passengers and netted an extra £500 over the week. The aviators engaged were: Samuel Franklin Cody who was an American, but had signed naturalisation papers during the week and paid an enormous £2,000 fee; the Frenchmen Roger Sommer, Hubert Le Blon, Leon Delagrange, Molon, Saunier and Prevot; another American, Captain Lovelace; and Englishmen, Edward Mines and Captain Windham. The meeting was bedevilled by high wind, fatal to those fragile aeroplanes, the best day being Saturday 16th October, when perhaps 100,000 people saw the fun. Because of the weather, two days 25th & 26th October were added, to the annoyance of the fliers who were paid no extra. Only two hundred and twenty-six miles official flying time was clocked, one hundred and thirty–six by Sommer, who also registered the longest flight of twenty–nine miles. Delagrange set a new world speed record of forty–nine point nine miles per hours. The French indeed took the honours; Sommer flew a Farmar Biplane, Delagrange, Molon and Prevot Bleriot monoplanes. Cody disappointed expectations, by crashing his machine, a specially built Cody Flyer, on the first Saturday, though he flew a little later on. The council lost £2,506 18s (£2,506.90) net, inclusive of £50 for the presentation cup and £94 1s 2d (£94 06) for a Mansion House banquet. Not all the cups were awarded because of the restricted flying, at least one being won in 1934 when Doncaster’s Airport opened. But at least more flying took place at Doncaster than at Blackpool whose sponsors, the Royal Aero Club, meanly tried to ‘black’ the fliers who had gone to Doncaster. A year later another air display, organised by the private company Aviation Courses Ltd., took place at the racecourse on 19th – 24th September. It had been scheduled for June but following the death of King Edward VII it was postponed. Again most of the flyers were French: M.M.Junien, Manet, Ladougne, Bruneau de Laborie, Paul de Lessops and le Beau (of the 1909 heroes Delagrage and le Blon had been killed in flying accidents). The aviators included an intrepid Belgian lady, Helene Dutriev, but her engine failed to arrive. The flights in 1910 were more ambitious, Ladougne and le Lessops flying over the town (no one had gone outside the racecourse confines in 1909); de Lessops reaching a height of 2,400ft against a maximum ceiling of 200ft the year before. Public response was less, the novelty having doubtless worn off, but the meeting’s achievement showed the developments in aviation in just twelve months. Aviation Courses lost £2,145 and went bust, but the corporation, by letting the Race Course Common to them, recouped £531 of its losses the year before. These displays were a prelude to the many between the wars at Doncaster, Armthorpe, Bawtry and Mexborough by Sir Alan Cobham and others and, more recently Finningly – all helped to make the areas aviation heritage. By Philip L.Scowcroft. News From the Local History Room Welcome to our new Venue Early this year your society, like all others who held evening meetings in the libraries of the Doncaster area, were informed that they could no longer accommodate evening lettings. A committee meeting was held at which the decision was made to obtain alternative accommodation, for our society’s monthly meetings. It wasn’t just a case of finding a hall it had to meet certain criteria and some of these were: it had to be on a bus route for those using public transport; it’s exterior had to be well lit and in a busy area so our members felt secure; there needed to be secure parking for our cars; also, if possible, the hall had to be on the ground floor, for our members who, for whatever reason, couldn’t manage stairs. The first establishment tried by your society was Mexborough Working Mans Club but this was found, by some, to be unsatisfactory. Although it did not meet all the criteria we required it was then thought best to return to our old base of the New Masons’ Arms and arrangements were made for us to again hold our monthly meetings there. At last we could relax and concentrate on finding speakers, but as they usually require 6-12mths notice and we had to be fitted into a specific slot this was difficult. It was at last accomplished and everyone gave a big sigh of relief, we were back in our old home once again and meeting our old friends every month, or so we thought. Then when we went for our August Committee Meeting there, the landlord dropped a bombshell, he was leaving and if a new landlord could not be found the pub would be put out to lease or sold. In a very short time it we saw the New Masons’ closed a boarded up and your committee had to start all over again looking for new premises. There was only a few weeks to go to the start of the new season and we had no alternative but to cancel our September meeting as we had nowhere to go and October’s would have been likewise if certain members of the committee hadn’t seen an advertisement stating that the Miners Alms had been taken over by a new landlord. We at once went to see him and discovered that it was David, who was a frequent visitor to the Local History Room and very interested in local history. We explained our plight to him and he was only too happy to help us, informing everyone that the function room was newly cleaned and decorated and that we could have it free of charge, likewise the use of a projector and screen, he could also accommodate us on the dates we required. At last we had a new home all we had to do now was to find out if the speakers, we had previously booked, were still available and luckily some of them were. We were now up and running for the start of our new season Let’s hope that we will be in our new home for as long as we were at the ‘New Masons’ Arms’ and I can see no reason why we cannot be as happy. In Honour of William Blount (The Electric Man) This summer Julia was approached, at the Local History Room, by a group of young people who were studying for a Lifestyle Award. They wished to know what an old metal box, situated at the junction of Dolcliffe Road and Bank Street, was originally used for. She was able to tell them that it was the last remaining, intact, junction box in existence, used to control Steel Lighting. It was installed in the early 1920’s and that one of the men who installed it was William Blount. They were interested to know something about the man and she was able to tell them that he left school in 1918 and went to work for Yorkshire Electrical Power, who was then laying cables, for Mex.Urban District Council, to provide the shops and homes of Mexborough with electricity. Mexborough U.D.C.then asked him if he would turn on, and off, the street lighting. Firstly this was done by illuminating every light individually, but as the amount of street lighting increased they had to buy him a bicycle. It was following this that junction boxes were installed. Shortly after this he studied to become one of the first, qualified, electricians in our town. Julia also informed them of some of the other jobs he did, such as: Erecting Mexborough’s extensive Christmas Lights which extended from the Royal, Bank Street to Post Office Square, where they culminated in a chain of lit cartwheels, stars, and a huge Christmas tree The putting up of Mexborough Illuminations (remember them?) erected at times of note such as V.E.and V.J. Days plus a number of coronations ending in that of our dear Queen. The lighting of Mexborough Markets was reliant on him He read the Electric Meters Repaired household appliances rented out by Mexborough U.D.C.Electric Dept. After finishing paid employment at 9.30p.m.he would then repair the household appliances and wiring of friends and neighbours. During the war he became an A.R.P.Warden, ensuring that the people of Mexborough were safe. The young people were so surprised by the number of jobs he did, and the dedication he showed to the people of Mexborough, for over 50yrs, that they decided to honour him. They: discovered the present owner of the junction box and arranged for it to be renovated; researched the original colour which the box had been painted, which was Brunswick Green, and painted it; obtained a brass plaque and had it inscribed, which the owners of the box have had bolted to it; not content with that they took a piece of waste land, close by, and creased a garden, in memory of William Blount. On Wednesday 28th July 2009 Julia and her Mum attended a presentation ceremony. Julia says “we hear such negative reports of teenagers, in the newspapers and on T.V. it has been refreshing to work with such polite, hard working, good young people and I believe that William Blount, my grandfather, would have been proud of them, as we all are”. PICTURED: TOP - ’The Doncaster Airshow of 1909 & 1910 ABOVE - The last remaining intact Street Lighting Junction Box, of its type, in existence. The brass plaque erected by the young people reads: ‘In honour of William Blount (affectionately known as the Electric Man) who illuminated the lives of the people of Mexborough for over 50yrs. . (Copyright: this newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety without the permission of Mexborough & District Heritage Society.)     ");
array_files[26]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/nov2007.htm","2011-10-13","15K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Visits to Victorian Mexborough by J R Ashby Our gentleman, who came to Mexborough on his first visit, during the early years of the young Queen Victoria’s reign, came with his guardian on a holiday to fish for salmon. He stated that at that time Mexborough resembled the valley close to Ramsey on the Isle of Man. Visits to Victorian Mexborough The first time our Victorian visitor came to Mexborough was in the early years of the young Queen Victoria’s reign. The gentleman, for that is what he was, came with his guardian on a holiday to fish for salmon, of which there was an abundance. The country was still reeling from the effects of the Corn Laws, past by parliament to prevent the import of corn and therefore protect the livelihoods of the British Farmer. But in effect it increased the price of stable foods, such as bread, to the point where only the rich could afford it and the poor starved. Our gentleman, and his guardian, stayed at a hotel named the Masons’ Arms, the landlord of which was Mr. John Parkin, and despite the hardships, brought about by the Corn Laws, their host made sure they wanted for nothing and only charged them three shillings (15p) per day for their room and board. In those far away days it was only a small village, consisting of a population of approx 1,100 people living in three hundred stone built houses, under the care of the Lord of the Manor, Captain Edward Cater. The River Don was extremely clean, fast flowing and many Ply-Boats and other water vessels, from Sheffield, still used it to convey goods. The area of the river between Mexborough and Conisbrough was thought of as an exceptional spot where to indulge in the gentleman’s favourite sport of fishing. Mexborough was then known for the production of earthenware and there was two main manufactures of this type of pottery. These being Mr.Samuel Barker, of the Old Mexborough Pottery, and Taylor, Reed and Co., of the Rock Pottery, Bank Street. There were also many small quarries producing local sandstone with two, because of their sheer size stood out from the rest, these were owned by Mr. Samuel Bennett and Joseph Palfeyman. But the main trades, by far, and in which the majority of men were employed was that of agriculture and the waterways, and it was as common to see men walking the town with weather-beaten faces, battered hats and sailor’s clothing as it was to see the farmer’s smock. The tiny parish church, which only consisted of an alter and an aisle, was under the care of the Rev. Leonard Jasper Hobson. There was also three Methodist Chapels, one belonging to the Wesleyan’s, another the Primitive Methodists and lastly a little known, and now obsolete, religious body named the Methodist New Connexionists, or Kilhamites as were then known. Our gentleman’s second visit was made when the railway line between Sheffield and Doncaster had recently been constructed, by the Midland Com. in 1849, and he tells us that his journey by ‘Iron Horse’ was dirty, cold and cramped as he made his way along the Don Valley in an open carriage. But despite this he goes on to tell us that the scenery made it all worthwhile as at that time the journey down the Don Valley, at Mexborough, was one of the prettiest and most pleasurable that could be taken, with the river meandering through grassy hills and ‘romantic high rocky outcrops’ and enliken’s it to Ramsey and Glen Helen on the Isle of Man. Indeed our visitor was so cold and cramped, by his open air journey, that when he came to alight at Mexborough, at the bottom of Ferry Boat Lane at the wooden construction which was used as both a station and platform, he could not manage all the treacherous steps down from the railway carriage and fell some distance before being rescued by Jonathan Carnelley, one of the constable of Mexborough. He first met Carnelley on the first fishing holiday he had made with his guardian some years previously, when Jonathan was the only constable and looked after not just Mexborough but all the villages in the area. Now in the middle of Queen Victoria’s reign he discovered that there was a District Inspector and four constables serving Mexborough alone. He also stated that Mexborough had increased in size with new houses, streets, works and industries. There was much demand for Mexborough Sandstone and many new quarries could be seen as well as many men found to be employed in its quarrying, carving and shaping. T here was also an iron works, known as the Don Iron Works where a pottery had once stood. Another industry beginning to emerge was the manufacture of glass and he states that he had seen four sites where it was produced and glimpsed men working in the glow of large conical shaped buildings, as well as barges at wharfs unloading coal, sand, and limestone, and lines of wicker crates, standing packed and ready to be place on board. He also stated that he was pleased to report that three potteries were still manufacturing their wares. On his last visit to Mexborough, in 1891, he found that Mexborough had changed out of all recognition. He again travelled by train, but this time in a comfortable, warm, covered carriage, and alighted on the platform of a purpose built station. Mexborough had grown tremendously since his last visit, with streets of new houses and rows of recently built well-stocked shops. An imposing new bank had been constructed close to the new market place and hall, the latter of which was where the Local Board now met in their chambers. The chapels, which had been there on his last visit, had either been extended or new ones constructed and the Local Board had built, for the children of its populace, large new Board Schools. In the forty years since his last visit one of the industries, which had been so prevalent then, had all but disappeared, this being that of the potteries and another was diminishing, this was the waterways, which was being replaced by the railways. Many new works had sprung up, and ones which were in their infancy on his last visit were now international names. One of these was the Phoenix Glassworks, or Barron’s Glassworks as it is known locally. Forty years previously it had employed 38 men and 39 boys, but now in 1891, 362 men worked at the glassworks and many more in their numerous warehouses at different ports around the U.K. But the main industry, by far, and the employer of a workforce which numbered in its hundreds, was the pits, with the vast complexes of Denaby and Manvers Main on Mexborough’s doorstep and dozens of others in close proximity. He then goes on to tell us that although most people looked on the incoming of manufacture and industry with optimism, saying that it brought employment, prosperity, and a better lifestyle, other could only see the drawbacks. They stated that the River Don was now only a slow moving, sunken, open sewer, where no fish could possibly live, its water made foul by the sewage and foundry waste from Sheffield, Rotherham and every other town and village which occupied its banks. Areas of Mexborough, instead of the picturesque views of yesteryear, were now like images from hell, with tall chimneys belching out the blackest of smoke and red glowing furnaces surrounded by men who scuttled around it to feed its insatiable appetite. Also men could be seen walking the streets, black from working like a mole in the bowels of the earth Despite this our visitor states that all these things indicated progress. He goes on to say that he did not see the starvation and poverty he once did when Mexborough could only employ a few agricultural labourers and watermen. The citizens, now that employment was guaranteed all the year round, were: better fed; better housed; and their educational and spiritual needs were catered for to a high degree, which he states can only be a good thing. In short Mexborough had had to make large sacrifices but on the whole the population were far better off in 1891 than they had been at the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign when Mexborough had been a beautiful and picturesque place, known nationwide as an excellent spot for Salmon Fishing. Information obtained from: Mexborough & Swinton Times March 1891. (Copyright: this newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety without the permission of Mexborough & District Heritage Society.)     ");
array_files[27]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/Sept_2011.htm","2011-10-13","16K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Conisbrough Castle book HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Notes from a Waterman Mexborough in 1849-52. Showing the areas which River Pirates favoured. Also the location of: the Plank Bridge; Peas Plantation; Hanging Wood; and Strafforth Sands. River Pirates From Robert Newton’s Long John Silver, in 1950, rasping out the immortal words ‘Ar Arrr Jim Lad’, stomping around the deck of the Hispaniola. To Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, and his ship the Black Pearl in the films Pirates of the Caribbean. We have all seen pirates portrayed so often that the subject seems to have been exhausted. But what if I was to tell you that pirates were not the prerogative of the South Seas and were also to be found on our inland waterways, particularly those with outlets to the sea and which carried expensive cargos, such as silk and silver, like the River Don at the latter part of the 18th Century. Many of us will remember Jim Rownsley, Mexborough’s last Horse Marine, who is pictured in our latest book ‘The People of Mexborough’. He gave us so much information on the history of both Mexborough and the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigational Canal, that at least two files bulge at the seams with it. A few weeks ago a relative of Jim came to see me, at Mexborough Library, and asked if we could discover something of his family history. I found that the family was working on the rivers, transporting goods, at the beginning of the 18th Century, prior to the Industrial Revolution, and while I looked through some of the information, left to us by Jim, I found some very interesting notes written by him. The first told of the dangers, incurred by the waterman with respect to River Pirates, something which, on the River Don, I had not heard of until this time. Long before the existence of the canal and prior to a time when the River Don was made navigable, one of the most valuable products to come out of Sheffield was not steel, as it is today, but silk, this had to be transported from Sheffield along the River Don. It was necessary, in those days, to complete the journey from Sheffield to Mexborough during the summer months and in one day, when daylight hours were longer, as if the boat stopped and tied up for the night, as barges do now, the boatmen knew that they would be set upon by river pirates. When speaking of river pirates please dispel from your mind all romantic images of swashbuttling, cuttles wheeling, men in tricorn hats, these were a gang of ruthless killers who would prey on small boats which carried goods up and down the river. One of the worse stretches, notorious for this, was between Rotherham and Mexborough Parish Church. One of the spots most favoured by the pirates was Peas Plantation and Hanging Wood, Old Denaby. There were several reasons for this: the first being that there was a good view up and down the Don Valley, the pirates knew that in summer there was less water in the river than at any other time and from this point it was simple to see a boat which had either run aground or tied up; also on the river below these points the river narrowed and was met by a road, named Meadow Lane, near which was a Plank Bridge, necessitating the boat slowing to allow someone to alight and remove one of the planks to allow the boat to pass; there was also an outcrop of rock where they could hide. To alert the crew of impending danger it became a necessity to have a boat’s dog, the most popular breed becoming the Airedale. But despite all their efforts if boats ran aground there was nothing the crew could do if they became prey. Like a pack of wolves the river pirates would descend upon the hapless crew, killing everyone on board and stealing the cargo. This was then carried away, one presumes, up Meadow Lane, which led to the main arterial road through Conisbrough and Mexborough and on to Chesterfield, Pontefract or much further. In those early days the boats were only small, little larger than the average rowing boat and did not have cabins, but after some years they were added to enable the waterman to sleep while his assistant took over. This took away the need for boats to be tied up for the night in what could be a dangerous area where the river was not policed. Strafforth Sands The second item spoken of by Jim was how to cross a ford by boat. Prior to the river becoming navigable and therefore made deeper to accommodate larger goods carrying craft. There was four crossings over the River Don at Mexborough these were, from west to east; the plank bridge, located at the end of Meadow Lane, Old Denaby; Mexborough Ferry, at the end of Ferry Boat Lane; the Nether Ford, situated approx 100 yards below the Ferry; then lastly Strafforth (Strafford) Sands, between the site of Denaby Main Colliery and where the Don & Dearne meet. Of these the only ford which could easily be wadded across, most of the year, was Strafforth Sands. But if the river was shallow enough at that point to wade across then how in our early history could the Saxons have come up the river by boat to Mexborough? Also how do you get a laden craft over that point? Again Jim knew the answer. When travelling from Sheffield to Doncaster, when reaching the ford, there were two methods of crossing it, the first was as follows. In the interest of safety, you would wait at Mexborough for a number of boats to collect and then sail down the river to Strafford Sand where a damn would be constructed with a sluice gate in the middle. The amount of water would then accumulate behind it and when sufficient water was enclosed the sluice would be opened to allow the boat to rush through on the resulting mini tidal wave. This was then repeated for the next boat in the group and so on. The second method was long and laborious and necessitates the offloading of the cargo, manhandling the boat overland, using rollers, and then reloading the cargo at the other side of the ford. Travelling from Doncaster to Sheffield was a different proposition and took in the use of tides. In those bygone days, the River Don was a tidal river and to cross Strafforth (Strafford) Sands you would wait at Conisbrough until the tide came in and the level of the water began to lift, in some areas locally this was as much as 18in (50cms). As the boats were only small, in those days, this enabled the boat to float over, sometimes with the aid of a damn. But in the summer months, when there was little water in the river it may be necessary to manhandle the boat and cargo. RIGHT - The type of Small Boat Used to Transport Goods Along the River Don in the 18th Century. In 1697 Sir Godfrey Copley of Sprotborough, put it to parliament that the River Don should be made navigable, to allow South Yorkshire to move its saleable goods, but this was unsuccessful. Many other attempts were made and it took until 1726 for the Company of Cutters at Sheffield, together with the Doncaster Corporation, to get an Act passed through Parliament. By 1767 the river had been: dredged; long and shot cuts constructed; also tight bends removed, to allow the passage of larger, goods carrying craft. It is my strong belief that because the River Don was made navigable, and mainly because long and short cuts were inserted where it was necessary to inject vast amount of water into the river system, the fear of running aground was removed, and therefore it became a safer river to operate on. It was therefore this that brought about the demise of the River Pirates. News From the Local History Office Programme Made For the BBC About Sapper Hackett VC Last year we kept track of developments to build, and later to unveil, a memorial in Givenchy, France over the last resting place of Sapper Hackett VC, Mexborough’s own 1st.WW hero. The unveiling, as you will remember, took place in June 2010. Then on 23rd January 2011 I reported to you, for the first time, that a programme was to be made for the BBC on Sapper Hackett and the French Monument in his memory. Filming began in February when a crew, on behalf of the BBC, arrived in Mexborough, where shots were taken to the front and rear of his home, on Cross Gate. Then, on Fri. 5th August 2011, the granddaughter of Sapper Hackett, Freda Warren, began her long journey, which was to culminate in Givenchy, France, in order to visit the memorial, erected in honour of her grandfather. The journey began, as so many do, at Doncaster Railway Station where she caught the train to London. There she was met by a friendly lady named Maggie, a representative of the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham and where, for the first time, she was filmed by the crew who shot her alighting from the train. Maggie then escorted her to the museum, where, wearing white archival gloves, she was able to, not just see her grandfather’s VC but also handle this precious item. The VC was donated to the museum in 1966 by Sapper Hackett’s daughter, Mary, at the presentation she stated: “It seems such a little thing to exchange for a life.” But this was a generation to which little things mattered a great deal They were then off to France where Freda and friend stayed in a B&B. The next day Freda was filmed in Givenchy, standing on the site of the entrance to the shaft, where her grandfather is buried. It will be remembered by us all that in 1916, he lost his life, under such gallant circumstances, when he refused to leave his comrades and tried to save the life of his fellow Sappers, following a roof fall within the tunnel they were working. Unfortunately, although Freda made enquiries of the film crew, as to when the programme will be broadcast, they were unable to tell her. She was informed that the project was still in its infancy, there was quite a lot of filming still to do and decisions had not been finalised as to whether it was to be a documentary or a docu/drama, which will take considerably longer to make. Information Taken From: The Memories of James William Rownsley Freda Warren, Sapper Hackett’s granddaughter. ‘Shots from the Front the British Soldier 1914-1918 by Richard Holmes’. Copyright: This newsletter may not be reproduced, in part or in its entirety, without the permission of J.R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[28]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/rodney.htm","2011-10-13","8K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: from Rodney Shaw    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: from Rodney Shaw HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email From former Mexborough Grammar School student Rodney Shaw, now of California. I can confirm that the Grammar School picture is of Form 1b from the 1948 intake, and taken during academic year 1948/49. Stan James and Brian Lawrence have identified most of the names, but might like to add Joan Fox and Gordon Daniels to the list. Stanley James and myself (hello, Stan, has it really been more than fifty-years!) were part of the same eleven-plus scholarship-class in the old Swinton Fitzwilliam schoolhouse (gas lamps, outdoor toilets), under the formidable tutelage of Miss Frances Gillett. That year she claimed her record number of successes, more than twenty passes in the eleven-plus out of a class of thirty-plus. Most of us were allocated to Forms 1a, Ib, and 1c when we arrived at the Grammar School, which had a record intake in 1948 of around one-hundred-and-eighty new students, so there was a need for three additional classes, 1e, 1d and 1f. Do pictures of these classes survive, I wonder? By the time the sixth form came around in 1953, and the necessary O-level hurdles had been cleared, this same academic year was organized into the lower sixth - 6A (Arts) and 6B (Science) - and many of these same students can be recognized five years later. I was allocated to Form 1a in 1948, and in 1953 became part of form 6B (Science). The pictures of Form 1b and 6A (Arts) were kindly provided to me by Mollie Neale (Forms 1b, 6A), shortly before her sad death in 2008. My apologies for any wrong identification or misspellings. PS: The picture of the academic staff that you show was actually taken on the same day as those for Forms 1a, 1b, and 1c, during the 1948/49 academic year. Your correspondents have done a great job in providing the majority of names. Here is what I believe to be a complete list, ordered into rows. MGS Staff 1948/9 Back row: Mr Orme, Mr Kitching, Mr Roberts, Mr Gethin, Mr Hitchin, Mr Chandler, Mr Fisher, Mr Barrell, Mr Brace, Mr Worthington. Middlle row: Miss Shelley, Mrs Roberts, Mrs Moran, Miss Carnelly, Miss Sutton, Mrs Hawkins, Mrs Roberts, Miss Paley, Miss Mayne Miss Clapham, Mrs Booth, Miss Tunbridge, Mrs Thorpe (School Sec), Mrs Kitching. Front row: Mr Hadkins, Mr Osborne, Mr Bedford, Mr Milnthorpe, Mr Way, Mr Watkinson, Miss Holt, Miss Cave, Miss Clitheroe, Miss Ginn, Miss Crowther. Miss Bunney On ground: Mr Staniforth, Miss Rothney, Miss Arrowsmith, Mr Siddall. Form 1a 1948/9 Back row: Trevor Savage, David Pepperle, Terence Clarke, David Holloway, Peter Penketh, David Smethhurst, Rodney Shaw, Trevor Panther, Keith Swingler, Norman Day, ‘Ginger’ Davis. Middle row: Donald Smith, Margaret Willetts, Josephine Foulstone, Pauline Fletcher, Jean Aspinall, Kathleen Rowlands, Sheila Booth, Wendy Musgrove, Denise Howson, Clifford Beardsley. Front Row: Patricia Alt, Ann Glossop, Muriel Peace, Ann Curtis, Ronald Kitching (music teacher), Kathleen Chaffer, ?? , Margaret White, Christine Myers. Form 1c 1948/9. This was not my own form, so memory is not as complete. But among the boys are Harry Moulson, Eric Eldridge, Derek Walker, Brian Tyas, Eric Wood, Keith Marriott, Brian Remmer, Eric Salmons and Alan Foulstone. The girls include Rita Whitehead, Pat Birchby, Rita Jow, Valerie Mawson, Jean Corbett, Jessie Balding, Pauline Foster, Dorothy Oakley , Bernice Sanders, Pam West, Ann Foss, Beryl Green, Pat Mitchell, Mollie Neale and Norren Mills. The teachers were Miss Rothney (gym) and Mr Tindall (metalwork). Form 6A (Arts) 1953/4 Back row: Ann Robinson, Molly Dutchman, Patricia Alt, Wendy Fisher, Dawn Cresswell, Joy Sidebottom, Joan Fox. Middle row: Dorothy Hadkins, Jean Aspinall, Joan Welsh, Donald Shelton, Michael Chappell, Gordon Daniels, James Carter, Pauline Green, Valerie Mawson, Molly Pierce. Front Row: Margaret Hollock, Jesse Balding, Mollie Neale, Dorothy Chappell, Margaret Willetts, John Fisher (legendary English teacher), Ann Hewson, Margot Charity, Anthea Garbutt, Pauline Fletcher, Rita Jow. Form 6B (Science) 1953/4 Back row: Peter Penketh, Michael Dixon, Derek Walker, Terence Clarke, Rodney Shaw, Barry Tucker, David Pepperle, Donald Smith. Front Row:Brian Remmer, Ann Curtis, Clive Taylor, Susan Long, Mr Warren (Physics), Sheila Goodison, Brian Pikett, Christine Myers, Norman Day. Back to MGS home page     ");
array_files[29]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/publications.htm","2011-10-13","15K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Society publications - available from Mexborough Library and other local outlets HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Price £6.50 Our latest book is available at the following outlets: ? Newstyme and Everyday News, High Street, Mexborough ? Interiors, Bank Street, Mexborough ? The Old Market Hall, Weatherspoons, Market Street, Mexborough ? Pick of the Crop, Adwick Road, Mexborough ? The Miners Arms, Doncaster Road, Mexborough. ? Mexborough Library and The Local History Room, John Street, Mexborough. Following the publication by Mexborough & District Heritage Society’s first publication ‘The Village of Mexborough’ in 2005, we are pleased to present our second book, ‘The People of Mexborough’. The photographs are taken from the archives of the Society, some of which are from the Leonard Harrop Collection, added to and preserved by our late President, Norman Watson, a well-known Mexborough teacher. Other illustrations come from postcards and purchases at antique fairs and the internet; others have been donated by local businesses, individuals and families. This is a ‘snapshot’ of what is available in the archives and it was a difficult choice selecting pictures which justified their inclusion to the exclusion of others. It proved impossible to organise the photographs in chronological order, therefore, for easy reference, alphabetical order according to names and surnames has been used throughout. By and large we have used mainly old photographs but felt it important to include people alive today who will recognise themselves and be identified by friends and family members. GREAT SAVINGS Mexborough is fortunate to have had two local historians of note in the same family. The first, Leonard Harrop, collected material (newspaper cuttings, photographs and notes) from the nineteenth century until his death in 1939. After his death much of his collection was rescued by his nephew, Norman Watson, who himself then added to the collection. Norman Watson died in February 2000, aged 94, and his family, following his wishes, donated this wealth of scrapbooks, notebooks, maps, photographs and many other articles to Mexborough and District Heritage Society, of which he was a founder member and Honorary President. It is from this collection that much of the material in this book was obtained. WAS £6.50 NOW £2.50 INTRODUCTION Mexborough was no more than a village for centuries, believed to have grown around an ancient river crossing. It remained a self-sufficient farming community with a population of no more than 400 people up to the coming of industry in the 1 800s. The two most important families to live in Mexborough, the Homes and the Saviles occupied its larger houses — The Old Hall and the Parsonage. The remainder of the village was made up of farmhouses, barns and cottages, many grouped in yards and rows dating from different periods. The majority that survived to be photographed were from the 17th and 18th centuries. With the 19th century came change; water transport was improved during the 1 830s with the construction of the Mexborough new cut. In 1840 the new turnpike road was opened, followed some years later by the railway. The enclosure of common land transformed the Parish and by 1900 the village had developed into a thriving industrial town with a population in excess of 10,000. To cope with the migration of people into the area during the 1800s, finding employment in the potteries, quarries, waterways, railway and most importantly, coal mines, the village had to expand. Most of the building was to the north and west leaving the old village largely intact. Having survived the boom of the 19th century regrettably most of the old buildings were to meet their end during the next. One by one the houses, barns, cottages and yards were removed. Had these buildings been allowed to remain and undergo sympathetic restoration we would now have a very different town. Many scenes that have been lost have fortunately survived in photographs, often taken for reproduction as postcards. From these some impression of the character of the old village can be obtained, and it is to these that most of this small book is dedicated. AVAILABLE FROM THE USUAL OUTLETS, THIS BOOK IS REDUCED TO JUST £2.50, and can be mailed at the usual rates. Price £3.99 Price £1.99 Price £1.99 An everyday story of Mexborough folk Introduction by author J R Ashby, Archivist The more I learn about the people of Mexborough and its area, the more endeared I become to them. The normal everyday people you meet in the street when shopping, or see in the supermarket all have a surprise somewhere in their past, like the man many of us used to see walking down Mexborough High Street nearly every day of the week in his navy blue overalls, coat and woolly hat, who turned out to be an ex-guardsman who guarded the King in the Second World War, and was one of the creators of Denaby Ings Nature Reserve. Then there is the man who drives a beautiful Morris Cowley car around the streets who is our last horse marine. Included in this booklet is the story of Thomas Barron who started as a glass blower and went on to own one of the largest glassworks in the country. Just normal, everyday Mexborough folk who turn out to be not so everyday after all! A short history of Mexborough From the book, by J R Ashby Mexborough goes back to some unrecorded point in time when the population of the town lived in huts close to what became known as Mexborough Ferry which was, until 1963, at the end of Ferry Boat Lane. The earliest inhabitants must have found this an idyllic spot in which to live. There was a 200 ft south-facing cliff which sheltered them from the cold northern winds of winter, an abundance of clean drinking water, good grazing for their animals, stone to build substantial houses and clay to make pots. The river was teeming with fish and it was not uncommon to catch sturgeon. The river did not flood at this point even at the worst of times but, most important of all, it was the only place for miles around where the River Don was fordable. So travellers would have had to pass through here carrying goods and news. They would have needed somewhere safe to stay for the night as well as food for themselves and their animals. It is known that, when the Romans came here, there was an Iron Age settlement in the area and they found a well-worn road crossing the River Don at two points. Trams, tracklesses and buses From the book, by J R Ashby Its great body emerged from the winter’s smog like a huge green insect, its eyes blazing and antennae swaying. As it negotiated the corner, and hummed to a halt, dark shapes were seen to alight, their faces swathed mummy-like as protection from the polluted air as they walked over to the light of the YEB showroom windows. This workaday scene as a ‘trackless’ (trolley bus) stopped to allow its passengers to disembark at the bottom of Adwick Road was seen almost every morning as I walked to school, but little did I realise that smoggy morning almost thirty years ago that this would be one of the last times I ever saw a trackless at work in my town, as the last of these friendly green giants of the road were to be taken out of service. Just a few months later on 26th April 1961 the last trackless, with children and adults lining the main roads to say goodbye (I was one of them), passed through our town. Postage and packing costs for The Village of Mexborough and The People of Mexborough in the UK is £1.81 (plus the cost of the books themselves). Postage for anywhere outside the UK will be £4.50 plus the books cost. Back to Heritage index     ");
