Ushaw Moor Memories (Backup)

Memories of Ushaw Moor and Deerness Valley

Thursday 21 July 2011

Victoria Court around 1950

I am going to attempt to enter the families I can remember living in Victoria Court about the year 1950. I would like to people to read the article and put my mistakes right and update it if possible where I have falled down.

No. 1. Mr & Mrs Ellis and their family Billy, Ernie and Elsie. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 2. Mr & Mrs Illingworth and their son Gordon and I also think a girl lived at home. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 3. Mr & Mrs Hodgson and their two daughters Sheila and Mary. Their grandma lived with them but I never knew her name. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 4. Mr & Mrs John Harrison and their family Mary, Winnie Tommy and Helen. They moved from New Brancepeth.

No 5. Mr & Mrs John William Alderton and their family Peter, John, Colin, Fred and Barbara. They moved from Alum Waters.

No.6 Mr & Mrs Carse and their family twins John and Derek and their sister Dorothy. Mr Carse was the Clerk of the Works for the Estate on which we lived. They moved from the Mill down at Alum Waters.

No. 7. Mr & Mrs Amos Mortlock and their two daughters Dorothy and I cannot remember the name of the other daughter. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 8. Mr & Mrs Tose and their grown up family. I cannot remember their names. I believe they moved from Eshawwod Street at New Brancepeth.

No. 9. Mr & Mrs Morgan, and their family John and his sister whose name was I think Doreen. I remember John like all young men in those days was consripted into the Army for two years with the Durham Light Infantry and served in the Korean War. They moved from one of the two long demolished houses adjacent to Osbornes farm at Broadgate.

No. 10. Mr & Mrs Fred Stewart and their family Fred, Doreen and Eddie. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 11. Mr & Mrs Temple and their son Arthur. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No 12. Mr & Mrs Gillon and their family Gordon, Dennis, Owen and Malcolm. They moved from Pringle Place at New Brancepeth.

No. 14. Mr & Mrs Snaith and the twins Arthur and Albert, and Ken. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 15. Mr & Mrs Rowan and their family Maureen, Dennis and Patricia. They moved from Broompark.

No. 16. Mr & Mrs Stout and their sons George and Robert and an older sister Jane. They moved from Broompark.

No. 17. Mr & Mrs Scott and family. They moved from New Brancepeth. I think they lived down the Lowside.

No. 18. Mr & Mrs French and their son Jimmy and daughter Marlene. Jimmy was a great footballer. They moved from Broompark.

No. 19. Mr & Mrs Grey and their son Morris. They moved from Broompark.

No. 20. Mr & Mrs Hope. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 21. Mr & Mrs Gott and their daughter Maureen and son Joe. They moved from New Brancepeth.

No. 22. Mr & Mrs Maddocks (not quite sure of the spelling) and their daughter Shirley and sons John and I think David. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 23. Mr & Mrs Pearson and their son Robert (Dumper) . They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

Mr & Mrs Pearson and their lads Tucker, Raymond Albert and I am sure there was another younger son whose name slips my memory. I am not sure where they moved from but Temperance Terrace rings a bell.

Mr & Mrs Smith and their daughter Mary. I think there was also older sons at home. They moved drom Pringle Place at New Brancepeth.

No. 27. I cannot remember this families name or details.

No. 28. Mr & Mrs Ackley and their son Dennis and daughter Maureen. I am sure they moved from Jubilee Street at New Brancepeth.

No. 28. Mr & Mrs Morland and their daughter Doris. They moved from New Brancepeth.

No 29. I cannot remember the details of this family.

No. 30. Mr & Mrs Wright and their son Lawrence. I think they moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 31. Mrs Gibbs and I can only remember Sarah but I think there were other family members lived. They moved from Eshwood or Church Street at New Brancepeth.

No. 32. Mr & Mrs Howarth and their son Mickey and daughter Monica. I think there other family members living there but I cannot remember their names. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 33. Mr & Mrs Dickie Tolson and their son Robert. I know there were other family members but I cannot remember their names. They moved from New Brancepeth.

Mr & Mrs Mawson and their son Harold. There were other family members but I cannor remember their details. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

Mr & Mrs Griffiths. I cannot remember their family details. They moved from New Brancepeth.

Mr & Mrs Halpin and their family Edgar, Philomenia, Mary and Joseph. They moved from Church Steet in New Brancepeth.

No. 37. Mr & Mrs Peter Turnbull and their family Harry, Percy and Greta. I am sure they were other family members living at home. They moved from Ushaw Moor Colliery.

No. 38. My Mother Mary and Dad Jimmy and my sister Mary and brothers Jim, Mick and Kevin. We moved from 29 Harvey Street in New Brancepeth.

No. 39. Mr & Mrs Morland and their daughter Ann and son Malcolm and I am sure there was another brother. They moved from Pringle Place in New Brancepth.

