Introduction  -  This page will enable contributers to provide articles including memories of the past  - Length of time of publication will vary depending on the number of contributions made available, it is likely that articles will be repeated.

Contributors to date :- Barry Robbins, Cyril Leeman, Bill Thackray, George Southern, Jean Melvin, Myra Davey, Barbara Chew, Stuart Baird, Robert Whiting, Peter Sanderson, Len Townsley.

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Picnics in Methley

 E-mail from Len Townsley in North Wales 2nd August 2010

Having lived in Guernsey for many years and now retired to North Wales, I was delighted to find the Methley Village site, which revived childhood memories for me. I am truly amazed at the amount of material on view.

My maternal Grandmother, Mary Elizabeth BUNN, lived at the end of the plantation behind Dunsford House, as a tenant, I think, of the Lumb family who occupied the nearby farm. As a child, during the war, I was quarantined there for some time with mumps, which, as I recovered, didn't stop me from roaming the woods and fields in the area and where I took in more about nature than I have since, including the "niff" of Huddleston's "muck bags". The most exciting adventure of all was to ride with Rip' Huddleston on his big, bright yellow, track laying tractor, which also produced great hard boiled eggs suspended in a
string bag in the radiator header tank. I've never seen a tractor like it from that day to this. Sadly, Health and Safety in the work place denies kids such pleasures today.

Some years ago I did visit the village during a holiday trip from Guernsey only to find that the old house at the end of the plantation had gone, although I was able to revive one other memory in shouting for
the "BOAT" at the end of Boat Lane and visit Allerton Bywater for a short while. I would dearly love to obtain a copy of any photograph, from the village archive, or any other source that anyone can direct me
to and to hear anything (good or not so good) about the BUNN family in Methley.

Once again my thanks  in producing such a wide ranging and interesting site for the benefit of others.

Sincerely...... Len' Townsley.

.Peter Sanderson E-mailed this from Pretoria SA 08.07.09

 I was born in Methley in January 1949 in a typical colliery house in 5, Low Green Terrace which has long since been demolished. It was a grim, cold house with a typical ash yard and an outside block of toilets which were pumped out by the local council once a week. If I remember rightly, it was a Rothwell council vehicle. Along side the house ran the “field tops” where I have many happy childhood memories.

My mother was born Kathleen Wright who was the daughter of Edith and Archibald Wright. She had two brothers Ted & Ralph. Both my grandfather Archie and Uncle Ralph worked at Savile Pit and I have fond memories of the zinc bath, the grange fireplace and the smell of coal and soot. The allotments on the lower Mickletown road where the hourly buses for Castleford and “civilisation” passed by remind me of lost contacts with the wonderful Yorkshire names of Sidebottom and Beilby.

I also remember the corn in the fields, the ring of the famous ice cream vendor Anthony Fell, the local pea “gleaning”, visits to Castleford swimming baths, adventures in the “Parlour” (Parlour pit) , “The Planting” (plantation) and down to the canals and the locks on the Aire and the Calder.

We moved away from Methley to live in Belfast where my father (George Sanderson) had been offered a job in a local Grammar School. My mother and father had met during the war while serving in the WAAF and RAF.

My grandfather Archie was a keen cricket umpire and introduced me to the local cricket played up by Church side on the main road from Leeds. I had local aunts who lived in Beeston.

We spent two months a year on holiday in Methley and everything was a wonderful adventure. In those days in the fifties we would travel from Belfast via the Heysham Ferry and then take the steam train to Leeds. I remember the Leeds Market, the round something and the large clock in the square.

My last visit to Methley was some thirty years ago to enjoy pints at the Commercial. My grandparents and uncle have long passed on but I still can sense the smells of the gas lights and I remember living in 1, Taylor Grove.

I now live with my family in Pretoria, South Africa but have the fondest childhood memories of a village with a unique atmosphere, history and people.

Kindest regards

Peter

Peter Sanderson               imfundo@netactive.co.za

I knew Archie and Ralph from Savile pit and replied to Peter.

