Summer 2003

Bradway School (the original!) - Living history Sundays - Whinfell quarry garden - Growing up in wartime Bradway

Bradway School (the original!)

The Norton School Board built Bradway School in the early 1900’s and it opened its doors to pupils on the 1st July 1903, so (clever readers will have already worked this out), that makes the school 100 years old this July. The original School Diaries have been retained and the following is an excerpt from the first day.

1903. July 1st..

I , Emily Maude Jackson Certificated Mistress, late of Middlesborough (married) marked the registers in this, the Bradway Infants School for the first time today.

Attendance in the morning 16. Attendance in the afternoon 20.

School visited this morning by Mr B. Needham Member of Norton School Board.

July 3rd Total children admitted this week is 21. Total attendances therefore 19.1

This is then signed by, possibly the first schools inspector to visit Bradway, W.H. Bennett, who is mentioned on numerous occasions throughout this log, which makes fascinating reading overall.

Over its’ 100 years the school has seen many changes, one of the first being the opening of the ‘modern’ Greenhill School in 1953. This meant that older children now only had to travel to the next village for their education (and they didn’t have to go outside to the toilet). Then in 1968 Bradway got its’ very own Infant and Junior School (Sir Harold Jackson). Now ask yourself this question - was Sir Harold related to Emily Maude?

Anyway the old school now became an annexe to the new one and this was where the rising 5’s children were taught. Eventually these classes were transferred to Sir Harold Jackson and the old school became redundant. This is when the Bradway Neighbourhood Association (B.N.A) was formed.

A number of local residents got together and persuaded the council to let them use the Annexe as a community centre. Although we haven’t got any original records (but I am sure someone in Bradway will know where they are), we understand that one of the first groups to use it was a Mother and Toddler Group, which stills runs at the Annexe, although now it is just called Toddlers. In 1980 a Playgroup was started and these were held 4 mornings a week during school term time.

It was around this time that the B.N.A. realised that they could rent off the building and bring in more revenue. One of the first evening groups to use the Annexe was an art class and for a short time a Youth Club was held on a Friday evening. The building is now funded in a similar way, and regular evening groups, such as Slimming World, Keep Fit, and Tae Kwondo and daytime users Toddlers and Pre school bring in much needed funds. The Annexe is also hired for children’s parties and on occasions for a local band to practice.

For many years we have funded our repairs and running costs without help from the Council, but as the bills get larger we have had to ask them for help. We have recently spent a considerable amount of money having the walls re-plastered and of course re- decorated.

The inside of the school is very much in its original state, half panelled walls, wooden floor, half glazed partition to divide the hall into two classrooms and many other interesting features. Come and see for yourself, as we have planned an open day at the Annexe on the 1st July 2003. We have arranged, with help from Herdings School, to set the classrooms up, as they would have been in the early 1900’s. We will also have on display the original log kept by the head teacher. Everyone is welcome to come and have a look round and we will also have the school bell working as we did for the millennium celebrations. Refreshments will also be served.

If anyone has any information, stories or pictures concerning the old school we, the Neighbourhood Association, would be delighted to here from you.

Contact can be made by email to bradwayneighbourhood@tiscali.co.uk or phone 262 0580.

Hazel Brand

Living history Sundays

On the first Sunday of every month you can meet characters from 1851 at the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and explore different themes from their life and times. Programmes run from 11.30am to 4.15pm.

June 1st. "Excuse me, but why did you do that?" Dramatic stories from yesteryear.

July 6th. "From Smoky to Shiny" Art, industry and working life at Abbeydale

August 3rd. "They don’t make ‘em like they used to" Try your hand at some old-fashioned country crafts

September 7th. "What’s all’ song and dance about?" Join in a day of song, dance and music making

October 5th. "Steam, Fire and Water" Steam Traction Engines and Storytelling

Abbeydale’s working waterwheels will be running over the 2003 Season. The Hamlet is open from 10am to 4 pm Mondays to Thursdays and from 11am to 4.45pm on Sundays (closed Fridays and Saturdays).

Admission £3 Adults, £2 Concessions, Accompanied children FREE.

