Here are some memories from
my time in Goldenhill (which is 326 miles from Land's End !).
I spent a very happy childhood at Goldenhill.
My mother, Phyllis Salmon, owned a drapery shop - 826, High
Street.,
where we lived. She later took over the Coop next door and expanded into
ladies fashions. She specialised in supplying the 'designers' of the
day and people from all over North Staffordshire visited her shops. We
later moved to 2, Oldcott Crescent.
My mother was a WHARTON and she was born at
Latebrook. My grandmother had a shop just past the Old Workingmen's
Club on High Street. The Wharton family later moved to Trenton House,
Rodgers
St.,
My mother with her two younger brothers
(Samuel and Arthur)
and Cynthia Beech ( from Beech's shop - Rodgers St.)
outside the shop on High Street
My grandfather, Samuel, was known as 'pop'
Wharton. He owned The Goldenhill Mineral Water Company and
manufactured pop which he sold to shops and pubs. He also had a coal round
(every Thursday) collected from Birchenwood. He began his business,
as a sideline to working in the pit, by making ice & selling it
by horse & cart.
View of the Mineral Water Co
(High Street to
the left - Rodgers
Street to the right)
I went to the Goldenhill Nursery School,
initially, where Mrs Bailey was the headmistress. From there I went to
Goldenhill (St.John's) C of E where Mr Charles Beech was our teacher
and Mr Chesworth was headmaster.
I made friends from Goldenhill that I am
still very close to today - Ian Broad from 640 High St., Sandyford,
Kenneth Moore from Oldcott Drive, Janek Mandziak from Park Farm View,
Frank Cooper from Albany St. Ian's grandmother kept a 'sweet shop' at
the top of High St. (before it joined Kidsgrove Rd.) Frank's mother kept
one on the corner of Albany St., (which is still there! - 2001).
We regularly played football on the 'rec.' at
Latebrook. We played around the streets and surrounding countryside- the
Starvation Banks, Little & Big Woods, Birchenwood Marl Holes, The
Railway Station.
I went to Sunday School (twice on Sunday) at
the Christ Church at Rodgers St.,
Myself, Ian & Ken formed our first
pop group 'Page 27' in 1965 together with Derek Yeomans, Reg Tooth and
Peter Cooke. We rehearsed in the Church Hall on Rodgers St., We travelled
all over Staffs, Derbys, & Cheshire with the band. In the
early days, had we not been the entertainment, we would not have been able
to get into many of the venues ( pubs, clubs etc.). We later changed the
name to 'The Phase' because it sounded more psychedelic!
We went to the youth club dances and at 16,
we ventured to the Golden Torch at Tunstall.
In our late teens we spent many happy nights
at the Duke of Wellington with George and Alice Bradbury. George only had
one eye and Alice had a laugh you could hear a mile away! There were all
types of characters there but never any trouble - George wouldn't allow
it!
Duke of Wellington
As the years passed by, Goldenhill was torn
down - redevelopment they called it but it took away all the happiness and
comradeship. The community was torn apart. Families moved all over the
place. It seemed to take so long for this 'so called' redevelopment to
take place. Initially, we were told the road had to be widened and
replacement housing would be built. But, look now - where is it? There is
a lot of old folks housing and a cross close to the site of Mum's shops.
The sad thing is that the old community was devastated.
So life has to go on - progress its called . I
always drive through when I can, and try to remember what was where.