Laura Crewe born Methley 25th September, 1887

Laura’s family emigrated from Methley to Canada after her parents had resettled in Methley from the West Country to work in the mines (see family history)

 Notes for LAURA CREWE: The following came  from Lauramary Cook, grandaughter of Harold Davey and Laura (Crewe) I've been looking through the old album and recalling what my Mother (Irene Crewe  Davey) and Grandmother Laura (Crewe) Davey told me as they many times recounted  stories of the pictures  they were showing me.  Remember, I was much an invalid as a child, and Grandma spent a lot of time by my bedside telling me stories and playing games with me.  She taught me how to  knit, how to crochet,  and how to do hand sewing as well.  She  did all of these things quite well, as proper English girls all did.  She retained her nice English  accent until she died.  She had a very soft voice....but if she wanted something, she would loudly call for my mother  "I-RE-EENE!"  She could be quite a  difficult woman, but was my closest playmate all those years.  My Mother was devoted to her and nearly ruined her health looking after her.

Laura was born on  Sept. 25, 1887.  Her father gave her a  collection of coins from that year as a keepsake. I looked at them many  times.  It was Victoria's Jubilee year, I  believe.  (They were among the several things that went missing after Grandma's funeral.  It was a point of contention with my Mother  for years after. She had a whole list of things  that "disappeared") Laura was  registered "Laura Crew" on her birth certificate, and while the place of birth is not noted, it was registered at Pontefract. I don't know if they lived in  Pontefract, or what. She always told me that her family had a "hotel" in Methley, near Leeds, Yorkshire.  When I  talked with Uncle Ken, the "hotel" was a pub. I wondered if  this was a little  gilding of the lily on her part. But in talking with older friends who grew up in the North of England, they explained that it was normal for pubs to have several  rooms to rent and were usually called "hotels".  Once when Laura and her  sisters were home on a Sunday morning, and the parents at church (Church of England), she and her  sisters sneaked downstairs and tried alcohol. They normally were not allowed down there because that was where "men" hung out.  But no one was there on Sunday morning,  all  was closed.  They all got soused, and the parents were very angry when they got home.  She went to an all-girls' school.  When they were decorating the church for fall,  Laura took the notion to climb the 365 ? steps up to the tower.  There she proceeded to trip across the battlements in full view of her  teacher who was very irate.  Sounds to me  she was very mischievious.  She told me  that "gypsies" were often in their neighborhood and the girls were severely  warned not to go near them or they would be kidnapped.   She used to sing me a little rhyme in  connection with it "My Mother said/ I never should/Play with the gypsies/In the wood/If I did/She would say/Naughty girl/ To run away.

As I understand it,  Laura was sent out from England to look for her brother, Sam, who had somehow not been in contact with the family.  Trevor told me this, and it makes sense.   Perhaps Sam was the adventurer in the  family.  He was in the police force in  Canada.       At any rate Grandma's  other sister, Olive was already here in Winnipeg, she was married to Frank Davey..  It was through them that  Laura met Peter Harold Davey.  He was working in the Post  Office at the time and I think Frank Davey  was as well.  I have pictures of them both with their uniforms on.  Harold seemed to have a fascination with Post Offices, and there  are pictures throughout the album of Post Offices wherever they travelled.

Laura and Harold were married in 1909, and Irene and Arnold, fraternal twins were born March 14, 19ll.  Arnold was born first, and the  boys always teased Irene that she  was just "an afterthought".  Peter H. must have bought the house on 295  Bannerman Avenue in Winnipeg right around the time the children were born, because I have  pictures of the young couple holding the twins as small infants  on the front porch of that tiny house. Laura told me she was glad she had had twins to start off with, they were  able to entertain each other. (I was glad it was her and not me!)