Also at any time there is free access to visit the Hamlet Cafe and Gift Shop.

Whinfell quarry garden

This local garden was created at the turn of the 19/20 centuries by my grandfather Samuel Doncaster - always known as ‘Mr Sam’. He was a Sheffield steel maker and chairman of Daniel Doncaster & Sons in Penistone Road. He was a great gardener, knew many influential gardeners of the time and followed the precepts of Gertrude Jekyll and William Robinson.

The Quarry Garden was started in 1898 and was fully flourishing by the 1920s, when Mr Sam commissioned a number of water colours of the garden by Frank Saltfleet, a Sheffield artist and pupil of John Ruskin who ran an educational settlement in Walkley for working men.

Stephen Doncaster

Growing up in wartime Bradway

I was born in December 1937, and after a few days in the nursing home I came home to 159 Bradway Road. It was a new semi-detached house, and my parents had moved from Meadowhead.

My grandfather had started an electrical business in Sheffield at the turn of the century when "electricity" was becoming for general usage. He had originally worked for the Sheffield Tram & Electric Co. After the First World War my father, home from the Navy, was sent to pick up the pieces after a disastrous manger had been in, my grandfather being in Birmingham, with another branch of the business. His first night in Sheffield was spent sleeping on the billiard table at the Traveller’s Rest on the Moor, which I believe was kept by a relative.

My sister, 12 years older than me was born at Meadowhead, but by 1937, things were looking up and Bradway was the place to be. It really consisted only of the main road, although there were 2 or 3 houses at the top of Prospect Road, and some along past the farm.

The houses on Bradway Grange Road were being built and as children we had a lot of fun playing on the building sites. (Not allowed now!!) We made sea-saws from planks and bricks, and played hide and seek in and out of the buildings. War was a great worry to all our parents, but really, growing up with it, I remember no fear. I was only worried when my sister Pauline joined the ATS, and I cried because I didn’t want her to fight the Germans, for her own sake. Food was rationed, and when I read about how small the rations were I am surprised , for never did I feel hungry and there was always a meal on the table. Mind you I still love toast and dripping and a mug of cocoa! We also kept hens.

As very small children, there were several of us who played together, and our parents encouraged this. There was Anne from 203, Anne from 198, Pat from 11 and Kathleen from Bradway Grange Road. There were also the boys, Michael from 204, Barry from 183, Peter from 206 and John and his sister Rachel from the top of Twentywell Lane. These were my friends throughout the war and some of them for many years later. In fact a letter in the Bradway Bugle regarding a "nostalgic visit", from Renee Smith about the Mission Hall was in fact six of us, with assorted spouses making a return trip.

Only Michael’s father was away with the fighting forces; the others were involved at local level, being too old to be called up, or in protected jobs. Anne Crawshaw’s father was in the fire service, both in Sheffield, and on the South coast. My father was an Air Raid Warden. The headquarters was at Greenhill . It was on the left-hand side, past the "Mucky Duck" (White Swan), and I believe was an upstairs part of a barn at Greenhill Hall.

Whenever the siren went at night, father would rush out and I would be put into my green siren suit, an all in one outfit with a front zip, a bit like a ski suit, and mother and I would go downstairs. If the alarm was a false one, and there were many of those, father would ring, and we could go back to bed. If it were for real, we would go into the air-raid shelter at the back of the house in the garden. Father had bought half a furnace from some steel company and had it built into the ground.

In it were two bunk beds, and some deck chairs, plus mother’s food collection. There was also a little gas stove. I can close my eyes now and see my mother and Phil Potts, (Michael’s mother) sitting and talking quietly over a cup of tea, whilst we were in the bunk beds, going off to sleep. When the all clear went, we were then carted off back to our own beds again. It was just the way of life, and we took it in our stride.

Then there was the blackout, which had to be put up every night. The material was bought and stitched onto rods so that it could be put up and taken down easily. No light could be put on until the blackout was up. It was quite strange when finally it came down and showing a light didn’t matter any more.

