ilkleyite

Gday Folks

                I've been meaning to write this for the last 4 days but every time I start I get a memory overload  

               and have to give it away , sorry about that

               First,  Thank You Tom , for posting that photo .It is magic,  yours is o/k our kid, but that is magic

               Andrew, I think is right , the original privies probably went the same time as the foot bridge end,

              to widen Springs Lane . In the 40s 50s the toilets were water closets and no sign of being anything  

              else, I cant see the Midland Railway  putting that in when they built them in the 1880s. The coal

              bunker was behind the toilet with the wash house next door. The house was as David says 2 rooms

             down stairs 3 up The lean too at the back was a scullery and porch the front just a porch The only

             features in the gardens was a shed at the bottom of our garden the 4th or no 7 and a large  cherry

             tree at the bottom of no 3. If you wanted to  model the houses in November in the 50s ?. There

             would have been a very large bonfire  built on that area between the gardens and  the first track

             All the local kids would collect firewood from as far away as Crossbeck Rd for bonfire night ,we

             always had the biggest fire in the district . I had better post this before I lose it all again if you want

            more just ask                                       

                                                             Later Ron

Hi, Ron you're right they would have been a very large bonfire built there in the 70's one of the biggest in Ilkley for many a year, I was one of the local kids who use to build it every year, the Railway sidings use to be our playground spent many a time down there as I only lived on Springs Terrace, it was built by the kids from Springs Terrace, Tivoli Place, Richmond Place and from Railway Terrace and one or two other's. People use to ask us if they were allowed to come to the Bonfire on November 5th when we were building it as it was so Big, and yes we allowed people to come from all over. We use to play down there so much in the end the Railway Police I think just turned a blind eye and gave up as long as we didn't go anywhere near the Lines, I can say just on the odd occasion we may have wondered a little close as kids do. And your right we went all over Ilkley collecting wood and you name it anything and everything we could get our hands on we put it on the bonfire. Great times! Thanks Bryan.

Hi, If people are still trying to find out as to why the footbridge at Springs Lane end changes colour i.e. a different shade of grey, it has nothing to do with the steps been changed from going out straight onto Springs Lane and then moving to a right angle. it's all to do with the filming of the old Kerching saver strip advert for TV back in the early 80's, it was filmed around 1983/84 possible 85 not too sure of exact year, i know that as the picture shows steps going down what was then Hillards Supermarket carpark and that was built in 1983. For filming it was painted in very bright colours, i.e. Red,Green,Yellow etc. and soon after filming it was painted back to it's original colour GREY hence a different shade of grey. That's the only reason as to why the bridge changes a different shade of grey.

Bryan.