In 1913, Laura decided to take the two-year old Arnold and Irene, back home to England to see the grandparents.  While they were there the Crewe grandparents took  them to Coalport and had a demitasse cup and saucer made for each of them.  I still have Irene's,  although the saucer is damaged, the cup is  intact. Each piece is signed.   There is no pattern name on it as you would see today.  I also have Laura's breakfast set of Coalport China, so delicate you can almost see through it.  It also does not have a  pattern, and most of the pieces are signed and dated.  She had been planning to stay a year in  England, but with the sinking of the Lusitania, she decided she better come back  to  Canada...war was imminent.  They came back on the Mauritania, and Laura recounted to me how they had see flotsam and jetsam from the sunken sister ship in the  water as they sailed past the sight of the sinking.  (Deck chairs and such)

Gradually the  family increased, with the addition of Kenneth and Victor.  I don't know at what time Harold got the job with the police department, but I think Trevor told me he  got it through the "missing" brother, Sam Crewe

Since the family did not have a lot of money, they made their back yard into a garden.  All the children worked in it.  Harold was an avid gardener, Laura less  so.  I don't think  her upbringing in  England was such that she was required to do much work.  There are pictures of them all in the  garden.  Harold and Laura made their  children sell much of the  produce from door to door.  The children hated that.  They had a little wagon and they took it  around.

Irene told me  stories of the 'flu epidemic.  At that  time they quarantined....a practice that could well be revisited today...all the  family got it, except her.  So she had to nurse them  all.  The doctor came and  attended to them...when Laura became exhausted from looking after everyone, she  too got it.  Irene had a bag of camphor tied around her neck  and tended to the family.  The flu epidemic was in 1919...that would have made her 8 years old.  Quite a responsibility for a child that  age.  She was quite the caregiver  (all her  life, in fact) and her brothers have all told me she practically raised them.  Their favorite thing for her to make for them was suet pudding, and when  she visited Arnold not long  before he died (1984 or 5) it was the first thing he asked her to make for him.

Laura Crewe  by  Lauramary Cook and Myra Davey

1926
Abstracts from Pontefract & Castleford Express
Friday Aug. 13th - Five Whitwood youths fined for stealing beetroots from Huddlestones farm,  despite the presence of a watchman.
Ladies at Cricket – The Low End Ladies entertained the Brighouse Ladies on Tuesday. The latter team scoring 46. The home team replied with 35 for 5 when rain stopped play. A  collection for the Distress Fund realised 30/- the attendance being marred by inclement weather.
West Riding Cup – Methley v Ackworth at Knottingley - Team - GW Wilson (capt), I Parker, W Price, S Webster, JH  Parker, A Pollard, A Wright, A Parker, G Spencer, G Walker, H Batty Res: H Parker.
Passing of Publican - The Death of Mr Joseph Horne of the Mexborough Arms, Scholey Hill took place last Saturday, he had been  licensee of the United Kingdom for a number of years. A malignant disease which had lain dormant for many years suddenly became active 3 weeks ago resulting in the death of a much respected citizen. Landlords,  farmers and members of the Buffalo Lodges from Methley, Oulton and Normanton paid their respects.

Friday Aug 20th - Tuesday, Methley v Oulton Ladies Cricket – Methley :-
Miss Wilkinson, Miss Backhouse, Miss Wilson, Miss Charlesworth, Miss Bedford, Miss Green, Mrs Firth, Miss Partridge, Mrs Mantle, Mrs  Wright, Miss Lindley. Oulton 127 all out, Methley 106 for 6 proceeds for the Distress Fund.

Friday August 27th- Oliver Stanger fined 4/- for riding bicycle on footpath.
Royal and Ancient Order of Buffaloes held their annual meeting at the Bay Horse public house.  Refreshments and harmony were provided for a convivial evening.
Low End Ladies entertained Allerton Bywater Ladies at cricket, proceeds to the Distress Fund.
Scholey Hill v Methley Ladies in aid of the  Distress Fund. Miss Cade a school teacher for the Scholey Hill team retired at 104 not out!

Friday September 17th - Low End Ladies v Scholey Hill (with guests). The crowd were highly entertained and proceeds to the Distress Fund.

Football – Scholey Hill 8  Harrogate New Park 1

Friday September 24th - Allotment Novelty – It was strange to notice in Woodrow allotments, six stalks of Indian corn approaching 5 ft in height and heads bursting with corn. The seed was evidently brought by  imported manure from poultry food.
Methley change venue - Methley changed from their Cutler Lane pitch but were well defeated by a strong Mexborough side 7 goals to 2. Bell and Pybus scoring for Methley.

