Ushaw Moor Memories (Backup)

Memories of Ushaw Moor and Deerness Valley

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Back Street-Grant Street- Broompark County Durham.

Back of Garden st Broompark number 431Broompark County Durham Circa 1962w810H
Back street -Garden street Broompark.the kids broomparkBack of Grant st Broompark number 431Back Street-Grant Street- Broompark County Durham.

Back of Grant Street Broompark County Durham
11th of September 1959

31 comments:

  1. This old photo taken in Grant street broompark is in the Beamish Museum. (see link). Thanks to Linda Graham and mrs Alice Hall we have now been able to positively identify all the people in the photo.
    http://collections.beamish.org.uk/search-detail?item=NEG26363&query=broompark&searchType=everything&hiQuality=0&withPhotos=0&filterQuery=

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Dan Hudachek [mailto:DanHudachek@beamish
    Sent: Tuesday, 22 January 2013 11:21 PM
    To: r.snightingale@
    Subject: RE: Contact Us email

    Hello Ron-

    Thank you for your email. Please find attached a jpeg copy of the image you requested. If you are able to identify anyone in the image we would love to have that information to add to our files.

    Sincerely,
    -Dan Hudachek

    Dan Hudachek
    Collections Project Officer
    Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

    Direct Tel. No. 0191 370 4020

    Visit www.beamish.org.uk |collections.beamish.org.uk

    Connect with Beamish Museum:

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  2. Ron Nightingale is bringing the bodies up in fabulous pictorial style.

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  3. This is fascinating Ron, thanks for putting names to faces. It's hard to imagine Broompark like this now....this area must be where one of the new housing estates are.

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  4. Again had to edit this as i was jumping the gun a bit and need to be sure.
    The kid with no shirt on I think is Colin Agar.
    The little girl with the pig tails may be his sister Annie.
    Colin and Annie's parents were both blind and Annie's mother often did her hair in pigtails . Annie was my youngest sister - Shirley's friend.
    One thing that has me puzzled is the fact that after zooming in to the door that is open (on left) It is clearly number 431. Terry Fullard has told me they lived in 454 Garden street which now has me wondering if i am wrong and this may be Grant street as they were a mirror image of each other.??

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  5. Finally got to visit my Aunty and another visit with my mother.
    My Aunty was immediately able to put names to faces with the adults and they are ~
    From left to right `Mrs Jennie Burn (glasses). Mrs Corker (hand on wall). Mrs Dorothy Turner (back to wall and deep in thought). Mrs Alice Hall (nee Burn). Mrs Doris Dinning (glasses). And Mrs Anne Graham (nee Burn). Anne and Alice are sisters and the daughters of Mrs Burn.
    Mrs Burn and Mrs Corker were long time residents of broompark and well respected. Mrs burn lived to be 102 and passed away in 1999. My aunty Dorothy told me that when they went back to visit Broompark in the late 90s they heard that Mrs Burn still lived and was in a nursing home and had turned 100 so they went to visit her and she apparently came running out into the car park to greet them.
    As for the kids. From left to right- The first girl is Linda Graham - the next girl we believe is Pauline Freeman the third girl is Annette Hall and the fourth is Annie Agar. The boy sitting on the tricycle is my cousin -Kevin Turner and that is (me) Ron nightingale standing on the back. The boy with no shirt is Colin Agar. We remembered the day as the adults told him to put his shirt back on as he would catch a death of cold but he just kept on laughing. The other boy is Brian Dinning (son of Doris -pictured).
    The house is mrs Corkers and she has her hand on the wall and i zoomed in to her number on the door which is 431 Grant Street. We lived in the next house back and next door to her which was 432 and the other door in the picture is 430. My uncle -Albert Turner took the photo and they lived at number 447 Garden Street which was directly opposite us and shared the other half of the toilet in the middle of the 2 streets.

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  6. We lived at 448 garden street broompark in 1950 to 1956. Our name was Patrick and Bridie Neary and their son Patrick.we hope to visit the area sometime this year and was wondering if the houses still exist.

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  7. Hi Pat.We moved into Grant street in 1955 so we were there at the same time. But i was only 5 then. All the old houses were demolished in 1970 and then a new housing estate was built called Cookes Wood. I have spent almost a year trying to find any photos of the old streets but it seems that non were taken prior to demolition. The main street (front street ) was preserved and the old Loves Hotel was restored but unfortunately closed its doors in January this year.
    All the rail lines have been removed and are now cycle / walking tracks and the coal field is now apparently a park and people visit there a lot. I have never been back since migrating to Australia in 1963 but have got my info from posting on here.
    I have added quite a lot of info on Broompark as well as a hand drawn map of the old village layout. If you click on Broompark in the Tags list on the right it should show all my Broompark posts.
    Ushaw moor seems to have been preserved as far as main street looks also so it should still make an interesting visit. Hoping to do the same some time. Welches farm is now - Broom farm guest house.

