Bill Leeson

When I was growing up in the 1950s the village was a very active place to live, and local business was strong, many families lived from the support of the local people, I believe in the 50s the village was home to about 26 businesses.

When you left the bank, the sign mount pleasant was where the village hall is now, going into the village you go up butchers bank, so named because Whitehurst's had a slaughter house in the field on the right, on the corner is a gateway and the abattoir was just through the gate.

Entering the village on the right was Sid Cookes haulage, they delivered coal, cattle and odds and ends, next was Arthur Lesson's farm, he sold milk and some eggs, the milk was delivered by horse and float and all the kids rode the float on delivery days.

Across the yard was mount pleasant garage, selling petrol oil and doing general repairs, opposite was Bill Howell's shoe repair, Bill made shoes boots and clogs.

In west street Arthur Taylor had an electrical business repairing TV's, appliances , and wiring houses .

Halls shop was next, grocer green grocer baker, you name it they sold it, onto north street (back lane ) was the Working Men's club and bowling green Mr and Mrs Hancock ran it for years.

Going back to Hall's shop and crossing the road , now you are in Fords yard, last house on the right was Joseph Clowes they transported milk from the farms to the dairy in Stockport , sometimes I would go with Ken Platt as he made his daily run.

Across the way was Jimmy Moores clog maker, that's all he made was clogs, Sunday clogs had shinny tops and rubber soles as not to make a clatter on the streets on the Sabbath, Jim's sisters lived next door and they had Mount Pleasant Post Office.

At the top of Fords yard was Bob Morris's coal yard,. back onto Chapel street was The Crown Inn it had a shop next door to it, I remember it being open, but have no idea what it sold. Opposite The Crown was Mrs Birtles shop, lit only with paraffin lamps she sold tobacco and odds and ends and dry goods she stayed open late.

The next shop to Mrs Birtles W.A.Boote, they sold every thing from green grocery to paraffin. they sold everything Whitehurst butchers were next, by the 50s the abattoir was at the back of the shop , and the one on butchers bank was well gone, across the road was Arthur Wright I think he had a van and did deliveries, the paper shop was next and they did a great job of getting the papers out before all the men went to work, unless you were a collier. Theo Bourne's butchers shop was down the street, it was there for years, Hills had it before Bourne's, and then there was the stores the Co-op, everyone shopped there. Mrs Ecclestones shop was the place if you needed smokes on a sunday morning just go to the back door, the shop sold mainly dry goods. Joe Snape was at the top of The Hollows, selling cups and saucers, the crockery shop.

That was the village as I remember it, now when I go back, I sometimes wish it was the way it was, but time marches on and progress must be made .

 

Bill Leeson a true bottom ender