I spent most of my childhood playing around this area.
She lived in one of the three houses that were attached to Norths Yard at the Lumb Road end of Queen Street.( The far left of the photo)
A similar view, looking down what was Queen Street and is now home to Greenfield Primary School.
Courtesy of Google maps.
What year was Queen Street pulled down? The photo looks really old but Greenfield primary was only built around 2000 (I think)?
ReplyDeleteBack in the mid to late 70's, while at Leigh St Juniors, I had a couple of school friends who lived on Queen St.
ReplyDeleteThey were two brothers Anthony and Philip Smith, Anthony was in the same year as myself while Philip was a year younger, maybe two.
They lived in the house directly opposite where the Skip lorry is in the photo.
They lived with their father, and I think an older sister. I will always remember their father he was a coach driver if I remember correctly, and a massive bloke, maybe around 6'8" or so.
I went to play at their house a couple of times, and even back then as 10 year olds, we knew Queen St had become a bit of a slum row.
And, unfortunately, their house was not the exception, the house was utterly filthy, with the toilet in the back yard, a large old square, brown stone sink in the kitchen, fed only by a single cold feed tap, but what sticks in my mind most was that the 'back door' was an old back gate type thing, held in place by a length of wood lodge up behind it, no locks, no hinges (!)
But, even with all this 'mess' going on with his home life, Anthony was a very bright lad in our class, and he was recognised as such by the other kids, he passed his 11+ and many of us didn't, and I never heard of him again.
I really hope he and his brother did well for themselves.
@ Anon
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Queen St, was pulled down in the early 80's, but the land stood derelict for years.
As soon as the North's Factory came down, only then was the area prime for development.
I walked along Queen St every day on my way to and from Leigh St Secondary school from 1957 to 1961, I remember a little shop on the corner of Queen St and Lumn Rd, I think it sold ornaments etc, something like that, I can only vaguely remember it now, does anyone else recall that little shop on the corner?
ReplyDeleteThe owners of the 2 up 2 down in the centre of the picture must have been proud people. I bet they used 'donkey stones' on their front steps that you used get from the rag and bone man with his horse and cart! Memories.
ReplyDeleteMy friends parents used to own that shop in the early 1960's . When they owned it it was a hardware shop that sold paraffin, fire wood bundles and lots of odds and ends besides the hardware items.
ReplyDeleteAfter that it became a hairdressers.
My grandma Phyllis Richardson lived at 59 queen Street. She was formerly Wibberley. My Grandad was David Richardson who died quite young. My brother and I are trying to find his brothers. Can anyone help.
ReplyDeleteJean Murray( Richardson)