array_files[30]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/readers.htm","2011-10-13","14K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Readers contributions page 1    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Readers contributions page 1 HomeNewsletters Readers #2 Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email IMPORTANT We have moved contributions about Mexborough Grammar School to its own section, which begins here. READERS PAGE 2 HERE REQUEST FOR HELP ----------------------------------- Hi Am researching my family history, and am writing if there is any information you might have which will help my enquiries. My father was Ernest Hall born 29 Schofield St., Mexborough 7.6.1929 and married Renee Etheridge in 1949, after which they immigrated to Australia in 1950/51. We have been told that my father had five brothers and one sister. His parents were Lucy (nee Smelt) and Thomas, who married about 1908 when Lucy was still a teenager and Thomas was referred to as an older man - we think it could possibly have been the second marriage for Thomas. Thomas died when my father was quite young, but Lucy survived to the age of about 70 and was apparently buried in a family plot, although we have no idea where this is. Any information would be gratefully accepted, and any family members are welcome to contact me. (we will forward any emails) Thanks: Christine Pfingst (nee Hall) REQUEST FOR INFO ----------------------------------- Hello, In trying to find an old team mate on a London University football team in 1958/59 called Geoff Moss, I came to this site as I know Geoff attended Mexborough Grammar school. Geoff Moss was at Imperial College London studying Physics from 1956 -1959. I am drawing a blank with his University friends and wondered if anybody from the Grammar school knew Geoff and had kept in contact with him. The entry for him in the Imperial College data for 1956 shows a James Geoffrey Moss. He played Goalkeeper at college. I see some former pupils from around that time have entered memories. If any body has any information I would be grateful for an answer, or a link. Kind regards, Steve Pick Richardson TX If you can help, please email us here UPDATE May 24: Hi, I played soccer with Geoff. He usually played goalie. I remember my Dad, who watched all our matches, putting Geoffs fingers back in line when he dislocated them diving at somebodys feet. He did it more than once!! Geoff occasionally played centre forward - in fact he represented the county at both GK and CF. He married Janet Gelder. I have not seen or heard of him since he left school. Regards, Brian Wright REQUEST FOR INFO ----------------------------------- From the Mike Hawthorn site Hello, I run the Tribute site for Mike Hawthorn whom as you well know, was born in Mexborough. Its possible that a cousin of Mikes went to the Grammar School in the early 1950s according to memories of a former pupil who remembers a tall boy aged about 13 who claimed to be his cousin. Do you know if this is true or have any further information? We are aware of an Edward Grenville Hawthorn who was a cousin but not sure if this is the same person. Thanks for any help. If you can help, please email Tony Bailey here ----------------------------------- Empress danceband, late 30s Former Mexborough Grammar Schoolgirl Ciceley Bilverstone (nee Smith) has kindly sent in this photograph of her fathers dance band. Ciceley, formerly of Conisbrough but now of Abingdon, explains: It was taken about 1937/8 in the Empress Ballroom in Mexborough. My father was Les Smith and is the one on the trumpet, his brother Sam on drums. Another brother, Alf, is on the piano accordian and youngest brother John plays the double bass. The family lived at 12 John Street when they came to live in South Yorkshire. My grandfather Edwin Smith was the Musical Director at the theatre in Mexborough . Some readers may remember my Aunt, Amy Smith ,who was deeply connected with the Scout and Guide Movement in the area during the war and the late 40s and early 50s. Harlington Road March 2007: A request for information from Mr Mick Brooks, who wonders if anyone has any old pictures of Harlington Road. We will be happy to pass on any information, if you could email us. Grand house FEBRUARY 2007: Graham Humphries wrote in, asking if anyone had any pictures of a grand house in Mexborough, which was demolished around the late sixties: I was just wondering if the society has any photos of the old glen, and big house, which overlooked it, which was situated on the field which is at the junction of Herbert St and Harlington Rd. It was demolished around 1968 and the site used as landfill by Mexborough Urban District Council. I remember the great big house and gardens with fountains and orchards If you have any information, please email us and well pass it on. David J. Butler writes: I was pleased to discover your web page today. Sometime in the past, about twelve years ago, I was in touch with the Society, concerning the presence in Mexborough of many of my family, the Butlers on my fathers side and the Cramps on my mothers : for years both sides of the family lived in Lower Church Street. It was upon discovering the website and reading through it that I realised a photograph I have here will be of interest so I now attach it for your use. The subject is the staff of flour mills which I believe were called The Don Roller Mills and owned by James White. Mr White is sitting in the middle, and on his left, wearing a bowler hat,is my grandfather Samuel Arthur Cramp ( 1875 - 1937 ) who started there as bookkeeper and later became traveller and then, when the Barnsley Co-operative Society bought the mills in 1912, S.A.Cramp left them and obtained agencies from various other mills in the district, for example Thomas Hanley and Sons in Doncaster, Hudson Ward and Company in Goole and Joseph Rank Ltd.in Hull and set up as their sales agent. Others who are identified by a note with the photograph are Ben Binch, wearing a cap, to the right of James White and the young man who is sitting on the ground and wearing a suit was probably Harry Chambers. Incidentally, several of the Butler side of my family appear on the group photograph of those helping at the Rainbow Bazaar which was organised to raise funds at Easter 1893 and I see you have reproduced it as no. 6 in your series Buying and Selling - Commerce . I have a fairly complete list of those on that photo and I know my list is at variance with the list published in The South Yorkshire Times in 1949 ( when the photo, long forgotten, came to light ) as it was painstakingly put together by my grandmother ( Mrs Charlotte Butler , 1861 - 1954 ) at my request when she mentioned to me that some of the names were incorrect in the newspaper article. BELOW: This group photograph, taken in Mexborough, shows what appears to be a farewell party and presentation to a departing Minister. On the back of the original photograph is the inscription: J Drummond, Minister, August 1906. It was found among the personal effects of Edna Alexander (nee Butler) after her death in 1995. Included on the front row: Mrs Tom Adey, Mr William Butler, Miss Ada Jackson (later Mrs Percy Butler), Mrs William Butler. On the ground, among the children are: Wilfred Butler, Phyllis Butler (later Mrs H Crookes) and John H Butler (aged 1yr 11months); also on the front row, is Mrs John Jackson. From Chris Dixon, Australia Greetings from the Australian outback. My mum left Mexborough when she was 15 in WW2 because she was orphaned. I returned in 1997 and was impressed by the 90% of my very extended family who made me welcome.I love the site - loads of photos, pity we dont have names of people in them. I attach a photo of my great-granparents family - I have all the names - Joseph and Louisa Severn. He was big in the Methodist Church, where the Lindsay Centre is now. In the photo - L-R - Joseph, Ada (my grandmother married EVANS), Ted, Joe Junior, Jack (at top), Myra (below married SCHOLEY), Louisa (above married VENABLES), Albert (below) and Louisa. Cheers Chris Dixon, Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia READERS PAGE 2 HERE     ");
array_files[31]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/features.htm","2011-10-13","11K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Features and essays    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Features and essays HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email A growing number of in-depth features from Mexborough Heritage Society resources. These picture essays bring together photographs from the society archive with facts about the past - and also Mexboroughs recent history, to develop a broad picture of life as it has developed, and continues to evolve, in the town. If you have any memories or photographs to share, please let us know. Features Please make your selection Remembering the fallen of two world wars. Our list now includes Mexborough, Swinton Conisbrough, Manvers, Denaby, Barnburgh, Barrons and Adwick-on-Dearne. Town centre, 1950 Police photographs which show how life has changed in just 50 years. Pottery heritage Member Graham Olivers papers shedding light on the areas rich ceramic past. Vanished Mexborough Family photos reveal a terrace flattened in the Sixties. Market Street area Once a thriving and important area which was demolished in the 70s for the relief road project. A GP who won the hearts of a community Profile of Dr S P Bhatia, a man who devoted himself to the physical and spiritual well-being of the people of Mexborough. Montagu Hospital How the towns treasured hospital came about. Barrons Glassworks The life and times of a leading industrialist Mexborough Parish Church Old photographs and a history of St Johns Methodist schoolroom, Dolcliffe Road A remarkable record of change, by Paul Walters. Famous son honoured A plaque is unveiled in Mexborough to mark the life of Formula 1 racing ace Mike Hawthorn. We have pictures, reports of the speeches, and videos of the event here.. Drama at Mexborough Grammar School Essay contributed by Rodney Shaw. Trackless memories More will be added as time goes on, so please check back Last updated: January 1 2007     ");
array_files[32]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/drama.htm","2011-10-13","18K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mexborough Grammar School drama    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mexborough Grammar School drama HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email No better summary can be given of the important historical role of dramatics at Mexborough Grammar School, than by the historical account reproduced below. This has been transcribed from the 1954 edition of the annual school magazine (The Don & Dearne), which had a special issue to commemorate the Jubilee of the founding of the school in 1904. This Jubilee also chanced to coincide with that of the retirement of headmaster Hugh Leslie Watkinson, who served from 1931 to 1954, and who gave so much of his generous personal support to both staff and student dramatics within the school. Thus for many of we students within that era, it provided our first access to the serious theatre, and was a natural complement to the classroom emphasis on an all-round classical education. The writer of the following review went only under the initials of ‘S. C. H.’, who, judging by the contents, was a student and perhaps later a teacher during the earliest days of the school, and otherwise only reveals herself as the sister of J. F. Hacking, who I recall being a leading Mexborough dignitary. During my own times, the students presented Major Barbara, Abraham Lincoln, Noah, Our Town and The Ascent of F6, while the staff staged their own productions of The Wind of Heaven, The Farmer’s Wife, St Joan, When We Are Married, and The White Sheep of the Family. If memory serves me correctly local famous actor Brian Blessed, though never attending the school as a student, played a young ‘carried-on’ role in the Emlyn Williams drama, The Wind of Heaven, which features a dying child being carried on to the stage. Detailed reviews and cast lists for all these productions are on record for posterity in the annual school magazines published during that era. Contributed by Rodney Shaw School dramatics: The Don & Dearne magazine, 1954 Mexborough Grammar School produced a school play before it possessed a school building. Miss J. E. Crowther reminded us of this at the old students ‘ Jubilee Reunion’ on November 13th. That was long before my time but I have pleasant, though incomplete recollections of the development of the School’s strong theatrical tradition during the last 35 years. It was Shakespeare, Shakespeare, all the way until I left school in 1927. The pageantry and poetry of the plays gripped us on the stage however unresponsive we may have been in the classroom. Beginning to con our parts a little self-consciously we ended playing them with zest, if not always perhaps with art. The plays were written to be acted – not pored over on desks – and we were allowed to discover this truth in practical ways. Our mentors in the main were Miss Crowther and Miss Blazeby, though Mr. Ireland would often emerge from his room during rehearsals, pause for a moment, and then comment: “ I can’t hear you at the back of the hall.” This, of course was the signal for even more forceful coaching in voice production from Miss Blazeby, with whose own penetrating tones every “boding trembler” who attended the School during the first 30 years or so of its existence is everlastingly familiar. One of the loveliest and jolliest productions I recall was “Twelfth Night”. It was staged, I think, in 1920 and marked the emergence of the School from the sombre period of austerity impose by the 1914-18 war. It was lavishly costumed and staged by the standards of those days and the wistful romance and broad comedy of those days were adroitly balanced to ensure a memorable production. The tragedies were tackled too. “Hamlet” was put on in, I believe, 1923 and 1927 and merits a modest mention as my brother (J. F. Hacking) and I played the name parts in the respective productions; a unique circumstance prompted by the play coming round as set book in both our Upper Sixth years. In between, probably in 1925, I remember an exciting “As You Like It” which roused the junior school to rare enthusiasm by virtue of a spectacular wrestling bout between Stanley Meanley and Roland Jackson. Unforgettable, too, is a riotous version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” when Bully Bottom’s mechanicals so far forgot themselves as to respond to the audience’s wild applause by giving an encore of their Pyramus and Thisbe scene. It took Mis Blazeby half a term to recover from the horror which this solecism aroused in her. Time gilds memories and there is always a nostalgic pleasure in looking back, but I count myself fortunate to have seen, too, so many of the school plays the School have produced in the last 25 years. On the whole I think the students today are bolder and less self-conscious in their acting than we were. Under the guidance of Miss E. M. Ginn they have added fresh lustre to the School’s theatrical reputation. “Noah” and “Our Town” are two excellent examples of modern plays which suggest that nothing is too difficult for a school so well equipped with staff, stage facilities and willing and imaginative children to attempt. Thanks to Mr. H. L. Watkinson’s personal interest in the drama there is now a staff play tradition, also. The choice of play has ranged from “St Joan” to the airiest of comedies, but the “box office” success of these productions has been remarkably and consistently high. There has been benefit for School, staff and district in these enterprises. Qualities of versatility, unsuspected because not ordinarily evoked teachers, have been discovered to the world of pupil and parent at large through this medium. A humanizing process of this sort is a valuable leaven in a 900-strong grammar school. The staff have done very much more than merely entertain us and I hope Mr. Watkinson’s innovation will always remain a part of the School as it moves towards its centenary. Whatever the aspirations of those responsible for that production before ever the School itself was built they have surely been handsomely rewarded in the succeeding 50 years. S. C. H REVIEW: Our Town The assembled cast of Thorton Wilders’ Our Town, staged in October 1952. Although written in 1938, and now an American staple, this was still a very experimental form of drama for an English audience in 1952, and was generally acknowledged to be one of the superior sixth-form productions of all time. The cast list (with apologies for any miss-identifications and misspellings) includes several well-known Mexborough names of that era, as does the review (printed below), which was written by two sixth-form students and was featured in the 1953 school magazine. The picture was kindly provided by Nina Elliott, herself a member of the cast. Back row: Philip Goddard, Eric Senior, Trevor Skirrow, Reg Squires, Raymond Taylor, Robert Leach, Aubrey Venables, ? Middle row: June Mellor, Janet Sharman, Brian Beaumont, Miss Ginn, Eldon Burley, Margaret Kennedy, John Turner, Bill Bailey, Ernest Forbes. Sitting: Joan Darley, Elizabeth Brockelsby, John Ward, Norman Farmer, Margaret Bamford, Cynthia Dawson, Mary Hobson. Front, floor: Pat Toulson, Nina Elliott. OUR Town This year under the able leadership of Miss Ginn, the school dramatic Society presented the original and true-to-life play “Our Town”, by the American playwright, Thornton Wilder. This play is an unusual attempt to portray everyday life in a small American town at the beginning of the century. Through the medium of the Stage Manager, we pursue the eternal themes of birth, marriage and death. The wholes plot centers round the love-story of Emily Webb and George Gibbs. Thornton Wilder places before our eyes, simply yet effectively, his philosophic views on life and death. Brian Beaumont gave a truly magnificent and mature performance as the omniscient Stage manager. It was due to his skilful efforts that the whole play ran smoothly and harmoniously. A bouquet should certainly be handed to Nina Elliott for her sympathetic and sincere rendering of the difficult role of Emily Webb. From being an impetuous and ambitious teenager until her death, she convincingly moved through the stages of a woman’s life. No-one will ever forget her pathetic return to earth, in the last act, and her disillusionment shown in the poignant speech, which reduced many of the audience to tears. Philip Goddard as a gangling adolescent and later as Emily’s husband, combined naturalness and sophistication to portray effectively, throughout the play, the life of George Gibbs, with it’s moments of great happiness and intense grief. Elizabeth Brockelsby and Margaret Bamford gave charming and realistic renderings of the characters of next-door neighbours, the mothers of George and Emily. John Ward, as Doctor Gibbs, and Norman Farmer as the editor of the local newspaper, deserve mention for their splendid portrayal of two typical inhabitants of a small town. Other performances which were well done were those of Aubrey Venables as the absent-minded, long-winded professor; Eldon Burley as the tipsy choirmaster, with a tough of pathos in his drunkenness; and that of Janet Sharman, as a typical town gossip. The parts of younger members of the two families were capably played by Joan Darley and John Turner. A startling innovation, in the form of questions from the audience itself, proved a most effective medium of presenting information about Grovers Corners and its inhabitants. The questions were asked by June Mellor, Margaret Kennedy, and Robert Leach. Other parts were well taken by Peter Eldridge, Ernest Forbes, Reginald Squires, Eric Senior, Trevor Skirrow, Raymond Taylor, Cynthia Dawson, Mary Hobson and Pat Toulson. Miss Ginn was the producer, and it is owing to her unflagging interest and hard work that the play was such a success. We all appreciated the assistance of Mr. Burleigh, who among other things helped us considerably with the American accent. The unusual and attractive set was designed and painted by Miss Turner, and built by Mr. Leach and Mr. Myers. Our thanks go also to Mr Siddall, Mr Hill, and Mr Howard for their hard work as stage managers; to Mr Staniforth, Foy and Bort for the splendid lighting effects; to MissMartin and Miss Flinders as wardrobe mistresses; to the business manager, Mrs Lewis; and to Mrs Roberts, Mrs Bayes, Miss Paley and Mr Watkinson for their valuable help in making up the cast. This play, thanks to Miss Ginn, the cast, and all other helpers, was one of the best productions the School has given. M. R. A. and M. K. (VI.Alpha) If you have any Grammar school memories to share, do please email us.     ");
array_files[33]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/church.htm","2011-10-13","8K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mexborough Parish Church    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mexborough Parish Church HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Mexborough Parish Church TOP: The interior of the Parish Church prior to the 1891 restoration, with pews, pulpit and reading desk, all of which are now changed. The rood screen is no longer there, and the organ has been replaced. The organ in the photograph was passed on to the National School (St Johns C of E). Above the much lower chancel arch was a board carrying the royal coat of arms. RIGHT: The church of St John the Baptist as it was in 1882, a very different building from the present one. A Directory of the latter half of the 19th century states, ‘The church of St John the Baptist is a structure of very ancient foundation, c 1086. After undergoing a thorough restoration was re-opened in September 1891. The work included the erection of a north aisle on the site of one of the ones formerly existing, the chancel was lengthened by the addition of an apse, and an organ chamber built on the north side of the chancel. The organ provided at a cost of £450, is a memorial to Andrew F W Montague Esq. The total cost amounted to over £1,800.’ BOTTOM RIGHT: St Johns Church of England junior and infant school (The National), which stood on Bank Street, photographed around 1908. It had very close ties to the Parish Church. In its place now is the Salvation Army citadel. St Georges Church interior (c.1908) St Georges choir around the same time From a 1908 source In 1908, the church held a Sunny South Bazaar in the old Market Hall. The following is an extract from a foreword about the church: An interesting account of the old Church was written by the Rev. H. Ellershaw for the Handbook of the Bazaar held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, November 15th, 16th and 17th, 1892. The following description, is practically a copy of that account with such alterations as were rendered necessary by the difference of date and additional matter to bring the account up-to-date. Mexborough Parish Church is of very ancient foundation. Documentary evidence shows that there was a Church here very soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066, and the edifice itself supplies proof that a portion of it (even as it is flow) is part of the original structure. Previous to 1891 there were signs, tolerably clear, that the building had passed through three several stages. First, the original erection shewn by the two round pillars and plain square capitals on the north side of the nave, Mr. Ellershaw thought, might date from 1080 to 1100, others looking at the transitional character of the moulding at the bases of the pillars place the date at 1150 to 1190, and account for the rudeness of the capitals and the arches by the remoteness and poverty of Mexborough at that time. Secondly, the doorway found in 1891 in the wall under the arch nearest west not only witnessed to the taking down of a north aisle and the building up of the arches, but also to the date when this was done, probably between 1260 and 1280; and thirdly, the two windows with perpendicular tracery that existed in the north wall spoke of another alteration having been made between 1400 and 1450. There were probably two founders, for the living was for several centuries divided into two medieties. These two founders, owners of the manors of the Parish of Mexborough, while uniting to build the Church chose to keep their gifts of land, &c., for its endowment separate, and so the endowment consisted of two portions or medieties. Each founder appointed his own parson, whose maintenance was supplied by the mediety. One of these medieties came very early into the hands of Swain Fitz Ailric, who gave it to the priory of Nostell, and this grant confirmed by Thurston, Archbishop of York, in 1130. The other founder kept his half or mediety in his own hands and continued to appoint a parson to it. However, in the next generation the second mediety fell into the hands of the great yeoman family who had held the first, and after the death of Swain’s son Adam it descended to Adam de Montbegon, the husband of the aforesaid Adam’s youngest daughter. Adam de Montbegon presented his half of the advowson, together with the whole Manor of Mexborough, to the priory of Monk Bretton, and thus the two medieties of the advowson of Mexborough Church came to belong to the two Religious Houses of Nostell and Bretton. Each house had its shares of the revenues, and each house continued to present its parson, so that till 1247 there were two parsons of Mexborough with concurrent powers, one presented by Nostell, the other by Monk Bretton. A very similar state of things prevailed at Darfield until 1907.     ");
array_files[34]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/centre.htm","2011-10-13","5K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: street scenes from the 50s    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: street scenes from the 50s HomeNewsletters Readers PublicationsQ&A Essays News Programme email Mexborough town centre c1950 The following series of photographs was taken around 1950 by the Police Force to illustrate traffic congestion. The images now provide a fascinating glimpse of the town half a century ago, easily within living memory, with trolley buses, shoppers and a surprising number of bicycles. Looking towards Bank Street Looking towards The Empress, Swinton Road Bank Street Outside the Majestic Cinema Facing Market Street From outside the old Co-Op     ");
array_files[35]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/glass.htm","2011-10-13","12K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Barrons Glass Works    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Barrons Glass Works HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Barrons Glassworks by archivist J R Ashby. Mr Thomas Barron And His Involvement In The Glassworks Of South Yorkshire A little while ago I copied an article from the Mexborough and Swinton Times dated 19th August 1887, it was the obituary of Mr. Thomas Barron and it wasn’t until I came to study it in detail I found that it wasn’t just an obituary but told the story of both Thomas Barron and his glassworks. It starts by telling us that he lived in Glasshouse Lane (this is now under the Indoor Market) and his death was indirectly caused by the carriage he was in colliding with a dray at Barker’s Corner (where the General Post Office now stands and the Junction of Swinton Rd., Main St,. and High St.) we think of road accidents as being a product of the motor car and the twentieth century but this proves that the Victorians had their problems too. Mr Thomas Barron was born at Ratcliffe Bridge, Lancashire on 18th Sept. 1812, but left for Huslet with his parents at the age of two years, and was later apprenticed to Mr John Bower of the glassworks there. After his apprenticeship he than went to work at “The Aire and Calder Works” in Castleford, then owned by Messers Breffit and Co. He also for a time worked for Mr John Kilner at Thornhill Lees, this being the father of the owner of Kilner Bros. Glassworks at Denaby Main. In 1835 he married Miss Armitage at Lees Old Church, and during their married life they had no less than seven sons and five daughters (some did not survive). After working at Thornhill Lees Mr T. Barron came to Mexborough with his father Mr Joseph Barron (Jnr), Benjamin Rylands, John and James Tillotson, and Joseph Wilson, they were all practical glass-blowers and all were determined to start up in business, and in 1850 did just this, in an old house which stood on the site where the Don Glass Works once stood (now under the by-pass behind York Square.) calling it the Don Glass Bottle Works. All the members worked very hard until they had a weekly output of 130 gross (18,720 bottles per week). In 1852 Messers Benjamin Rylands, John and James Tillotson and Joseph Wilson left to start their own firm in Swinton. In 1856 Mr Joseph Barron (Snr.) died leaving the glassworks to his two sons, and the first extension was started soon after this in 1857 when a second glass house was thought necessary, which started production in September 1858. But in 1864 the two brothers argued and they dissolved the partnership, Joseph taking the new building and Thomas the old giving it the name of “The Phoenix” (in 1865 The Phoenix Glassworks opened officially according to John Goodchild). After only a couple of years his brother went bankrupt and the property was bought by Andrew Montagu, Mr W Roebuck, Hartley Barron and Joseph and Chas. Bullock, Mr Peter Waddington being later taken into the company. In 1873 the first old Flint House was pulled down and a new one erected on the site, and in 1874 a third house was built, and extension followed extension until it became one of the largest glassworks in the area. In 1883 he heard of a better way of producing glass this being by the Siemens Process (invented in 1866 for the production of Steel) and on Feast Day (24th June) 1883 a start was made on the foundations for the chimney of the new furnace, and the production of glass by the “continuous system” of Siemens Process started in April 1884.But by 1885 business was such that another furnace was needed and a second gas fired furnace was erected. By this time Thomas Barron was employing three hundred men and boys. Next in this article comes a comment on the mode of the times (don’t forget that when this article was written out country was in the grips of the Great Depression, which took from 1870 to 1900 to clear) and this was that other countries had put a levy on all goods imported into that country from Britain, to give priority to their own manufactured goods, but the British Government had refused in their turn to put a tax on imported goods, and as a consequence it had hit the British manufacturing industries, in particular those which had a large export trade, such as glass industries and Thomas Barron in particular, who exported to Australia who in 1886 put a tax of 1/6 (71/2p) a gross (144) on imported bottles to encourage their own emerging glass works in New South Wales. It also Comments that a British Trades Mark Act had been brought out, and that Mr Barron thought that the death of the British silk and sugar industries were as a direct result of the tax put on British goods by foreign governments. The article then goes on to tell us about Mr Barron himself. In 1882 when he was 70yrs. Old he blew one of his last bottles, at the opening of one of his furnaces, a Mr James Rogers told him that he would fill with whisky any bottle he could blow and was astonished when he blew a gallon bottle. Mr Barron was one of the founder members of Mexborough Local Board, first sitting when it was a District Sanitary Board (this must have been in 1866 when they were first started) and eventually became overseer of the poor. A Congregationalist by religion he gave frequently to Mexborough Congregational Church. He was an “old fashioned” Conservative, believing it to be his duty to look after his employees and started “The Phoenix Sick and Divided Society” to enable them to obtain financial aid in times of hardship. In Jan. 1885 at the Montagu Arms, where they held their annual meetings, Mr Barron was presented with a The founder of the glassworks, Joseph Barron senior. Here photographed with his wife around the middle of the 19th century. He died in 1856. Glassmaking around 100 years ago at Phoenix. pair of gold spectacles in a silver case and a silver mounted Malacca walking stick with solid Ivory handle, his wife at the same meeting was presented with a pair of gold spectacles enclosed in a case inlaid with pearls, she also received a Victorian lady’s workbox. The cane and spectacle case being inscribed with “Presented to Mr T. Barron Esq., by his workmen 2nd Jan. 1885”. There was after the presentation a speech given by Mr Liversedge, who comments that Mr Barron had seen the glass manufacturing industry in Mexborough grow from the old methods of glass bottle manufacture to the latest, and they could at that time not be bettered for quality, or colours, and that it was one of the finest buildings in Britain or the continent. The writer then made an interesting comment that when Mr Barron first came to Mexborough there were only about sixty families in the whole of Mexborough, but by 1887 the population had increased to the point that the writer thought it about time that Mexborough and the surrounding district should be represented by an MP in parliament, and that it seemed silly that the Lord of the Manor James Montagu could try and sit for Pontefract but not for his own town, and its area, also that his neighbour Mr Wrightson of Cushworth Hall should have sat for Northallerton for so many years. The writer also makes a comment that if Mexborough kept on growing the way that it had over the past few years, it would not be long before it outstripped the nearby towns of Rotherham and Doncaster in prosperity and population, and that Doncaster had just acquired a stroke of luck in that Mr Edmond Beckett had just sited his “Plant” there. At the funeral the High St. and the vicinity of Glasshouse Lane where Mr Barron had lived was crowded with mourners and people who had come to pay their last respects. What follows is then a list of people in the funeral cortege which starts with 230 workmen and then ten coaches in which were Mr Barron’s relatives, here I found the most interesting to be that the article told you just how they were related to Mr Barron, such as Mrs John Kilner wife of the proprietor of Kilner Bros. Glass Works Denaby Main, who was Mr Thomas Barron’s sister. A procession of the business people of Mexborough then followed the cortege. At 3p.m. that day all business was suspended in the town, as two thousand people assembled at the newly opened cemetery, the coffin was carried into the chapel there by some of his workmen, the Congregational Choir sang under the leadership of Mr A Popple and he was buried in a vault on the Nonconformist side of the cemetery. The writer then makes the comment that it was the largest funeral ever seen in the town. Barrons glassworkers from around a century ago     ");