Billy’s Field

Earliest memories are immediate post war and of an overgrown irregular, uneven field with a grass worn area which was the goalmouth in the football season and served as a wicket in the summer. The field was bounded  at the Station Road end by a number of allotment/hen runs (where the bungalows are now).  Wooden fencing on the railway side also enclosed a storage area for telegraph poles for the railways. There were three  constructions of in each case four poles set into the ground with poles fixed as cross members at the sides and ends. The telegraph poles were laid over the cross pieces which created a play and exploration area for  imaginative youngsters, far superior to present day playground equipment despite the spells and creosote. The other two boundaries were hawthorn, elder and willow hedges which protected farmer Schofields (Scoweys)  field.

It took a long time to find out why it was named Billy’s Field and I am indebted to Will Illingworth who tells me that the field once belonged to the Royal Oak pub. Will adds that the name comes from the long  serving landlord, Billy Wilson (1920’s) who took his duties seriously at warning people off the land.

No warning off in the 1940’s/1950’s however, when there was always a game or activity in progess (would anybody remember bowlering?). Of course, soccer was the main interest, and always plenty of players. In my  generation - Barry Ingham, Mike Shillito, Les Austin, Terry Barrett, David Barker and many others. I remember with great affection playing soccer in those years, always arguing whether the ball had gone for a goal  inside the coats or whether it was a dead ball. Still clear in my mind is a picture of Tommy Firth (Fagger) racing from the field without a word to anybody. He often did this - just stopping in mid play and racing  off without warning. Why? you may ask. Well Tommy was the porter at Methley North Station, he loved a game of any kind but when the 4.45pm to Altofts was due in (and others) he had to fly to be on the platform in  time.

One of the outstanding players, either at football or cricket was Frankie Purcell. Frank was partially disabled with a shortened leg which required an extended caliper to control a boot that had been specially built  up. You couldn’t get him out at cricket and we took it in turns to be his runner otherwise you could be running all afternoon. At the same game he was more than a useful bowler and an agile and competitive  stumper. At football he played in goal, so successful was he that he was selected for the school team in that position.

During the 1960’s the field was levelled and seeded and is now gang mowed regularly. Since that time there has been few kids playing games in that field, initially I thought it was the effect of TV etc, but it  wasn’t, it was this ‘demographic thing’ -there were far less kids being born after the post war boom. Pity they couldn’t have levelled the field 20 years earlier.

Bill Thackray

Reminiscences  -  Barry Robbins

My first recollection of Methley is of a Saturday in November 1949, when along with my parents and dog 'Lady' we arrived at No 87 The Hollings,I was in my 3rd year, this was to be my home for the next 21 years.On the same day there arrived at No 12 the Turpin family, including their dog Judy a 'red setter'. I recall that Judy decide to investigate the upstairs of our new home, much to my mothers displeasure.

PC Fred Vezinner and family were already living at No 1 by the time of our arrival, they had a son John, who was my first mate, he and I would take off and investigate the estate and in particular those of the houses which were still incomplete. On one of our expeditions John and I discovered one of the houses though without doors , had a staircase, so up we went to investigate, what we found was not quite what we had expected, two other people had got there before us, and were to quote an expression of my mothers' were up to no good' ...! we beat a hasty retreat.