That concludes the datails I can remember about Victoria Court. Please comment on any persons I have missed out or where my memory is a bit hazy about the area of Victoria Court at the T junction with Whitehouse?Bracken Court. I hope this article brings back memories of people who lived there about sixty years ago

Brian Mc.

34 comments:

  1. Mr & Mrs Illingworth had a daughter called Margaret, my grandparents moved into number 4 in 1964, they were called Tommy and Mary Moore, they moved there from 1 Bracken Court

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  2. I am sure it was No 22 that the McPherson family lived - John, Derek and their two sisters, Cyncia and ?., all very tall with blonde hair. My aunt and uncle Percy Turnbull moved into No 28 in the early 50's.

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  3. Hello Peter,
    This is exactly what I want. Dis they move in after the previous family moved out? I can remember the McPherson family living in Whitehouse Lane. They had a very pretty daughter who worked in Ushaw Moor Post Office in Temperance Terrace.

    Brian Mc.

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  4. You must have an brilliant memory to remember all those people and names.
    I grew up living in Victoria court from the mid 70's and can remember a lot of those families who still live there and some still now including my family. It's so good to see close nit communities are still about. I moved down south when I was 18 for about 20 years and always missed that closeness of friends and families, thats why I decided to move back.

    Gill

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  5. The other Pearson was Leslie - my uncle. Raymond 'Ginger' Pearson's my dad.

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  6. You are on the ball there Brian, the eldest daughter did work at the Post Office. They have obviously moved from Whitehouse Lane where as my first memories are of them living in Victoria Court - the end house overlooking ' The Green' in Bracken Court.

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  7. Incidently Brian it is great to read in the Catholic Herald about plans put forward by Durham University to make Ushaw College a centre for Catholic scholarship. If accepted and things are looking good then the library and much more will be retained at Ushaw.

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  8. Brian, You have a brilliant memory!! Robert Pearson had a older brother called Billy and a sister called Charlotte (who married my cousin Tommy Rothwell). Next door the youger brother was called Leslie. Farther along the street I can remember the Dodds family, they came from New Brancepeth they had a son called Colin. The father was a referee.This is very interesting.Keep it going. Alf R

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  9. Many thanks Brian, such a wonderful posting, it really has sparked some comments, keep up the good work.

    Paul

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  10. Hello Paul,

    I was surprised myself at the quick response. Replies have brought memories back of persons of roughly my age who I had forgotten about and I can only apologise to them. Hope you are well and that the sun always shines on Ushaw Moor and its people.

    Brian Mc.

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  11. A Philomena Halpin married Terry Brown in the late 50s. Might be the same one.

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  12. Wilf you are right Terry B*rown did marry Philomena but she passed away many years ago. She was in the class above me and we lived next door but one to the Halpins. I am quite sure that her brother Edgar received an ward from the LNER. He delivered papers to the Broadgate area and he noticed a lanslide onto the railway and notified the authorities. I have not seen Edgar for a lot of years.*

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  13. The other members of the Howarth family were a son Matty and a daughter Margaret

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  14. Hello Peter, Many thanks for your addition. You are quite right. A number of people have kept me right.

    Brian Mc.

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  15. Reference to Victoria Court Blog and Jimmy French. I was in the same class as Jimmy at St. Josephs School Ushaw Moor until 1955 when I left school and moved back to Manchester. I also remember the Aldertons who I seem to recall had an undertaking business.

    Kind regards to all at Bearpark where I lived with my grand parents, and to Ushaw Moor residents. Mike Copple

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  16. just came across thiis site my aunty monica still lives at 32 victoria court

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  17. Not living in Ushaw moor now, but still have family theire,having read the names in victoria court, brought memories back, because i was born at No. 34 in 1950, my Dad & mam was Horace & lillian Mawston, ( Not mawson ), my eldest sister was Ruth, & have brothers Alan and Tom, i was 5 or 6 when moved down to 1 ushaw villas My name is John Mawston, now living in nottingham hope this helps!

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  18. What a good post about who lived in Victoria court.
    I only know someone who lived in Bracken Court called George and Millie Thompson, and their children. Christine, Michael [think he still lives there] and another sister cant remember her name.
    They moved there from Jubilee st .New Brancepeth in about 1967.

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  19. No 23...Billy and Violet Pearson (my grandparents), daughter Charlotte(married Tommy Rothwell), son Billy(married Betty Harrison), son Robert (married Jenny Burnham) and daughter Pauline. Pauline is still in Ushaw Moor at Fir Park with her husband, John Wilson. The other Pearsons have now all passed away. Oh, and there was the dog, Gyp! Betty and Jenny are still with us in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire respectively. Alf Rothwell is my mam's cousin, I'm related to the Rothwells in several ways through both sides of the family! I was born at No 1, later in the fifties, when my grandparents, Billy and Eliza Harrison(nee Holliday) lived there.