array_files[36]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/DrBhatia.htm","2011-10-13","31K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Tribute to Dr Bhatia    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Tribute to Dr Bhatia HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Dr Sukhdev Pershad Bhatia 03.12.1902 - 06.10.1988The retirement of Mexborough GP Dr S P Bhatia in the mid 1980s marked the end of an era in the town which began with his arrival in 1931. More than simply a well-loved medical practitioner, Dr Bhatia had at his heart the care and nurturing of both the physical and spiritual well-being of his patients. His dedication to medicine, the town and Labour party were honoured at a retirement dinner, and this is a verbatim transcript of that evening, and a reminder of the great affection in which he was held. Dr.Nadarajah I have great pleasure in welcoming every one of you here to this representative gathering. We have assembled here today to grace a momentous occasion - the retirement party for Dr. Bhatia, one of Mexboroughs illustrious and most-loved citizens. Be it a colleague, young or old, from hospital service or general practice; be it a patient, man woman or child, he is greatly respected, and his name is a household one. In this gathering here, we have a Member of Parliament, we have bankers and businessmen, we have consultants, hospital doctors, general practitioner, nurses, secretaries, para-medical personel, friends and patients as well. All of us here, and many hundreds of others who are not present here this evening admire and appreciate his dedication and service to the community. Many of us know that Dr.Bhatia is a tee-totaller, non-smoker and a vegetarian. He is a man of peace - and he is at peace with himself. His life has been exemplary and worthy of emulation. It is a pity that the ageing process does not spare even the doctors. In my consulting room - and outside - Im often confronted with the question How is Dr.Bhatia now ?; then, the follow-up remark ssuch as - Hes a fine fellow or Hes a wonderful man or Hes a dedicated man, he deserves a medal, and so on. These are spontaneous outbursts of ordinary men and women, and one notices in their tone the ring of plain-speaking honesty, and in their eyes a glow which takes them back down memory lane of their friendly, intimate association with Dr.Bhatia over the years. In simple terms, they are just simply proud of him; proud of him being their doctor, proud of him being their friend and proud of him being the man whom they can go to in times of need. I have had great pleasure and pride working with him for nearly nine years. I admire his great capacity for work - his age was never a barrier; he never made me feel my age either. Dr.Bhatia is one of the few men I know to whom work and leisure means the same. His cultured, serene thoughts, packed with experience, have been well worth listening to. Ladies and gentleman, it is to this stethoscoped gentleman and to his loving and ever-supportive wife Ruby that we are assembled here today to pay tribute for the contribution he has made towards the health and tender care of the people of Mexborough, Swinton, Wath on Dearne and Bolton on Dearne, and he has rendered it so gracefully and so generously over the long, long span of 56 years. We salute you, Dr. Bhatia. Martin Redmond MP When Dr. Agrawal phoned me to ask me to come here this evening I accepted with great pleasure. When we were on the local authority we used to have an officers group and we used to have what was known as the short straw, where one had to sing for our supper; and there was always of course a lack of volunteers, and we used to draw the names out of a hat as to who would speak. But the phone call that was made - I deemed it a great honour to be here this evening, and after having accepted and put the phone down I then started to have doubts about how I, as a humble person, could pay tribute to Dr. Bhatia, because to be truthful, the service he has done to this community, it really ought to be Her Majesty the Queen here this evening. When the doctor arrived in this country aged 24, I think Englands gain was Indias loss, because he had intended to stop only one year. But nevertheless when he completed his training at St.Andrews he arrived in Mexborough in 1928 and spent 56 years to date here, and of course the many services and involvements he has undertaken while hes been here have been without any hesitations whatsoever. He has totally immersed himself in the community. And alongside that medical career has been mentioned that he is a Christian - a lay-reader and Past President of the Sheffield District Association of Unitarian Churches, and of course the unselfish duty as a GP for Mexborough. And one can continue giving a role of honour as it were to the numerous activities and involvement that he has been involved in in Mexborough. And of course, like every man in public life you require a wife who is understanding and helpful, and Ruby has given him that support; and if you dont get the support you obviously cant compete in public life, because the wife of course is the backbone behind any husband. Ruby of course, to Dr.Bhatia, has been like that jewel in the crown, and I thank you Ruby on behalf of the community for giving Dr.Bhatia that support. When I first met Dr.Bhatia in 1982 when we came to the annual Mexborough Labour Party dinner, I was sat next to him and I wondered who was this old lad who was a vegetarian, didnt smoke, and I got talking to him. During the course of that dinner I was tremendously impressed, and I made enquiries as to who this Dr.Bhatia was, because Im not a Mexborough lad - unlike Dr.Bhatia - and I found out about his good record and so forth, and I had no hesitation whatsoever of recommending to Doncaster Council that Dr.Bhatia should be given the freedom of the Borough, and that was done on the 24th of October 1983, and I think thats recognition from Doncaster. I do like an occasional cigarette, and as you know Dr.Bhatia is a non-smoker, and I think hes the only person thats lectured me on the smoking habit that I have been able to tolerate. But he put it in sudh a way - he didnt succeed in stopping me smoking, but nevertheless every time I see him I can see in his eyes you really ought to stop. I do occasionally call and see them at their home and Dr.Bhatia thinks I call to see him, and thats not quite true; I call to see Dr. Bhatia and his good lady when Im feeling a little bit depressed because the sound quality, the philosophy that Dr.Bhatia has had all his life is a source of inspiration to me and I come away refreshed, recharged to continue the fight. As I said, in 1931 Dr.Bhatia came to Mexborough, and those were hard times then. And the wheel has turned full circle and were now back to that era where unemployment and poverty and despair face us again. But I sincerely feel that Dr.Bhatia has equipped the people of Mexborough to cope a little bit better with the problems that face Mexborough. By word and deed throughout the years and throughout the various generations that hes helped to bring into the world, those people are better equipped in their minds to deal with the problems facing them now. He, without a doubt, will continue to inspire people for years to come. And what touches me most - the hallmark of a civilized society is the way it treats its people - the less fortunate, the less able in our society. And Dr.Bhatia, by word and deed has shown how civilized man ought to behave. And thats why I look for the guidance and advice, because while the body may be frail, the mind is very very active. And I will conclude by saying that Dr. Bhatia has improved the health of the community, and your service as a Lay Preacher has improved their minds. On behalf of all the people of Mexborough, thanks very much for coming to Mexborough. You are now a citizen of Mexborough. Dr.John Stevens Well my friends, I do thank you for both of us, for inviting us here this evening to share in this memorable occasion - Dr.Bhatias retirement. As a recently retired doctor from this area who after 25 years or so has made a very modest contribution to the medical scene in Mexborough, I really take my hat off to Dr.Bhatia, who for more than twice that time - 55 years in fact - has dominated the medical scene of Mexborough. And its interesting the changes he must have seen over these years; its interesting nowadays to think how wholistic medicine is such a popular subject; treating all the patient - their mind, their body and spirit. Dr.Bhatias been doing it for 55 years: No problems at all. Hes the only doctor I know who can diagnose people without seeing them, on the telephone. He has a special manner on the telephone - time is not bothering him (it doesnt bother him at any other time either). You just ring him up and he knows exactly whats the matter with you; no problem at all. So really all the modern sophisticated diagnostic equipment - he did very well without it, and still does. During a recent trip to America one of the radio stations was doing a current advertisement for Mount Sinai Hospital - you know they have to advertise the hospitals and doctors, heavens knows why. And this quite pleasant advertisement says Today, a man in Holland is walking the street because of a doctor in Mount Sinai Hospital. Come to Mount Sinai Hospital: We have doctors for your chest, for your tummy, for your nerves and so on. And I thought which of us in this room could say we are walking the street in Mexborough because of Dr.Bhatia. I should say, hands up those who CANT say that ! He has brought so many people into the world who are here, or their parents, and has cared for so many other people over the years, and of course advertisement is quite unnecessary in his case. His dedication and integrity immediately appeal to Yorkshire folk who know a good thing when they see one. And of course his name will live not only from the medical point of view, because theres the Bhatia Centre, the Bhatia Close which will be here for as long as we can foresee. I well remember the first meeting with Dr.Bhatia at his previous house at Rockleigh, an oasis of peace and tranquility in the hustle of Mexborough, run so efficiently by Dev and by Ruby; full of medicine and music and religion and art, and we were indebted as to how welcome we were always made there. He is a man of deep faith and religion whom we all admire. Some of you, like me, might be a little uncertain about the difference between faith and religion and perhaps I could point it out by a little story of a car which was travelling in the Middle East It ran out of petrol, but fortunately on this desert road they could see this town about a mile away so the chap said well, afraid well just have to walk to town and get some petrol and come back again. So he looked in the car for a suitable recepticle for the petrol, and all he could find was a babys potty; so off he went, rather self-consciously a mile or so to this nearby town, and got some petrol. He was very glad he took it because they hadnt got any cans, so back he came to the car with this potty full of petrol and poured it with great difficulty into the filler cap. And just as he was doing that, the very first car theyd seem came along, and out stepped a very important looking Arab gentleman and looked at him filling this car with the fluid from this potty and said: I dont know what your religion is - but I do admire your faith. Dr.Bhatia is of course himself a man of great humour, I always remember his funny stories - especially the ones about the half-past ten at night calls; he said you have to wait till the pubs close, at around half past ten at night , people would call. And of course on the telephone hed know exactly what was the matter - what it was was that the wife has had a headache for about three weeks , the husband comes back from the pub ; Ah, poor dear youve got a headache, I must ring the doctor.... We all wish Ruby and Dev the very best in their retirement, and one little thing I must do , say about Dev (he tells this story as well), is about his writing. Writing of course is usually the means whereby Doctors keep patients in ignorance about their condition; in Dr.Bhatias case its been whereby he keeps everybody else in ignorance. And Ruby has said how shes had cards from him on holiday, and has had to take them down to the chemists to see what he says . And then when hes got back, shes shown the cards to him - and he cant understand them either ! Well Dev, we wish you a very happy retirement. Dr.Nagaraj Dr. and Mrs. Bhatia, its my turn to say a few words; Im a bit lost for words. I dont think I can match the oratorial skills of our distinguished guest speakers, or my colleague who introduced them in the beginning. However, I hope I shant be lacking in expressing the sentiments and regards we have for you Dr.Bhatia. When the news of your retirement spread across Mexborough, everyone that we came across kept mentioning when are you going to have a party for him ?, `Hes a grand old man, he deserves a medal. The problem was not having a party per-se, but how to you have an occasion to befit the man. In fact I recall visiting a woman who was in agony with a slipped disk, and in between her cries of pain she said `Hes a legend lifetime isnt he ; I said `Ill have to pack you off to hospital dear.... We decided to have two guest speakers - one to represent the afflicted, I mean the public, and the other to represent doctors: The first one, we thought Mr.Redmond would be the ideal choice, and when I tried to ring him it was an answering machine; I thought, well hes never going to follow my Anglo-Indian Yorkshire accent, so I asked my secretary to leave a message asking if he would ring me, but she did not say what it was about. Later on I went to a pub and had a pint of beer and was looking at my Guardian newspaper - it was all about immigration problems and demonstrations at Heathrow airport...and I thought Mr.Redmond might not contact me - he might think `Oh, immigration problem again. However, he was very prompt indeed and rang me and said `Dr.Bhatias retirement party 1900 1930 the 11th of April - its a pleasure . I was a bit lost for words then, I didnt know what else to say... As far as out other distinguished guest speaker is concerned, he hasnt even got over his jet lag yet , but here he is. Im sure he would have been here even if he would have had to fly across the Atlantic directly. I want to mention about Dr.Bardun; I think hes trying to race across Chesterfield to be here ;he has a long-standing prior engagement there. Dr.Powell thinks nothing of coming all this way to be here today; its amazing what the mention of a name can do Dr.Bhatia, I mean your name. When we started off with the party, the Hospital Secretary said `For Dr.Bhatia its no problem you can have anything, the catering manager said we will not let you down for Dr.Bhatias party, and the medical representatives, they wanted to be a part of it, they wanted to partake in the occasion; our landlord, Ken Paling - I know youre a tee-totaller Dr.Bhatia - he cut short his holiday from Las Palmas to be here to run the bar for us. On behalf of all the people here - your friends, colleagues- here are the well wishes we have received ; and all this is a testimony to the regard, love and affection we all have for you. As a little token of our appreciation - that is from your partners -we have procured a little present for you (an electric powered wheelchair ). I hope it will carry you a long way ; from all your other friends we managed to get an electric easyrise, we hope it will be of use to you. May I ask Dr. Agarwal who has been the chief organiser and the prime force behind organising the party to present it to you on behalf of everybody. Mr.Martin Redmond: Just a little retirement card that we asked the Speaker of the House , Bernard Weatherall, to sign - and all the Labour Shadow Cabinet have also signed it . Happy retirement Dr.Bhatia. pr.Nagarai Dr.Bhatia, if you look at the programme it says that Im the Practice speaker - it means Im trying to practise speaking... Im supposed to say a few words on behalf of our Practice, but the spirit of the occasion has overcome me (not alcohol I) and I thought the best thing would be to read the letter that we partners wrote to you when we heard of your retirement: Dear Dr.Bhatia, thank you for your letter informing us about your retirement from the Practice from first April 87. We realise that it must have been a heart-rending decision, but appreciate that with your pragmatism you felt that it was the only decision you could make in the best interests of the Practice and you. We your partners would like to express our thanks and gratitude for giving us an opportunity to work with you. It has been an honour and a pleasure. You will be retiring from practice in name only ; you are a man larger than life, a man of sagacity, perspicacity, foresight and strength of character, a man of immense patience and time for one and all. The Practice has been, and always will be, Dr.Bhatias Practice, there may be offshoots here and there perhaps. To all your patients you constituted and exemplified a family doctor, a stethoscoped friend in need; a guide and philosopher for your doctor colleagues and a doyen of general practice, setting the standard and norms; we hope to try and emulate your example and carry on the good work. We hope that we may continue to have the opportunity of seeking your counsel and advice from time to time. We wish you, on behalf of everybody here a very happy retirement , and good health. With regards... Ladies and gentleman, may I give you - Dr. Bhatia (prolonged applause). Dr.S,P.Bhatia You wont blame me if I tell you that I am completely overwhelmed, and almost rendered speechless. It has been a wonderful reception. You have all made me feel so humble; I bow my head in humility. I have been very fortunate in having had colleagues who have been really marvellous. We have worked in perfect harmony. In fact, an example to many practices. I dont remember ever listening to one dissident note; you have been wonderful colleagues, and I sincerely hope that they will go on serving the community through the medium of General Practice for many many more years to come. I think it will be hard to find a practice that has worked so harmoniously together; they have spared no effort and no expense in arranging this particular assembly. It has been a moving experience for me. I also pray God that they will be spared health, and have peace of mind - those are the two essential things in life that have sustained me; health - I thank God that he gave me health for 55 years to be able to serve the community and he also gave me peace of mind. I dont remember ever losing my patience or rag, no matter how busy Ive been. Now I hope and pray that they also will have health, which you can see is the most important thing, and peace of mind, which is just as important; that with these two gifts they will be able to serve the community for many years to come - and perhaps beat my record, I hope so. We have also been very fortunate in our receptionists; they have worked loyally and devotedly and diligently. There has never been any back-biting nor any friction between all our receptionists. If I might mention the names of two - Marjorie and Margaret - who presented us with these flowers. They came to me when I was practising at Rockleigh , thats about 18 years ago - so they have been very loyal companions, receptionists and supporters in time of need. I hope that they will continue to serve the practice also for many more years to come. Now, I would like to thanks Dr. Nadaraj for all that he has said about me. I hardly merited it: It makes me feel utterly humble. But as I said, I am glad I was able to serve the community for so many years. I thank also Martin and John; John and Anna have been friends of ours ever since they came to Mexborough, and we thoroughly enjoyed your friendship, your warm hospitality, your warmth, and I sincerely hope that you will be able to visit us periodically. Martin I have known also for a few years; his ambition has been that he may be remembered as a loyal MP representing his constituency - but there is no doubt that over the years he has represented us, he has endeared himself to all his constituents. I can assure you that he is generous to a fault, and he has been extremely generous to me, and visited me on a number of occasions , and I appreciated it because I know Martin, the demands on your time and energy are colossal. I know this much also - that if any of his constituents approached him with any reasonable problem he would tend to it sympathetically and understandingly. The election may not be far off - I dont know when because Mrs. Thatcher hasnt consulted me. If she did, Id tell her `You always have your own way, you might as well decide the date yourself..; but whenever it comes, I know this much, Martin, you will be re-elected with the thumping majority that you merited. Now I came to Mexborough as a boy in 1930, and as Martin pointed out the conditions were very appalling. There was a great deal of unemployment, there were slums here - some of you might remember Charles Street, Gentlemens Row, Sarah Street, Orchard Street - I could go on numerating the slums that were here. And to conduct confinements under those dismal, dratted conditions was not a joke, but however, we managed it. In those days by the way there was no midwife; they had a woman - who ever had had three or four children she was considered to be the expert in midwifery. But conditions were really appalling. There was also, if I may mention, only one District Nurse for the whole of Mexborough and she used to cycle, and naturally one did not like to impose too much burden on her and therefore dressings and injections one had to do quite a lot ones-self so the poor girl wouldnt be over-burdened with work. But - and I say but - in all sincerity that in spite of the appalling conditions, slums, unemployment, poverty and so on there was a great deal of warmth. There was a neighbourliness, friendliness - it was really heart-warming. Roman Terrace, where I spent most of my professional life was one large family and I found myself as a very integral part of that family. It was a joy working amongst them. Curiously enough, Mexborough was a very rich town culturally; there was an orchestra here - I still remember Mr.Williams was the conductor of Barnburgh Main Orchestra ; he once obliged me to come to a concert in aid of an earthquake, and he very kindly brought his orchestra. There was a Male Voice Choir, female choir, debating society, Truth Society, WEA classes , there was an Amateur Dramatic Society , there was the Operatic Society - they still function you know - and one took part in as many cultural activities as one could. It was indeed a great contrast from its outward appearance and its cultural heritage , and you may be interested to know that there were quite a few eminent people who came from Mexborough; the Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes, came from Mexborough Main Street, they had a Newsagents shop and I used to attend them. So, Mexborough had its redeeming features. Now, Montagu Hospital was a cottage hospital. There was only one house physician-cum-house surgeon; all the specialities werent catered for. The very first consultant physician appointed was, I believe, in 1931 or 1932. He was a Junior Consultant at Sheffield Royal Infirmary and then subsequently he became Professor of Medicine at Manchester Medical College. And he became also President of the General Medical Council. He was Knighted, and then he got promoted to the House of Lords. I knew him very well indeed, in fact we struck up a friendship in those early years. And now, of course, the hospital is expanding rapidly, when all the alterations are completed, no doubt it will be a very important institution in this part of Yorkshire. Now I dont want to say a great deal more except this; that I was forced to retire. I did not mean to retire, but after my stroke last year it was a very painful decision. I still hoped against hope that I might regain sufficient mobility to be able to do part-time work. But it was not to be... It was after a great deal of heart-searching and cogitation and anguish that I arrived at the decision that it is time to relinquish my hand in General Practice. I am thankful to all who have helped me during my illness; District Nurses have been wonderful, the other nurses have been wonderful - my grateful thanks. And of course I must say my wife and daughter have been towers of strength to me and they have given me great moral support. It is a very grievous thing for me that I should be dependent on so many people just to preserve and prolong this mortal flesh, but there it is. I am grateful to them. I dont want to say a great deal more except to quote the words of celebrated well-known Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore: In one salutation to thee, my God, let all my senses spread out and touch this world at they feet. Like a rain-cloud of July hung low with its burden of unshed showers let all my mind bend down at thy door in one salutation to thee. Let all my songs gather together their diverse strains into a single current and flow to a sea of silence in one salutation to thee. Like a flock of homesick cranes flying night and day back to their mountain nests let all my life take its voyage to its eternal home in one salutation to thee. I thank you all. But there are just two words that I want you to remember me by. Just two words. He loved. Thank you all; may God bless you. There then followed a standing ovation of affectionate warmth and appreciation - a fitting end to a moving and much-deserved tribute to a great man. Peter Lee     ");
array_files[37]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Holmes.htm","2011-10-13","10K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Article first published in the Northern Ceramic Newsletter, issue 147, September 2007. Articles by Graham Oliver The Holmes Pottery Recently, from a antiques centre in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, I purchased thirteen pieces from a dinner service, comprising ten large dinner plates, two platters and one stilton stand (figure 1) and although a fairly simple pattern it is typical of earthenware from most factories of that period. What make this unusual is that all the 13 pieces are superbly marked (figure 2) with the full name of pattern and registration date (May 1871). This is most uncommon as in 15 years I have only seen a very small number of marked examples, the majority of which are in Rotherham museum. I also illustrate from my collection a sepia jug with a printed mark JJ and CO Falconry (figures 3 and 4). In Yorkshire Pots and Potteries (H. Lawrence, David and Charles, 1974) by Heather Lawrence she states that very little was marked and such pieces are rarely seen and that the name of the pattern was incorporated with the makers mark, as is the case with the items dealt with in this paper. The pottery was built by a Thomas Jarvis around 1850 in Psalter Lane, Holmes a short distance from the centre of Rotherham. Greaves and Ernshaw ran the pottery for the first 4 years 1850-1854; Dickinson and Jackson 1854-1860; John Jackson and Co., 1860-1887; George Shaw and sons 1887-1909 then from 1909 until 1931 when the works closed down it was George Shaw and Sons Ltd., and the works stood empty for some years before demolition. At the time of the items illustrated, the pottery was run by Mr John Jackson who was born in 1818 at Greasborough and upon leaving school was apprenticed to the Bramelds at the Swinton works. He was apparently involved in the production of the legendry dessert service made for William the fourth. When the works closed John went to work as manager at the Don Pottery before moving to the Holmes pottery around 1860, and in 1871 the pottery was purchased by John Jackson, and George Shaw from 1875. John suffered from ill health and died in July 1880. Please make your selection Rockingham Oriental Mother and Child find at the Denaby Pottery A Connection Between the Hawley and Don Potteries The Holmes Pottery A Newhill Detective Story A Chesterfield British School Temperance Hall Plate Last updated: January 1 2007     ");
array_files[38]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Hawley.htm","2011-10-13","11K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Article first published in the Northern Ceramic Newsletter, issue 148, December 2007. Articles by Graham Oliver A connection between the Hawley and Don Potteries Archaeological Ceramicist C.G. Cumberpatch of Sheffield University whom I met on the Denaby Pottery excavation contacted me recently. He asked if I could identify sherds with printed transfer designs from excavations on the site of the Top Pottery at Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire. The Top Pottery was situated on the east side of Rawmarsh and was founded by William Hawley in 1795 and traded as Hawley and Co. On his death in 1818 Dame Hawley, his widow, ran the pottery assisted by her sons. One of whom, George, was an earthenware printer and when George took over the Rawmarsh Low Pottery in 1844, his brother, Abraham, took over and ran the Top Pottery until its closure in 1858. Amongst the sherds were a number of unglazed examples with the panelled border found on the Don Pottery Italian Landscape Scenes series [fig 1]. In the NCS Newsletter no 145, page 30, Dr Alwyn Cox mentions that the sale details of the contents of the Don Pottery on 9th January 1835 included engraved copper plates. He also writes that no details of the purchasers of the sale items survive. It is only the marked TWIGGS or TWIGG NEWHILL items with this pattern that indicate Joseph Twigg and Sons bought stock at this sale. During a trip to Newark Antiques Fair, John McNamara bought a Don Italian type plate that consisted of a scene with two men talking, one seated in the foreground, a lake with a small sailing boat and a large mansion / castle on the banks of the lake. The plate was described as Don but the dealer considered that it was most likely Twiggs as it was very heavily potted in earthenware. In my collection I have, in pearlware, a plate with the same pattern impressed DON POTTERY and also printed GREEN DON POTTERY with a lion. The Don plate is on the left of figure 2. The centre print on both plates is the same size although the Don plate is just nine and three quarter inches in diameter whilst the unmarked earthenware version is ten and a half inches. The Don plate weighs 330 grams and the earthenware version is nearly double at 620 grams and is much thicker [figure 3]. The reverse of plates [figure 4] shows the style of the earthenware plate on the right with the three sets of prominent stilt marks. This is in contrast to the earlier and much neater Don version. The evidence suggests that the Hawleys may have attended the sale of the Don Pottery stock disposal in 1835, as it was only 3 miles away, and purchased some of the copper plates for the Italian Landscape Scenes (panelled border) series. The plate illustrated is much inferior to Don and early Twiggs versions in the quality of potting but also note the poor border join at 4 oclock of the right hand plate in figure 2. As such, I consider that this is probably a Hawleys product. This example of three different potteries using copper plates from one series shows that attribution on unmarked items can be fraught with potential error. Acknowledgements: I wish to thank John McNamara for permission to illustrate the unmarked plate in figures 2, 3 and 4, and Chris Cumberpatch for the photograph of the sherd. Please make your selection Rockingham Oriental Mother and Child find at the Denaby Pottery A Connection Between the Hawley and Don Potteries The Holmes Pottery A Newhill Detective Story A Chesterfield British School Temperance Hall Plate Last updated: January 1 2007     ");
array_files[39]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/graham.htm","2011-10-13","7K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 2    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 2 HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email A long-standing member of the society, one of the the countrys foremost rock guitarists, Graham Oliver, of Saxon fame, is a respected authority on local pottery. These are some of his contributions to a periodical called The Northern Ceramic Society newsletter. Features Please make your selection Rockingham Oriental Mother and Child find at the Denaby Pottery A Connection Between the Hawley and Don Potteries The Holmes Pottery A Newhill Detective Story A Chesterfield British School Temperance Hall Plate Last updated: January 1 2007     ");
array_files[40]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Les01.htm","2011-10-13","3K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Les Adlington contribution    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Les Adlington contribution HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email These photographs have been kindly loaned by former MGS pupil Les Adlington. One is of the 1949/50 Under 14 football side and the other of Form 2A in 1948/49. Back Row l to R : Mr G Siddall (games master); Brian Lowe; Keith Downing; Dave Tomkins; George Wilkes; Les Adlington; Mr H L Watkinson (headmaster). Front Row L to R : Eddie Peck; Arthur Jones; Brian Sheridan; Albert Snuff Roberts (capt); Lawrie Sharpe; Keith Bambridge (later a pro winger with Rotherham United); and Brian Hope. Form 2A : Back L to R : Sam Thompson; ? Kelly; George Lee; Barrie Hutchinson; Les Adlington; Alan Gill; ? Pilkington; Tony Wild; the Proctor twins Alan and Barrie ( or probably vice versa); Joe Gibson. Middle L to R : Roy Happs; John Leeson; Sheila Chapman; Diana Bayes; Aileen Hill; Molly Plater; Margaret France; Anne Lake; Lily Senior; Bernard Beal; Brian Hope. Front L to R : Winifred Sharpe; Jean Collins; Sheila Crossland; Marian Firth; Mrs Roberts (form mistress); Olga Crookes; Irene Wakelam; Barbara Simpson; Janet Skeldon.     ");
array_files[41]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/market.htm","2011-10-13","4K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: the old market area    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: the old market area HomeNewsletters Readers PublicationsQ&A Essays News Programme email Mexborough Market Street area There was good news and bad news when planners decided Mexborough needed a bypass: it took a growing flow of traffic out of the narrow town centre and allowed shoppers improved access. But it also saw buildings of character and purpose demolished and buried in the name of progress. Apart from the homes along its route which fell to the developers in the 70s, there was a stretch of land from the old market hall to the start of Church Street which was utterly destroyed. Market Street and Oxford Road were home to two key buildings in the town, the police station, and fire station, as well as a fine methodist church, and at one time a picture house. The market had grown too big for its location next to the Montagu Arms, and had spawned stalls on the other side of Station Road, adjacent to the market hall. And there was a row of retail premises opposite which included a popular record and joke shop. These photographs capture the character of that area. Looking towards Bank Street from Market Street, with the market hall centre left. A flight of steps led from between the shops on the right to Bank Street via garages. Note the market stalls middle left. A similar view, which also shows the new Oxford Road Church. The fire station.     ");
array_files[42]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/memorial.htm","2011-10-13","67K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: remembering the fallen    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: remembering the fallen HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email The society has been busy recording the names on our war memorials. We have details of Mexborough, Swinton, Kilnhurst, Conisbrough, Manvers, Wath, Barrons Glassworks, Denaby Main, Barnburgh and Adwick-on-Dearne.We also have details of the memorials at Bolton, Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe here. Our gratitude to those who painstakingly compiled this section so the sacrifice of local people could be honoured. Mexboroughs war memorial stands as a testament to the high price the town paid in two world wars. There were 249 lost in the First World War, and a further 98 in the Second World War. It is humbling to see how many young men gave their lives for freedom, and moving to think of the grieving families they left behind in our community. The memorial is engraved as follows: To the undying memory of all the brave men of Mexborough who laid down their lives in the Great War 1914 - 1918 and of their comrades of this township who in offering an equal service were not called to an equal sacrifice. Face 1 WWI C R Adams J adamson T Allan T F Allen R W E Anderson A Andrews P Ashmore C H Askin A Atkins A A Atkinson J Atkinson L Aubrey W Axe A E Baker B Barley P Barron T Barron A Batty E A Bayes W H Bedford W Beech J Bennett H Bentley C Beresford T Best F Blunt P Blythe G E Booth J Boynton H Bramham J Briggs W H Briggs C L Brookes J H Brooks W Brooks H Browes J H Brumby C L Bryars A Bucknell W Buncall T A Burgan L Caine A Calladine J Calladine L Calladine W Calladine R Carrol A Charlesworth H Charlesworth W Chipp C V Clarke P Clarke J Cliff A Clothier E Clotheir H clough R Colby P Conlon C Conway A Cope L Corbridge A Crowcroft F Crowson Face 2 WWI H Curtis W Cutts W Dakin W Davis L Dawson G H Dean A E Denham H L Davenport A Dodds J Dodson R Dodson R Douglas W Drabble W Drury H Dryden C Dunstan A Durham W A Durham P Dyson J T Earnshaw J M Ellis H Falkingham ? Fletcher H Flinders H Foote C H Foster H S Fruin H Gill E Goodbody M Graham T H Green R H Green V Greenway W V C Hackett C E Haldenby F Hall E S Hallford J Haigh G Hakin H Hakin W Hare A Hargreaves J W HArrison C Hart H Heald S H Henson H Hepworth A Hickling C Higgin W Higgins J Hill J H Hinds J Hinton M Hobson J W Hodgson E Hoggins J Holt E S Hornsby C Horton H Houlbrook T H Howlett T Humphrey A Jackson A W Jackson D Johnson Face 3 WWI H Johnson T Johnson G E Jones R A Jones B Jowett W Kershaw A King T King S Lake C Lawton T W Lee C J Levi A Lewis J H Lockett L Lynam C W Lyons C V Marsden J Marsden H T Mawson C E Meek H J Minchin C Monk C E Morley J T Morris F C Morton H A Morton L Mountford D B Murray T Naylor F Nettleship H Newley J A Nicholson C Norman W OBrien R Olby G W Oliver G Overend H Parker E T Pearson J Pepper W H Phillimore H Phillips J Pinches G F Pinder E Poulson A Price F Ramsey W Ramsey T J Reed G Reynolds H Roberts E Robins A V H Robinson C E Rolfe R Rose J S Rothery F O Rowland R Rownsley P O Sales J Salkeld A Samuel W Scales J Severn Face 4 WWI C E Shaw J Shaw W Shaw H Sheridan W Skirrow A Smith J Smith J E Smith T Smith W Smith P Stables H Stead N Stead W Stead W Stocks G straw R Street H G Sykes H Tatton F Thompson J Thornton J Timmins G Tingle W A Trethwey C Truelove R V Truelove J Venables J Vickers W Waddington J J Wagstaff A Waite M L Walker H Ward T Ward M F Watson F Webb W H Wesley T Wharton C C White Wr. White Wd. White I Whitehead W Whitehead C Whitham F S Whitham A Wiles H Willcock J Worrall R W Wood H E Woodhead H E Woods W R Woolridge W Wright E Wright C H Thompson E Adams J Marr H Woodhouse Face 1: WWII C H Chambers L Ball E Grice Face 2: WWII T A Andrews R Atkins D B Barnett A Batty G H Beevers H Biggins R Biggins B Bisby A Blakemoor P Boyes S Bradshaw S Bramhill J Brayshaw E Breeze S Briggs H W Callerdine J Casey H Chappell H Charlesworth P Clarkson W Clemitshaw E Cliff H E Clothier W A Cutts A Daines G W Darwin E E Dorman H Dryden A J Eastwick D J Fallon D Fletcher Face 3: WWII G G Flinders H H C Flinders G T Ford J Goddard L R Goff A Griffin W H Grint P Hammond F Harrison E Hibbert E Earnshaw S Hodgkinson J Houlbrook J Howson J Hulse A Jackson A Jones T E Jordan F W Kirby W E Lake H S Lambert G W Briggs W Llewellyn J A Lynch R MacDermott J W Mawby J S Morley A H Morris H Moxon J Oliver J Overend W Perkins Face 4: WW II D Phillips H Platt C K Popple S Prince A C Rhodes G F Richardson T Ridley L Sale C Seagrave J Severn H Shaw W Slater H Spencer W A Stapley J Sudworth B Swann F Swindells D S Swindler E Sylvester C Thompson R Tune E Unwin F Waddington J Watson S Webb K Whaley J Wheeler C G W Whitehead W Whitman R Wilby W Wraith P Yardy BOER WAR PLAQUE INSIDE MEXBOROUGH PARISH CHURCH To those killed in the South African War (2nd Boer War) 11th October 1899 – 31st May 1902 To the Glory of God and in Memory of the Following Soldiers who Died Serving Their Sovereign and Country in the South African War. This Tablet was Erected by Their Friends in Mexborough and District. Sergeant Henry Percival Waddington 11th Company Imperial Yeomanry Aged 24 Years Private Francis William Perry 38th Company Army Service Corps. Aged 37 Years GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY PLAQUE AT MEXBOROUGH RAILWAY STATION To the memory of the men from these works who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War. B. Best T. 01.07.16 Brookes W. Brumby JH. 03.05.17 Burgan T A. Burton A. 03.04.17 C. Carroll R 12.09.15 Coultas R. 09.10.17 Crowcroft A. 12.10.16 D. Depledge F Dickinson D. 01.07.15 E. Eady TW. 16.08.16 F. Flint J. 17.04.18 G. Guest B. 24.03.18 Godbold H. 16.03.17 H. Hackin (Hakin) H. 09.10.15 Haynes F. 29.10.18 Hinton J. 08.07.16 J. Jackson TN. 27.09.18 L. Lawton C. 23.10.16 Levi CJ. 12.04.19 M. Matthews F. 12.04.18 N. Naylor T. 01.12.17 Nettleton W. 14-17.09.16 O. Olby R. 13.10.16 P. Payne AE. 22.12.18 Phillimore WM. 28.03.18 S. Senior M. 13.10.18 Stead H. 26.09.15 Steel JA. 09.11.18 W. Whitham FS. 16.10.16 Wood HE. 11.09.18 SWINTON WAR MEMORIAL 1914 - 1918 A Allen Ashley B Charles W. Bailey Albert E. Baker Harry Bate James W. Batty William Battye Thomas Beech Ralph Blackwell Fred Bluck Arthur Bool William Booth Wilfred Bradshaw Arthur Bramall Thomas Bramhill Jason Breeze Fredrick Brewsten Thomas W. Brookes John Brown Harry Butler Percy Butterfield George W. Bywater C Harry Cater George A. Chambers James Chapman Harold H. Chappell William Chappell Horace Chesters Benjamin Clements Arthur Clothier Albert Cook Ernst Cridge Arthur Crowcroft Joseph F. Currier George W. Cushworth Ernest Cutts D John W. Dale George R. Darrel Irwin R. Day Moses Daykin Fred Depledge Fred Depledge George Depledge George H. Dickinson Wilfred Dickinson E William S. Edwards Dan Elliot F Thomas J. Farr William Finnerty Frank Firth Frank Fisher James Flint John W. Foss Percy Foster Walter France John Franks Arthur Frost George Frost Arthur W. Furniss G John H. Gaunt Herbert Gelder George Goodhall Yessy Goodman Albert H. Goulder Bernard GuestH Isaiah Hague Joseph Hague John E. Harrison Frank Hartley George Hawcroft Herbert Hawkins Amos Henshaw Ernest Hill Harold Hill George T. Hirst Richard Hirst Charles Hodgson Horace A. Holsey Clarence R. Hood John W. Horton James House Leonard Housley William Hutchinson J Thomas N. Jackson V.C. William Jackson Harry Jagger William H. Jennings Albert Jones Fred Jones K Josiah King Thomas Knight L Ernest A. Lmbert Ernest Law Thomas Lees Douglas L. Lubley John W. Lomas Fredrick W. Lucas M Arthur E. Mann M.M. Robert Marshall Frank Matthews William Mayer Charles E. Miglem Harry Moore Joseph Morley Alfred Mosley Albert B. Myers Fredrick Myers N Walter Neale Wlater Nettleton Clement Nicholls John Nicklin O George Oates Frank Oliver Luther Oliver Walter Oliver Albert Ollett Ernest Oxer Henry Oxer William Oxer P Thomas H. Parker John T. Parkinson William E. Peplow Henry Pettit Charles Petty Harold H. Pilley Charles Porter Francis D. Poxton John Price Edward PurcellR George Reynolds George F. Robert Edward Robertshaw John E. Robinson John E. Rowson William Royal S John Schnieder Matthew Schofield Arthur Scott Fred J. Scott John Scott Jesse Senior Matthew Senior Ralph Senior William Seymour Patrick Shannon Elijah Share Albert J. Sharp Colin Sharpley George Shaw Harry Shaw Horace Shaw John W. Shaw George Shenton Herbert Sherridan Harold Siddal Tom Slater Joseph Smith Harry Soar Ernest Speight Norman Spragg John A. Steel M.M. William Saunders Fred Stinton Harry Stratford Richard Street John Summers William Sutton Richard Swallow Richard Swift Walter Sykes Richard Sykes T Frank Taylor George Taylor Reginald Taylor Fred Thorpe George F. Thompson Davis Tunney Fred Turner Tom Turpin George Twigg V Willie Varney W Sidney O. Wardle Richard F. Weaver William Wells Walter West Wilfred White Arthur Wharton Arthur Willey Herbert S. Williamson James Williams Alfred Wilson William Wilkinson Richard Winfield Samuel Wooding Sam Wright SWINTON WAR MEMORIAL 1939 - 1945 A C.D. Airey B H. Bailey G. Baimbridge H. Barnes Frank K. Bee S. Bell Rennie Bradshaw G.H. Brown F. Bullock C J. Calderbank S.F. Callear H.D. Claydon C.H. Cocks Walter Cowles W. Crummack D W.B. Dewe Sydney Drakeford George Draper S. Dower E George Eagle J.W. Elliot F Thomas Wm Ferry G W. Goulder H L. Haigh Sidney Heald W. Hibbert S. Hodgkinson H.R. Hollings G. Hollock K Fredrick Wm Kirby L Wilfred Lockwood M C. Machon E. Makin J. Mapplebeck Frank Mason John Mawer * Alice Metcalfe P D. Parson W. Phillips S. Purcell Ronald Pycroft Wilfred Pycroft S S.T. Sands W.J. Simms William Speight T Wilfred Taylor V Stanley Viccars KILNHURST WAR MEMORIAL 1st World War B. Pte A.L. Baker Pte W. Bailey Sgt L. Bowler Pte G. Burkinshaw Rfm J.W. Brownlow Spr T.G. Beel Pte J. Bullock Pte C. Bentham Smn H. Barker Pte T. Bamford Gnr S. Barlow L. Cpl G. Bevington C. Cpl H. Cresswell D. Pte T. Davis Pte G. Dobson E. Pte T.W. Eady F. Pte H. Foster Pte H. Fisher Pte W.H. Foster G. Dvr F. Gilliver Pte W. Gladwin Pte A. Green L. Cpl J.W. Godfrey Pte H. Govett H. Sgt W. Hill Pte J. Humphries Sgt J. Harvey J. Pte M. Jones K. Pte A.E. Knott Pte G.W. Kendall L. Pte S. License M. Flt. Lt. G.M.J. Morton Sgt. A. Moorhouse P. Cpl S.V. Plater Spr W. Pearson Pte T.J. Plant Pte G. Parkin R. Pte H. Rodgers Sgt W. Rowbottom Pte J.H. Roberts S. Pte A. Steel Spr F. Shaw Pte S. Stanley Pte W.T. South T. Lieut. W.R. Tiptaft Cpl W. Trafford W. Pte W.H. Walker Pte H. Woffinden 2nd World War B. A.B. W. Bailey P/O R.S. Black Gnr F. Brown H. Tpr C. Hopkins L. Air Mech. J. Lowe M. P.O. A. Moorhouse N. Spr J. Newton S. Gnr J. Scott T. L/S G. Taylor Flt. Sgt. F. Thompson W W.Cpl B. Ward (Bisby Ward) Pte L. Whitehead Sgt C. Windle P/O H. Woffinden ADWICK-ON-DEARNE WAR MEMORIAL 1914 – 1918 B G. Briggs D W. Day L B.W. Langford S.L.A. Langford W.R. Langford D. Lees P P. Pashley S R. Salkeld W.H. Stone T H. Tatton W B. Walker B. Wheeler H. Wright 1939 – 1945 Gunner G.K. Pashley Killed in Action Burma 1944 CONISBROUGH WAR MEMORIAL 1914 – 1918 A G. Appleyard H. Appleyard W. Ashford M. Atkinson B G. Baker P. Balmforth H. Barker A. Bashford W. Bell T. Bemrose A. Bennett J.W. Betts G.W. Bingham W. Birch J. Blades J.I. Bowen W. Breeze J.E. Brooke J. Brown H.G. Burton G. Buttle W.H. Buxton C J.H. Calladine T. Cass J. Chadwick J. Chapell G. Cocksedge F. Coles D. Collier J.R. Cooper J. Corney W. Coulson W.H. Crabtree W.H. Crookes J. Cross W. Cross H. Curtis D A.Davey A. Dawson W.T. day H. Dimaline W. Drabble H. Dungworth E G.W. Edwards W. Elliot J. Ellis R. Ellmer F H. Falkingham W. Faulkner J.H. Fiddler A. Firth T. Fitton G.E. Foster G H. Gamble G.H. Garside D. Gleadhall T.W. Glenn H.V. Goodier F. Goulding J. Graves J. Green M. Griffin H W. Haggar E. Hague J. Hall P. Hall A. Hanley R. Hardacre F. Hardy G. Harrop E. Hatley E. Hartley G.E. Hartley H. Hartley J. Hinchcliffe L. Hinchcliffe S. Hinchcliffe J. Hobson W. Hodgetts A. Holden W.H. Horner H. Hornsby C. Horsman W.A. Horsman A. Howson A. Hunt A. Hunt A. Hurton J.S. Hutchinson J R.W. Jones K G. Keeling J.R. Kerr N. Kinsey C.L. Knight L R. Lawrence J.H. Lewis W. Lewis T. Lifsey E. Logan M J. Martin J. Middleton J. Needham N L.J. Newall F.E. Nickolson E.H. Nickolson G. W. Nickolson P W. Page H. Palmer G. Park C. Pearce J. Pearce R. Pearson P. Peck S. Perry T. Poole E. Porter J.T. Power C. Purdy J.J. Purdy Underneath is found the name of J.C. Peace R T. Riley A. Robinson G.C. Rowe H.M. Rutter S E. Sampson G. Sampson J.B. Sargan J. Scott T. Sewell A. Shepherd F. Sleaford G. Smith S.G. Smith F. Spencer H. Stacey H.J.E. Starr O. Stenton F. Sturgess T R. Taylor A. Teale S. Templeton J. Thomas J. Thorton W E. Wain H. Wall S.Watson J. Webster R. Whittaker W. Whittaker H. Wiburn A. Wilson A. Wood F. Woodward J.W. Woodward G.T. Worth L. Wright W.E. Wright Y G. Yates Names Listed Below G. Leggett A.E. Smith G. Wainwright P.W. Weaver C. Coope H. Chipp R. White MANVERS WAR MEMORIAL (In memory of those who were killed during the 1st WW who were employed by Manvers Main Colliery) 1914 – 1918 To the Glorious Memory of our Fallen Heroes A Ashley A. Askin H. Audrey L. B Baker A.E. Battye W. Baxter E. Beach T. Bennington J.A. Bentley H. Blyth P. Bool A. Booth G.E. Booth M.W. Lieut. Booth W. Bosworth H. Boynton J. Braddock J.W. Bramham H. Bramhill T. Brewster L. Brown J. Bunnis J. Butler K. C Calladine A. Calladine J. Chapman J. Charlesworth A. Clarke A.V. Clarke H. Clement D. Conway G. Cope A. Cridge E. Cridge F. Currier J.F. D Dale W. Davenport H.L. Davis W. Dawson F. Dawson Fred Dawson L. Daykin M. Dean C.H. ( M.M.) Depledge G. Dickinson N.W. Dryden H. Duffy B. E Earnshaw J.T. Edwards W.S. Elliott D. Ellis R. F Farr T.J. Foote H. Fox E. France W. Franks J. Fretwell W.H. Froggatt E. Frost G. G Garbutt F. Gaunt J.H. Gelder H. Gething J. Gilford W. Gill A. Gill H.I. Gilliver F. Glew F. Graham M. Greaves J. Goodbody F. Goulder A.H. H Hackett W. (V.C.) Hadwin H. Hague I. Hargreaves A. Harrison H. Harrison L.W. Hartley F. Harvey J. (M.M.) Hawcroft G. Heaton F. Hemsworth H. (M.M.) Henson S.H. Hirst R. Hobson M. Howson H. Humphries F. Hunter J. J Jackson Wr. Jackson Wm. Jeavons E. Johnson H. Jones F. Jones R.K King T. (M.M.) Knott J. L Langford S.L.A. Larkin A. Law A.E. Lawty J.W. Leach F. Lees D. Lees J. Liversidge F. M Mahon P. Mann A.F. (M.M.) Mansbridge J.A. Markham W. Markham W.H. Marples V.G. Marr J. Marshall R. Mason J. Mayer W.H. Moorhouse A. Norley H. Morley W. Moseley A. Murray D. Myers A.B. N Neath T. Nettleship F. Nicholls C. Nicholson J.A. O Oates G. Oates J.W. O’Brien T. O’Brien W. Oliver F. (M.M.) Oliver G.W. Ollett A.E. Otter W. Overend G. P Paskell E. Peace H. Pears J. Petty C.H. Pinder C.F. Pocklington W. Porter C. Price A. Purcell E. Pyott A. R Radley C. Redgewell A.V.H. (M.M.) Robinson A. S Salkeld J. Salmon J. Sanderson S. Scales W. Scott A. Senior J. Senior R. Sharpe E. Sharpe A.J. Shaw G. Shaw J. Shaw J.W. Shenton G. Sheridan H. Sidall H.A. Skirrow W. Slater T. Smalley A. Smith C.W. Smith J. Smith J.E. Smith S. Speight E. Shaw H. Speight G. Spragg N. Stables P. Stanley A. Stcks E.L. Stocks F.W. Stratford H. Streets R. Swallow A. Swallow R. T Tatton H. Taylor G.H. Thompson G. Tilson J. Timmins J. Toft A. Tummy D. Turpin T. Twigg G. V Varney W. W Wall F. Waller R. Walton C.B. Ward H. Westwood C. Whaite A. Wheeler B. White C. Whitely J. Whorton A. Wiles A. Wilkinson A. Wilson A. Winfield R. Wright S. Honours Pte A. Adey M.M. Dvr. J. Allott M.M. L/Cpl. E. Ash M.M. L/Cpl W. Bamforth M.M. Dvr. J. Brown M.M. Sergt. E. Butler D.C.M. Sergt. E. Daykin D.C.M. Bombdr. G.H. Dean M.M. Cpl P.F. Duffy D.C.M. Lieut. H. Franks M.C. Spr. G. Garbutt M.M. Pte. J.F. Golicher M.M. Sergt. S. Goodman M.M. Spr. William Hackett V.C. Cpl J. Harrison M.M. Staff Sergt. J. Harvey M.M. Pte. H. Hemsworth D.C.M. Cpl. H. Jeavons M.M. Major E.D.B. Johnson M.C. Pte. T. King M.M. L/Cpl J. Lees Serbian Order L/Cpl. A.E. Mann M.M. Sergt. A. McClachlan M.M. Pte. E. Metcalf M.M. Pte. J. Nadin M.M. L/Cpl A. Newey Italian Cross C. S. Major G. Oldfield M.M. & Belgian Cross Sergt. F. Oliver M.M. Pte. F. Price M.M. L/Cpl A.V.H. Robinson M.M. Pte. S. Smith M.M. L/Cpl G. Staniforth French Cross L/Cpl W. Swallow M.M. Pte F. Pownsend M.M. Pte. G. Turpin M.M. L/Cpl A. Vickers M.S.M. L/Cpl W. West M.M. BARRONS GLASSWORKS WAR MEMORIAL The Phoenix Glassworks (Barron’s Glassworks) War Memorial The Undermentioned Men From These Works Served in the Great War. A E. Allen B J. Blunn A. Bunting W. Barron J. Barron E. Barker T. Barker R. Boon M.M. C. Brown Alex. Barron H. Barron J. Breeze C W. Cotton A. Crompton J. Chapman H. Clothier J. Cotton D J. Doddy G. Dyson G D. Greenwood G. Gough F. Green H. Grainger J. Grainger H H. Hurst F. Hall F. Hallam C. Hulley I. Haworth W. Hobson L. Hulley J E. Jones G. Jardine K W. Keeton L C. Lovatt T. Laughton E. Lunn M H. Masters W. Morley N E. Nelson P W. Pryor C. Prince R W. Roberts B. Raybould S T. Swaby A. Spencer M.M. J. Stocks F. Smeaton H. Shepherd T W. Taylor J. Tyas W T. Walker H. Wilkinson W J. Wooding F. Wooding Erected to The Glorious Memory of the Men From These Works Who Gave Their All in the Great War. Pte P. Barron. July 6th 1916 Dvr. S. Wooding. Aug. 8th 1916 Pte J. Adamson. Aug. 28th 1917 Pte S. Lake. Dec. 31st 1917 Pte R. Green April 22nd 1918 Pte G. Thompson. April 23rd 1918 Pte W. Stocks. July 27th 1918 Cpl A. Denham. July 30th 1918 Pte T. Barron Sept. 24th 1918 Pte A. Willey. Oct. 19th 1918 “Greater Love Hath No Man.” 1914-1918 DENABY MAIN WAR MEMORIAL 1914 - 1918 A L. Ackroyd W. Aird N. Armstrong J. Ashworth G. Atkins B S. Ball A. Barker A. Beaumont G. Beaumont A. Bell C. Blades J. Boldan E. Bolt C.D. Bond C.W. Bond A.C. Booth G. Booth J. Booth O. Boyland V. Brammer J. Bransby J. Brett H, Broom M. Buck W. Bullock W. Burns H. Burton C. Butterfield C W. Castle R. Cliffe W. Cliff P. Conlon J. Cooke J. Cooper S. Cooper F. Cope J. Corney J. Cross W. Cross H. Crossland W. J. Cunnington D R. Danks F. Dawson W. Death F. Dews E G.W. Edwards T. Egan F. Elliott F T. Finn A. Fisher L.H. Fisher C. Fletcher J. Foster A. Fowler J.W. Fretwell G O. Gledhill A. Glover C. Goddard F. Golding A. Gommerson H. Goodier F. Goodinson T. Goodwin W. Green M. Griffin F. Griffiths W. Griffiths H J. Hackett H. Haigh G.H. Hartley G. Harwood J. Handley J. Hill J. Hinchcliffe J. Hinton J.W. Hodgson J. Hope F. Howitt J. Hutley S. Hutley I H. Ibbertson J C. Jackson J. Jones W.L. Jones T. Jubb F. Judge K A. Krammer L F. Laycock F. Leach J. Lomax A. Loveridge M W. MacAuther P. Magnall S. Martin P. Maughan H.T. Mawson N Nettleship O J.H. Oats J. O’Brien W. Otley P E.H. Parr A. Payling C. Payling J.C. Peach W.H. Pears E. Potts G. Pownall E. Preston J. Prew E. Price F. Price R A. Rainer A. Raynor E. read G.H. Reynolds T. Riley J. Rooney H. Rotherby J. Rushforth S P.O. Sales J. Scott W. Scott F. Shaw F.J. Shore J. Shutt J.W. Simpkins F. Skinner A. Smith S.G. Smith H. Soar J. Straw A. Sudworth J. Swaby T W.H. Taylor T. Thomas F. Tipper H. Travis A. Turner F. Turner J. Turner V T.E. Vaughan L.D. Vernon W J. Wall A.E. Ward L. Ward J. Webster C. Westwood W. R. Wheeliker G.E. White H. Whitehead W. Whitehead W. Whitehouse A. Whitley H. Whitfield J.H. Wilcocks T. Wild R. Wilkinson H.R. Wilson W. Wilson J. Winfield A. Wood C. Wren Y G. Yates 1939 – 1945 A A. Aird B R.L. Bingham E. Box F. Buckley W.H. Buckley F. Burdett K. Burdett J. Burton H. Butler C J. Chambers W.C. Cooper J.T. Corney C. W.S. Corney A. Cuttell D A. Darby J. Dolly D. L.A. Dudhill H. Duke G J. Garnett T. Garnett T.M. Gibney H.E. Girling L. Greasby H F. Hargreaves B. Hill S. Hingley A. Hooley E. Horne G.E. Hules J A. Jones K J. Kelley A. Knowles L A. Lee M F. Madden A.O. Mills H. Moore T. Morgan P J.J. Pears J.P. Pears J. Preston C.E. Prince R G.N. Roberts K. Robinson S. Rouse S N. Scott A.W. Southwell T H. Till A. Turner W E. Walker E. West G.K. Wheelinker A. Whittaker H. Widdowson W. C. Wood J.W. Wraithe S. Wraithe Pearl Dunhill Jeffcote BARNBURGH WAR MEMORIAL Barnburgh War Memorial 1914 – 1919 Roll of Honour (Those who served in the 1st W.W.) A Arthurst T. B Balle C.G. Barlow W.D. Barnett W. Botteing F. Bromage T. Bullock A. Bullock C. Bullock C.R. Bullock F. Bullock R. Bullock S. Bunn C. Bunting S. Burdin B. C Cook J.E. Cook T.A. Cookson F. E Eaton G. F Fisher W.S. Ford G.F. G Gibson E. Gledhill H. H Hall C.W. Hancock H. Hargreaves G.W. Hartley G.A.B. Hartley J.A.J. Hartley W.H.H. Hartley W.I.S. Hellewell J.E. Hepinstall B. Hepinstall F. Hepinstall F. Hepinstall J. Hepinstall S. Hopkinson S. J Jackson T. Johnson R. Johnson S. K Kerry H.A. Ketchingham J. L Lindsay E. M Machin G. Machin R. Marshall E. Mashall F. Marshall G. Marshall R. Marshall T. Marshall W. Mattock F. Mole H. Moxon H. Moxon J. Moxon T. N Norman R. P Pearce J. Perry E. Perry V. Popplewell H R Rishardson J.T. Rutter W. S Slaes R. Sales S. Sales T. Sargent C. Sargent N. Saville L. Schuller G. Smailes G. Smales R.L. Smeaton A. Smith T. Stables F.W. Stables W. Stelling H. Soar E. T Toplis P. W West H. Whelpdale A. Whelpdale W. Whittles J. Wiffen R. Wilks G. Worsworth F. Wordsworth J.H. Wressell C. Wright E. 1914 – 1919 Those Who Fell Pte H. Gleadhall S.W.B. Pte H. Moxon Yorks & Lancs Pte R. Norman R.F.A. Gnr N. Sargent R.F.A. Far Sgt C. Sargent R.F.A. Pte G. Wilks Yorks & Lancs Cpl. F. Wordsworth E. Kent 1939-45 Those Who Fell B Pte. A. Bullock R.M.F. L. Cpl. B. Burdin Yorks & Lancs C Pte T.A. Cook Yorks & Lancs H Lieutenant W.I.S. Hartely K.O.Y.L.I. Pte J. Hepinstall Yorks & Lancs Pte J. Hirst Yorks & Lancs J Rifleman R. Johnson K.R.R. S Pte D. Stables Yorks & Lancs Pte J.A. Sewell Yorks & Lancs W Pte L. Walsh Yorks & Lancs WATH-ON-DEARNE WAR MEMORIALS War Memorial In Memory of Those Men of This Town Who Gave Their Lives in the Great War. A Adams Charles H. Ashwin Guy J.H. Askew Thomas B Ball George Barlow Arthur Barrs George E. Beevers Edwin Beevers Joseph Bird Walter Blackburn Ernest Booth W.M. Bower A. Briggs George Briggs Tom Brooke Albert Brown J.E. Burdin Clifford Burland Joseph Butler Harry C Calver Harry Carr Clifford Casswell Herbert Castle Herbert Carling George Clark Albert J. Clark James V. Clarke George Clarke William A. Clegg Albert Coggan Thomas Collier Truelove Cooke James Creamer Theo. W. Crook Arthur Crook William Crossley Arthur Cusworth Charles Cusworth William. D Dickinson Frank Dickinson Stanley Dickinson Thomas Dodson George Dryden George E. Duffy T. Bernard E Earl W.E. Ellis Ben Ellis Reginald Espley Alfrid Eyans Fred F Fletcher Sam Fox Ernest Fretwell William H. Froggatt Benjamin Fullwood William G Garbutt Enoch Garbutt Fred Garbutt Vivian Gething Thomas Gill Arthur Gilford William Glew F. Gray John W. Greaves George W. Greaves James Green Roebuck Greenway James W. Groves Stanley B. Guest Charles H Hadwin Harry Hardy Albert Harrison Harold Harrison Thomas Hartley Frank Harwood John Heaton Fred Hemsworth H. Hessam Walter Heppinstall George Hewitt James W. Hirst William Holmes Tom Holmes Robert Hopwood Joseph Horne Oriel Horsefield Tom Howson Harry Hudson Henry Hulley Frank Humphreys Ernest Huhnt Albert I Ibbertson Joseph J Jackson Joseph Jaques Tom Jewsbury George Johnson Cuthbert C Johnson Ernest E. Johnson Frank Johnson John Johnson John M. Jones R.P. K Keefe John Kemp Ernest Kettlewell George Kinshott Arthur Kirby Harry Kirby Wilson Knowles William L Lander J.R. Langford S.L.A. Larkin Arthur Law Leonard A. Lanton James Lee Wilfred Lidster Clifford Lightley Albert Limer John Lister G.T. Lock Horace Longley George E. Lord Joseph H. M Maclean Harry A. Maclean George Mangham Ernest Mangham George Mansbridge John A. Mansell Ernest Markham Harry Markham William Marsden Harry Marwood Charles H. Mattew George Matthews Joseph Metcalf Albert Mitchell J. Spencer Mitchel Tom Monks Walter J. Moore Harry Moore Mark Morris David Munro Simon N Newton George Nichols Herbert Nightingale N. Harry Norris Charles R. Norris Ernest O Oates William Oldham Albert E. Osborne Harry Otter William Outram James Outram John P Paskell Ernest Patrick Fred W. Pears Herbert Pears James Pearson James Perry Richard Petty William H. Phelps H.G. Pilley Herbert Pyat William F. Pyot Albert Pyot Thomas J. R Ramyard W.W. Redgewell Alfred Reed Ernest Reid Bruce Riddell Ernest E. Roberts William H. Robinson Herbert Roper Walter Rouse Harry Rowan John H. Royal Ernest Ryall Harry Ryman Albert S Salmonds John Sanderson Sam Scott Fred J. Scott Walter Sellars Walter Severn Ernest Shaw Percy A. Simister Alfred Simms Albert H. Simms Henry N. Skirrow Walter Sleight E. Douglas Smalley Albert Smeaton John T. Smith Arthur Smith Charles Smith Charles W. Smith James Smith John Smith Sydney Smith Walter South George Speight John W. Spencer Clifford Stamper Ernest Stables Sam Stainthorpe Herbert Stanfield Thomas Steer William Stocks Edmund Stocks Fred W. Stone James Swallow Alfred Swallow Richard Swift Harry Sykes Al;fred Sykes John T Tate George W. Taylor George H. Taylor James Taylor Thomas A. Thompson Ernest Thompson Michael Thompson Thomas W. Trout Thomas Turton Fred Turton James Twite Sydney V Venables Horace W Waddington Edgar Waddington William Wade Burton E. Watson Thomas Watson Walter White Ernest Whiteley John Willcock Harry Wilson William Winfield Richard Wright Albert Wroe George War Memorial To Those Who Fell 1939-45 Royal Navy A Ashton Harry Bradley B Ballans Harry Barker Kenneth Dudley C Carnhill Roland D Dove Albert F Frost Mark Leslie G Galloway John H Hartley Stanley Hill Roy Holman Harold L Law Douglas T Tingle Frank W Wake Fred Wilson Douglas Wilson Roland Army B Buckley Jack Kenneth Burkinshaw Charles Leonard C Cadman George Edward Carr Cecil Catling Fredrick Chapman Ernest Chapman John Cooper Frank E Edwards John Dunstan G Griffiths Samuel Richard H Hancock Harry Harding Bernard Hargreaves Fredrick Smelter *Harper Holly Ashton Hewitt Ronald Hinchcliffe Patrick Howarth Percy Humphreys Cyril I Ingham Albert Fawley L Lambert Howard Slater M McEvoy Harold N Needham David Dalton P Parsons Douglas Pearce Joseph Pearson Douglas Pike Edgar James R Rawlinson Bruce Rawlinson Walter S *Shepherd Eva Jane Sickler Kenneth T Turton William W Waterhouse Thomas Wroot William Richard Royal Air Force B Baxter John Lawrence Beaumont Arthur H Hanley Reginald Hargreaves Bernard James Hart Frank Harvey William Hollings Harry Reginald K Kendal Kenneth L Lyons Thomas Leo M Myers Thomas Herbert P Peploe Frank Picton Jack R Rawson George Edward S Stamper Percy Wath-Upon-Dearne Parish Church Memorials, to the War Dead, Found Within the Church The East Window is Dedicated to the Glory of God in Memory of the Following Men Who Fell in the Great War. Please note that this differs from the list on the War Memorial. Ashwin Guy J.H. (Lieut ) Ball G. Barlow Arthur Barrs Geo E Bird Walter Bower Ernest Briggs Geo Brooke Albert Brown Geo E Burdin C Burland Carr C Casswell Herbert Clark Albert J Clark James Wm Clarke Wm A Clegg Albert Coggan Thomas Creamer Thjoe W Crook Wm Crooke Arthur Crossley Arthur Dickinson Stansley Dodson Geo Duffy Thomas Earl W.E. Ellis Ben Ellis Reg. Espley Alfred Evans Frank Evans H. Theo Eyre Fred Fletcher Sam Fox Ernest Fretwell Wm. H. Garbutt Enoch Garbutt Vivian Garbutt Fred Gething Thomas Gilford Wm Gill Arthur Greaves Geo. Wm. Green Roebuck Greenway James Wm Groves Stanley V Guest Charles Hadwin Harry 9Segt) Hardy A Harrison Harold Harrison Thomas Harwood John Heaton Fred Hessam Walter Hirst Wm (Lieut) Holmes Robert Horsfield Tom Hidson Henry Humphreys Ernest Hunt Albert Ibbetson Ernest Jckson Jospeh Jaques Thomas (Sergt) Jewsbury Geo Johnson Cuthbert (2nd Lt) Johnson Rev. Ernest (CF) Johnson John M Jones R.P. Kettlewell Geo Kirby Wilson Knowles Wm Lander J.R. Lee Wilfred Lidster C. Limer John Lister G.T. Locke Horace Longley Geo. E Maclean Geo. A. (sergt) Maclean Harry Mangham Geo Mansbridge John A. Markham Harry Markham Wm Matthews Joseph Matthews Geo Mitchell J. Spencer (2nd Lt) Momks Walter J. Moore Harry Munro Simon Nicholls Herbert Nightingale Wm Harry Norris Charles Oates Wm Oldham Albert E. Osborne Harry Otter R.J.C. (Capt) Otter Wm Paskell E Patrick Fred W Pears Herbert Pears James Perry Richard Petty Wm Hy Pyatt Wm Fred (Sergt) Pyott Albert Pyott Thomas J Ranyard W Redgewell Alfred Reed Ernest Ried Bruce Sergeant Riddell Ed Ernest Roberts William H Robinson Herbert Roper Walter Rouse Harry Rowan John Hy (Sergt-Major) Ryalls Harry Salmons John Sanderson Sam Scott Ernest Scott Fred J Scott Walter Sellers Walter (Sergt Major) Shaw Percy A Sleight E. Douglas Smeaton J.T. Smith Arthur Smith Charles W. (Sergt) Smith John T. Stables Sam Stainthorpe Herbert Steer Wm. (Sergt) Stocks Edmund L. Stocks Fred W. Swift Harry Sykes Alfred Sykes John (Sergt) Tate Geo. Wm. Thompson Ernest Thompson Michael Turton Fred Turton James Trout Thomas Twite Sidney Wate Burton Ed. Waddington Edgar Ward Reg. L. (2nd Lt.) Watson Thomas White Ernest Whiteley John Wilson W. (Sergt) Wroe G. NOTE: Monuments Inscribed 1914 - 1919 At 11a.m. on 11th November 1918 the Armistice was signed, but spasmodic fighting still continued in certain areas. This continued until 28th June 1919 when the Peace Treaty of Versailles was signed. Officials could not consider the war to be over until this document was signedand so many memorials carry the date 1914 -1919 instead of the expected 1914 -1918. HOME     ");
array_files[43]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/memorial_Dearne.htm","2011-10-13","15K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: remembering the fallen    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: remembering the fallen HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email The response to our survey of Mexborough area memorials has been so positive, we have decided to expand the coverage to towns of the Dearne area; our communities are so closely linked, it is only fitting to also honour the fallen of Bolton, Goldthorpe, Hickleton and Thurnscoe. Our gratitude to Ian Harber who compiled this section so the sacrifice of local people could be honoured. BOLTON UPON DEARNE MEMORIAL 1914 - 1918 In honoured memory of the old boys of this school who fell in the Great War. E Bailey F.R Beaumont J Bell E.J Blenkinsop J D Blenkinsop D.C.M C Blenkinsop J Braddock F.H. Cave H Cave C Cooke D Conville F.G. Dawson J Dickinson S Dickinson S Dickinson P Dyson J.W. Earnshaw K Grey T Harris H Harris C.R. Harrison H.M.M Hawksworth J Heavey P.V Hurrell W Jackson F Jackson T Kay M.A.Law W Law R Lyon C.W. Marshall F Owen W Pocklington A.C. Swallow J.T. Swallow R Swallow C.F. Senior H Trickett W Trickett W Unthank A.C. Unwin A Watson E Westerman THURNSCOE WAR MEMORIAL 1914-1918 A Harrison M Hatfield F Henshaw F Hepton F Hodgkinson G Hooks W Knighton F Laynes W.H.Machen J Mangham A Martin J Martin W Mitchell S Morton S Ogley W Parkin I Phillips G Porthouse E Richardson A Rodgers H Ryalls J.A. Sanderson J Shakespeare W Shallcross E.N.Sheppard G Simms J Smith W Southall L Spencer H Taylor T Trueman C Turrier R.A.Watkinson G Westerman E Whitehouse J Wilkes A Wilson Ern Wilson E.D. Wilson F Woodcock P.T. Wright 1914-1918 Pte C.H.Glaswell K.O.Y.L.I. L/C Ernest Fripp Pvt H Smith Cpl John Tucker Pvt Herbert Smith 1939-1945 Ab.A.B Watson Pte J Parham 1914-1918 A Allington J Allington C Barnes F Barber H Bartle C Beattie W Blackburn S Blackwell H Booth H.E.Bray H Briggs W.S.Briggs G.H.Brooke F Burgoyne J.W. Burgoyne G Burrows J Carr J Coburn T Conroy W.H Conroy H Cotterill W.H. Crooks J Cunliffe J Cutts E Davies J.C. Davis J Davison T Deakin J Dixon I Dobson J Dolby R.S. Elwood T Fletcher A Gibbons J Gill J Glover J Goldthorpe F Gosling G Gosling J Hacket J Hague 1917 L/C W.A. Buchanan 1939-1945 Pvt Harry Brown 1941 Hms Repulse P.O Stoker T Farley R.N Age 26 1949 Gnn J. Ipwell R.A Malaya 1982 Falklands W02. L Gallagher 1939-1948 Pte V Allington Pte J Athron Gnr W Bennison Sgt J Bladen Pte D Champion Flt Sgt F Chadbourne Pte R.H. Clarkson Gnr J Crackles A.B. J Beet?? Lsgt W.H. Fletcher L Cpl F.W.Glaswell Sgt J Glover Pte G Goldthopre Gnr G Hands Lac G.H. Harrison Pte E Hewitt A.T.S. Flt Sgt T.R.Higgins Gnr D Hill Spr G Hirst Ab R L Holland Sgt J Hooley Pte G.C Hooper Dvr A Jones Flt Sgt S Jones Lac R Latham Pte W Lawton Flt Sgt C Love Gnr L Marsden Dvr T Mchugh Sgt A MortimerGdsn A Moulton Sgt J.F Norris Ab T Norton Pte J Patterson Pte T Patterson Dvr C PenningtonPte J.A. Pickering Maj S.F. Rayner Spr J Robinson Ab R Rodgers Gnr W Smart Pte C Smith Pte W Smith Tpr J.I. Snedker Gdsn E Stonehouse Pte R.C. Street Sgt R Walker Spr L.B Ward L Cpl W.A. Wilcox Dvr J Wilkinson Sgt F Wilks Gnr T Wilks Ab H Wilson Cpl A Winter Gnr A Brown A B H Hudson Dvr T Johnson Ab A.R. Dunn R N Dvr B Walton R.A.S.C GOLDTHORPE CHURCH MEMORIAL 1914-1918 Hayes J Law M.A Unthank W 1939-1945 Armitage J.E Bailey A Bailey W Bellamy C.H. Bills C.L. Bowater J Bunting S Butler S Clarke D Claterworth J Cooper W Crossland E Cruise T Cullingworth S Dennis A Ellis G.H Fisher J Foster G Glaswell E Gratton J Griffiths D Grundy S Hallows G Hamilton D Handley A Chivers F Dunn A Sharman J Hayes J Hollingworth J Hayes F Hyde W Jackson L Jones A Kerry A Lenton G Longden G Margesson G Patrick W Pendlebury E Phillips J Roebuck R Rook G Sales L Sharman E Shaw B Shepherd W Swindells L.W. Tarmey A Wall G.E Warner H Webster H Whitfield J.J Allen W Andrews J.S. Appleyard J.S Barber J Beardsley J Blackburn G.H Blanchard H Blunt L Brammah E Brooke T.R Bullock R Cartwright G Cave H Chapman A Chapman G Childs R Clarke F Collier C Collier J Collier J.T. Cooper F Cooper R.W Corbutt J Cotterall J H Coulson J.E Crawshaw L Griddle A Cutts J Dennis J.E. Denton T Dodd G Dolan W Duffield A Eagles G Earnshaw J.W Elliott J Else J Epton F Eton J Evans R Feast P.F Finney F Froggatt S Fudge J Glasswell H Gower T Grainger J Groves H Guest G.H Haines C Hall J Hardinge W Harris S Holliday F Hutchinson A Ince F Ingham E Jackson F Jefferies A Jeffrey W.T Keeton J Kyte J Lewis C.I Lidgett E Lloyd T Marshall C Marshall T.B May S Mcloughlin M Mitchell W.E Morris J Mountford G Naylor G Oliver H Parker T.W Parkes F Parkes J Patrick J Perry J Petch W Pounder J Probert A.E Probert W Reynolds E Revill W Riley O Robinson H Smallcross W Smith H Stones G.H Stonehouse T Stott L Swift J Turner H Wassell E.A Watts A.H.S. Whitney G.W Willetts T Waldron E Yates G.A HICKLETON WAR MEMORIAL In remembrance of those who enlisted from this place, most of whom went overseas to fight for their King and country in the Great War of 1914 - 18 Archie Acomb Frederick Andrews Herbert Atkinson Frank Ball Killed Arthur Ball George Ball George Cocking John Cyril Dalton Paul Dalton James Dixon George Ford John William Garbutt Reginald Gould Claude Harker Lawrence Heptenstall Harry Heptenstall Herbert Hibbird Thomas Hunt Harry Johnstone Charles Kent Jack Linton George Linton Charles Lockwood Ralph Leslie Mackridge Killed Wilfred Parker Percy Rogers Harry Salkeld Albert Smeaton Joseph Ernest Smith George Stables Ernest Stewart Ernest Stoneham John William Sykes James Sykes Killed Herbert Teale Killed William Teale Frank Turner Sidney Walters Killed Arthur Wenman John Wenman William Wenman Hon Edward Wood George Benjamin Wood John Henry Wordsworth HOME     ");
array_files[44]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/MGS01.htm","2011-10-13","23K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 1    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 1 HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email GRAMMAR SCHOOL PAGE 2 HERE REQUEST FOR INFO ----------------------------------- Hello, In trying to find an old team mate on a London University football team in 1958/59 called Geoff Moss, I came to this site as I know Geoff attended Mexborough Grammar school. Geoff Moss was at Imperial College London studying Physics from 1956 -1959. I am drawing a blank with his University friends and wondered if anybody from the Grammar school knew Geoff and had kept in contact with him. The entry for him in the Imperial College data for 1956 shows a James Geoffrey Moss. He played Goalkeeper at college. I see some former pupils from around that time have entered memories. If any body has any information I would be grateful for an answer, or a link. Kind regards, Steve Pick Richardson TX If you can help, please email us here UPDATE May 24: Hi, I played soccer with Geoff. He usually played goalie. I remember my Dad, who watched all our matches, putting Geoffs fingers back in line when he dislocated them diving at somebodys feet. He did it more than once!! Geoff occasionally played centre forward - in fact he represented the county at both GK and CF. He married Janet Gelder. I have not seen or heard of him since he left school. Regards, Brian Wright JANUARY 20007 From the collection of Brian Wright Former Mexborough man Brian Wright, whose grandparents used to own a shop in town, has written from his home in Sedbergh and included some photographs: He writes.. I am currently trying to write a journal of all the things we did as lads in the 1950s in the Mexborough area being brought up on Browning road we played all over the area and the fields etc. down the Dog Daisy field, Stoney Desert, Iron Bridge, fishing in the Bowbroom cut and Potteries pond, train spotting not to mention lots of sport-- cricket , football, tennis at Mexborogh Athletic club and Harlington lane; scouting, the Church choir and servers. BELOW - pictures from the Grammar School centenary celebration, 2004. LATEST ADDITION: A tribute to John Fisher here Two photographs from MGS old boy Les Adlington, One is of the 1949/50 Under 14 football side and the other of Form 2A in 1948/49 Click here to see them (opens in new window) These two pictures are of us when we appeared on Granada TV in a programme supposed to be for young people We want an answer The guest was Morgan Phillips then secretary of the Labour party. I often wonder what the likes of him would make of this current lot!! The cricket team is at MGS. I am still in email touch with 4 of them and used to meet another when he came up here on holidays. G D Howard, chemistry, (on right) is living in retirement in Wales apparently. One of our email group plans to visit him soon. George Siddall, PE, I dont know anything about. The above photo is a group of us from 7th Don & Dearne taken in Derbyshire. We had been to Sheffield cathederal in the morning to support David Saunders as he was ordained priest. I met up with David again when I taught his son in Grimsby when David was vicar of Caistor. Since coming up here I have re-found Rev James Metcalf, formerly vicar of Mexborough, who actually married us. Small world isnt it. This football team could be the South Yorkshire Times team just before the war. My uncle, Doug Fowler, is seated just behind the goalkeeper. He lives in Adwick on Dearne. On the front row at the left as you look the player looks spit and image of Noel Senior with whom I was at MGS. Any info on the photo would be welcome. UPDATE March 2011- a former printer and member of the Society has supplied the following names: Back row L-R ?, ?, Alec Morley, Cyril Smith, ?, ?, ?, Albert Foster, Fred Johnson If you can contribute any further information about any of the pictures, we would be happy to pass it on to Brian, and if you have any photographs to share, please get in touch Grammar School, late 40s Hi from another Mr Wright. Having read the article by Mr Wright on his memories of the Grammar school ,the attached photograph may revive some other memories. It is of class 1b in, I think 1947/48; the form teacher was I believe Mr Staniforth. I am seated bottom left corner but have no idea who the others are. I was born in Swinton but we moved to Mexborough in 1946.I attended Doncaster Road school until moving to the Grammar school .I attended there from the age of 11 until 15 1/2 when I left in February 1952 to take up an apprenticeship with the Army. After 27 years service I retired to West Wales where I now reside. I belonged to the scout troop attached to St John the Baptist Church (which I think was the 7th Don and Dearne troop) from the age of 11 until I joined the army though I did attend a scout camp at Bilton Grange Harrogate in the summer or 1952 when I was on leave. Our scout hut was at the side of the church and we held gang shows in the hall. I think the scout leader was called Mr Chip and his assistant Bert ?? . Sadly I have no photographs of my scouting days or of my time living in Mexborough. I have one other photograph of my elder sisters Grammar school form taken I think in the same year if it is of interest. A couple of weeks ago I made a pilgrimage to Swinton and Mexborough to visit relatives and relive the days of my youth. Much has now changed of course, the fields I played in are now housing estates, the house I was born in 27 Rowms Lane Swinton is no more. Still it revived many happy memories and maybe I will return again one day. If anyone can add any information on the scout troop or the Grammar school members I would be delighted to hear of it. Regards John Wright Update September 2009 On studying the photo further I can add a few more names to form 1d 1947/8. I am 4th from left back row, next isBill Corney thenTim Brookshaw.John Wadsworth is 4 th from the end. Girls standing include Dorothy White 3rd from left and Molly Dutchman 2nd from right.Margot Charity is seated 1st left. Somewhere in there is Frank Skinner who was the top of the form in my year andLillian Atkins neither of whom I can identify. I would mention that the3 girls mentioned plus myself all came from Swinton Fitzwilliam School under Fanny Gillett. The dreaded Gaffer (Frank) Ward was our Headmaster Stan James RESPONSE: Brian Wright writes... Yes the teacher is Mr Staniforth, he taught me physics in first year at MGS. He apparently used to buy his wife new gadgets so he could dismantle them to see how they worked! The scout master at 7th Don and Dearne was Bert Hanson. He had been with the Chindits in Burma during the second world war. A great character. I remember Mr Chip eating some maggots that had been found in the porrage oats so that the pot of porrage shouldnt be wasted!! I also remember attending a Beetle Drive at the Chips house I won the booby prize--- astick of rock! PS Bert Hanson is the person in the forground of the group from the 7 D&D, one with the beard Brian also sent in the picture below: The attached photo was taken at camp in Austwick. Bert Hanson, with beard, is at the back, George Bungard (Crusher Senior Scout Master) front left, Brian Potts man standing right centre and Im sitting front with Little David Morely sat on my knee. The lady is Mrs Hanson and Bert is holding their daughter. Len (Jammie) Hartley is next to the hand in the air. Unfortunately the rest of the group I cannot remember. Update June 2009. Re John Wrights photo. The streaming system after the first yearexams, resulted ina change of form.John Wright was in myyear commencing 1947/8.He was in 1 Dinitially, then I believelike myself, went into 2 beta.In the photo Im standing 4th from the lefton the back row. I recall Alan Hawkins who is sitting on the ground 2nd from the right. The girl standing 3rd from right was named Celia but cant recall her surname. At one time, George Siddall (P T & Sports) lived in Manor Rd., Swinton. His father collectedour rates which I guess would have been monthly. How times have changed. If John reads this Hi Lefty - Stan James Update August 2009 With reference to the photograph of Mr Staniforths Class, I believe that the year was 1948-49. I am standing 3rd from the left in the back row. Other that I can remember are Trevor Brookshaw (rear row centre) John Wadsworth (rear row third from right) and Brian Tonks (rear row second from the right). I also think that on the front row seated are Les Haythorne (third from right) and Harry Pearson (right end). I can remember the entire list of boys names in the class but (sorry girls) can only remember Avril Smith, Pam Smith, Rosemary Godber and Margot Charity. The full list of boys in the class was Trev Brookshaw, Bill Corney, Alan Hawkins, Les Haythorne, Stan James, Brian Lawrence, Howard Moxon, Neil Murgatroyd, Harry Pearson, ? Phillips, Brian Pikett, ? Skinner, Brian Tonks, Barry Tucker, John Wadsworth, Terry(?) Whitfield and John Wright. Hope this might jog a few more memories and help identify the others - Brian Lawrence UPDATE May 2010: Good day, I was amazed when Googling for Alan Hawkins to come across the MSG photo, I am rear row 3rd from right. I was able to recognise Alan Hawkins, Brian Tonks and Trevor Brookshaw. I left England for S Africa early in the school year 1951, and am now retired in Cape Town. If anyone would like to chat, my email address is johnwads@telkomsa.net Congratulations on your website, extremely enjoyable. John Wadsworth Former Mexborough Grammar School student Rodney Shaw has added to our photo collection with the addition of four form photographs - namely Form 1a 1948/9; Form 1c 1948/9; Form 6A (Arts) 1953/4 and Form 6B (Science) 1953/4. To avoid this thread lengthening too much, we have put Rodneys contribution on a new page, which you can see by clicking here. BELOW: A photograph of the Mexborough Grammar School teachers from the late 1940s. The only name I think I remember is a Mr Siddall seated bottom right. Maybe some one can put more names to faces . John Wright (Mexborough Grammar 1947-52) UPDATE - May 1 2008: Mr Brian Wright got in touch with the following.. I can remember some of the staff who were still at MGS in the 1950s when I started. Back row: 4 gents on the left Mr Orme (geog), Mr Kitching (music), Mr Roberts (geog), Mr Gethin( English), 4th from right Mr Fisher (English). Middle row; 2nd from left Mrs Roberts( DSc), 4th from right Mrs Booth (French), 2nd from right Mrs Morris (secretary). Front row left Mr Hadkins (Deputy &g eog) Mr Osborne(physics) centre Mr Watkinson (head), 4th from right Miss Clitheroe (history), 3rd from right Miss Ginn (English and speech). The gent seated on left could be a young Mr Staniforth( see John Wrights photo above) he taught me physics in my first year 1950/51. Editors note: if you have any memories, please email the Society. We are always happy to share pictures and reminiscences. UPDATE August 2008 : from John Badham - I have just seen the MGS staff photograph of 1949. I attended the school from September 1946 (just after it had changed its name from Mexborough Secondary School) to July 1951. With some help from a contemporary class- mate, I can fill in a few gaps in Brian Wrights list. Standing 3rd from the right in the back row is Mr. Barrell. In the middle row, 3rd and 4th from the left are are Mrs. Moran (Latin) and Miss Carnelly, 5th from right is Miss Clapham (Maths) and at the right hand end of the row is Mrs. Kitching. Seated 3rd, 4th and 5th from the left in the front row are Mr. Bedford, Mr. Milnthorpe (Physics) and Mr. Way; Miss Holt, Miss Cave (Maths) and Miss Crowther are seated 6th, 5th and 2nd from the right hand end. Kneeling in front, 1st and 2nd from the left are Mr. Staniforth and Miss Paley; Mr. Siddall (PT and Sports) is at the right hand end. I have also looked at the form late forties form 1B photograph. I do not think it is 1946-47 as this was the year I was in form 1B and I do not recognise myself. John Badham These photographs have been kindly loaned by former MGS pupil Les Adlington. One is of the 1949/50 Under 14 football side and the other of Form 2A in 1948/49. Back Row l to R : Mr G Siddall (games master); Brian Lowe; Keith Downing; Dave Tomkins; George Wilkes; Les Adlington; Mr H L Watkinson (headmaster). Front Row L to R : Eddie Peck; Arthur Jones; Brian Sheridan; Albert Snuff Roberts (capt); Lawrie Sharpe; Keith Bambridge (later a pro winger with Rotherham United); and Brian Hope. Form 2A : Back L to R : Sam Thompson; ? Kelly; George Lee; Barrie Hutchinson; Les Adlington; Alan Gill; ? Pilkington; Tony Wild; the Proctor twins Alan and Barrie ( or probably vice versa); Joe Gibson. Middle L to R : Roy Happs; John Leeson; Sheila Chapman; Diana Bayes; Aileen Hill; Molly Plater; Margaret France; Anne Lake; Lily Senior; Bernard Beal; Brian Hope. Front L to R : Winifred Sharpe; Jean Collins; Sheila Crossland; Marian Firth; Mrs Roberts (form mistress); Olga Crookes; Irene Wakelam; Barbara Simpson; Janet Skeldon. GRAMMAR SCHOOL PAGE 2 HERE     ");
array_files[45]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/methodist.htm","2011-10-13","2K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Methodist church    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Methodist church HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email The former methodist church on Dolcliffe Road, Mexborough. To the left is Hamden Road. The building was converted to a photographic studio by Mr Mike Walters, and was latterly home to the South Yorkshire Times newspaper, before being developed for community use. Picture courtesy Paul Walters. This image is copyright and may not be reproduced . Return to index page     ");
array_files[46]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/mike.htm","2011-10-13","8K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mike Hawthorn tribute    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Mike Hawthorn tribute HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email MIKE HAWTHORN HONOURED The people of Mexborough honoured one of their most famous sons on Saturday, December 16 2006. A plaque commemorating the Formula 1 world champion was unveiled on Hope Street in the town centre, by Mikes one-time fiancee Jean Ireland. There was a carnival atmosphere to the day, as the main shopping street was lined with spectacular cars, including Feraris. The plaque was the brainchild of Giles Brearley and Ken Wyatt; Giles told the large gathering that this was a project we had to deliver. Down in Farnham, Surrey, there are commemoratives to Mikes achievements, but at the end of the day, he was a Mexborough son. He was born in this town he came from Alexandra Road, and there wasnt any evidence of that in the town. So it had to be. At least now, when you walk down the High Street, youll be able to see the plaque up there and say Yes, thats Mike Hawthorne. he was the first World Champion - what an achievement. Ken said The project was put together because it was felt we ought to have some kind of commemoration in the town, Mikes home town. This building was chosen because it would have been a premise he would have known as a child, its a nice stone-built building and its nicely on this junction with High Street and the library. Focus of much media attention was Jean Ireland, whose warm personality and winning smile made the occasion so special for the town. Before unveiling the plaque, Jean (on her first visit to the town) said: I am so pleased that Mexborough has honoured the memory of Mike. Being born in Yorkshire made him a cut above the others as shown in his determination to be the best in his field. Although he left Yorkshire as a small boy, he still remained a Yorkshireman at heart. And before he asked my father for my hand, he reminded him that he was a true-born Yorkshireman. So my father gave us permission to marry. Ken Wyatt, Giles Brearley, Jean Ireland, Nigel Webb the owner of the D-type Jag which Mike drove to success in 1955, and Jaguar representative Andrew Jeffrey. By email: We received the following interesting email from Elizabeth Henderson: I was living in Camberly in 1991 and at the time a book was written called Mon Ami Mate, by Chris Nixon, this was about the Bright brief lives of Mike Hawthorn & Peter Collins I was fortunate enough to be the person to transfer Chris Nixons manuscript to disk for publication. I found the lives of these two young men fascinating and am proud to be the owner of a signed original hardback copy of the book. (I and the company I worked for are named in the acknowledgements) The Book was published by Transport Bookman Publications. On the front cover is a copy of the painting by Michael Turner, it shows Mike & Peter exchanging worried glances at the Nurburg ring in their Ferraris. Congratulations to all on this wonderful memorial. See videos of the event Giles Brearley Ken Wyatt D-type owner Nigel Webb Jean Ireland Please click an image above to see the associated flv movie     ");
