Category: Crowle memories

January 1, 1970

Wharf Road, Crowle, as it was. Bill Goldthorp

Modern Wharf Road, stretches from Godnow Road to Crowle Station. It was not always so, parts once had different names. Crowle Map Old Street Names. When I was a boy, 1933 to 1951, when I went to university. Mill Road was often referred to by the older residents as Mill Trod, to my mind much more picturesque than Mill Road. Fieldside was never referred to […]

Bill Goldthorp World War 2

January 1, 1970

Crowle at War: Part 10. Dietry Supplements – submitted by Bill Goldthorp

Dietary Supplements. All the lads were at it. I firstly with my cockerels and two year old hens. We all were after rabbits and woodpigeons, which the farmers regarded as pests. Rabbits at first without much success trying to use snares. Then my father bought me a Webley air rifle for a birthday present. My rabbit total suddenly shot up. At eight years old I […]

Bill Goldthorp World War 2

January 1, 1970

Crowle at War:Part 11.Pig potatoes, war casualties – submitted by Bill Goldthorp

Pig potatoes. The small potatoes would be scooped up and taken to the fold yard. Every farm had a yardman who looked after the cows, pigs, chickens and other livestock In the farm building where the pig potatoes were stored would be a large copper where the potatoes would be boiled before being fed to the pigs. Boiled in their jackets they were lovely flowery, […]

Bill Goldthorp

January 1, 1970

Crowle Market Place – submitted by Bill Goldthorp

The market square has barely changed in over one and a half centuries. The above sketch, from the mid 1850’s, is taken from Read’s History of the Isle of Axholme published in 1858. Note the gas lamp, the only streetlight in Crowle. Crowle was modern; it had a gas works, which paid good dividends to its investors. The gas works lasted to about 1940 when […]

Bill Goldthorp History

January 1, 1970

Gervii (Fen Dwellers) – submitted by Bill Goldthorp

I am proud to admit being a 50% Gervi by inheritance and a born and bred Gervi until the age of 18 when I went to University. At this time immigrants into the Isle were rare. It probably accounts for my bizarre sense of humour which is constantly getting me into trouble. So here goes lets get into trouble again. For the benefit of newcomers […]

Bill Goldthorp Roads

January 1, 1970

Mill Trod – Submitted by Bill Goldthorp

Submitted by Bill Goldthorpe Mill Road, Crowle, Mill Trod was the name given to Mill Road by the older inhabitants of Crowle when I was a boy, although by then the official name was Mill Road. I feel very sad that many of these old names have been modified. Mill Trod, makes me think of a tired farmer plodding alongside his horse and cart with […]

Bill Goldthorp Family History

January 1, 1970

Proud to be a Staniforth. Or The advantage of being an Axholme man.

Hannah Stanniforth aged 33 married John Everatt aged 39 in 1857. According to family tradition,(my mother and aunts) an arranged marriage. I have always felt proud of my 12.5% Everatt genes and totally neglected the 12.5% Stanniforth ones. Looking at John Everatt’s career, the reason is obvious, 1841 age 22, agricultural labourer, 1851 age 32, farmer 6 acres, 1861 age 42, farmer 50 acres, 1881 […]

Bill Goldthorp World War 2

January 1, 1970

Crowle at War: Part 9. Preserving, Newspapers, – submitted by Bill Goldthorp

Preserving. One could use the sugar ration and occasionally get extra sugar for preserving. My father’s orchard contained a Conference pear and another type of pear tree, Victoria and Damson plums. Green gage plums could be bought from the Ramsdens who owned the Tetley Hall Estate. Every autumn my parents put up about a hundred bottles of fruit in the old Kilner Jars. Damsons were […]

Bill Goldthorp

January 1, 1970

Fishing in the clay pits – submitted by Bill Goldthorp

The Tetley gang. All born in 1933, myself, 46 Wharf Road, Laurence Lowthorpe, Mike Maw, both lived at Tetley, Chippy (Brian) Chapman, 60 Wharf Road, Roy Strachan, the doctor’s son and a few others from the age of 7 or 8 spent the majority of our time messing about, making sure we were not caught around Tetley and the clay pits, and occasionally, now what […]

Bill Goldthorp World War 2

January 1, 1970

Crowle at War: Part 8. Salted pig – submitted by Bill Goldthorp

My father started to salt his own pig, the shoulder, ham and sides of bacon. I would be sent to Wrights the grocers with a wheelbarrow and return with a block of salt 2 & ½ feet long and a foot wide and high. The cold slab would be deeply covered in salt and the hams etc. rubbed in salt every day and covered in […]