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  8. Many thanks for reply and info on Broompark I have just began planning to revisit the area and had little information. I left when very young but the name Colin Agar seems to ring a bell how is australia i am in dublin ireland we are going in september thanks again

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  9. Wondering if you attended the infants school at Broompark when you lived there.? I seem to recall the name Neary.
    One thing that you couldnt forget if you knew or played with Colin Agar or his younger sister is that both their mam and Dad were blind. I have been told colin has been seen today in Ushaw Moor so they must have moved there as did a few of the others so i am learning.
    There is a photo somewhere of the xmas party for the children that once was held in the broompark hut and it was before my time and i am guessing in your time (around 1950 - 54. It shows mothers and their kids in the photo but i recognized none- only remembered the hut. Trying to find it again so i can give you the link.
    Australia has been good to me but i did get into a bit of strife in my early days lol. I live in Mandurah in west Aust right by the sea and own a big block of land. Bit warmer than Dublin though ha ha.
    Heres the link.~~

    https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/734416_10151505381750891_607495277_n.jpg

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  10. Not sure we moved to manchester when I was 5 or 6 I think as dads job changed

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  11. Sounds like you are the same age as me. I was born March 14 1950. if so you should have been at the Broompark infant school with me and Colin Agar.
    According to my mother there was an Irish guy who did all the maintenance around the houses in Broompark so just wondering what your dad did for work.

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  12. I was born 1 January 1952 I

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  13. Anyways Pat, hope you enjoy your visit. This might help a bit.~~

    http://content.durham.gov.uk/PDFRepository/Broompark_Picnic_FINAL_WITH_INTERACTIVES.pdf

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  14. I can provide further information on the photo. The sisters you identified are Alice Hall and Ann Graham, daughters of Jennie Burn who lived to be 102 and died in 1999. My mum was Ann Graham, who died in 1984. Alice is still alive and is 91. I am the girl on the extreme left (Linda Graham), I think the next girl is Pauline Freeman and the one sitting next to Annie Agar is my cousin, Annette Hall.

    I lived next door to your Auntie Dorothy in Garden Street until we moved to Bowburn, not long before you emigrated. I remember you and your sisters.

    Aunty Alice wrote to Dorothy for many years, but has not heard from her for a while. She would love to know how she is doing.

    I live in Hertfordshire, but look at this website quite often. It was a bit of a surprise to see myself!

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  15. ron nightingale16 April 2013 at 20:25

    Hi Linda. Thanks for providing the other names. I remember Mrs Graham now and also Mrs Hall. Also remember you too but very vague. Do not recall the name - Freeman but Pauline rings a bell.
    Aunty Dorothy is well but lost her husband Albert suddenly only a year ago at Easter. He was still fit and active but came down with Pneumonia and deteriorated in hospital. Her memory is quite good but she has her moments and i am surprised she never remembered Alice or Ann's surnames. Wondering how old you were in the photo and how long did you continue living in Broompark. Sorry, just realised you said you left for bowburn just before we emigrated. I will let aunt Dorothy know that Alice was asking about her and perhaps they might drop each other a line. If you right click on the photo you should be able to save it to your computer. Or i can send the .jpeg to you in an email. I will now put the photo on a thumb drive and get a nice size photo published and add all the names to it.
    Can you remember the name of the street that ran the same way as yours and also on the very front looking over the valley but on the side that had the path leading down to the rail bridge and then the beck. I drew a map and named it Eastway as i found an old hand drawn map at Durham records that was very badly drawn and the first letter of that street was blotched out so all i could see was - astway. Note that i have now added some of the pictures from my previous posts in an effort to keep all the Broompark pictures together.The Durham map i mention is now here and also the one i have drawn. A photo of my Grandparents who also lived in Broompark -Grandad operated earthmoving machinery on an open cut mine somewhere close. And the photo of myself and my 2 sisters at the front of Albert street. Can you solve the link between this post made by Colin Burn at the Francis frith website.

    http://www.francisfrith.com/broompark/

    Surely a relative - but none of the names match the burn family mentioned in the photo. Just curious to know the year he might be referring to.

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  16. Hi Ron
    Thanks for the really quick reply. Sorry to hear about Albert, but please send best wishes to Dorothy when you next see her. Looking at the photo again, Dorothy has got Alice and Ann mixed up. Alice is the one standing next to Dorothy. I think this photo was taken whilst the children of Broompark were "on strike" from school. Broompark school closed in July 1959 and we were all supposed to start at Ushaw Moor in early September, but our parents refused to send us until we got a school bus. Eventually, we got one so we all transferred to Ushaw Moor in late September. I was six years old at the time.