array_files[47]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/montagu.htm","2011-10-13","9K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Early hospital    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Early hospital HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Montagu Hospital - the early years by J R Ashby From the Society newsletter, November 1993 After the talk last month by Mr John Martin on the History of Montagu Hospital it was suggested to me that it would be a good idea to use his talk as a basis for our newsletter this month, which I thought was an excellent Idea.So with added material from our archives I set about compiling this history. THE HISTORY OF MEXBOROUGH MONTAGU COTTAGE HOSPITAL AND MONTAGU HOSPITAL. If you had become very ill two hundred years ago there was only one person who could help and that was Dame Varoh, the nearest doctor being at Wath. (In 1873 this was Jonathan Gawtress Wade, Surgeon. This information was found on a local deed). Dame Varoh lived at Glebe Farm, Church Street and became on of the first people to vaccinate people in our area. (The first vaccination was given for Smallpox in 1796). Her daughter who followed in her footsteps married Joseph Lockwood in 1817 and became an Apothecary (a cross between a pharmacist and a medical practitioner). In 1853 the government made it compulsory to vaccinate all babies under the age of four months for smallpox and Martha Lockwood, again after her mother, became Vaccination Officer for our district. By 1877, after our area had started to become industrialised and the population had increased greatly, we find that there was also a rise in the number of people coming to our town with some medical training. By this year we had one trained surgeon and physician by the name of James Steward, three chemists, James Walter Ainley, who was also our post master, Samuel Pepper and Robert Shields and a herbalist, Mr George Codd. But after the sinking of Denaby Pit (first sod cut in 1863, coal reached 1867 and coal production started 1868 – This information was obtained from A Railway History of Denaby and Cadeby collieries) there became an increasing number of people needing specialised medical help with respect to accidents incurred whilst working underground. Such medical help, which a doctor alone could not give, involved complicated operations etc. and an increasing need for a hospital closer to home was felt to be necessary. The two nearest at this time were Rotherham and Doncaster. (Doncaster Dispensary opened in 1792, Doncaster General Infirmary and Dispensary opened 1868 – Information from Doncaster Royal Infirmary Bicentennial Souvenir Booklet), and it was as an indirect result of an accident down Denaby Pit the Montagu Cottage Hospital came to be built. Late in the 1880s Mr Chris Ward was involved in a serious accident at Denaby Pit and was taken home on a coal cart. (Information taken from a Short History of Montagu Hospital) to await the arrival of the doctor. Here I must mention that in those days you could not go straight into hospital however badly hurt you were. Firstly a doctor had to be called to your home than he had to recommend you to a hospital. The recommendation would go in front of the hospital committee to be assessed as to whether you were a fit sort of person to go into their hospital and as to whether or not you were suffering from a contagious disease, insanity epilepsy or an incurable illness, as you were not allowed to be admitted into hospital under these circumstances. If the hospital committee said you could be admitted, then OK, if not then another hospital had to be tried by your doctor with the same procedure. By this time you could be dead. It is not surprising, therefore, that doctors preferred to do simple operations etc. at the patient’s home. But when Mr Ward’s doctor arrived his injuries were found to be too extensive for his own doctor to deal with and he was taken by trap (possibly a dog cart, which doctors of the time seemed to prefer) to Doncaster Infirmary, where one of his legs was amputated. His accident occurred at 2.00am. but he did not receive treatment until 10.00pm. that night. It was this experience which decided him on the course of action he was to take on his recovery, and this was to agitate for a hospital. Chris Ward was not the only one here to feel the need for a hospital. Dr W Sykes who was able to enlist the aid of many powerful sympathisers instigated the first meeting of all interested parties at the South Yorkshire Hotel in 1889 and six months after the meeting the hospital was ready for opening. Mexboroughs old cottage hospital, on Bank Street, partially demolished. The new Montagu Hospital, Adwick/Cemetery Road, in 1904. The building itself was donated by Andrew Montagu. It was previously occupied by the Primitive Methodists and then a Sunday school (information from the Mexborough and Swinton Times) and financial assistance for the necessary alterations to the building was given by the miners, glass blowers, railway employees and trades people of Mexborough and the immediate area (M. & S. T.). The site of the Montagu Cottage Hospital was next to the Oriental Buildings, close to the old library on Bank Street and was opened by Mrs J. Montagu in January 1890. It could accommodate fourteen people, eight male and six female. The male ward was to the right and the female to the left of the building and there was a balcony to the rear for people to use in convalescence, with views over the river and fields towards Denaby. The first Matron or nurse as she was first called was Miss Moore of Mexborough who trained at a hospital in Sheffield. After obtaining the post as nurse here she took up residence in her accommodation at the hospital. She not only had to nurse the patients but also was expected to provide good meals and make sure the hospital was clean, neat and in good order. Also one of the first rules made by the hospital committee was that accidents should be admitted at any time of the day or night without the recommendation of a doctor so she would have to be “knocked up” in the early hours to look after emergency cases as well(this was after 1891), and it was quickly found that Miss Moore could not undertake the running of the hospital single handed, the workload being too great, and an assistant nurse was advertised for at a salary of £5 per year plus £5 for uniform.     ");
array_files[48]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Chesterfield.htm","2011-10-13","8K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Article first published in the Northern Ceramic Newsletter, issue 150, June 2008. Articles by Graham Oliver A Chesterfield British School emperance Hall plate I recently acquired a 10 inch diameter blue transfer printed plate bearing the legend CHESTERFIELD BRITISH SCHOOL TEMPERANCE HALL OPENED IN 1849 in the centre panel. This pattern is the same design as a plate illustrated in A & A Coxs Rockingham 1745-1842 and titled Indian Flowers. Here is another example of a Brameld Design being used after the closure of the Swinton works in 1842. It is known that the Reed mark has been found on earthenware patterns produced from copper plates bought at the sale in 1843 by James Reed so, in all likelihood, this unmarked plate is a product of Mexborough Rock Pottery. William Bingham, a Quaker, who had a grocers shop in Lordsmill St and a tallow chandlery in Hollis Lane built the school at Chesterfield in 1844. In a tithe award list dated 1849 the school and playground was on land owned by Bingham and occupied by trustees of the British School. The British School was a non-sectarian school and had places for up to 200 scholars at a cost of a half a crown per week. In 1871, when local school boards were set up, pupils transferred to other schools and the building fell out of use. It was then used for various purposes until the 1970s when it was demolished to build the Chesterfield bypass. It is known that around 1850 the school was modernised and this is most likely when the Temperance Hall was added and the earthenware ordered from Mexborough for its opening. Acknowledgement: My thanks to Lesley Phillips, Chesterfield Library Please make your selection Rockingham Oriental Mother and Child find at the Denaby Pottery A Connection Between the Hawley and Don Potteries The Holmes Pottery A Newhill Detective Story A Chesterfield British School Temperance Hall Plate Last updated: January 1 2007     ");
array_files[49]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Newhill.htm","2011-10-13","20K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Article first published in the Northern Ceramic Newsletter, issue 155, September 2009. Articles by Graham Oliver A Newhill detective story The Newhill Pottery was situated in the small hamlet of Newhill on the outskirts of Swinton not far from the Rockingham works and part of Wath upon Dearne parish. The site ran from the Crown Inn, down Dawson Lane and up to Taylor Row, the latter buildings being known as Pottery Square. It is recorded that Joseph Twigg, a potter of Newhill, converted part of Wells House that he had bought circa 1809 into a pottery. He purchased adjoining land in 1816, presumably to expand, and was joined by his sons Benjamin, Joseph jnr and John. In 1839 they also took over the lease of the Kilnhurst Pottery and ran both potteries. Upon Joseph snrs death in 1843 Joseph jnr ran Newhill, with the other brothers running the Kilnhurst works. After his fathers death Joseph was assisted at the works by William Matthews, his brother in law, and upon Joseph jnrs death William went into partnership with Harry Binney. Daniel Twigg, the son of Joseph, was involved as an engraver, so a family connection continued at the works with the Twigg family until about 1867 when the company went bankrupt. A number of people ran the works until its closure as a pottery in 1873 including Wardle and Blyth who also ran the Denaby Pottery. I have a personal, if odd, connection with the Newhill Pottery. My great great great grandfather, George Oliver, who was born in 1800, worked on the Earl Fitzwilliams estate as a mole catcher. One frosty day he sheltered near a pottery kiln where it was warm, he fell asleep and a load of coal was accidentally tipped on him and he died four days later on the 23rd December 1878 and was buried on Christmas Day. It is most likely this was the Newhill Pottery in its final throes as a brick making works as the Swinton Rockingham works had been vacated by Alfred Baguley when he moved to Mexborough in 1865. Recently, when looking through my archives, I came across a photocopy that I had filed some time ago of an extract from the Mexborough and Swinton Times dated 27th March 1954 titled NEWHILL WARE Memories of an Old Village Pottery and a further extract from the same paper but of earlier date circa 1933 with the reporter interviewing Mr George Straw about the Newhill Pottery. Mr Straw was born near Kimberworth in 1847 and in 1868 married Miss Mary Firth, a member of an old Newhill family. The family resided at the Old House on the pottery site and had worked at the Newhill Pottery for some years. The reporter said Mr Straws daughter showed him two loving cups, one that bore the inscription William Furth 1798 and the other William Firth February 25th 1865. She said that the latter was a potter and modeller at the pottery and that his wife was a painter and sponger, and the former was his father who was a joiner and wheelwright The family also possessed teapots, huge pepper castors and milk jugs from the pottery. Mr Straw recounted many events through the years at Newhill in the article and other names connected to the pottery such as Stables, Stentons, Cooks, Pollards, Cushworth, Oxaly and White and that when Mr and Mrs Straw worked at the Pottery. Mr Twigg was the manager. Mr Straw also mentioned a piece of Newhill Pottery that was in the Mappin Art Gallery in Sheffield which was made to celebrate one of the workers winning a handicap race and it was left with the art gallery when he left for America.[1] At the time of the later article, where the journalist is interviewing Mr John Oates [2] (age 85) and Mr Arthur Green (age 89). some remains of the pottery buildings were still visible. Mr Green said that he remembered 30 to 40 people working at the pottery, most of them women, and when work got slack over the last two years, the men left to work at the mines and Stanleys Oil Works. Bricks were produced for a few years on the site, with the Winterwell Estate at West Melton being built from these bricks. When that ceased most of the buildings he remembered were pulled down. The other octogenarian, Mr Oates, recalled his mother working there. She was apprenticed at the Kilnhurst Pottery before moving to the Newhill works. Mr Oates wifes mother, Mary Straw, also worked at the pottery as a transferer. This article also refers to the two loving cups and illustrates the earlier cup but there are discrepancies on when the two articles were actually made. An example of where too much reliance should not be made on oral and family history. The 1865 loving cup was made for a relative of Mary Straw (nee Firth), William Firth. Joseph Horncastle. another relative, painted the inscription. Mr Oates stated that in the later days mainly cooking utensils were made and fancy pots were only made as a sideline. The accounts above prompted me to see if either of the loving cups still existed, I looked through the telephone book for Wath on Dearne and a few calls later I chanced upon Mr Michael Oates, who informed me that the 1865 dated cup did indeed exist, although the earlier cup appears to have been lost. A few weeks later I was allowed to take some photographs of the loving cup (fig 1). However, I was also shown a battered jug also in the familys possession that I found much more interesting. This jug was covered with prints, including to the base, from the under glaze series of black prints used by, or attributed to, the Don Pottery [3]. The number of prints used on all areas of the jug seems to indicate a one off family piece as the application of transfers to the base and under the handle along with the other prints would have taken considerable time and effort. [1] This trophy is still in the collection of the Sheffield Museums Service. [2] John Oates was the son-in-law of George Straw, the subject of the earlier article. [3] The Don Pottery 1801-1893, John D Griffin, pages 120 to 127 The following prints are to be found on the jug: - • On the base (fig 2) - children feeding chickens (part) - Griffin plate 98. • Under the broken off handle (fig 3) -children feeding chickens (part) -Griffin plate 98. • On the left hand side (fig 4) -children playing with a top - similar to Griffin plate 101 (but this print has an additional figure to the left similar to the source print), and a bird - Griffin plate 120 centre and extreme right. • To the front (fig 5) - an owl - Griffin plate 119, and also a swan - this is not illustrated in Griffin but is found on the reverse of some items on plate 120. • On the left side (fig 6) - children releasing a rat out of a small box for a terrier to catch. As far as I am aware this print is unrecorded but quite clearly follows the same design as the other engravings. There is also a dog as Griffin plate 119. • On the handle remains (fig 7) - a moth -Griffin plate 138. • The jug also has a border on the top and bottom edges externally and a different border internally (fig 8). John Griffin has confirmed both of these borders as being known Don Pottery borders. The jug bears the name HIRAM FIRTH, who was the son of William Firth and Hannah Fieldhouse. He was baptised at Wath on the 4th December 1836 and was, presumably, bom just prior to that date. Interestingly, the 1954 article mentioned above notes that Mr Oates possessed a clay smoother inscribed John Fietdhouse 1830. The jug is not a known Don Pottery shape and stylistically probably dates to a decade or so after that pottery closed down in 1834 but in any case cannot predate Hiram Firths birth. It is likely that this is a product of the Newhill Pottery and that the Twiggs also purchased the copper plates for the illustrated black prints as well as other Don moulds and copper plates that they are known to have purchased at the stock sale of 1835. The attribution of a number of the prints illustrated in John Griffins book are on unmarked pieces and are made on stylistic and comparative grounds. I consider that the discovery of this jug and its attribution to the Newhill Pottery adds greatly to the supporting evidence that John Griffins attribution of the earlier pieces to the Don Pottery is correct. On checking the evidence, I believe that no crime was actually committed but I think that I know who dunnit. Acknowledgements: I should particularly like to thank Michael Oates and the Oates family for allowing me to photograph the two pieces and for their permission to use the photographs in this article. I should also like to thank John Griffin for his comments and assistance, and generally helping me with my enquiries. Please make your selection Rockingham Oriental Mother and Child find at the Denaby Pottery A Connection Between the Hawley and Don Potteries The Holmes Pottery A Newhill Detective Story A Chesterfield British School Temperance Hall Plate Last updated: January 1 2007     ");
array_files[50]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/news.htm","2011-10-13","9K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: street scenes from the 50s    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: street scenes from the 50s HomeNewsletters Readers PublicationsQ&A Essays News Programme email MAY 2010 Online ancestry tool now available at Mexborough library - FREE The premier website used by people researching their family history. Ancestry.com, is now available at Mexborough and other libraries totally free. Making the announcement, Clare OBrien said Doncaster Libraries have subscribed to Ancestry.Com. The subscription will run from Saturday 1st May. This will mean that all our public PCs across all the branches will have Free full access to the Ancestry Library Edition. It offers a wide and diverse variety of unique content from around the world allowing you to trace your family history. The site can be accessed from any public PC with a library membership. Local Studies & Archives staff are available to answer any questions regarding this online service Clare OBrien is Community Development Manager, Customer Strategy & Development, Neighbourhoods & Communities NOTE: To use a computer you have to be a member of DMBC Libraries and produce your card on arrival. The type of Ancestry.Com which has been obtained by the Library Services is one of the most advanced available and is usually one of the most expensive. As many people are studying their family tree, Ancestry.Com will be very popular. Although there are a number of computers at Mexborough library, the staff suggest that a computer be booked prior to arrival at the library, by telephone. Please dont forget that, as with using all computers in the libraries of DMBC, to use a computer for the first hour is free, but is £1.20 per hour thereafter. Contact details: Mexborough Library - tel 01709 582037 email: mexborough.library@doncaster.gov.uk MYSTERY SOLVED: April 2010 This trackless photo from Keith Butcher caused a bit of a stir when we asked Where was it taken? Now, with the help of Ron James (who used to ride on that route regularly), reader Pete Lyon and our archivist Julia Ashby, we have pinpointed the location to Welfare Avenue, Conisbrough (off Old Road). As confirmation, compare it to this recent Google Streets view. Thank you for all your ideas. LEFT: Old photograph....... and right, a modern Google view of Welfare Avenue, Conanby FEBRUARY 2010 Men working on the forecourt of the former Job Centre (latterly a mobility supply business) on High Street recently uncovered an underground construction. This has caused quite a stir in the town, with passers-by intrigued as to its history. Our archivist Julia Ashby has discovered the following: The grey brick portion of the trench, part of which abuts the red brick, is modern, installed on the construction of the premises which later became the Mobility Centre. Whereas the red brick is part of the exterior wall of the Hippodrome. Study of the red bricks has revealed that the theatre was partly, constructed using bricks from Mexborough Brickworks, Dolcliffe Road, Mexborough. Also as there is much of his signature black mortar on display, that it was constructed by George Henry Smith. Excising whitewash, on the red brick, suggests that, what has been excavated, may be part of the passage which led to the dressing rooms beneath the area where the audience sat. It was filled in on Wed. 17th Feb. 2010 awaiting the construction of an extension to the premises which were once the Mobility Centre. OCTOBER 2006: Part of the towns past was uncovered by builders working on a community project. A carved stone, from 1889, part of the facade of a former Methodist School, was revealed at the former Walters Photographic Studio on Dolcliffe Road. Cost of removal would be a prohibitive £3,000+, so the Community Partnership have kindly agreed to amend their plans slightly and leave the stone in situ, though it has now been covered again with new cladding.     ");
array_files[51]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/oriental.htm","2011-10-13","10K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Pottery focus HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Article first published in the Northern Ceramic Newsletter, issue 144, December 2006. Articles by Graham Oliver Rockingham Oriental Mother and Child find at the Denaby Pottery In 2001, before the construction of a new bridge that would destroy the site of the Denaby Pottery, I was fortunate to be involved with a archaeoligical investigation undertaken by the University of Manchester. The Denaby Pottery was founded about 1864 close to the southern bank of the river Don and like the Rock Pottery at Mexborough it was built on the site of a old quarry. The pottery closed in about 1879, when the founder of the pottery and one of the partners, JOHN WARDLE, moved to Middlesborough. The buildings were subsequently converted to a bone mill. Details of the archaeoligical excavations are contained in Rediscovering Denaby Pottery a report by Dr Richard A Gregory University of Manchester, February 2002. Amongst the many shards found were pieces from the transfer printed jugs and flatware commemorating the Sheffield Flood as discussed and illustrated in the NCS Newsletter 133 Numerous biscuit and glazed earthenware shards were found bearing the Bramelds transfer print know as ORIENTAL MOTHER AND CHILD. This pattern has been found on Rockingham porcelain teawares dating c.1830-1835, and an example shown on a saucer with the puce griffin mark. (Figure 1) As far as the writer knows, this pattern was not used on earthenware manufactured at Rockingham. The shards recovered from site at Denaby with this pattern include part of a cup in biscuit, and is illustrated in Figure 2. This evidence shows that a Rockingham print was being used at Denaby at least 22 years after the Rockingham works closed down. As numerous shards were found, this suggests that this pattern was made in reasonable quantities. A small earthenware cylindrical vase of a known Rockingham shape, and bearing this print, has recently come to my attention. (Figure 3) This appears to have been made from an old Rockingham mould and could possibly have been made at Denaby. This raises the possibility of a third party, such as a former Rockingham workman, or more likely another pottery, holding printing plates and moulds for the period between Rockingham closing and Denaby opening. The possible candidates being the Rock Pottery, known to have moulds and copper plates from the Rockingham sale in 1842, or the TWIGGS at Kilnhurst ....but I am not aware of pots with this print that date from this period. The excavation turned up a few surprises that I hope to give details of in the future. Please make your selection Rockingham Oriental Mother and Child find at the Denaby Pottery A Connection Between the Hawley and Don Potteries The Holmes Pottery A Newhill Detective Story A Chesterfield British School Temperance Hall Plate Last updated: January 1 2007     ");
array_files[52]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Highstreet/oldMexborough.htm","2011-10-12","3K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 2    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society: Grammar School page 2 HomeNewsletters Readers Publications Q&A Essays News Programme email Huge changes have taken place in Mexborough in living memory, as this film footage from the early 70s shows. It is remarkable in capturing the transition between the old and the new, showing the High Street just before major reconstruction. And it clearly shows that history is not always about faded pictures and sepia prints, but about change and loss; so in just one wonderful minute, the camerawoman has preserved a piece of Mexborough life which is now only a memory to people over 50, and unknown to subsequent generations. The clip forms part of a terrific DVD - Mexborough Time Machine, which can be ordered here. If you have any interesting video clips, photographs or documents you think would be worth saving, you can loan them to us with total peace of mind, and once copied they will be returned.     ");
array_files[53]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/Rawlinson/graham.htm","2010-08-18","5K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Home Our publications Society events News Featured photos Newsletters Links Email us They called it slum clearance in those days, and its true that Council action was often needed to remove the blight of badly-maintained, unsanitary or dangerous properties in the town. But the people actually living in those doomed homes in the mid-60s must have had a different view. In just 50 years swathes of properties have disappeared, and this collection of photos captures life on a small row of six stone-built houses, called Rawlinson Terrace, which was razed around 1966. Situated just off Dolclffe Road, and now used as a car park, houses on the site were thought to have been built originally for nearby pottery workers. They were two-up, two-downs with outside toilets and coal sheds, and running along their backs was a cobbled access lane to a coal yard. Outside their front doors were the backs of commercial properties on Bank Street, including Whittakers (which owned three of the houses and let them to staff). Not the best housing, it has to be said, but home for a while to Heritage member Graham Oliver as a youngster; he has kindly loaned these snaps which as well as capturing a happy family life, also give us a glimpse of an old part of Mexborough which has disappeared. If you have any photos of the area, or of vanished Mexborough, please email us. Press the play button to see the slideshow.... ABOVE_ Google Maps view of the Rawlinson Terrace site BELOW: Google Streets view of the Terrace site now     ");
array_files[54]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/spotlight/spotlight.htm","2010-05-30","5K","Home Our publications Society    ","",""," Home Our publications Society Home Our publications Society events News Featured photos Newsletters Links Email us In this special section, you can examine some of our archive treasures in detail, exploring old photographs by magnifying portions. We aim to update this page regularly, so check back from time to time. Click on a link to start delving into Mexboroughs past... Frederick Street Main Street Aerial #1: 1926 Albert Road newsagent     ");
array_files[55]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/spotlight/spotlight04/spotlight04.htm","2010-05-30","14K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Home Our publications Spotlight home News Featured photos Newsletters Links Email us SPOTLIGHT Number 4 - Alfred Boot, Newsagent There are two joys to this beautiful photograph - the striking people themselves, and the variety of posters adorning their shop. The premises were on Albert Road, and although it was a terrace home like so many others, they had turned it into a commercial business. The signs are gems in their own right (just magnify them to see for yourself) - the Mexborough and Swinton Times bill speaks of Offences at Denaby, a fire alert and collision, and Mexborough Empire Palace was showing The Devils Eye and Copper Beeches. The window is also crammed with goods, from baby rattles to elegant photocards. All-in-all a terrific glimpse of local life. Remember, to magnify portions of the photo, hold down your left mouse button and move the magnified portion. If you cannot see the photo, you need a current Flash player for your browser. Unfortunately Google Streets didnt go the whole length of Albert Road, hence the poor photo below, showing the property now.     ");
array_files[56]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/spotlight/spotlight01/spotlight01.htm","2010-05-20","14K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Home Our publications Spotlight home News Featured photos Newsletters Links Email us SPOTLIGHT Number 1 - Frederick Street, Mexborough Welcome to the first in our series of Spotlight, where we showcase some of the outstanding items in the Societys collection. This beautiful and rare photograph, taken around 1906 by cameraman John Crowther-Cox of Rotherham, looks down Frederick Street, towards Wath Road. Midway down the street on the right-hand side, women shovel coal into their cellar; and midway down the left, the larger gap was the entrance to Crowcrofts hauliers business. Before many people had cars, it was easy for the lorries to back into the yard, but as time - and prosperity - grew, it became increasingly difficult to manoeuvre the vehicles in and out. The lower end of the street was sliced across by the Relief Road - formerly it joined onto Britain Street via a walled yard. Remember, to magnify portions of the photo, hold down your left mouse button and move the magnified portion. If you cannot see the photo, you need a current Flash player for your browser. We are grateful to Dave Fordham, who kindly loaned us the photo. ...and for comparison, here is a similar view today, from Google Streets:     ");
array_files[57]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/spotlight/spotlight02/spotlight01.htm","2010-05-20","13K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Home Our publications Spotlight home News Featured photos Newsletters Links Email us SPOTLIGHT Number 2 - Main Street In this view we are looking along Mexborough Main Street towards its junction with Hartley Street and Lower Dolcliffe Road. Once youve magnified portions, you can pick out much fascinating detail, such as Axons bootmaker (8/6 and 10/6), or Dodds joinery business. Theres even a man up a very tall ladder in the middle distance. Its interesting to note there was a post office there in those times, and just behind the cameraman and on the left was the site of St Georges Church. Remember, to magnify portions of the photo, hold down your left mouse button and move the magnified portion. If you cannot see the photo, you need a current Flash player for your browser. ...and for comparison, here is a similar view today, from Google Streets:     ");
array_files[58]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/spotlight/spotlight03/spotlight01.htm","2010-05-20","4K","Mexborough and District Heritage Society    ","",""," Mexborough and District Heritage Society Home Our publications Spotlight home News Featured photos Newsletters Links Email us SPOTLIGHT Number 3 - Mexborough from the air in 1926 This magnificent aerial shot of the town was taken by Aerofilms in April 1926, and kindly loaned by English Heritage who now hold the copyright of the oblique photo collection. With the railway station in the right foreground, sandwiched between the river and the canal, Mexborough is laid out like a tapestry. Its hard to get a Google Earth view from the same angle, but weve done our best for comparison. And once again, magnifying portions of the image will give you a birds eye view of our town over 8 decades ago. English Heritage are allowing us to share more aerial shots in their collection, which well be featuring later. . Remember, to magnify portions of the photo, hold down your left mouse button and move the magnified portion. If you cannot see the photo, you need a current Flash player for your browser. ...and for comparison, here is a similar view today, from Google Earth :     ");
array_files[59]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1993_april.htm","2010-04-09","10K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive Over the past two months as you know I have been sorting out our archives and getting them into some sort of order in our new filing cabinet. After successfully doing this, I started on the collection which Marion our Secretary brought me, and was part way through it when I found a very interesting group of photocopied documents. It is entitled Copy of Scrapbook No.7, and to say that it is one of the most fascinating groups of documents I have come across from a Local History and Social History point of view, is an understatement. I must have spent at least a couple of nights just reading and studying them. They start with Extracts from Thos. Herrings Visitation May 2nd 1743 in which the clergy had to complete a questionnaire. It tells us that in that year there were 58 families living in Mexborough, all Church of England, that there was no other religious meeting house other than the Parish Church at this time and there was no school. (This contradicts other information which follows). There was a hospital founded by Mr. Home and endowed with the yearly sum of £5. (This is the old meaning of the word hospital, where old people and the infirm lived, and must be the almshouses which once stood near the old market) and a field by the name of Spittlefield Leys (now Snows Coal Merchants, Pastures Road) was rented out, and the money went towards their upkeep. There was also a Public Service and a sermon in church every Lords Day, the sacrament of The Lords Supper was administered five times a year; Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Whitsuntide and the second Sunday in October and that at the latter out of one hundred and twenty persons, fifty two took communion. The next is Extracts from Archbishop Sharps M.S.S. It tells that originally Mexborough was split into two parishes and one half was given to Monk Bretton, but that in A.D. 1262 it was appropriated for the Archdeaconry of York. The town was let to Mr. Savile. (This family later became the Earls of Mexborough.) who relet it to Mr. Westby. Then lastly it makes a note that no Roman catholic lives in this parish as stipulated by law. Next comes the parish registers of this area, and when they were first started, following orders given by Cromwell as Vicar General in 1538, as taken from Millers, Doncaster 1804. The date given for Mexborough being 1562. If you go to church these days, on entry you will take a pew where you want, but not so in times past, which were very class conscious indeed and where you sat in church depended upon how high up the social ladder you came. Among these documents dated 1742 is a list telling where people from Swinton were allowed to sit in our church, and who was to sit where on what number pew, for example Daniel Scholey had to sit on Pew 5, South Aisle. In extracts from The Parish Register at Mexborough (1562-1767) I found the first mention of a coal pit in our area It refers to 1695 when William Tomson (as on document) a servant at ye coal pits in Swinton was buried. Also the first documentation I have found of a fatal accident in a colliery in this area - in 1765 William Ryley was killed in a coal pit, but it does not say where. There are also copies of three Terriers. (These are documents which tell of the territory which a parish church could claim tithe taxes from). The first one dated 1633, tells of a school house in the churchyard. (Surely this must mean that Mexborough had one of the first schools in the area). At the bottom of this page there are three notes. They tell us that The Tithe Barn which once stood on Church Street opposite the old vicarage was pulled down in 1920, the weathercock blew off the Church in 1924 and the National School, which was at the bottom of Adwick Road, once had a belltower (I believe similar to the one on Adwick Church) which was taken down in 1922. It also tells us how Bull Green and The Bull Balke got their names. this being because by custom it was the job of the parson to keep a bull there for the use of the parish. There is also another interesting point which this terrier makes, that is that as Swinton did not have a parish of its own at this time, one year the people of this town paid their tithe taxes to Wath, and the following year to Mexborough. The people who did this were referred to as Halfers, and the people who always paid their taxes to Mexborough were referred to as Wholers, and there is a list of both. The next Terrier is dated 1743, and tells us that the Parsonage consisted of one house, orchard, croft, two barns and a stable. There was a church, churchyard, two glebe houses (houses owned by the church) and there were two yards in the Wood Field. (This was on Adwick Road). The last Terrier is dated 1825 and describes the parsonage house. It was built partly of stone and brick and covered in slate. It had two cellars, seven rooms downstairs, one with floorboarding and the others flagged. There were ten chambers (upstairs rooms) five with floorboarding and five plaster. The barn was 30 yds. x 6 yds. and the stable was big enough to hold four horses with a loft above. There were four cottages which formerly had been a malt kiln etc. Bell String Flats (now the Sedgefield Way area) is listed as being the only enclosed area, the others being open fields. Glebe Farm was in the possession of Joseph Lockwood, and the Schoolhouse was now in the possession of Joseph Makin. The Curate received the profits from two closes at Hemmingfield, and also at Burnt Stone in Upper Hallam at Sheffield. There were two houses with gardens from which he also took the profits, along with the profits from seven pews in the New Gallery. (This must mean that you had to pay for your pew in church) where he read prayers in the afternoon or evening during summer months. It also tells us that at one time our church had galleries inside it called The West and South Galleries completed in 1834 and the South Gallery alone was large enough to seat one hundred, and that the twenty seats on the West Gallery were free. The first to be removed was the South Gallery in 1868, then the West Gallery in 1890 when the whole church was modernised. In extracts from the Balance Sheets of Mexborough Parish Church 1820-64 I find that in 1821 we bought a new lock for the Stocks which once stood by the main church gates. In 1823 we had to pay for a letter sent to the church by The House of Commons. In 1837 the Bass Stick was repaired. (Any idea what kind of instrument this is?) In 1856 Mr. Ainley was given one guinea for tuning the organ for one year. I wonder if this could be the same person who became Mexboroughs first Sub-Postmaster? Lastly came a list of gentry living in the area in 1673 and to my surprise I find that the Savile family are not listed as living here, only William Home, Gentleman and John Fountain of Melton, Esq., eldest son of John Fountain, Sergeant (as on document) these being the ancestors of the Montagu family. What follows is a group of newspaper cuttings which for the person interested in social history, such as myself, is fascinating. They cover a strike in the Black Country by women brick workers in 1913, and there is a report dated 1927 of women doing Navvy work in the Midlands and Glasgow, prepared by The Industrial Fatigue Research Board. It states that some women employed in a Glasgow chemical factory worked from 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., barefoot, shovelling from twenty to twenty five tons of crude Borite each day, and some of the women pushed trucks full of crystals on rails. The average output per woman doing this work was 6 tons per day. Girls in a brick works had to carry loads of bricks, 51b. short of I cwt., and some women were expected to wheel barrows containing 4 - 4.1/2 cwt. of bricks. It then goes on to college women and states how superior in health they were compared to their sisters in industry, which does not surprise me in the least considering what they were expected to do. There is also the sad case of two women charged with the neglect of children. The whole family which consisted of a father and two daughters, who had five children between them lived in one room, which had in it one broken chair and a piece of sack, which formed a blanket for the father. There was part of a loaf and a small amount of margarine to eat. The Magistrates found them guilty and put the children in a home. All this happened because the women lost their jobs. Thank goodness I live in the latter half of the 20th century when things like this cannot happen. There is also a case where boys accused of repeated theft were sentenced to be flogged with a birch. If anything, studying history has made me appreciate the age in which we now live. Yes, we do have a few concerns regarding our police force, public transport and N.H.S, but we are still a lot better off than the people living in the past. Isnt it nice to turn on a tap and get clean running water, instead of having to go to a pump and get buckets of water, which may or may not be clean? To be able to go into a bathroom and get a bath when you wish, instead of having to wait until Saturday night when the tin bath was put in front of the fire, and let us not forget Wash Day! Isnt it nice to have a machine to do it for you? Also we must not forget the thing which our children take for granted, the fact that if you are ill you can just go and see your doctor, which in times past was the preserve of only the few. Yes for me its nice to study history and in particular the history of my own town, but no, this is one bird that certainly would not have liked to have lived in those days, thank you very much. Well Ill have to close now as I will go on forever. Dont forget if you wish to ask anything or if you wish to borrow something, do not hesitate to ask. Your Archivist, Julie Ashby     ");