There were three shops in Woodrow, where we would buy sherbet dips, 'spanish' and liquorish sticks, and run to for the occasional errand for our mothers.Charlie and Minnie Dickinson had a shop in Bondfield Terrace, Mrs Sunderland in Albert Place, and Eric and Marion Spencer by the Royal Oak.Minnie Dickinson I recall had long periods of absence from serving in the shop, due to Ill health, when entering the shop one felt almost an intruder, as it retained the air of its original functionas their front room. Mrs Sunderland to me as a child was a lady of 'great age', she wore a sort of 'tam' on her head, her skin was like parchment, always had a kind word for we children, this shop again was in what had been her 'front room'.The Spencer's shop was quite small, and had a bow fronted window there was also a fish and chip shop next door,.Apart from the shops there were an assortment of mobile shops, a few that spring to mind are ' Varleys' who came from Castleford selling hardware items , including paraffin, Rainbow, Johnny Bramble, and another who's name escapes me, possibly because as my mother always referred to him as 'rob dog...! his real name wasn't necessary to know, Rington's selling tea, its delivery van with black green and gold livery, an eye catching sight. Charlie Bentley and Stan Pyrah brought vegetables by horse and cart, on a Friday night, the canopy was bedecked with secondary supplies of potatoes and greens, in winter the cart was lit by tilley lamps always a familiar and striking sight.Our neighbours were Ernest and Hilda Micklefield, Mrs Micklefield would rush out with her shovel and gather up the horse muck from Charlie's horse and place it around her roses, nothing was wasted.There was 'Jackie' with his two wheeled box barrow, selling sticks for lighting the fire, he was afflicted with what we would now refer to as a 'palsy, he was unable to walk properly, and had difficulty 'getting his words out' never the less he sold his sticks and made a living.

The Kleen-ezee traveller, selling dusters polish , brushes, the striking difference being that the man doing the selling was an ex-service man, a man who had been in the RAF, and had been horrifically burned, his face was a succession of skin grafts, fingers without flesh , just bone with skin grafted onto them. Prior to the mans arrival at our door, I suspect that my mother had noticed his condition, I was forewarned of this, and forbidden to stare, for whatever reason on this occasion I did as I was asked, my mother offered him tea, and bought some of his wares, when he had left it was explained to me how he had sustained his injuries, and somewhere in her explanation I first heard the word ' sacrifice' this did make an impression on me, as I still remember the situation to this day.

The pubs in Woodrow were the Royal Oak, landlord Walter Mc Cullouch and wife Grace, daughter Gwyneth, United Kingdom with landlord Jack Leonard, and wife Cissie( daughter of Mrs Sunderland) and son John.My parents took me to the 'Kingdom' on Saturday nights, my mother and I would sit in the kitchen, and do our drinking from there, Mrs Leonard from time to time in between serving customers came to enquire if we were allright?. John Leonard had a double barrel shot gun and would sit on a sofa with gun held between legs cleaning the barrels with a gun liner, the gun cleaning provided me with great interest, the treat was being allowed to have a go at the gun cleaning which became a highlight of the evening for me.

Micklefields were our neighbours to one side, the Tillotsons to the other, the latter consisted of mother Louisa, and daughter Amy, but in addition there was for a short time Mrs Tillotsons sister,a Mrs Morton who had at some time in her life lived in America.The toilet to their house was 'outside', mother and aunt when going to the toilet would don their shiny black straw hats and a shawl, and scurry across the yard, to a 4 year old this was an 'unusual sight' and provided great interest.There was a granddaughter Marguerite who visited once a week, the day of her visit provided much excitement for both grandmother and aunt.

To the best of my recollection, I was not an obedient child, far from it, this was in spite of my mother chastising me on a regular basis, usually with a smacked bottom, when this act was observed by Mrs Micklefield, I can still hear her words of encouragement to my mother,Eee, a know what ad do wi im. At such a tender age I can remember thinking, the bottom smacking is bad enough,what Mrs Micklefield is suggesting must be much worse, being a coward I decided I did not want to find out, and started to behave a little better.

Trips to Mickletown were at this time infrequent, other than to the doctor, Mrs Annie S Dennis who with her husband John conducted their practice from The Parsonage, the waiting room was dingy, a table in the middle with reading material, woodwork painted brown with cream wallpaper on the walls, there was a gas fire which took the chill off in winter, but once one entered the consulting room, this was an ice box. Mrs Dennis seemed always to have a cold, a handkerchief ever at the ready, and hands cold also. Her writing desk and records were squeezed within the reveal of the window, the only warmth was on a sunny day, when its rays came streaming into the room.

In September 1951 I commenced my formal education my Al'ma Mat'er, Churchside School.

Barry Robbins