    I phoned Alice this morning to see if I could find out answers to your questions. She is still very sharp. The street you couldn't read was Railway Street - that and George Street were known locally as "The Double Rows".

    Eric Burn (I couldn't find a Colin) is my second cousin. His grandfather, Tommy, was my granddad's eldest brother. My granddad, Jack, died in 1950. Apparently, Eric and his parents lived in 439 Grant Street until about 1951. Alice, her husband and Annette moved into the same house in 1955.

    I have time to look into this as I am now retired. A month ago I returned from a trip to Australia and New Zealand - absolutely loved it. Sydney and Melbourne were great, but didn't get to Perth.

    Would love to know what happened to your cousin Kevin!

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  17. Linda, i meant to say Eric Burn - i must have been thinking about Colin agar at the time lol.
    I have now edited most of this post now that you have filled in the rest of the identities. I now need to give the details to beamish museum so they can add the details to the photo there and also need to see if i can get my first comments on the photo removed as they are incorrect.
    Also it was me that got Alice and Annes names mixed up as i found the print off i did of the photo and Dorothy had the names written next to them. Dorothy also suggested Railway street but i disagreed lol.
    Wonder why they called them the double rows??
    Spoke to Dorothy last night and she confirmed that she and Alice were writing to each other but can not remember what happened but was thrilled to hear that Alice is still alive and would love to get in touch so i will email you with her contact details and if you send me Alice's details i will pass it on.

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  18. Pat Neary. You lived next door to my aunty Dorothy and you also had a sister called Marion.
    My uncle Albert built a fence between the 2 wash houses and made it a yard that you shared as kids to play in. Your Father -Patrick was a blonde haired man. My little sister and i occasionally were being looked after when my parents were having to go somewhere so we would have played in that same yard.

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  19. That is spot on Ron you have a better memory than me thanks for that

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  20. I asked my Aunty because i was sure i remembered the name Neary. It was her that jolted my memory about you and your family and the fenced in yard. But i notice you mentioned you lived in 448 and my cousin Kevin says they were in 457. I am guessing you are right and that the Turners lived in 447. That means that Linda graham lived next door on the other side which would be 446.

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  21. Quite right, I did live at 446! I also remember the Neary family.

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  22. I think i have now exhausted my search for any more photos of Broompark. I am sure there must be more out there than this one at Beamish but they are probably with ex broompark people that are not internet or computer literate so the only other way to find any of them would be word of mouth or on a local notice board.
    But i must say that it is amazing that the one photo found has me in it. Also strange that the 3 of us here that have come into conversation with this photo all left Broompark in the 50,s and early 60,s.
    Or it could be that we have all reached a retirement age and decided to google Broompark because of our own curiosity due to leaving there at a young age whereas perhaps others who continued living there for many years lost interest interest in the old village.

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  23. Hello all....I'm intrigued about old broompark as my dad and his family lived there....can you remember my nana phoebe Richards and her husband Jack....and their children Margaret Joan and John......my grandad jack had the school garden opposite where Alice and Eddie lived and lived in 434 grant street.....

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  24. My dad said he used to take Linda graham and Annette burns to school :)

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  25. Hi Kelly. yes i remember Phoebe and Jack Richards. When i first posted this picture i was guessing names and actually had Alice Hall as possibly Feebie Richards. (and that was how i spelt it). But of course it was Mr and Mrs Richards to me back then as i was only almost 12 when we left for Australia.
    So i am guessing you might be Johns daughter ?? I remember John well, we called him shorty. From memory they were related to the Wighams. Margaret i think was younger than Joan but i think they had both left school in or around 1961 when i turned eleven. i think one of them might have been doing bar work or i could be getting mixed up with someone else.
    I originally lived in 432 Grant street but then we were lucky and got to move into Albert street with the luxury of an upstairs bathroom and flushing toilet. Interesting to see you mention a school Garden opposite Alice and Eddie.?? Are we talking about Alice Hall.?.
    I have drawn a map of Broompark showing the streets and the school but cannot remember a school garden.
    http://ushawmoormemories.wordpress.com/tag/broompark/

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  26. Hi Kelly.....I remember all your family really well and your dad is quite right - we did go to school with him. My cousin Annette's surname was Hall, not Burns, though. Our nan was Burn, but a lot of people did add an extra letter s. Give him our best regards.