array_files[60]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1993_march.htm","2010-04-09","9K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive Dear Members, At the last meeting in February I was able to tell you that our society had been able at long last to buy a filing cabinet in which to store its archive material, which has until now been in cardboard boxes behind my settee. It has cost more than I had expected but it is flame resistant, will take all types of files and the bottom drawers are suitable for the storage of old documents or maps. Also unlike most secondhand filing cabinets it will lock. In short it is exactly what we needed to store our increasing archive material in safety. This we desperately needed. After my request for a volunteer to pain it at our last meeting Mr. James came to the rescue and has made an excellent job of painting it. It looks brand new. Well done and thanks Mr. James from all of us. A few months ago someone donated to the Society (I believe it was Barrie Chambers) TWO MEXBOROUGH DIRECTORIES (these are a list of professional and business people in Mexborough in a certain year). One is of 1877, the other, I believe, to be 1906 or thereabouts, perhaps someone could put me wise on this and on looking through the directories I find one or two interesting things which I have listed below:- 1877 Directory The River Dun Company and South Yorkshire Railway Company own a Canal and Railway in this town. There is also a station. It is called Mexborough Junction. Mexborough Church, St. John The Baptists was built in 1080 and its register goes back to 1560. The vicar is the Reverend Henry Ellershaw M.A. There is also a Mission Chapel at Denaby Colliery. The National School (now known as St. Johns) was built by public subscription in 1865 with a Sunday School attached. There are six Alms Houses built in 1669 by Messrs. Home and Calverly. The common has been enclosed. There are extensive ironworks for the manufacture of railway wheels and axles. There is also the manufacture of earthenware and The Don Glassworks. There are several stone quarries which supply Sheffield with grinding stones. There is a brewery, boatyard and also fine beds of coal. There is an establishment for post, Money Orders, Telegraph, Savings Bank, Government Annuity Insurance Office and Stamp Office. The town also has a sub-postmaster (there was only a sub-postmaster in those days) whose name is Walter Ainley and letters arrive from London and other areas through Rotherham. There is a School Board, Insurance Agent, Local Board and Police Station with George Addy as sergeant. There is also a Register Office, Collector of Poor Rates, and Medical Officer. There are also two schools, one a Board School and the other is The National School. Many of the occupations of the people were as you would expect for the times, with 13 keel owners, 5 farmers, and 75 shopkeepers of different sorts. There were one or two from this list who are worthy of mention: James Walter Ainley our first sub-postmaster, Bolsover & Sons Brewers of Mexborough .Brewer Co-operative, High Street and Swinton Road, Joseph Dickenson, Dining Rooms, High Street Thomas Halladay, Bottle Mould Maker, Market Street, Thomas Lewis, Bellman (Town Crier) Market Street, George Makin, Clogger, High Street, John Pitt Makin. Auctioneer, Appraiser, Estate Agent, Farmer and Proprietor of The Clayfield and Olive Branch 1906 Directory By the beginning of the twentieth century Mexborough had acquired the main station en route between Sheffield and Doncaster. Mexborough Urban District Council had been formed. There was a new Market Hall built in 1880. St. John the Baptist Church had been refurnished and extended in 1891. A new cemetery had been opened. There was a Cottage Hospital on Bank Street. There were now five schools. The last to be built was on Wath Road in 1890, and the National School now had a house for its schoolmaster. The Vicarage, which was built in 1834 was enlarged in 1877. In 1895 Andrew Montagu, who was then the Lord of the Manor died and his son took over the title, and we now had a new library on Bank Street. There were now only 2 keel owners, but 7 farmers, 171 shopkeepers and 4 surgeons or doctors. The last three occupations revealing the vast increase in population in the years between the two directories being completed. James Brown Butler was our first librarian at the Free Library on Bank Street,, Mr. G. H. Chappell was our Town Crier, Miss Berry was Matron of The Montagu Cottage Hospital, Mr. Braiford was a Cigar Manufacturer, Mr. W. Brown was a Coach Builder. Mr. J. Cavil a Quarry Owner. There were two Mineral Water Manufacturers, Mr. W.. Clark and Mr. J. Sopps, Mr. Edwin Cotton & Co. was a Steel Manufacturer, Charles Preston Denison was a Fent Dealer. (Has anyone any idea what this could be?), Mr. J. Eason, Carriage Builder, Mr. F. Edwards, Mail Cart & Bassinette Dealer, Mr. H. W. Ellard, Professor of Music, Mr. D. Huxley, Glasgow, Artificial Teeth Maker. Ezra Goldsbrough was our Police Sergeant, ML T Mr T Haigh, Waggonette Proprietor, Frank Harrison, cycle manufacturer, Hattersleys Solicitors, Mr. J. Hepworth, Slate Merchant, Mr A Hillerby. Tobacconist, Mr. H. Jenkinson, Mason, Miss Louisa Leach, Girls Day School, Main Street, Mr. J. Mallison, Coal Merchant, Grand Central Railway Goods Yard, Main Street, (I have been told that this yard was nearer to Swinton Road than Main Street and was down near to the railway, close to where MacDonalds now have their garage), Public Telephone Call Office at I Dndsworth Street, Public Benefit Boot Co., Mr. T. Miles was our Station master, Mr. F. Watson was the Police Inspector, Mr. J. Watson was a Brickmaker on Clayfield Road, Mr. J. White had the Don Corn Mill, Mrs. E. E. White was a Bassinette Maker. There were now 3 Cloggers but still two Warfingers (people who ran the sail wharfs) Mr. F. Woffingden and Mr. G. Wright, both living on Church Street, and the town had also acquired 2 photographers. Of course, because of limited space, I am unable to list everyone who is mentioned in these directories, but dont forget that if you wish to look at them, all you have to do is ask. The Postal Service In January one of our members, Mr. J. Raybold, asked me if I could help him date his house on market Street and as he lives next door but one to what I then thought to be Mexboroughs first Post Office, I decided to try and date it through this. It was to this end that I first went to our new library on Hope Street, and then to Doncaster Central Library. Such a thing as our first Post Office must be well documented I thought. How wrong I was! I drew a complete blank at both places. There was absolutely nothing at all on the history of a Postal Service in Mexborough at either of these places. Then it was suggested to me that as Mexborough came under Rotherham for its letters years ago, perhaps Rotherham Central Library could help. At once I struck gold and found everything I needed to know. I found that up until 60 years ago all mail came to us via Rotherham and the earliest evidence of a Post Office in Rotherham is 1735. But in 1750 there is much documentation of a William Wilson, licensee of the Angel in High Street Rotherham. It was his custom to read the news to his cronies at The Angel each weekend, newspapers at that time being very expensive, being sent by post. It appears that The Angel was a very large establishment where coaches stopped for fresh horses before starting their journey over hilly country. In 1838 I found that letters were sent to Mexborough by an Unofficial Post. This being sent to Joseph Nicholson, the innkeeper of The Red Lion, Conisbrough, where they were picked up by Mr Rotherham and delivered to Mexborough. In 1844 letters were sent from Rotherham to Swinton and Rawmarsh, and a messenger delivered them from there. The first postmark with Mexborough on it is dated 1852. Our first Post Office was opened on Hirstgate (could it have been one of the stone built shops at the bottom of Hirstgate?) 29th October 1857 with James Walter Ainley as sub-postmaster. This I guess must have been similar to the village post offices we see today, as from the directory we find that he was also a chemist, drugist and seedman. In 1878 J. W. Ainley moved his business premises to I Market Street where his daughter helped him. In 1903 the Post Office moved again. This time to High Street with Mrs. F. I. Holmes as sub-postmistress. (I wonder if this could have been the one I have heard our older members speak of, near to where the Fish Market now stands?). In 1938 a new Post Office and Telephone Exchange was opened on Main Street and in the same year all mail began to be sent directly to us instead of via Rotherham and our address became officially Mexborough, Yorkshire. So from all this information, and that I managed to glean from maps, I was able to date Mr. Raybolds house at roughly 1878, and after further researching he was able to date it as 1871 exactly. If any of you wish to look at notes from a book I found on the History of The Postal Service in The Rotherham Area , you are most welcome. Well Id better close now and dont forget if you would like to look at anything I have mentioned in this Newsletter please dont hesitate to ask and if there is anything I can help you with, again dont hesitate to ask. Your Archivist, Julia Ashby     ");
array_files[61]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1993_feb.htm","2010-04-09","9K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive Dear Members Firstly, I must apologise to those of you who were unable to obtain a newsletter last month, unfortunately the photocopier broke and we were only able to put out a few - the rest to follow this month! Basically the contents were a recap on the newsletters of the past year. Last year we had donated to the Society a small but important little document which told us that in 1843 Church Street was called Town Street. On Friday 29th January 1993 I went to the Local History Department of Doncaster Central Library and there obtained another piece of information as to the history of Church Street. As I was putting together the front page of the first edition of the Mexborough and Swinton Times which I had just copied, Mr James, who was at our last meeting, came over to me to show me something which he had found on the 1861 census which was that on Church Street, between the George and Dragon and the Ferryboat Inn there was an Ale House (possibly the Ship Inn) there was also a smallholding called South Farm in the occupation of the Ward family. The main thing was that Church Street went under the name of Low Street. So ... we can now piece together the different names which refer to Church Street in the last century. Firstly, in 1843 it was called Town Street, then in 1861 it was called Low Street, then in 1872 it was officially given the name of Church Street by the Mexborough Local Board. Even then the very end of Church Street, from the last house to Doncaster Road, was called Cobble Stick Street for years afterwards. Also this month, we have had donated two very interesting little books about the history of Montagu Hospital. One is entitled A Short History of the Montagu Hospital Mexborough 1889-1925 and the other is The Montagu Hospital Mexborough Jubilee Handbook 1890-1940. They tell of how Mr C Ward of Mexborough was badly hurt down Denaby Pit, and how it took from 2 pm to 10 pm to get him to Doncaster where the nearest hospital at that time was, and on arrival how his leg had to be amputated. After he recovered he took a prominent part in agitating for a hospital in Mexborough, and how in 1890 a cottage hospital was opened on Bank Street, with its first matron Miss Moore. The population of our town and the surroundings began to grow and by 1901 it was found that the little cottage hospital was not big enough, so Dr Hathersley wrote to the trustees of Andrew Montagu in London suggesting that another site would be more suitable, and the one on Adwick Road was at last agreed upon. In April 1904 there came the laying of the foundation stone and the hospital was officially opened the following year, 1905. Inside these little books are to be seen photographs of people familiar to our older members like Doctors Ram, Huey and Lee. There are also photographs of wards and staff members. With the opening of our new library I thought it would be a good idea to see what I could discover about the opening of our old library on Bank Street, and was lucky enough to acquire the complete write-up on the subject, which appeared in the Mexborough and Swinton Times at the time, and it seems to have been a huge celebration, not just for the dignitaries, but for the whole community. There was roughly 2,000 people crowded into the immediate area of the library. The schools had been closed for the day so the children could attend. There was a procession through the streets of dignitaries, bands and police, and the whole area was festooned in buntings and flags. It really must have been a colourful and joyful sight. The Carnegie Free Library to give it its correct name was opened towards the end of May 1906 by Mr Kelley CC of Wath using a gold inscribed key. It was built using a gift of £2,000 from Mr Carnegie, the land having been donated by Mr Montagu. The Architects were a firm by the name of Deacon and Horsburgh of Liverpool, and it was built by George Saul of Rotherham. The Public Hall was not at first planed, but there was a sudden land movement when the library was being built, and they were compelled to elevate the library and it was decided to utilise the lower part. Mr Turner who was chairman of the Library Committee states in his speech that Mexborough has electric light, excellent schools, one of which being among the best Secondary Schools in Yorkshire, there were plans for a Petty Sessional Court, trains and Public Baths. After the opening of the main library, a reference library was planned and a plea for books was put out, the first to be donated was Milners History of Doncaster donated by the Rev W H F Bateman. Prior to the opening of this library and public hall, it appears that there had been a library known as the Mexborough Plant Library and a public hall on Garden Street, but this was being used in 1906 as a joiners shop. It seems that a great time was had by all that day, and after the opening a tea for 300 was put on in the new public hall, with orchestra and male voice choir. No procession or flags heralded the opening of our new library, which was opened at 2.30 pm on 18th January 1993 by Martin Redmond MP and we were represented by Mr Norman Watson, our Honorary President. We were also asked to put on an exhibition which we did, showing photographs of old Mexborough, and a display on Robert Glassby the Mexborough man who became Sculptor to Queen Victoria. Here I saw a list of his works and where they can be seen, and was surprised to find that some are quite close, such as Rotherham and Sheffield. One painting in particular I would like to see is a street in Mexborough in the middle of the last century. It will be interesting to see what life was like here before industrialisation, and when our town was still rural and agricultural. This exhibition is to be moved to Conisbrough Castle Visitors Centre on 12th February. Your archivist, Julia Ashby. MEXBOROUGH AND DISTRICT HERITAGE SOCIETY Minutes of the meeting on Tuesday 26th January 1993 1 Joyce Thompson, Vice Chair, opened the meeting. (a) She informed members that there had been a change of dates for the summer visits, the Brodsworth Hall visit now being July and Conisbrough Castle and Church in May. (b) She told members about the exhibition the Society had mounted for the opening of the new Library which was still in place, and that we were mounting another similar exhibition at the Visitors Centre, Conisbrough Castle on the weekend of the 13th-14th February. 2 Joyce introduced Mr Mike Taylor who spoke on the South Yorkshire Navigation. He showed 120 slides, accompanied by a very relaxed and informative description of each, showing his considerable involvement and interest in the waterway networks. The following shows the history of the development of the canal: SUMMARY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAVIGATION IN THE DON VALLEY River Don navigable to Doncaster from earliest records 14-15th C Stone for York Minster carried by water from Doncaster by 1650 Vermuyden had drained Thorne Moors and built Dutch River by 1740 Locks and canals constructed giving access to Rotherham 1780 Greasborough Canal opened (most of it disused by 1840) by 1751 Craft could reach Tinsley (goods then roaded to Sheffield) 1802 Stainforth and Keadby Canal opened (access to River Trent) 1804 Dearne and Dove Canal opened (Swinton to Barnsley) 1819 Sheffield Canal opened (Tinsley to city basin) 1895 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company formed to run the 43 mile stretch of waterway from Sheffield to Keadby 1905 New Junction Canal opened to link S & SYN with Aire and Calder Navigation (Goole to Leeds and Wakefield) Financed jointly by these two companies 1930s Improvements to navigation made at Sprotbrough, Doncaster and Bramwith 1983 Improved S & SYN opened from Goole to Rotherham for 700 tonne capacity craft BIBLIOGRAPHY The Early History of the Don Navigation by T S Willan (Manchester University Press 1965) Canals of Yorkshire and North East England by Charles Hadfield (David and Charles 1973) The Complete Book of Canal and River Navigations by Edward W Paget-Tomlinson (Waine Research Publications 1978 - new edition published by a Sheffield Company due to appear in 1993) Humber Keels and Keelmen by Fred Schofield (Terence Dalton 1988) Features on aspects of the S & SYN also appear in the monthly magazine `Waterways World available from larger newsagents The Secretary, Marion Broadhurst thanked Mike for a most enjoyable and successful evening, it being the largest audience we have ever attracted. There were many visitors, and new members who joined. Next meetings: 30th March: The Railways of South Yorkshire - Philip Taylor of the South Yorkshire Railway Preservation Society (please note change of speaker) 27th April: AGM and members open evening. Please bring along any items of local interest such as photographs, books, posters and curios. This will be an opportunity to discuss knowledge and local history findings. 25th May: Visit to Conisbrough Castle and St Peters Church led by Mr Martin Jones 29th June: Tour of St Johns Church and Churchyard, Mexborough led by Mr Norman Watson 27th July: Visit to Brodsworth Hall led by Mr Peter Gordon-Smith     ");
array_files[62]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1993_nov.htm","2010-04-09","21K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive THE HISTORY OF MEXBOROUGH MONTAGU COTTAGE HOSPITAL AND MONTAGU HOSPITAL If you had become very ill two hundred years ago there was only one person who could help and that was Dame Varoh, the nearest doctor being at Wath. (In 1873 this was Jonathan Gawtress Wade, Surgeon. This information was found on a local deed). Dame Varoh lived at Glebe Farm, Church Street and became one of the first people to vaccinate children in our area. (The first vaccination was given for Smallpox in 1796). Her daughter who followed in her footsteps married Joseph Lockwood in 1817 and became an Apothecary (a cross between a pharmacist and a medical practitioner). In 1853 the government made it compulsory to vaccinate all babies under the age of four months for smallpox and Martha Lockwood, again after her mother, became Vaccination Officer for our district. By 1877, after our area had started to become industrialised and the population had increased greatly, we find that there was also a rise in the number of people coming to our town with some type of medical training. By this year we had one trained surgeon and physician by the name of James Steward, three chemists, James Walter Ainley, who was also our post mater, Samuel Pepper and Robert Shields and a herbalist, Mr. George Codd. But After the sinking of Denaby Pit (first sod cut in 1863, coal reached 1867 and coal production started 1868 - This information was obtained from A Railway History of Denaby and Cadeby collieries) there became an increasing number of people needing specialised medical help with respect to accidents incurred whilst working underground. Such medical help, which a doctor alone could not give, involved complicated operations etc. and an increasing need for a hospital closer to home was felt to be necessary. The two nearest at this time were Rotherham and Doncaster. (Doncaster Dispensary opened in 1792, Doncaster General Infirmary and Dispensary opened 1868 - Information from Doncaster Royal Infirmary Bicentenary Souvenir Booklet), and it was as an indirect result of an accident down Denaby Pit that Montagu Cottage Hospital came to be built. Late in the 1880s Mr. Chris Ward was involved in a serious accident at Denaby Pit and was taken home in a coal cart (Information taken from a Short History of Montagu Hospital) to await the arrival of the doctor. Here I must mention that in those days you could not go straight into hospital however badly hurt you were. Firstly a doctor had to be called to your home, then he had to recommend you to a hospital. The recommendation would go in front of the hospital committee to be assessed as to whether you were a fit sort of person to go into their hospital and as to whether or not you were suffering from a contagious disease, insanity, epilepsy or an incurable illness, as you were not allowed to be admitted into hospital under these circumstances. If the hospital committee said you could be admitted, then 0.K, if not, then another hospital had to be tried by your doctor with the same procedure. By this time you could be dead. It is not surprising, therefore, that doctors preferred to do simple operations etc. at the patients home. But when Mr. Wards doctor arrived his injuries were found to be too extensive for his own doctor to deal with and he was taken by trap (possibly a dog cart, which doctors of the time seemed to prefer) to Doncaster Infirmary, where one of his legs was amputated. His accident occurred at 2.00 a.m. but he did not receive treatment until 10.00 p.m. that night. It was this experience which decided him on the course of action he was to take on his recovery, and this was to agitate for a hospital. Chris Ward was not the only one here to feel the need for a hospital. Dr. W. Sykes, who was able to enlist the aid of many powerful sympathisers instigated the first meeting of all interested parties at The South Yorkshire Hotel in 1889 and six months after that meeting the hospital was ready for opening. The building itself was donated by Andrew Montagu. It was previously occupied by the Primitive Methodists and then a Sunday School (information from the Mexborough and Swinton Times) and financial assistance for the necessary alterations to the building was given by the miners, glass blowers, railway employees and trades people of Mexborough and the immediate area (M. & S. T.). The site of the Montagu Cottage Hospital was next to the Oriental Buildings, close to the old library on Bank Street and was opened by Mrs. J. Montagu in January 1890. It could accommodate fourteen people, eight male and six female. The male ward was to the right and the female to the left of the building and there was a balcony to the rear for people to use in convalescence, with views over the river and fields towards Old Denaby. The first Matron or nurse as she was at first called was Miss Moore of Mexborough who was trained at a hospital in Sheffield. After obtaining the post as nurse here she took up residence in her accommodation at the hospital. She not only had to nurse the patients but also was expected to provide good meals and make sure that the hospital was clean, neat and in proper order. Also one of the first rules made by the hospital committee was that accidents should be admitted Denaby and Cadeby collieries) there became an increasing number of people needing specialised medical help with respect to accidents incurred whilst working underground. Such medical help, which a doctor alone could not give, involved complicated operations etc. and an increasing need for a hospital closer to home was felt to be necessary. The two nearest at this time were Rotherham and Doncaster. (Doncaster Dispensary opened in 1792, Doncaster General Infirmary and Dispensary opened 1868 - Information from Doncaster Royal Infirmary Bicentenary Souvenir Booklet), and it was as an indirect result of an accident down Denaby Pit that Montagu Cottage Hospital came to be built. Late in the 1880s Mr. Chris Ward was involved in a serious accident at Denaby Pit and was taken home in a coal cart. (Information taken from a Short History of Montagu Hospital) to await the arrival of the doctor. Here I must mention that in those days you could not go straight into hospital however badly hurt you were. Firstly a doctor had to be called to your home, then he had to recommend you to a hospital. The recommendation would go in front of the hospital committee to be assessed as to whether you were a fit sort of person to go into their hospital and as to whether or not you were suffering from a contagious disease, insanity, epilepsy or an incurable illness, as you were not allowed to be admitted into hospital under these circumstances. If the hospital committee said you could be admitted, then 0.K, if not, then another hospital had to be tried by your doctor with the same procedure. By this time you could be dead. It is not surprising, therefore, that doctors preferred to do simple operations etc. at the patients home. But when Mr. Wards doctor arrived his injuries were found to be too extensive for his own doctor to deal with and he was taken by trap (possibly a dog cart, which doctors of the time seemed to prefer) to Doncaster Infirmary, where one of his legs was amputated. His accident occurred at 2.00 a.m. but he did not receive treatment until 10.00 p.m. that night. It was this experience which decided him on the course of action he was to take on his recovery, and this was to agitate for a hospital. Chris Ward was not the only one here to feel the need for a hospital. Dr. W. Sykes. who was able to enlist the aid of many powerful sympathisers instigated the first meeting of all interested parties at The South Yorkshire Hotel in 1889 and six months after that meeting the hospital was ready for opening. The building itself was donated by Andrew Montagu. It was previously occupied by the Primitive Methodists and then a Sunday School (information from the Mexborough and Swinton Times) and financial assistance for the necessary alterations to the building was given by the miners, glass blowers, railway employees and trades people of Mexborough and the immediate area (M. & S. T.). The site of the Montagu Cottage Hospital was next to the Oriental Buildings, close to the old library on Bank Street and was opened by Mrs. J. Montagu in January 1890. It could accommodate fourteen people, eight male and six female. The male ward was to the right and the female to the left of the building and there was a balcony to the rear for people to use in convalescence, with views over the river and fields towards Old Denaby. The first Matron or nurse as she was at first called was Miss Moore of Mexborough who was trained at a hospital in Sheffield. After obtaining the post as nurse here she took up residence in her accommodation at the hospital. She not only had to nurse the patients but also was expected to provide good meals and make sure that the hospital was clean, neat and in proper order. Also one of the first rules made by the hospital committee was that accidents should be admitted at any time of the day or night without recommendation of a doctor so she would have been knocked up in the early hours to look after emergency cases as well (this was after 1891), and it was very quickly found that Miss Moore could not undertake the running of the hospital single-handed, the workload being too great, and an assistant nurse was advertised for at a salary of £5 per year plus £5 for uniform. Means had to be found to finance the hospital and it was Chris Ward again who came to the fore, as it was he who put forward the idea of having Hospital Sunday Demonstrations. (I feel sure that some of our older members will remember these all too well). The first raised the sum of £20 I9s. Od. (E20.95). A May Day procession was also organised and a bazaar was planned by the Ladies Committee. This went on for four days and was called An Old English Fair and after this a tea was held every year, becoming an annual feature.. (Held in the National School which once stood where the Salvation Army Citadel now stands at the top of Bank Street.) From the hospital being opened in 1890 to 1895, 2,000 new homes had been built and the population had risen from 10,000 to 14,000 people and, as bed space was limited, it was felt that a new larger hospital was needed. After much negotiation a site was obtained from the Montagu Trust at the corner of Cemetery Road and Adwick Road and at 2.00 D. m. on the 25th April 1904 the stone laying ceremony of the New Montagu Hospital took place, the first being laid by Mr. James Montagu and the second by Mr. James Kelley C.C.of Wath followed by a luncheon at the Montagu Arms Hotel, where no less than nine toasts were taken during the meal. The hospital was officially opened on 18th May 1905 by Mr. Montagu and dedicated by the Bishop of Sheffield. It had in all, room for forty two beds. There were two male wards - or pavilions as they were called - (this information came from Mr. J. Martin) These had ten beds in one and eight in another; and one female ward with eight beds. This also accommodated children as the females and children at this time were always kept together in the same ward. There was also one Isolation Ward with two beds for private patients, one operating theatre with two rooms and a small ward attached. Also when the hospital first opened it had a boardroom, laundry (this proved to be inadequate and could not cope with the large amount of washing necessary for a hospital of this size and a lady related to the Bisby family was employed to do the excess at I/6d. (7p) per load (information from Mrs. S. Batty). There was an ambulance room (A Short History of Montagu Hospital by Mr. D. M. Wilson does not state whether or not the hospital had an Ambulance, but most of the larger pits kept one on their premises in case of accidents), and there was also accommodation for the matron, nursing staff and the servants. In 1912 it was decided to build a separate childrens ward at the north-west side of the hospital grounds and Mr. C. F. Moxon of Barnsley was employed as Architect and Mr. E. E. Dickinson of Bolton-on-Dearne was successful in obtaining the contract to build it. Work began in the summer of 1914. That summer came ominous rumours of war and on 4th August 1914 war broke out between Britain and Germany and in 1915 not children but wounded men from the armed forces began to occupy the ward, at first to be looked after by Dr. F. Harvey but after he was sent to the Front, the Matron, Miss Wesley, became Commandant for the military ward and ran these as well a running the civilian wards as well and because of this was mentioned in dispatches in 1918. While the military was at Montagu a large recreation but was built and a billiard table was provided by The Swinton Tennis Club. People who had cars took the men for rides into the countryside, and concerts became a feature at the hall which ceased in 1919 after the war was over. On 29th August 1920 the Childrens Ward was officially opened by Mr. J. Tune of the Barnsley British Co-operative Society Ltd. and it was at this point that someone suddenly realised that for years there had been an oversight on the part of everyone. The hospital did not have a kitchen! Mr. P. White was therefore employed to draw up some plans and Messrs. G. H. Smith & Sons built it. Up to this time the hospital had only been a surgical and accident hospital. In January 1923 more land was purchased and more buildings erected to increase the number of male and female surgical beds . Two more private wards, a second Operating Theatre, a new laundry with a boiler house, mortuary and post mortem room, porters house, massage and electrical treatment department and a lift were put in. As my own son was born at Montagu Hospital ten years ago I was very interested a while ago to read in one of the back copies of The Mexborough and Swinton Times of the opening of the first West Riding County Council Maternity Home at Montagu Hospital in March 1929. Some of the things mentioned in this article left me dumbfounded, like the huge area it was expected to serve (Conisbrough, Darfield, Mexborough, Rawmarsh, Swinton, Wath, Wombwell and a large area of the Doncaster Rural District) with just ten beds, and other items like some learned peoples attitude to things like birth control. One speaker (a man) seemed to think this was wrong, saying that the biggest thing in the world and most magnificent was motherhood and that he did not like to see loneliness and that he liked children to be there. He also did not think it right to spend public money on theories of Birth Control that could be dangerous (but said nothing of how dangerous it was for some women to get pregnant). One of the speakers (again a man) on the subject of emancipation for women, seemed to think that it was about women not dying in childbirth and stated that they did not die in such great numbers as in the past now that they had maternity homes, child welfare clinics, school nurses, and school dentists. He did not refer to what we now call emancipation these days, but we must not forget that women had only had the right to vote on the same lines as men for one year and the idea of real emancipation was a comparatively new one. (In 1928 women over the age of 21 years were given the vote.) When we look now at this article some of the beliefs and attitudes bring a smile to the lips. In 1932 it was found that the maternity ward could not cope with the amount of women wanting treatment and another ward was built containing room for ten more beds. This of course meant an increase in nursing staff and the staff accommodation was extended. Nothing really happened to the hospital until 1946 when the National Health Service Act was passed. All hospitals were taken over by Regional Hospital Boards under the Ministry of Health. England and Wales were divided into fourteen sections each under a Regional Hospital Board. County and County Borough Councils had to provide ambulances, midwives, home nurses and home midwives for those in need. Finally, Health Centres were set up bringing together G.P.s, nurses and other medical services under one roof and Mexborough was no exception. recreation but was built and a billiard table was provided by The Swinton Tennis Club. People who had cars took the men for rides into the countryside, and concerts became a feature at the hall which ceased in 1919 after the war was over. On 29th August 1920 the Childrens Ward was officially opened by Mr. J. Tune of the Barnsley British Co-operative Society Ltd. and it was at this point that someone suddenly realised that for years there had been an oversight on the part of everyone. The hospital did not have a kitchen! Mr. P. White was therefore employed to draw up some plans and Messrs. G. H. Smith & Sons built it. Up to this time the hospital had only been a surgical and accident hospital. In January 1923 more land was purchased and more buildings erected to increase the number of male and female surgical beds Two more private wards, a second Operating Theatre, a new laundry with a boiler house, mortuary and post mortem room, porters house, massage and electrical treatment department and a lift were put in. As my own son was born at Montagu Hospital ten years ago I was very interested a while ago to read in one of the back copies of The Mexborough and Swinton Times of the opening of the first West Riding County Council Maternity Home at Montagu Hospital in March 1929. Some of the things mentioned in this article left me dumbfounded, like the huge area it was expected to serve (Conisbrough, Darfield, Mexborough, Rawmarsh, Swinton, Wath, Wombwell and a large area of the Doncaster Rural District) with just ten beds, and other items like some learned peoples attitude to things like birth control. One speaker (a man) seemed to think this was wrong, saying that the biggest thing in the world and most magnificent was motherhood and that he did not like to see loneliness and that he liked children to be there. He also did not think it right to spend public money on theories of Birth Control that could be dangerous (but said nothing of how dangerous it was for some women to get pregnant). One of the speakers (again a man) on the subject of emancipation for women, seemed to think that it was about women not dying in childbirth and stated that they did not die in such great numbers as in the past now that they had maternity homes, child welfare clinics, school nurses, and school dentists. He did not refer to what we now call emancipation these days, but we must not forget that women had only had the right to vote on the same lines as men for one year and the idea of real emancipation was a comparatively new one. (In 1928 women over the age of 21 years were given the vote.) When we look now at this article some of the beliefs and attitudes bring a smile to the lips. In 1932 it was found that the maternity ward could not cope with the amount of women wanting treatment and another ward was built containing room for ten more beds. This of course meant an increase in nursing staff and the staff accommodation was extended. Nothing really happened to the hospital until 1946 when the National Health Service Act was passed. All hospitals were taken over by Regional Hospital Boards under the Ministry of Health. England and Wales were divided into fourteen sections each under a Regional Hospital Board. County and County Borough Councils had to provide ambulances, midwives, home nurses and home midwives for those in need. Finally, Health Centres were set up bringing together G.P.s, nurses and other medical services under one roof and Mexborough was no exception. Information used in the writing of this article:- Work Out Social and Economic History by S. Mason. Cuttings from The Mexborough and Swinton Times. Local Deeds. Memorials of Old Mexboro by William J. J. Glassby. Mexborough Directory 1877. A Railway History of Denaby and Cadeby Collieries. Doncaster General Infirmary Bicentenary Souvenir Booklet. A Short