Long Drops- Tin Baths and Cast Iron Ranges.

[Poppy]

Thanks GC, I kept rereading it knowing there was something wrong, but couldnt put my finger on it.

i got stuck down the long drop as a likkle girl,,and i still remeber the tin baths too,,,,oooh i was scared when we got modern though ,,,the flusher was a freaky thing ,,,,,,,potty for me any day back then lol

dont forget watching pictures in the embers while ya sat in ur tin bath,,,those were the days and not so long ago either

aye burnley boys club ,,,barden mill and the weavers,,,,the spire where the market carpark now stands,,,wow 40 years of memories come flooding back ,,,jeepers so much has changed over the years hasent it

[michael hickman]

Hello to everybody and I have just joined your group this past weekend. When I read your stories and saw some of the ages who replied to the Long Drops etc I wondered if any of you could help me.
I was evacuated to Brierfield in 1944 from Bexley in Kent with my sister and we lived in Railway Terrace with Mr and Mrs George Ward [he was a policeman] and their two sons David and Alan.
Do any of you have or know where I could get any local information on the evacuees to Brierfield, the schools they attended etc, and where I might possibly get a photo of Railway Terrace. Is there a local history group in Brierfield?
My memories from those days when I was 9 years old was the warmth with which we were looked after and the endless discussions [that is polite for arguements] about why we spoke differently. I cannot remember which school I went to other than it was an old building. Needless to say being 1944 both the house and the school were cold and as my sister and I made four children in a small terraced house there must have been some doubling up in beds.
Love your site and hope to hear from somebody who can possibly help me with memories or details.
Best wishes to everybody
Michael

[lorna michelle]

gobstoppers and chip scraps on a fridaytea time .going up pendle hill at easter and halloween and the coal men and pop men :Banane34:

[Kiki]

One of the best chippies around was Rosehill, always lots of queue,s

[Kiki]

What good sweet shops we had ,i used to get the shop window fake chocolates to play with as a kid and be dissapointed when i unwrapped them to find that all it really was, was a block of wood! Funny what you remember!

[WillowTheWhisp]

I hope you find someone who can help you out Michael. Why not start a new thread asking for information and maybe any recent photos of the area you are talking about? I'm from Accrington myself so don't know much about Brierfield I'm afraid.


I do remember long drop lavvies though. My Gran had one but I think our outdoor one had a chain. A friend of mine lived in a terraced block which was houses round 3 sides of a huge shared yard and there were outside toilets along the fourth side. It seemed miles away to go to the loo, especially at night or if it was raining. All the kids used to play together in the big yard though which was fun apart from the odd neighbour who complained if you went too close to their kitchen window. I think the houses were 2 up 2 down and the stairs went up from a corner of the back room and sort of curved round the wall like a semi-spiral.

My Gran never had electricity. Her lighting was gas mantles. She washed in a dolly tub with a posser and a scrubbing board and squeezed the water out of the clothes with a mangle. I remember being amazed that dolly blue made shirts whiter and she would starch the collars and cuffs with 'Robin' - I remember the little picture of the robin on that.

It was a great excitement when we had our back bedroom divided in two to create a bathroom with indoor toilet. We thought we were really posh. When we moved to Accrington, when I was 4, the house only had electricity and no gas to my mother's dismay and she had to buy what she referred to as "an electric gas oven". My Gran had a gas stove but also an oven in part of a big cast iron fire range which was black-leaded. There was a swing in and out thing to put the kettle on to boil over the fire and we always had 'proper' toast at her house done on a toasting fork over the fire.

It was freezing cold in winter as we never had fires upstairs so I was never very keen on getting out of bed apart from Christmas morning but I did like the lovely patterns Jack Frost made on the insides of the bedroom windows!

[fazza]

Originally Posted by Ianw

Does anyone remember any of the hard times, emptying chamber pots into a bucket and taking it to the 'long drop' toilet, beating the fire and blackleading the fireplace, dad getting bathed in the kichen.
Or am I the only geriatric pensioner on the site, come on out of the closet you old un's. :hehetable:

I remember it, the so called good old days, but Im not a pensioner yet, bit to go yet. Fazza.