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  20. By the way, my great aunt and uncle, Fred and Iris(nee Holliday) Robinson lived at No 1 after 1955 with their children Fred, Carol, Linda, Eveline and Lillian.

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  21. My grandparents Thomas and Mary Violet (Vi) Day, lived at 49 Oakridge Road, then moved to Dale street, sadly this was their last address. My Uncle Thomas Colin Day and Aunty Vera lived at 16 Ushaw Terrace, Will I still have relatives living in Ushaw, they are: Davis, Wrightson, Bateman, Usher, Malone, just to name a few.

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  22. The McPhersons lived at number 25, next door to my grandparents. I used to play with their youngest daughter, Susan in the late 50's/early 60's.

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  23. Sorry, it was 22 for the McPhersons, then Bill and Violet Pearson at 23, then Tommy and Meg (nee Loftus) Pearson. Bill and Tommy were brothers. Tommy and Meg moved to 1 Holly Park. Tommy died in the early 50's of cancer, leaving Meg with the four sons, Tom, Albert, Raymond and Leslie.

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  24. Thank you for this, Brian. Memories of the days when folk were neighbourly and everyone knew everyone. Today I hardly know any of my neighbour's names!! Mind you, I'm not in Co Durham any more!

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  25. I am delighted at the response to my memories. I could quote quite a few families in Whitehouse Court also. Not as comprehensive as Victoria Court but it could stir a few memories. Moving to a new Council house in Ushaw Moor immediately after the Second World War was a culture shock. From a bath on a Friday night in a tin bath in front of the fire in the kitchen of 29 Harvey Street at New Brancepeth to a house with a bathroom where you could have a bath nighly in privacy. From an outside netty or earth closet to a house with a modern toilet. Three bedrooms and a garden at the rear. It is only as I have grown older that I have realised the step up in living conditions that Council housing provided to working class people. Life has changed drastically since then and and the expression "Council house" is not good enough in todays world. Social housing is now the new buzz word for Council housing. What is the difference?. I sometimes detect a stigma attached to the expression "Council house". Why?

    I hope people read the Housing List for Victoria Court and that it invokes more people to put their comments on line.

    Brian Mc.

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  26. Hi Mary. I live at New Brancepeth and have done since i married in 1964.
    I know your grandmother Vi she used to be a cleaner at the factory i worked at at Langley Moor in the 60's. I often saw her when i would go to Ushaw Moor and we would have a chat.
    She has a granddaughter that lives at New Brancepeth. I often asked her about Vi.

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  27. My grandparents Lived at Victoria Court, Thomas & Margaret Pearson. Thomas past away in 1954. Leaving Sons Thomas (Tucker My Dad) , Raymond (Ginger) , Albert ( Gilly) and Les.
    They moved to 1 Holly Park.
    Thomas my dad moved to Redcar and past away in 2004

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  28. I used to go to your house when I lived at 25 Whitehouse Court, Alan and me used to walk or run to school together.I can also remember Ruth who married one of the Snaith twins. Give my regards to the family.Alf R

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  29. Gordon Illingsworth was living in the Doncaster area, last we heard. He had a son who died in the Falklands War.

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  30. Brian mcloughlin30 August 2011 at 11:37

    I remember you and your brother Robin. In my memory I can still see your Dad going to work. I think he must have worked permanent night shift. He was always dressed in his Prison Officers uniform when he went to work. I worked inside of Durham Prison when I was serving my time as an apprentice joiner before capital punishment was abolished and the atmosphere inside the prison the day before a hanging was something not be experienced. We were not allowed back into the prison before noon the day was a hanging. What a ghoulish thing to write about. I am glad you have contributed to this post as names bring back memories of Ushaw Moor.

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  31. Brian mcloughlin30 August 2011 at 11:45

    I have to rephrase my original message. I have just realized that on reading your message again the Tommy was your Grandad. Sorry about that but I still have the memories of Tommy. Thanks again for contributing. The best little bank for sledging was down the hill in front of 1 Bracken Court before the road was extended through the wood to Oakridge Road. Brian Mc.

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  32. Hello Tricia nice to meet you your aunt Monica is my cousin

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  33. Brian, interesting to read your memories of Victoria Court. You may remember me, I'm Edgar's brother Joe. Sad to say but Edgar passed away in May 2010.

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  34. My Grandparents, John and Ria Harrison lived at Victoria Court, I think you mention them, with Mary, Winnie, Tommy (my Dad), and Helen - they also had another son, John. My Grandparents and my Dad are now deceased (aged 55). I have many memories of swinging on the garden gate out towards the footpath, and my Grandad's grotto in his back garden! He was a keen gardener and a gentle man. Mary and Winnie now live in Langley Park, John is in Hetton-le-Hole, and Helen in Blackpool (I think).

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