History of Montagu Hospital 1889-1925 by Donald M. Wilson. The Montagu Hospital Mexborough Jubilee Handbook 1890-1940. Tape of talk by Mr. J. Martin given to the Society on 26th October 1993. If you would like to borrow any of the above please do not hesitate to ask. Your Archivist. J. R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[63]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1993_sep.htm","2010-04-09","12K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER 28th September, 1993 Dear Member, When I have given talks on our history to schools in the area I have begun by asking the children if they can tell me a town where they could go skating (both roller skating and ice), swimming, racing (both dog and horse racing), dancing, go to the theatre or cinema, watch boxing, athletics, bowling, football, or cricket, see world famous people, or go for a flight in a plane. This was only a small amount of the entertainment on offer to the people of this place. Now where do you think it could be? Well. Ive had quite a variety of answers to that question, which have ranged far and wide, most of them being large towns and cities, or even capitals of the world; New York, Paris, London, Birmingham and Blackpool seem to be the favourites, but when I tell them it was their own town of Mexborough at the time their grandparents were small they look astonished. Athletics, bowling, football, cricket, and tennis could be watched at The Athletic Grounds at the bottom of Adwick Road. Whereas roller skating was done at The Brickyard, the site of the old Mexborough Brickworks, once owned by the Simpson Family on Lower Dolcliffe Road. But Ice Skating was done at the Olympic a beautiful purpose built building constructed by Mr. James Guest just off Cliffe Street. In the hot summer months, and especially in the summer holidays, the children busied themselves in many ways, and one of the things which occupied them was swimming. As Bull Green Boat Yard was not so busy in the summer, their dry docks would be flooded, making an adequate swimming pool where children could swim in comparative safety, other than that it was swimming in the River Don or Canal (Yuk!). Pony and horse racing was always done in Pit Week. This was the time when the pits of our area closed for the annual weeks holiday and both miner and pit pony took a break from the drudgery of work A large crowd could be guaranteed to congregate on the field where the Fire Station now stands, to cheer on ponies and horses being raced from many pits in this area. It was also to this field that Sir Allen Cobham came every year with his Flying Circus. Dog racing was also popular, whippets being brought to The Dog Daisy Racetrack, Swallows Bottoms from all over our area and one by the name of Shellout became quite famous. For the people who favoured dancing there was Burtons on the high Street whose Ballroom was above the shop. Then there was the Empress Ballroom where many a budding romance was started. Even when I was in my early teens you could go to the Saturday Hop. At one time too there was The Brickyard, generally used for roller skating, but to the latter end of its life the skating dropped off in popularity and dancing took over. Then there was Woofindens Billiard Hall under The Oxford picture hall which once stood close to the present day fish market. There was also Hardys where you could play billiards. This being above The Montagu Arcade. However, it was mainly the theatre and the cinemas that brought people to Mexborough. The theatre of course being The Hippodrome, where many people appeared who were later to become household names, some becoming known all over the world. Stars like Charlie Chaplin, Gracie Fields, George Formby, Miss Florrie Ford (of down by the Old Bull and Bush fame) and Tommy Handley. In 1902 the world famous American, Buffalo Bill came with his Wild West Show, accompanied by four hundred horses and two hundred people, transported here by train. In 1939 after a public outcry this beautiful old theatre was demolished, because of a road widening scheme, which in the end was not taken up because of the Second World War and it is now a car park. A sad end to what must have been a beautiful building. I believe that Mexborough could have had moving pictures as early as the 1880s, as I have been told (possibly by Brian Hillerby when he came to give us a talk about The Hippodrome) that they were first shown by a moving theatre family in a portable wooden theatre on the site of an old quarry opposite The Montagu Arms Hotel. This must be the Livesey family who built the Hippodrome, as they wintered here in the 1880s putting on plays etc. However, the honour of being the first proper cinema in Mexborough must go to The Picture Hall better know as The Cosy Cinema which was situated on Garden Street, close to the rear of the Bulls Head public house and we have in our archives an advertisement dated 1909 taken from the Mexborough and Swinton Times, which tells us that the proprietor and manager was Mr. W. H. Melton. Admission was 2d (Ip), 4d (2p) and 6d (2.I/2p) and on this particular week they were showing The Burden Bearer - a drama, Betty Becomes a Maid - a comedy, and The Gamblers End - a cowboy drama. Unfortunately no date as yet has been found for the opening of this cinema. In that same year of 1909 a small advertisement appeared in The Mexborough and Swinton Times. It read The West Riding Electric Theatres Ltd., has registered as a private company, with a capital of £500 in 21 shares. The first directors are Mr. G. H. Dyson and Mr. Spencer, both of Mexborough. On Mon. 21st Oct. 1912 a new cinema was opened in Mexborough. I am told, by Mr. S. Smith of Sheffield who is an expert on the cinemas of our area, that it was financed by this firm. It was part owned by Councillor J. J. Woofinden (who was later to own no less than five cinemas in our town) and was built to take the place of The Cosy Cinema on Garden Street, which closed on its opening. It was the Oxford and the manager and proprietor was again Mr. W. H. Melton of the Cosy Cinema. By 1929 Mexborough had at least seven places where different films could be seen. The Royal was the most easterly of these cinemas. situated towards the end of Bank Street, built on the site of Waddingtons Ballroom and part of the old Police Station. Opened on Mon. 28th February 1911. it was constructed by G. H. Smith and Sons of Mexborough. The Public Hall (now the Civic Hall) situated under the old library. on Bank StFeet, was opened on 26th May 1906 by Councillor W. Turner and we have on record that in 1911 a film called The Sepoys Wife was being shown there. The Majestic again on Bank Street was the last cinema ever to be built in Mexborough and was owned by J. J. Woofinden. It was opened on Mon. 7th January 1929 by Mr. Tom Williams M.P. for the Don Valley. That first week no less than four films could be see. The Woman on Trial. Oh Doctor, Two Arabian Nights and The Thirteenth Hour, Admission being 4d (2p), 6d (2.I/2p) and 1/- (5p). It was closed in July of 1983 and is now The Corner Pocket Snooker Club. Many of us will still remember it for courting on the back rows, where there were double seats, or The Saturday Club; to give it its correct name, Mexborough Star Junior Club. I for one remember those Saturday mornings sitting watching Roy Rodgers and Trigger or Rin Tin Tin, The Wonder Dog with dozens of other children of my age. The Prince of Wales Theatre, Montagu Square was opened on Mon. 18th December 1893 as just a theatre, but by 1908 it was beginning to show moving pictures and there was to be seen The Ediscope and Barnums Electric Picture and Variety Co. and a new bioscope lantern was installed in 1911. On 14th October 1912 (this info again coming from Mr. S. Smith) its name was changed to The Hippodrome (this date was previously thought to be 1915) and on 17th February 1913 there appeared an advertisement, again in The Mexborough and Swinton Times, which states Showing this week at The Hippodrome (Late the Prince of Wales Theatre) next followed a number of variety acts and last but not least came animated pictures. Admission being 2d (Ip), 4d (2p), 6d (2.1/2p) and 1/- (5p). The Oxford. Oxford Road, Market Place comes next in order, which was built over a large natural cavity and after the opening in 1912 plans were made to convert the area below the main hall into a billiard hall large enough for six tables. It was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the bypass. There is also another cinema which Ron Curry in his book Lets Go to the Pictures mentions, but its whereabouts are obscure. He states In May 1911 a new company The Palace Mexborough Ltd., announced plans to take over the Olympia in Station Road. On 19th June 1911 The Empire opened its doors for the first time showing three films. The Empire, like the Hippodrome showed amateur productions as well as professional and I can remember as a child being taken to see Mexborough Musical Comedy Societys production of Oklahoma. Our area didnt just show films either. it may surprise you. as it did me. to learn that we had a budding Hollywood practically on our doorstep. As I told you in my last newsletter in June, we had an amount of cinema memorabilia donated to the society, all connected with the history of the cinema in Mexborough. While I was sorting this out I found an advertisement for The Royal dated 3rd December 1928 telling of a film called The Toilers. described as Mexboroughs own film which has been produced by Mr. C. Hamner of Goldthorpe. This has been truly described as the true history of coal and is more than a film. it is something that has not previously been attempted in this or any other country. For the occasion vocal items will be supplied by Mr. Tom Beech. This was the first I had heard of Mr. Hammer and even though he lived so closely to us no one seemed to know anything of him or his films, so as Goldthorpe now comes in the Barnsley area, it was to these ends that I went through to Barnsley Archives and to my delight was shown the film he made following The Toilers This being Black Diamonds made in 1931 in the pits of our area and covers the mines rescue, a little of the Cadeby Pit Disaster and entertainment in the pit villages of our area. For anyone interested in both social and local history I can well recommend it, as it depicts a life which will be no longer with us in the near future. As I came to leave, thanking the archivists for their help, I was informed that this film could be hired by our Society and as soon as I got home began to make arrangements for this at our exhibition at Conisbrough Castle this month and was lucky enough to be able to arrange, not just one showing of the film but two, which were shown on Sunday 12th September 1993 For those who were unlucky enough to miss it, I have both a write up of the film and the story of Mr. Hammer and his films, from his birth in Chirk, North Wales, to his death in a road accident on his way to Tadcaster in 1951. But I feel that if enough of you wish to see it, further arrangements could be made with Barnsley Archives for a further showing. While doing research for this newsletter I have used:- Lets Go to the Pictures by Ron Curry. Information from Mr. S. Smith of Sheffield. Cuttings from The Mexborough and Swinton Times. Items donated to the Society in June by Sheila Pilling which covered the history of the cinema in Mexborough. All of these can be loaned from your archives on request. Your Archivist, J. R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[64]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1993_may.htm","2010-04-09","8K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive As you will probably have heard by now there are two new books which are to be brought out in the near future about Mexborough, one based on the 1891 census by Barrie Chambers and the other a pictorial history of Mexborough. We are on the lookout for photographs etc. to help us with this. One place which I feel sure will be covered by our book will be the Ferry, remembered by most of us for those school trips to Bluebell Woods (Old Denaby Woods) picnics, or a day spent with a fishing net at Denaby Duck Pond (The Old Don) trying to catch tadpoles. But not many people know much about the long history behind it, so I thought this month it would be interesting for us to cover this small but vital area which has played such an important part in the development of our town. In fact I believe that it was this particular crossing, and the fact that firm buildable ground was available with an abundance of good sheltered grassland for animals, that caused the first of our inhabitants to settle here initially. The first time I found mention of our ferry was in a book which relates to the English Civil War. During one of the. sieges of Pontefract Castle Captain Paulden and twenty four others left the castle to try to capture Admiral General Rainsborough, a Cromwellian, at Doncaster. They left Pontefract under the cover of darkness and arrived at Mexborough the following morning, obviously using the old pack horse trail from Pontefract to Barnburgh and Harlington and then to the ferry at Mexborough. It then states where there was a Ferry Boat. They rested here until noon, and then continued their journey to Conisbrough, again along the pack horse trail through Old Denaby Wood to Conisbrough. The following day they went to Doncaster to try and capture Admiral General Rainsborough, but unfortunately he was accidentally killed. I have been told that some people were captured and that on the return journey one of them was beheaded outside the Ferry Boat Inn, but as yet I have found no documentation to support this. The next time we find mention of the ferry is around 1694-1695 when there was a lawful dispute between William Savile and Sir William Reresby, which culminated in William Savile driving a tithe cart through the Nether Ford (just below the ferry). This proves that before the River Don was made navigable (in 1726 it had cuts put in and was deepened to enable cargo-bearing boats to go up and down it) it was possible to cross it at other points in Mexborough other than Strafford Sands. Please dont forget that by this time Cornelius Vermuyden had built his Dutch River, connecting the Don to the Ouse, thus making the Don into a tidal river. Therefore the level of the water in the Don was higher at certain times than others, making it more difficult to cross. This was the time that the ferry would come into its own to enable people to cross in safety. The next reference I found to this is on maps. The first one being 1812. The next 1849, but by this time the canal had been built, the area was beginning to become industrialised and traffic over the ferry had increased to the point where a larger boat with a deeper draft was needed, so a weir was placed there to lift the level of the water. A small house was also built for the Ferryman and is to be found with house and weir on all maps thereafter. After the First World War there was a typhoid epidemic which was thought to be caused by overcrowded, unheathy living conditions. It was the job of Mr. Simcox the Health Inspector to look at all the houses in our area and consider whether they were fit for human habitation.and if not to have them condemned. It was he who condemned the ferrymans two roomed house. However, unlike most places which were condemned it was not demolished but turned into a workshop by the Nelson family who used it for making their brooms etc. The ferry was actually owned by the same company as owned the canal, and each summer they would send a group of workmen to repair any damage done to the weir or ferry because of the winter floods. In 1851 the census tells us that the ferry was run by Mr. John Beldan, but after him came a family which a lot of our older members will remember at the ferry - the Nelsons. They took over the ferry and responsibility for operating the swing bridge over the canal after the First World War, for which they were paid 10s. (50p) per week. In addition all the takings from the ferry became theirs as part of their wages. Mr. Nelson farmed Broom on the Old Denaby side of the River Don and the whole family helped with the making of brushes and brooms of all kinds. They also made besoms out of heather sent down from Scotland by a relative who lived in the Highlands (A besom being a long-handled brush used in the iron and steel industry to remove dirt etc. from the metal after it is removed from the moulds) and their besoms were sold all over this area. In 1928 Mrs. Nelson died and the railway carriage she and her family lived in after the ferrymans house was condemned was burned down. The navigation company then sent Jack ball from Swinton to man it on a temporary basis until a permanent employee could be found and an advertisement was placed in all the local newspapers to these ends. At last the job was taken by George Ryalls and his son, a barge owner of Church Street. After George Ryalls the ferry was always manned by an employee of The Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation Company and the first of these was Herbert Martin from Swinton. It was he who removed the Manila Rope used to haul the boat across the Don and replaced it with a wire one. When he left the job was taken by Freeman Shaw (he was nicknamed Shay), another character a lot of our older members will remember, who manned the ferry for many years, walking each morning from his home in Swinton. But when the Second World War broke out and officials came from the government to list everyone working for the canal, companies, they.were shocked to find how many hours a week he was working, which, when averaged out, amounted to 16 hours per day 7 days a week. (In the summer it is said that he had a lie in bed and didnt start work until 7.00 a.m.). They gave instructions that he would have to cut his hours by half and work a shift system with someone else. This made him very angry and he went to work for Mr. Sutton at Manor Farm as a general farm labourer. Jimmy Cramp then took over the job. In Mexborough Local Board Book we find further reference to the ferry. On 8th January 1874 the local board had a deputation from the Coroners Office, after an inquest into the deaths of two men who drowned in the canal at the bottom of Ferry Boat Lane on 12th December 1873. Plans were made to fence off the canal, and to put in a small gate for access to the ferry, but this did not stop the old problem of people accidentally slipping off the ferry boat into the River Don as they got on or off the boat) this being a particular problem with children. At this meeting one of the men on the board, made the comment that the especial remedy would be to build a bridge over both the canal and the river in place of the ferry leading to Denaby. This seems to have been spoken of many times over the years by both Mexborough Local Board and Mexborough Urban District Council, and it wasnt until nearly one hundred years later that at last we were successful in getting our bridge..., 1 q 6 3 However, in gaining our bridge, I feel we lost something, and certainly when we take our children for their trip to Old Denaby Woods we know they are safer, but where is that sense of magic and adventure felt by us when we boarded that boat which took us over the river to a special place with special memories. Your Archivist, Julie Ashby. Telephone 581903     ");
array_files[65]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1994_nov.htm","2010-04-09","10K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER - 29th. NOVEMBER 1994 WHAT MEXBOROUGH WAS LIKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 18th. CENTURY Dear Member, In September of 1993 Barrie Chambers found and copied for us an article which he found whilst studying back copies of the Mexborough and Swinton Times. It was written by an old gentleman in November 1894 and tells what Mexborough was like some forty years before, and many things he mentions can be found on the 1854 map of Mexborough. To find out where these places were has taken a great deal of research, but there are still some which have escaped me, such as where the Cross Keys and the Cluster of Nuts public houses were, and also the residence of a gentleman by the name of J. Hewitt. He starts his article by telling us that there was behind what is now Squires Bakery on Doncaster Road, a stone building in which was the Public Oven, where people could cook food previously prepared at home, therefore taking away the necessity of lighting fires where there was no point such as in hot weather. It also meant that the poor who could not afford to buy fuel for their fires could cook themselves at least one hot meal a day. He then goes on to tell us that the Overseer of the Public Oven was a man by the name of George Lockwood. Thomas Speight came next, who lived in a house close to the church gates, it was a large (by the standards of those days) square built house and had in former times been the church school prior to the building of the National School (this was situated at the top of Bank Street, where the Salvation Army Citadel now stands). It was pulled down when Church Street, was widened in about 1915. Mexborough House is next mentioned. This was situated behind the General Post Office and was lived in by Samuel Barker, owner of the Don Iron Works on Cliff Street, but he tells us that at one time Mr. Barker bought the Don Pottery and its branch which stood on the site of the Don Iron Works prior to its construction. By 1895 Mexborough House was being used by Mexborough Urban District Council as we now have letters written at the time to Rev. Bateman at the Vicarage from a Mr. Palliser who was possibly the Health Inspector. In the 1850s on Church Street, there was Scarboroughs Boatyard and Warehouse, this being at the side of the row of old cottages which still stand there, and until Ben Bailey built his house close by, there could be seen the orchard, stables and carriage house owned by Mr. Barker. The Salem Chapel was owned by a branch of the Methodists, and became the Gospel Union Hall, this being situated at the bottom of West Street. He then goes on to talk about the glassworks. This must mean the Phoenix Glassworks once owned by Thomas Barron and situated close to the rear of the indoor market and extending from here to the canal. The Leach (a piece of land between the station and the River Don) was far larger than it is now, and he tells us how beer was brought across the canal by use of pulleys, from the public house on the Leach for the benefit of employees working in the heat of the works. In 1894 the public house which stood on the Leach, which at that time included the land on which Mexbro Loco Plant was built, was still there but pulled down after this when the Loco Plant was extended. Next came a place with the fascinating name of California Gardens. How it got this unusual name I cannot say and as yet all I have managed to find out about it is its location which was where the car park to the indoor market now stands. Close to the Bulls Head public house on High Street, was a much older inn referred to in documents which speak of the Turnpike Road as the Crown Inn, and close to this point stood a gate which could have been a Toll Gate, which he tells us was held open by the boys of the town when the traffic was heavy along the road, such as Race Week when he tells us caravans with race horses in them were let through, along with horse drawn buses and coaches. In those days, at the opposite side of Garden Street to the Chapel Walk Steps was a school called the British School with William Wadsworth as the master. By 1894 this had become the Salvation Army Citadel and by 1909 was our first cinema known as the Cosy Cinema. On the corner where the Nat West Bank now stands was, in the 1850s, a garden kept by Joseph Beevers. There was also a house here lived in by James Wilson. Where the market once stood and the Market Hall (now Walkers Bingo) at the end of Market Street, there was a group of old cottages, and running by them a narrow lane going in the direction of the canal, here there stood a slip house where clay was prepared for the potteries which were in Mexborough at this time. He speaks of the old Alms Houses which once stood behind the old library and tells us that in the middle of the 19th century Thos. Hetherington, Sally Smith, Thomas Beat, and Sarah Edwards lived there. Bank Street was his next port of call, where he tells us Charles Bullock lived and that this man once fired the kilns at the Rock Pottery which once stood on Bank Street, close to the Methodists Chapel. The writer then tells us that where Guests Boatyard once stood close to Bramall Construction Ltd. at the junction of Station Road, and the by-pass there were two privately run schools, one of which was mixed and educated girls who had to drop a curtsy to their teacher as they passed to go outside. The boatyard was owned by Robert Butler, and Robert Glassby the sculptor once stood on a barge by the name of the Rose in June as it was being launched. On Market Street, next to Stentons Terrace, there was a group of cottages where in 1894 Dr. Twigg had his surgery and house, but in the 1850s the surgery was the home of Robert Tyas of whom I had read many times in the Local Board Log Book and who played a vital part in the running of the town. Dr. Twiggs house in those days was lived in by Mr. John Reed and his sister, he being the owner of the aforementioned Rock Pottery. He is said to have been a very kind man and a sympathetic employer, and it was he who became sponsor to Robert Glassby and paid for him to go to art college. He was rewarded by Robert Glassby sculpting an archway for him as an entrance to his garden, and this can still be seen on Church Street, at the end of the drive to Fern Villa. In June comes Mexborough Feast, but in those days it didnt consist of just a fair but a circus and shows too, the latter being staged on a piece of sloping land to one side of the Royal Electric Theatre. The Old Farm, Market Street, where my mother lives was lived in by Reuben Brookes in 1894, but earlier occupied by John Shaw who was a farmer who owned some barges, and Mr. King lived in the two roomed bungalow which once stood at the end of the garden, where in the middle of the 19th century John Fern carried on the business of a butcher. The writer then goes on to tell us that opposite Warmex on Church Street, there was a row of old houses called Windsor Castle Row, where Robert Glassby was born and where he once lived in the White House with his maternal grandfather Thomas Gill the stone mason, and close by was a maltster, as there was at Manor Farm across the road. Close to the larger of the church gates was a pair of stocks into which wrong doers were put. Across from the church are a few new bungalows by the name of Church Mews, and it was here that once stood a small farm by the name of Rose Cottage Farm. Here lived John Pitt Makin who among other things started the Olive Branch Colliery, the shaft of which has recently been located behind the V.G. shop at the top of Hirstgate, it was also he that Pitt Street and Makin Street, off Doncaster Road, were named after. In 1894 Walter Brooks lived in Fern Villa on Church Street, but in the 1850s it was a public house by the name of Strawberry Island, kept by Thomas Poulson, and his friend John Simpson kept the Red Lion. The running of the other (public houses seems to have been quite straightforward in comparison with the George and Dragon, in those days a large farm as well as a public house, and he states that it was kept by Martha Tyas, Robert Truelove, George Jenkinson, and John Blackburn. Close to the row of old cottages on Church Street, there was a Sail Wharf, and here was yet another ale house by the name of the Keel Inn where in 1894 William Day and Joseph Ford lived, and at the corner of Church Street, opposite Fern Villa was a farm in the 1850s by the name of Castle Hills Farm, this being owned by John Shaw who lived at the Old Farm but was run by John Bulay. At the extreme northern edge of Dolcliffe Common, close to where Mexborough School is now on Maple Road, there still stands the old Pinders Cottage where the man lived who looked after the common before it was enclosed in 1864, and where we are told by our old gentleman that in 1894 Alfred Barber lived, but before enclosure it was occupied by Joseph Long. Here our writer finishes his account of what Mexborough was like in those days, long before the effects of the industrial revolution really hit the town and the pits were sunk, but what a real shame that he never thought to tell us his name by signing the article he wrote, but we will be forever grateful to him for giving us an insight into the Mexborough of a bygone time. Your Archivist J. R. Ashby.     ");
array_files[66]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1994_oct.htm","2010-04-09","9K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER - 25th. OCTOBER 1994 Dear Member, It was with great sorrow that I read of the sudden death of Lady Althea Savile daughter of our patron The Earl of Mexborough, and along with his usual newsletter last month I sent a letter of condolence conveying our deepest sympathy. You always expect, particularly these days more than in the past, that your children will outlive you, and I am told on great authority that when this is reversed and your child dies before you that the grief it brings outweighs any other, and after living through a similar experience a few years ago when a close relative suddenly died, I can empathise with the Earls feelings and once again say how very sorry I am. HICKLETON HALL AND CHURCH As you will have read in the newsletter of 26th. October 1993 which covered the history of Montagu Hospital, late in the 1880s Mr. Chris Ward was involved in a serious accident in Denaby Pit, and that because of this it was he and Dr. Sykes who agitated for a cottage hospital in Mexborough which was opened in 1890, the building being donated by Andrew Montagu and opened by Mrs. James Montagu (nee Laura Adeline Thelluson). This lady worked very hard to raise money for our hospital, being the first patroness, and this wasnt the only thing in our town she helped to raise money for either, as The Mexborough Church Handbook to The Sunny Bazaar in 1908 tells us as we find her listed among the patrons here also. The year after she opened Montagu Cottage Hospital her husband James died leaving her a comparatively young widow with seven children, and after a couple of years, as is the nature of things, she remarried. This time it was to Henry Linsey Wood, later to become Lord Halifax the owner of Hickleton Hall, and it was here that we visited on the 26th. July 1994. Their house is now owned by the Sue Ryder Foundation, and after our visit there were many who wished to know more about the property, so I made enquiries and later received through the post a few notes written by English Heritage on the house and outbuildings, and propose to base my newsletter on these this month. The main part of Hickleton Hall was built between 1745 - 49 for Godfrey Wentworth, the actual building of the hall being taken over by James Paine ( I wonder if he could have been related to the family of Quakers by the name of Paine who lived at Newhill Hall and owned Quakers Fold Mexborough?) in 1747. On the east side of the hall are three bays over which is a large triangular piece of carved stonework ( a pediment) and below this is a cornice with brackets. The north wing which now houses the dining room looks very similar externally, but inside can be seen evidence of the 18th century alterations, as the basement now appears to be below ground level which was not so when it was originally built and was changed to match the concealed basement of the 18th century portions of the hall. When the house was originally built it had a long flowing flight of steps leading from the drive to the entrance (a perron), but as these proved to be totally unsuitable for our bitter winter weather they fell out of fashion, and the house is now approached through tall gate piers, along a drive to a square fore court which is enclosed by high walls. The south side of the building has a balustraded terrace and is of a more simple plainer design than the rest, therefore telling us that it was built before Paine worked on the house in 1747. Inside, the rooms are all rectangular and the doors open into a large central hallway which has a chimney piece designed by Paine. There are also to be found here a number of columns (Roman Doric), leading to a small stairs hall opposite the main entrance. The first flight of stairs leading from the stairs hall just mentioned is made of oak with a wrought iron balustrade, on the first floor landing can be found a group of columns, which is completely unlike the second landing which again has columns but this time they are of an Adam-style Corinthian design and the stair treads are not carved as the ones on the lower landing, thus it is believed that this could have been added probably in 1775 when further alterations took place. There are two other items internally which could have been added at the same time and both of these also have Corinthian columns and Adam-style ceilings - the ballroom and an octagon shaped room in the north west corner of the house. The dining room to the east of the main entrance hall has heavily decorative Victorian plasterwork, and the library which stands to the north has Regency detailing. The bedrooms, however, were very simply designed indeed - each with just a plain cornice and a six panel door. The service wing which was for the servants stands to the north of the house and is T shaped and was probably added in the latter half of the 18th century. It again is very simply designed on the outside with very plain sash windows. All the 18th. and 19th. century alterations were done in magnesian limestone ashlar, while the roof is of Westmorland slate, with all the joints of lead, and ashphalt to the flat surfaces. All the chimney stacks are made of magnesian limestone like the house. The house has one or two early 20th century additions made of concrete, these being the coat of arms attached to the large triangular piece of stonework over the three bays on the east side of the house, the balustrades which line the drive, and the garden house which stands to the west of the terrace. The stable block was built in 1749, but the south side which faces the house was redesigned by Paine. They are built of magnesian limestone and are designed with three protruding blocks, the centre one of which has an archway for carriages to pass through and a large piece of triangular stonework over it like the east side of the house. The heavy cornice which goes around it stops abruptly at the south wing which proves that this was a fragment of an ambitious stable courtyard. To the north of this is the carriage house, the eastern two thirds of it being altered to provide accommodation for Lord Halifax. The Brewhouse built in the middle of the 18th century of magnesian limestone ashlar with a Westmorland slate roof stands to the south west of the stables, and is linked to the servants quarters by walls. It is built in a similar way to the stable block with the same style of arched doorway, but this has a central stone chimney stack. Hickleton Hall was, until the 2nd. World War, the home of Lord Halifax, but when the war came along it had to be requisitioned for war use, and after this was leased to the Sue Ryder Foundation. In 1960 the Foundation managed to buy the freehold and it was then that my father went there to complete extensive alterations. The roof was renovated in the 1970s and work done on the stonework. The stable block and brew house were purchased in 1989 and are about to have a new roof on them. Lord Halifax still continues to own the surrounding land and to keep a flat on the premises which he occasionally uses. After visiting the hall we were taken on a tour of Hickleton Church which is said to be of 12th century construction with a Norman chancel arch, having on it zig-zag mouldings. The church is full of heraldic symbols which date mostly from the time of the Halifax family, but there are others which predate these from both the Jackson and Wentworth families, who were the former owners of Hickleton Hall. The church, like many in the Victorian era, underwent vast alterations in the 1870s, and most of the church we see today dates from this period, when the Halifax Family spent an immense amount of money redesigning it and refurbishing it into what they imagined to be their ideal of a perfect Church of England church. In the 1980s large cracks began to appear on the walls, and it was discovered that the church stood on a geographical fault and it is thanks to the N.C.B. that we have the church we see today, as it was their expertise in dealing with subsidence that made it structurally sound by placing three huge jacks beneath it which can be adjusted to any shift in the fault. Here I will close, If you wish to read the full write up about Hickleton Hall in its entirety, then please do not forget that they are there for you to look at on request as is everything in our archives. Your Archivist J. R. Ashby P.S. Please dont forget our Social Evening held at 7:15p.m. on Thursday 8th December 1994 which includes a buffet and local history quiz with a difference. Could you please let me know as soon as possible whether you are to attend so that I know how many to cater for.     ");