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  27. Hi again Linda. Was your aunty Alice married to an Eddie and if so can you ask Alice about this school garden as i seem to have a memory about this that i am almost banging my head against the wall over it LOL.The old School was as you know, just behind front street (main road) and the only other street opposite the school was East street which was the only street in the village that ran north to south. Did we have a garden perhaps looked after by Mr Richards but it was actually in Grant street.?
    Great to see the younger generation linking us together here. This unfortunately is the only way it will happen as the kids just before me have no idea (including my own sister) ,and no inclination of owning a computer.

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  28. Hi Ron. Yes, Auntie Alice was married to Eddie Hall. After seeing Kelly's post this morning I telephoned Alice because I was also confused about the school garden. She assures me that the school garden was opposite their house in Grant Street and that Jack Richards looked after it. Apparently it was a popular place for some of the men in the village (including my Uncle Eddie) to hang out, especially during the summer months. I marvel at the sharpness of brain and memory in a 91 year old!

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  29. Hi Linda and Ron....my dad says a big hello....I'm actually laughing out loud as my dad tells me you could blow smoke out your ears (Ron) ??? My nana phoebe is 92 and still doing fantastic (thank The Lord) she tells me so many old tales about broompark as does my dad and it sounds like it was a lovely little village.....my dad says can you remember your tame sparrow Ron?? And asks where your living now .... Xx

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  30. A big hello from me too. It was only my left ear that i could blow smoke out of. When i was 4 i had an ear infection and it left me with a perforated ear drum. One day i sneezed and i felt air was expelled through the ear. Then i discovered that i could hold my nose and blow and could blow air out of my ear.
    I was 10 when i started smoking and i remember it well because we often walked home from Ushaw Moor school and spent our bus fare at a little shop which i always thought to be on the main road not far from saint Josephs but on the other side of the road.
    On this particular day some of the bigger kids dared me to crawl under the counter and pinch a box of cigarettes. I was scared but i did it. So on the way home we were all puffing away. The bigger kids were having a go at me because the cigarettes i pinched were menthol and they wanted woodbines or senior service lol. I still remember the name of them - Consulate-and they had 5 little stars around the filter end. As we were close to Broompark i hid the carton of cigarettes in the hedges of the rec park but i think the bigger kids went back later and pinched them. I remember when i got home i was as white as a sheet and vomiting lol. After that i then started betting people i could blow smoke from my ear.
    I stole the sparrow from a nest that was in the gutter of one of the sheds in the laneway we all walked through along side the school wall. (still wondering what those buildings were used for). I got into trouble from my dad for taking the baby bird from the nest but he said it would be abandoned if i put it back so he made me go out each morning and dig up worms which i had to cut up and feed it. We called the bird cheep cheep and when it grew feathers and was flying it was let go but pecked on the window almost every day for months and then it stopped coming but months later returned with a mate and when we let her in the mate flew in with her but started panicking and crashing into walls so we opened the door and windows and they flew off - never returned.
    Good to hear that your nan is still alive and well. Would be great to see her and Alice share some stories.
    My memories of Broompark are very fond memories but of course i only have childhood memories which is probably better as we didn't feel the cold as much. I don't think too many adults liked the idea of walking across the street to the little outside scrape out toilets in the winter lol.The big Tarzan swing that Brian Grimes put up at the junction has always been a good memory. Playing kicky the tin at night at the bottom of the street often had lots of us kids playing for a good hour or more.
    Still confused as to the whereabouts of this school garden.
    If you went out the back door of grant st all that was opposite was the toilet blocks and then garden street. So then if you went out the front door everyone had gardens and looking opposite you would be the other gardens belonging to the people living in John street and a little path ran down the center.
    of the gardens.
    Or are we talking about the scrap yard end of the street. I know that Fullards scrap yard was a popular hang out for some of the men.
    I remember when we left for Australia lots of the village people waved us off as we got into the taxis for Durham train station and bound for Southampton docks to board the Oriana.
    I live in a place called Mandurah in Western Australia. We bought almost 3/4 of an acre 25 years ago and it is a tourist attraction and i am a 20 minute walk from the beach. But getting too much now for me to look after so thinking of selling and downsizing into something a bit more manageable.
    Pity there are not more photos around of the old Broompark days. I would have thought places like the loves hotel or broom farm guest house might have had some on the walls.
    Hopefully some more will turn up.

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  31. hello Patrick. I remember you and your family very well. Our families spent a lot of time together as our Dad's were in the same line of work - the opencast. He was Patrick Fehily and mum was Ivy. I am Patsy Fehily, the eldest and then there was Bryan and Pauline who you may remember, later Eileen and Peter arrived. We stayed in the area when you moved away to the Manchester area and mum and dad ended up living in Esh Winning. I remember your mum and dad very fondly and spoke of them only recently with Mrs Edith Dougan and Graham and Kevin.

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