Bradway itself didn’t have a direct hits, but there were some not too far away, for I remember father coming home one night and speaking about one, that he had been to. There was one or two that fell in fields, obviously "dumped" on the way back from Sheffield, where there had been extensive damage. I seem to remember that there was a large crater in one of the fields near the Mission hut, where there are now houses that we thought was a bomb crater.

That was a lovely field, which led up to the farm on the hill, and where we played for hours on end. There was a magnificent tree with a strange shaped trunk, which became for us a ship, a horse, a stage and anything else we wanted at the time. Often we would take a pack of sandwiches with us and go off. No sense of time, but we’d probably be back in time for tea. No problems. Well, only once.

I was furious, for I had been into town with my mother and came back to find some of my friends driving around in a Police Car. I had missed all the excitement. Apparently a man had invited Kathleen to go along the tunnel path with him for 2/6d. She had declined and mothers were told about it. Sensibly the Police were called. I don’t think they ever found him, but we all had lectures about "strange men". Even when I was walking up the road, I kept an eye open for whose gateway I could run into if anyone tried to stop me, but only for a while. Life was too busy and too much fun.

We raised money. St. Dunstan’s for the blind was our favourite. I had met a chap who had been blinded and decided that we should help. We had some wounded soldiers to spend Christmas with us. They came dressed in hospital "Blue". This was a sort of uniform, which was bright blue. I suppose to enable the public to know they were service men who had been wounded.

We had Bring and Buy sales, concerts, we went carol singing, and had stalls outside the house. For the Bring and Buy sales, we would call at every house on Bradway Road, Bradway Grange Road, and Kenwell Drive asking for stuff. Most people were very helpful. We had the sales in someone’s garden or a garage if wet. With the help of our parents we made quite a lot of money. Sometimes, we made things, either by sewing, needle cases or wallets out of felt, or perfume from rose petals, and sold them outside on the pavement. The concerts were fun. We wrote plays and did dances and trained Anne’s dog to do tricks. We made dresses out of crepe paper and newspaper and sold refreshments. We made no charge to come in, but we charged people to go out!!

Some of our fathers belonged to the "Bradda Parliament"(Ed. See our spring issue). This met at the Bradway Hotel, under the licensee Mrs. Gross, with her great helper Myrtle. This was started in 1943, when it was deemed to meet on a Sunday, firstly at lunch time for a drink and then from 8pm to 10.pm to discuss topics of the day. They had a Speaker, a Clerk, (my father Archie Webb), someone in charge of getting the drinks in, and various other roles. It appeared to be quite serious, but great fun was had by all. Mr. Speaker authorised "at each sitting, the business will be to openly, honestly and without malice, discuss all matters relative to the social, political, scientific and physical welfare of the people" All speeches were to be limited to 4 minutes, and with dignity and decorum!

People were fined for being late, and for not having a good excuse for not attending, for being rude, or not sitting down. All the fines went into the beer pot! They discussed a very wide range of subjects from "Are the farmers cheating the housewife by selling vegetables with soil on included in the weight?" and "After the war should women be allowed to be doctors on equal terms with men?"

This last prompted one comment that "Men are entitled to be the leaders in any profession, women were too squeamish, maybe doctors, but not surgeons" How times change. I have the minutes, written by my father and they make fascinating reading, once one is able to read his handwriting. It gives an insight into the social thinking of the day, 60 years ago.

Topics such as "Why shove or pull a barrow?" and "Higher education for adolescents", and "Would the use of chemical warfare be justified if the war could be ended in three months, brought forth a variety of views and some humour too. In regard to the last one I find a quote of my father’s which is pretty relevant today. "--these bodies of ours, animated by the Creator and given the use of brains and emotion, to stoop to such methods of warfare would be an insult to our Maker, and the highest form of depravity"

Some of the topics seem prophetic. "Should we have a housing estate in Bradway?" this seemed quite popular, although I don’t suppose they envisaged such a large one. It was a wonderful and joyful childhood and how privileged we were to have the freedom, the friendships and families who cared for us and our friends. A Bradway childhood, despite being in wartime was a blessing.

Mrs Pam Booth

Go to Bradway Bugle Past Issues

Web site maintenance by
Stratton & English Software Ltd.