Henry's Tour of Littleborough in 1986 (Part 4)

 

The first building housed the offices of E.K.Taylor & Sons, builders, Ebor Street, Littleborough. Beyond them were the joiner’s shop and builder’s yard. Barbara worked here after a short period unemployed. Her first job from school had been in a furniture retailer’s shop in Rochdale. Derrick went here straight from school. Taylor’s became an important firm, setting up shop in the Treforest Estate in SouthWales during the depression. They were Methodists on Sundays. The most colourful character was Herbert Hurst, the foreman joiner. He kept wicket for Littleborough from 1904 to 1932, standing well back for Fred Webster.

We have now gone under the arches, past Ebor Street, a short stretch along Blackstone Edge Road, then right over the canal towards EALEES.

Further up Ealees, past the mill where Grandpa (Wilfrid K.) used to work. What you see here is the cricket field of Littleborough Parish Church, who played in the Sunday School League. We called the wooden building the Institute. It had gym equipment – parallel bars and rings.

The ground was so small that a boundary only counted two. To score four you had to hit the ball out of the ground. The boundary on two sides was a stream. 

Our gang was playing in the water one day in the mid 1920s when an aeroplane landed on the field at the top of the hill on the left of this picture. We all dashed up there, and were able to tell the pilot, who was lost, where he was. He then taxied away and flew off.

These sheep are grazing what was the ‘square’, actually just one wicket used either by the 1st XI or 2nd XI of Littleborough Methodist Cricket Club in the Sunday School League. If only I had collected 1d for every ball lost, and searched for, on practice nights. At the end of the 1939 season, members took various pieces of tackle home for the winter, as always had been done. The club played no more games. I had the set of wickets, and still set them up on the Grammar School field, or on Queens Park in Windermere. The bat I had from those days was a Gunn & Moore ‘Cannon’.