array_files[67]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1994_april.htm","2010-04-09","13K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER - 29th April 1994 Dear Member, A few weeks ago I was asked about the history of one of our local schools and it was then that I realised the lack of knowledge I had about the road outside this school which gave it its name and thought it would be a good idea to go into the history of not just this road, but our whole system of roads. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROADS IN MEXBOROUGH TO 1894 There were Iron Age settlements in the Doncaster area long before the Romans came here. There were in some areas extensive oak woodlands and in others open woodlands with beech, ash, and lime trees. Game, fish and wild animals were plentiful with red deer in abundance, and there would also have been creatures such as brown bears, wolves and even beavers. To the north of the River Don lay the land of the tribe known to the Romans as the Brigantes. Some were arable or pastoral farmers, but others, those who lived in the Pennines, led a semi-nomadic life and from time to time would raid the lowland settlements to steal cattle. It was about this time (54 - 71 A.D.) that a defensive double row of earthen ramparts and ditches were constructed to help protect the people of our area from the raiders. These earthen ramparts went from Wincobank to the Dearne Valley and were known as the Roman Ridge. For many years this was thought to be a Roman Road and certainly in Hunters South Yorkshire and John Guests Rotherham it is written of as such. The River Don was fordable at Mexborough,and as far back as this we had a track (I cannot call it a road) running through our town, crossing the river in at least two places one being at Strafford Sands (meaning Street Ford). We know this track locally as the Pack Horse Track, but to give it its correct name it is Packman Lane. It comes through the town now from Old Denaby, over what was the Ferry, up Ferry Boat Lane to Church Street and from there up Quarry Street to Doncaster Road, which it crosses. It then goes up Harlington Road through the Manor Estate, joining the last untouched portion of track and then to Harlington itself. Last month I reported to you how Mr. Watson in November had told us how in its long history it had brought us, among other things, Nottingham lace, metal goods from Birmingham and woollen cloth from Leeds. A little while after the Romans came to Britain there was an uprising, and a number of forts built to police the area, the first of these being at Rossington Bridge, large enough to hold 3,000 men, and another at Templeborough which held 800 men which included 240 cavalry. As you probably remember from your school history lessons the Romans were excellent road builders, and it seems logical to suppose from a military point of view that the two forts should be joined by a road. The Templeborough site is now completely obliterated by a huge steelworks and no trace of a road can be found, but traces of a road have been found at Church Lane, Warmsworth going in the direction of Templeborough and this must have been the first road as we now know it in our area. There is no evidence as yet to prove that a Roman Road passed over Strafford Sands, although its name suggests this (Strafford meaning Street Ford and a Street being a Roman Road). As the fords at Mexborough were the only ones for miles around, it does seem logical to suppose that they would have used this ford and there is proof that they used the Packman Lane which crosses here. A Roman horse sandal (the horse shoe as we know it was not invented then and a piece of protective metal was held onto the horses hoof using thongs of leather) was found, and hoards of Roman coins have been found at the north side of the river close to the lane. By 410 A.D. the Romans had left Britain and the Saxons had started to invade. Without the Romans to maintain them, our roads started to go into decline. The next time I find note of the roads of Mexborough is in reference to Strafford Sands and is contained in the story of a battle which took place on a level piece of land to the north of the River Don opposite Strafford Sands, between the Britons under their king Ambrosius Aurelianus and the Saxons under their leader Hengist, in which the Saxons were defeated and Hengist was beheaded at Conisbrough The crossing downstream of Denaby Railway Crossings crops up quite frequently in the history of our roads and it is here again mentioned in the case of The Miracle. We must jump a few hundred years for this, to 15th July 1524 to be exact. The roads of the Doncaster area were in comparatively good order when William Nicolson, travelling with his wife, two children, a dray, six oxen and two horses and accompanied by Robert Leche, his wife, two children and their servant Ric Kychen, tried to cross Strafford Sands. In those days any fords carried a toll, but William Nicolson described Strafford Sands as being free for anyone to use and therefore must have been used in preference to the ferry where a ferryman had to be paid. When the travellers got to the ford they found the river to be in flood and when they tried to cross the dray, oxen and horses were dragged under. One of the horses was drowned, and the dray, with everyone in it, was turned upside down, the people inside praying to our Blessed Lady for help. William Nicolson and Ric Kychen, by the use of one of the oxen pulled themselves to safety. Robert Leche with his two children got to land alright, but his wife was pulled down with the dray to the bottom of the river. The dray continued on for a further 300 yards, turning over three times. All the people who had by this time got to the banks of the river knelt and prayed to Almighty God and to The Blessed Lady to show them a miracle and this is how William Nicolson says they were all saved. When they got to Doncaster they found it to be Mare Mawdleyns Day and they declared that a miracle had taken place and songs were sung and the bells rung. As you can see from the story of The Miracle, people in those days really took their life into their hands when they contemplated travelling. The state of English roads had got into so bad a condition that the government brought in The Statute for Mending the Highways or Statute Labour Act, which stated that the condition of the roads became the responsibility of the people of the parish through which the road ran and it was their duty to spend 4 - 6 days every year in its repair. Mexborough can have been no exception. By 1694 - 95 a system of roads in Mexborough can be seen to start their emergence. The main one, not, as I expected, Church Street, (which seems to be little more than a jumble of paths) covered a similar route to that of our present day Doncaster Road but does not turn right after Bull Green (at the bottom of Doncaster Road) and then through Denaby, but continues straight on through The Pastures for a while, where it forks, one turning right and crossing the River Don at Strafford Sands and thus to Conisbrough, the other going on to Doncaster through Cadeby. The other two roads come from Old Denaby, one crossing the River Don at a ford close to the bend in Church Street and then joining Doncaster Road, just above the Miners Arms public house, the other being our old friend The Packman Lane, which came through Old Denaby Wood, through the village to Ferry Boat Lane, over the Ferry to Mexborough and up Ferry Boat Lane, passing Sir William Reasbys Boat House (which suggests that the river was used as transport also). It continued on up Melton Street, past Mexborough Old Hall (here I must apologise as last month I made the error of saying that Doncaster Road was not there when Mexborough Old Hall was built but research this month has proved me to be wrong) turned left onto Doncaster Road and then right up Harlington Road. This seems, except for portions of Doncaster Road, to be the best of the three. The condition of the roads in this country continued to deteriorate and in 1706 parliament created the Turnpike Trusts. This meant that a group of businessmen could buy from the parish a length of road and by charging a toll for its use would keep it maintained. In 1764 the Tinsley to Doncaster Turnpike Road was opened which went through Conisbrough and Hooton Roberts. This was a great boon to this area as for the first time in hundreds of years we had a well maintained road capable of carrying goods, passengers and mail with speed. (A mailcoach travelled at an average speed of 10 miles an hour). Passengers also, for the first time, could travel in relative comfort and communications took a huge leap forward. This Turnpike Road is easily visible on Jeffreys Map of Yorkshire 1772 - 1800, which also shows that we still had a path where Church Street now runs and that Doncaster Road was still our main road, along with Packman Lane. But this map goes further and shows a road which is forming to the west where what is now High Street forked, one going in the direction of Wath and the other Swinton. Also we can see a path to Adwick-on-Dearne. Greenwoods Map of Yorkshire 1812 reveals a system of roads in our town which I believe the majority of us would recognise. Packman Lane is still easily visible and by now so is Church Street and Adwick Road, although the latter did not cover the present day route but its old one over Dolcliffe Common from Pinfold Lane, also can be seen Quarry Street and Melton Street. High Street is as it was before with the exception of the fork to the west which is now a little further over, incorporating a group of houses called Wellington Row, after which it forks, now passing the Don Pottery (which was almost opposite the L.N.E.R. Sports Ground) and then to Swinton. The 1839 map basically is the same as the map mentioned previously, but on this can be seen the new route of Adwick Road (the one it holds today). No longer does it pass through Dolcliffe common but now hugs the extreme eastern edge, therefore putting the Woodfields (Woodfield Avenue) to its left (before this they were to the right). In 1836 came a milestone in the history of Mexborough, when an act was passed through Parliament to enable a railway designed by Stevenson to be built with the station close to the boundary of Swinton. This was opened in 1840 and connected the West Riding of Yorkshire to London by rail for the first time. The passengers at this time had to alight at Swinton and then catch the Aquabus to get to Doncaster. In 1841 the people who ran the Doncaster to Tinsley turnpike, which ran through Doncaster Road, thus taking some of the traffic from Doncaster Road and also to improve it. But as with everything this took many years and an old gentleman I know can remember a time when the end of Church Street was closed and the track from his house to Doncaster Road was called Cobble Stick Street. These letters were, as you can see, written about road conditions in the winter months and travel for the everyday person can still have been a summer activity even in the 1890s, this being evident by the fact that on Good Friday 1894 The Mexborough Cycle Club held its first bicycle outing to Blythe. This must have been when the roads first began to dry out after the winter months. We complain about the state of the roads today, having pot holes and the tarmac needing repair but how well off we are compared with the past. Information taken from:- The Doncaster Region in Roman Times. A Doncaster Museum Publication. Hunters South Yorkshire. Rotherham by John Guest. The Miracle taken from The Bessacarr and Cantley times, who in turn obtained it from the Doncaster Gazette. Basic information on Statute Labour and The Turnpike Trusts, taken from Work Out Social Economic History. Information on Tinsley to Doncaster Turnpike. Doncaster Local History Department. Maps used: 1694 - 1695, Jeffreys Map of Yorkshire 1772 -1800. Greenwoods Map of Yorkshire 1812, 1854 O.S. Map. Information on the Discontinuation of Tolls at Mexborough. Document in our own archives. Information on the condition of the Turnpike Road at Mexborough taken from The Local Board Book. Condition of the roads in Mexborough 100 years ago taken from Mexborough and Swinton Times. If you would like further information on the subject or would like to study any of the documents mentioned above please do not hesitate to ask. Your Archivist, J. R. Ashby. P.S. A little piece of modern history - Clothing Rationing was abolished 45 years ago this month (15th March).     ");
array_files[68]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1995_april.htm","2010-04-09","8K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER - 25th APRIL 1995 THE DAY THAT MARKED THE END OF THE WAR Dear Member, Firstly can I wish you all a happy Saint Georges Day (23rd April). Very shortly we shall be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of V.E. Day (Victory over Europe Day) and certainly Rotherham Borough Council are entering into the spirit of things by organising all manner of activities in the town centre for the afternoon of the 8th May 1995. In our newsletter this month I would like to take you back to those heady days just after the war when it really hit us that it was at last at an end. This was not V.E. Day or V.J. Day (Victory over Japan), which followed in the August of the same year but V.Day (Victory Day), which was held on the 8th June 1946, and officially marked the end of World War Two. It poured and poured with rain but nothing dampened the enthusiasm of the day which officially marked the end of the war. My maternal grandfather William Blount (the electric man) along with others, had spent long hours stringing our streets with fairy lights and Post Office Square was to be floodlit, as well as being bedecked in buntings, festooned in flags, and a myriad of coloured electric light bulbs. The celebrations started for some Mexborough people the Saturday before in London whose parades and revelry preluded the rest of the country. My father, dressed in the bearskin and red tunic of the Coldstream Guards, perspired freely in the hot sunshine as he marched proudly up the Mall like thousands of other soldiers that day, whilst my mother, then in her mid teens, sat on the edge of the pavement watching them go by, little knowing that in a few years she was to meet and marry one of them. These were not the only ones either to find themselves in London that day. Roland Plater from Wath Road, was in one of the pipe bands, Kenneth Spyve of Old Denaby was one of the drivers, and thirty five members of the Songster Brigade and the Male Voice Quartet of Mexborough Salvation Army conducted the service at Southall Broadway Salvation Army Citadel in London, and these are to name just a few. Mexborough Active Services Comforts Fund was giving out 1,500 pewter tankards and bowls to ex-servicemen and women. A collection had been taken for the widows and orphans of those who had lost their lives in the Merchant Navy, and over 1,300 vouchers worth 2s. 6d. (12 1/2p) were distributed to the old people and widows by the Mexborough Chamber of Trade and Roman Terrace Old Folks Treats Committee to enable them to celebrate, also to help families in need, for example evacuees or those who had been bombed out. The American Red Cross sent clothes parcels and these were distributed by Mrs. Bradshaw, whilst Mexborough Urban District Council got on with the serious job of re-housing them in pre-fabs close to the top of Pitt Street and building preminent homes on Highwoods Road. As a matter of interest the first group of pre-fabs (bungalows made in sections at a factory and fitted together on site) arrived in this area on the 16th March 1946 from Messrs. Costain Ltd., London and were erected in Swinton. To make sure that everyone had their medals for the special day, the South Yorkshire Times for months prior to this carried advertisements asking all members of the Home Guard, Air Raid Wardens, and ex-servicemen and women to obtain a D.M.2 Form from our post office and hand it into J. Shillito at the Police Station and he would process it for them. He, during the war, had been our Head Divisional Warden. Saturday 8th June 1946 dawned with a downpour, which did not stop until the evening. At 10.15 a.m. everyone concerned collected at the top of Station Road (I believe that this could have been next to the Montagu Arms Hotel) and organised themselves into a parade which was headed by the Silverwood Colliery Band. This was then followed by representatives of Mexborough Urban District Council and Council Officials, the West Riding Special Constabulary, British Legion, St. Johns Ambulance, the Labour Party, including Womens Section, and a vast number of other organisations too numerous to mention here. The procession, marching three abreast, being so extensive that when the beginning was going into the Parish Church for the thanksgiving service, and others lined up on Quarry Street, the end was still on Doncaster Road. After the service they then went on to the War Memorial for a wreath laying ceremony where they were met by a throng of people. Lastly, they marched back to the Market Hall (now Walker Bingo Hall) where homage was paid to Sapper Hackett V.C. at the memorial before disbanding. Hewitt Street, Church Street, Catherine Street, Dodsworth Street, Beaconsfield Street, and Stentons Yard won prizes for the best decorated streets in our town with Hewitt Street winning overall. There were still some street parties despite the weather but on the whole they seem to have been postponed or transferred indoors. At Swinton the Charles Street party was transferred to the Station Hotel and Hatherley Road to the Cresswell Arms. We think of graffiti as being a product of the modern age, but on, that day it was the only way in which some people could express the enormity of what they were celebrating, and for years afterwards I can remember seeing large victory Vs which had been painted on the brick walls which lined College Road. Also in WathUpon-Dearne close to Montgomery Hall there was a Wot painting done, this read Wot No Celebrations in Wath as this town found that it could not afford any official celebrations. For weeks the Bowbroom area had been talking of the boxing match of the year when Noah Skitt the Staffordshire Catchweight Champion was to take on Jimmy Scorah the Bowbroom Flyweight Champion. One was 78 years old and the other 74 years. It was all in fun of course and the proceeds were for charity. While on Park Road a party for seventy children from Mexborough Catholic Church was held in the Catholic Club with teas for the mothers to follow, each child receiving a special gift in recognition of the extraordinary day. Everyone had the day off work, (dont forget in those days people worked on a Saturday), and many took the opportunity for a days holiday at the sea side. Mexborough Motor Cycle and Light Car Club went to Bridlington for the day, as did the staff and their families of the Yorkshire Co-Operative Bakeries (now the Coltron Factory, Church Street) and sixteen of them took part in a fishing match in the bay. For the South Yorkshire Times there was a dual celebration as the Managing Director Mr. Turner was celebrating fifty five years with the paper and a special train was hired from the L.N.E.R. to carry the three hundred staff and workpeople to Scarborough for the day, where luncheon for them all was held at the Spa Corner Cafe. Mr. and Mrs. Turner were presented with a gold cigarette case and green Rockingham Writing set respectively. By evening the rain had stopped and the festivities could really begin. A huge bonfire was lit behind the Plant Hotel on Wath Road and at 10.15 p.m. a mortar was set off and two rockets sent up as a preliminary signal to the start of a glorious fireworks display on Northcliffe Craggs in Denaby. This was watched by 2,000 people many taking a rest from dancing at the Baths Hall to watch it, some of these being members of our local council. At the Empress Ballrooms in Post Office Square there was a dance and carnival at which the revelry just kept going on all night through. Red, white and blue balloons were suspended from the ceiling in a huge net which was released during the night (this could have been after the interval at 10.30 p.m.). Bert Clegg and his orchestra provided the music. Dancers spilled out into Post Office Square where they joined others drunk with the exuberance of the night. Many danced until dawn which brought with it not just the start of a new day but the start of a new era. Cuttings from the South Yorkshire Times and personal memories from various people went to make up this newsletter, if you wish to consult the newspaper cutting please get in contact with me. Your Archivist J.R. Ashby     ");
array_files[69]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1995_march.htm","2010-04-09","12K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER - 28th March 1995 Dear Member, You will have noticed that as a direct result of the fire at my home in the January of this year that I was unable to undertake the task of writing a newsletter for February and therefore this month I hope to make up for it. Early in May this year will come the celebrations for the Fiftieth Anniversary of V.E. Day (Victory over Europe Day), and for these celebrations Mexborough library have asked if we could put on an exhibition there, to be shown the week before and the week after the 8th May, is there anyone who could help with photos or artifacts? photos of course will be copied and sent straight back to you. If you can help in any way please see me after the meeting or phone me on the telephone No. to be found at the end of the newsletter. At the turn of the century, and for decades after, the chimney of The Destructor was a landmark in Mexborough, The Destructor being a large steam driven engine into which most of our rubbish was placed, it was then burned in the furnace, this then powered the generators which gave us our electricity. This huge machine was to be found within the building now occupied by Bramall Construction Ltd. at the junction of Station Rd., and the By Pass. I believed that these monsters of the steam age had disappeared for ever, until I was watching the T. V. one Thursday night at the beginning of the month and turned on B.B.C. 2 to see the Steeplejack Fred Dibnah tell how he had been contracted by the Cambridge Museum of Technology to maintain the chimney of The Destructor, and there before me on the screen was a building and steam engine almost identical to those seen in Mexborough. So if you are holidaying this year close to Cambridge make a point of visiting the Technology Museum to see The Destructor and wallow in nostalgia as you listen to the men who used to work it talking of cooking bacon and eggs on their shovels in the morning , and other anecdotes, and think of the machinery similar to this which for so long gave Mexborough its electricity. Last month Jack Thorogood informed you that a number of people in Mexborough including myself had been approached by Radio Sheffield with a view to doing interviews on different subjects covering our town. These interviews were broadcast between the 27th Feb. - 3rd March 1995, the tape I took of them is free on request but unfortunately owing to static interference it is incomplete and part of my interview and the whole of Mr. Axes is not to be heard. THE DISBANDMENT OF MEXBOROUGH LOCAL BOARD 1894 In July of 1993 I wrote that there were appalling living conditions prevalent in the slums of our cities during the Industrial Revolution and because of the diseases caused by these conditions the Sanitary Act was passed and it was in that year that Mexborough Board of Health was formed, its first meeting being held at the National School (this later became called St. John the Baptists School and was situated at the top of Bank St., where the Salvation Army Citadel is to be found), this inaugural meeting being held on the evening of the 16th August 1866. In 1894 the Local Government Act was passed and the first local elections took place, and all the Local Boards were disbanded. This of course included Mexboroughs. On the day of the disbandment a public meeting was held at the Market Hall (this is now Walkers Bingo Hall at the corner of Station Rd., and Market St.,) at which a lengthy speech was given by the newly elected County Councillor Mr. J. H. Watson who had for eighteen years sat on Mexborough Board and was therefore able to tell of the great accomplishments achieved by the board in its twenty eight years of life. Mr. Watson started by saying that after their first few meetings at the National School they moved to the Montagu Arms Hotel where there was a sofa and wooden forms to sit on and a table for the use of the Chairman and the Clerk. the other members using their knees as desks and notes were made in exercise books. He then listed some of the Chairmen giving the dates when they were in office, these being Mr. Barker in 1870, Mr. Waddington 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, Mr. Jas White took over for the rest of 1880, Mr. Watson 1881, 1882, 1886, 1887, 1888, Mr. Schofield 1883, Mr. Scorah 1884, Mr. Sutton 1885, and Mr. Tiptaft from 1889 thereafter. There were also other prominent members which he mentioned, such as Mr. F. L Harrop who was one of the first clerks, Mr. Beevers, Mr. Bennett who was the Chairman of the Building Committee, Mr. Sutton who was Chairman of the highways Committee, Mr. Lockwood who seems to have had a number of jobs throughout the years but at that time was the clerk, Mr. Allison, Mr. Green the engineer, Mr. Hillerby who was known on the board for his wit and humour. Mr. Watson also tells us that from the formation of the board in 1866 there had been one policeman who had seen all the changes which they had made in this town and had been policeman in the town all the time. This was Constable Cade. When the Local oards were set up, one of the things they had to provide by law was clean drinking water, and in 1875 - 1876 this country underwent a terrible drought and this resulted in the sinking of a bore hole on Shroggs Lane ( this once joined Lousy Bush Lane to Wath Rd.,) which nearly bankrupt the town, but it was necessary as Mr. Watson states that in some areas there was famine. He also tells us that in 1870 a public meeting was held and it was decided to move the market from its position at that time (it was situated on a temp. site in Montagu Square opposite the Montagu Arms Hotel) and to erect a Market Hall, Mr. Montagu who was then Lord of the Manor of Mexborough agreed to lease 2,368 square yards of land to Mexborough for 800 years at the sum of £240 per. year, and Mr. Watson then tells us that in all, the Market and Market Hall cost us £4,000. In 1866 when the Board was formed there were only two roads which had a hard surface in the whole of the town, these being Church St., and High St., (in those days High St., ran from roughly where the General Post Office is to the junction of Doncaster Rd., and Pastures Rd.,) one of these, High St., was a turnpike road so you had to pay to use it and the money then was supposed to go to its upkeep, thus making sure that it was kept in excellent condition. This does not seem to have been the case in our town and the turnpike fell into disrepair, so much so that in the end the Local Board purchased it and we find Mr. Watson telling us that prior to this it was common to find Pastures Rd., and Denaby Rd., (the portion of road between the Canal Bridge and and the junction with Old Denaby Lane) under several feet of water during the winter months and it was after the purchase of the turnpike that the level of both roads was lifted. One of the reasons for the way in which diseases spread so rapidly in the early Victorian era was the disgusting way in which sewage was disposed of. In many cases it was dumped from muck carts straight into the nearest river, thus disease spread. In 1884 the River Pollution Act was passed to stop this appalling habit, and on the 27th June 1884 tenders were put out for the erection of a Sewage Works here. This was to consist of a house, engine house, tanks, and screening machinery. By 1894 sewage pipes had begun to be put down but they found that certain areas, because of their hilly aspect, gave great difficulty, such as the Wath Rd., and Whitelea areas, and drains in this part regularly got choked up and overflowed into the streets, but these problems were at last overcome unlike Sheffield and Rotherham who were still putting untreated sewage straight into the River Don until at times Mr. Watson stated that it stank. Mr. Watson then turned his attention to transport and spoke of the trams to be found here then. Before trams were powered by electrified overhead wires they were either pulled by horse, or after this, by electrified studs between the lines, but these electrified studs proved to be dangerous and were removed after a few years. By 1894 he tells us that the main roads through Mexborough were in a good state of repair (by the standards of those days) and that we were rapidly becoming a centre big enough to rival Doncaster or Rotherham and soon our roads would be carrying tram lines. This comment I found to be confusing and I believe he meant to say tram wires as he had already told us that we had trams on our roads in 1894 and he went on to state the scene on a Saturday Night at Mexborough with thirty buses running in different directions in addition to trams clearly indicates that Mexborough was a centre. Mr. Watson also spoke of the railways to be found here in 1894 saying that Mexborough was also a good railway centre and that the Sutton and Blythe Railway (if anyone has any info on this could you please get in touch) had arranged to join Mexborough just on the other side of the railway bridge (he does not state which one). The Great Northern Railway and also the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company were also planning to have links with the town. In 1894 barges weighing 80 tons could be seen carrying goods along our canal, but there were plans at that time to dig a ship canal through the town similar to the one at Manchester. This was to be named the Sheffield to Goole Ship Canal and Mr. Watson tells us that it was to be fully operational by 1905. Unfortunately this was not to be as the railways became more efficient at dealing with the speedy transportation of heavy bulky freight, the popularity, and consequently the profitability, of canals began to decline and therefore plans to have a ship canal capable of carrying vessels weighing 700 tons fell through. Mr. Watson also touched on a couple of other interesting points after this telling us that there were plans to electrically light Mexborough at this time. He also commented that he hoped it wouldnt be long before Mexborough, Swinton, Adwick-on-Dearne, Denaby, and Old Denaby were amalgamated into a district in its own right. The meeting was then thrown open and questions asked by the general public on current matters. Mr Rouse asked if anything could be done to stop the use of bad language in the street (the world doesnt change much does it?), Mr. Stephenson meanwhile was voicing his concern over the people in the town who were living in what was referred to as temporary structures. Mark Hulse asked about the Gas Monopoly Act, and Mr. King wanted to know if the government repealed the act if Mr. Watson was in favour of purchasing our local Gas Works for the benefit of the town. Mr. Ickford wanted to know if the people of Mexborough would be able to have allotments on which to grow their food, to which Mr. Watson replied that this was something which was being planned at the moment with areas allocated for this purpose and that the allotments of Mexborough were to be one rood (1/4 acre) in area. Mr Watson then concluded by saying that he could not finish without mentioning ME Joel Kirby who had served Mexborough so well for so many years, his endeavours had been neither short or slight and Mr. Watson described him as being a gentleman. Dont forget if you wish to look at the original copy of this speech which was printed in its entirety in the Mexborough and Swinton Times on the 14th Dec. 1894 please do not hesitate to ask. Information for this newsletter was obtained from The Mexborough and Swinton Times The Mexborough Local Board Log. Book 1870 - 1890 Your Archivist J.R. Ashby     ");
array_files[70]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1995_jan.htm","2010-04-09","11K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER - 31st JANUARY 1995 Dear Member, A happy and prosperous New Year to you all! Firstly thank you all so very much for the beautiful Christmas Hamper presented to me at our Christmas Social Evening on the 8th December 1994, and a special thanks must go to Vera and Fred Moxon who put it together This year I propose to change the format of our usual January Newsletter. Recently I spent two weeks listing everything in our archives and putting these into a booklet format. I will therefore be omitting this section listing new acquisitions this year. If you wish to see this document, which consists of over twenty pages, it is to be found in all our local libraries and can be obtained from myself on request. 1994 - Newsletters and Events JANUARY This month saw a very enjoyable talk by the Leader Bros. on the Rockingham Pottery, and our newsletter was a recap on 1993s Newsletters and gave a list of new acquisitions for the archives. FEBRUARY This month there was to have been a talk by Derrick Riley on Archaeological Photography, but after his sad death his place was filled by Eric Houlder (too ill in September to carry out his previous booking) who gave a tongue in cheek account of the early history of the lavatory, and our newsletter covered Pictures of Old Mexborough taken from a talk given by Mr. Norman Watson a few months prior to this. February also saw the continuation of the governments policy on pit closures, as the 4th February saw the last load of coal removed from Goldthorpe Pit, the 11th February was the closure of Manton Colliery, then on the 24th February came a real surprise for me when Eckles Colliery closed, and along with the men who were made redundant went the last four pit ponies in the British Isles, these being retired to Capphouse Colliery (the Mining Museum). This month also saw the takeover of Rossington Colliery by a firm which at this time was little know to us, Budges. MARCH This month was a talk given by Peter Wild on The Canals of South Yorkshire, and the newsletter told us of the ships and other vessel owned by Kilners Bros. Glassworks, Denaby Main, and also Denaby and Cadeby Main Collieries Company Limited. 12th March - the first thirty two women were ordained into the priesthood, the ceremony taking place at Bristol Cathedral. 15th March was the 45th anniversary of the abandonment of Clothes Rationing. 16th March - ten women were ordained as priests at Sheffield Cathedral by the Bishop of Doncaster. Then on a more mundane level, areas of Mexborough received `Wheely Bins for the first time on Monday 21st March 1994. This month also saw the opening of the Sheffield Supertram. APRIL Was our A.G.M. and a talk was given by Tony Mumford who is head of the Archives at Rotherham Central Library and he spoke about this and the library services. The newsletter was A Short History of the Roads in Mexborough to 1894. The 16th of this month also saw the first excursion of the year to Lincoln. MAY Was the first of our summer visits, and this one was to the Dove Cote at the site of Barnburgh Hall. We were also taken on a tour of the parish church. Our newsletter this month covered my thoughts on the origins of Mexborough which I personally believe to be older than Saxon. 6th May saw the opening of the Channel Tunnel. 10th May there was a partial eclipse of the sun. Also on this date Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first black president of South Africa,.and the first thing he did was to give his new country a new flag and anthem. 14th May - Blackpool Tower was one hundred years old and was painted gold in honour of its centenary. 20th May - Jackie Kennedy died of cancer. Last year was the 800th anniversary of Doncaster receiving it charter, and on the 22nd May there were festivities to celebrate this at the racecourse, part of which was a local history exhibition which your society took part in. This was followed by a lengthy exhibition at Mexborough Branch Library, and for these exhibitions the Society was awarded a certificate in recognition of the help we gave in the celebrations. This was signed personally by Councillors C. L. Webb, Chairman of the Festival Group; the Mayor, Councillor G. Gallimore J.P.; and the Festival Director, Martin S. Tyas. JUNE As it was fifty years this month since D-Day our newsletter covered A Local Hero of the D-Day Invasion and our visit was to the Clifton Park Museum. 5th June - D-Day Commemorations. 30th June - Tower Bridge was one hundred years old. JULY Was a very busy month all round. 2nd July saw an excursion to Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale. 14th July - the government declared that R.A.F. Finningley was to close and this years air show was to be the last. 20th July saw the 25th anniversary of man landing on the moon 23rd July was Mexborough Carnival and we put on an exhibition at the library. We also took this opportunity to launch our booklet An Everyday Story of Mexborough Folk and our first batch sold out that day Then on the 26th July we went on a tour of Hickleton Hail and Church. Our newsletter was on lronbridge, Coalbrookdale, and the Squatters Cottage. This month also saw the death of Reg. Glen at the age of 101 years - the last surviving member of the Sheffield Pals. AUGUST There wasnt a meeting this month and the only thing of note was that the old red Jubilee Public Telephone Box was removed from the bottom of Adwick Road close to the Health Centre, this being on the 11th August. SEPTEMBER September began with the sad death of Roy Castle after his long and arduous battle to defeat cancer. The Society went on another excursion, this time to Eyam and Bakewell on the 17th September. Eric Houlder gave us a talk this month on photographic techniques as applied to local history The newsletter was entitled The Summer of 94 and told us of the visit to Barnburgh and a little of the history of the hall, the hundredth birthday of Tower Bridge, plus the 50th anniversary of D-Day, our visit to Clifton Park Museum in Rotherham, Reg. Glen, lronbridge and Coalbrookdale, how we published our first booklet, and how I came to write the early history of Doncaster Road School and a little about it, letters received from America and New Zealand about our history, then last but not least, the Dearne Valley Opera. OCTOBER On the 9th October the last pit left in the Lancashire Coalfield was closed. The newsletter covered Hickleton Hall and Church, for which many people requested more information following our visit on 26th July. John Griffin gave us a talk on antique town and provincial furniture. NOVEMBER On 4th November the magnificent shipyards of Swan Hunter at Newcastle-upon-Tyne launched what is possibly their last ship. This was a Royal Navy frigate which was named the Richmond. This was the same boatyard which in 1898 built the `Reresby for the Denaby and Cadeby Main Collieries Company Limited. 14th November saw the first passengers through the Channel Tunnel at a cost of £195 each and the National Lottery began. On 18th November and in December we said goodbye to two characters of our roads, firstly the firm which made the Reliant Robin went into receivership (January 95 - now to be rescued), then in December it was announced by Rolls Royce that after all these years the engine of their world famous car will no longer be made by them but by B.M.W. and other parts will be made in Japan, but the bodywork will still be made here. Goodbye you old and faithful servants! The newsletter told us What Mexborough was like in the middle of the 19th century, the title deriving from an article which appeared in the Mexborough and Swinton Times in November 1894. Our talk this month was on the history of Manvers Main Colliery and was given by Alex Fleming, a teacher at Wath Comprehensive and member of Wath Community History Group. Frickley Colliery was closed this month, and THE MACHINE WHICH ENABLES YOU TO LOOK AT BACK COPIES OF THE MEXBOROUGH AND SWINTON TIMES WAS RETURNED TO MEXBOROUGH BRANCH LIBRARY. All you need to do to use it is to ask a member of the staff! Please help to justify its return. DECEMBER It was announced by the government that they are to reestablish the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Rutland. Our Social Evening this year was a very enjoyable one, mostly due to the hard work put in by the Committee who devised a series of quizzes which were slightly different. Thanks to you those who worked so hard to make it into an enjoyable night for everyone. In April our newsletter covered some of the history of the roads in Mexborough, and contained within this was the story of how a group of travellers in 1524, whilst crossing Strafford Sands, had nearly been drowned, and it was only by praying to Almighty God and to the Blessed Lady that they were saved. I also went on to tell you how when they got to Doncaster they found it to be Mare Mawdleyns Day and went to the church of Mary Magdalene, which was situated in the market place, and there declared that a miracle had happened. Songs were sung and the bells rung. This old church has long since been pulled down but at the beginning of December 1994, whilst doing work to renovate the Corn Exchange at Doncaster, human bones began to be unearthed, archaeologists were called in and after excavating quite a few skeletons, declared it to be a Christian graveyard. Since the Church of Mary Magdalene is the only church I know of which once stood as near to the market as this, I believe that they must have unearthed the graveyard to the church where our travellers who so nearly drowned on that day over 400 years ago came to give thanks to God. 30th December - British Coal to be disbanded and the remaining 30 pits sold off to the private sector. Above you will find mention of all the newsletters compiled over the past year, as well as other information which I thought may be interesting to you. If you wish to obtain a copy of any of the newsletters I have listed please do not hesitate to ask for a copy. Your Archivist J. R. Ashby. PS Our archives are open at most times for all our members to look into and study the history of our town, with some exceptions. These are Sundays, Bank Holidays and over the Christmas period (16th December 1995 - 2nd January 1996) and after 10 pm at night (including telephone calls).     ");
array_files[71]=new Array(0,1,"http://www.joseflocke.co.uk/heritage/newsletters/1995_oct.htm","2010-04-09","11K","Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive     ","",""," Mexborough & District Heritage Society Newsletter Archive NEWSLETTER - 31st OCTOBER 1995 Dear Member, When your society held its first meeting on that cold evening at the beginning of November 1987 in one of the rooms within Doncaster Road School, there was very little to be found in this town with literary connections to our history. Our old library held just one volume on the subject, this being an original copy of Memorials of Old Mexborough by William Glassby written in 1893. Now eight years later there are a number for you to read during the dark nights of winter which are to come, these are:- Memorials of Old Mexborough by William Glassby (a reprint) £4.50 An Everyday Story of Mexborough Folk by J. R. Ashby £2.95 A Mexborough Scrap Book by Barrie Chambers £5 The Legacy of Our Backings by Michael Fowler £4.99 The above are all available from Mexborough Branch Library The history of Denaby United Football Team, Obtainable from Grahams Hairdressers, Bank Street, Mexborough £3 We Shall Remember by Giles Brearly and Graham Oliver,