STORER’S STORIES
A LOOK AT 1950
January
Writing in the Macclesfield newspaper “Silkman” wished for a football club “successful in its efforts to obtain new players in time to ensure a settled tam for the Cheshire Senior Cup. It is time this trophy was back in Macc again”. The club rejected an offer of £800 for centre forward Eric Barber. But in March he was off to Bolton Wanderers for £1500.
Fred Wright of the Wizard Farm, Nether Alderley, retired when the Wizard Woods area was taken over by The National Trust. Forty years before had been licensee at the Inn when beer was 2d a pint. Fairs were held at Easter with roundabouts, swings and side shows.
The death was announced of Alfred Rowley (82) who had played the violin for Tudor’s Circus in Queen Victoria Street. For seven years he was musical director at the Opera House in Catherine Street
Films and the Dick Barton radio programme were blamed at Macclesfield Borough Juvenile Court for a nine year old local boy stealing.
A goods train crashed through the buffers at Chelford
February
Air Commodore Sir Arthur Vere Harvey was re elected as the town’s Member of Parliament
A 240 year association with the Red Lion at Goostrey ended when Walter Knowles retired. The hotel had been conducted by members of his wife’s family since 1711.
March
Smart young ladies were invited to join the staff at Woolworths. Wages at the age of 15 were £1. 15s and at the age of 24, £4 2shillings and sixpence.
The BBC broadcast “Have a Go” with Wilfred Pickles – it had been recorded the previous November.
Walshpool Cottages at Rainow had mains water supply when Gyn Clough reservoir came into use for the first time.
A question in Parliament about why Councillor Butterworth was still occupying a Macclesfield Council House when he was £3000 a year member of the North Western Gas Board.
April
Local landlord, George Fletcher, a former Mayor of Macclesfield, in his will left his many tenants £2 each ”in recognition of our pleasant association”.
A list was published of eleven boys who would visit Canada for 23 days in August as the guests of Garfield Weston (he had had associations with Macclesfield as a Member of Parliament – the Weston Estate was named after him)
Local actress Mrs Doris Wellings, played a small part in the film “The Manor House Mystery” with Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warris being made in Rusholme by the Manchester Film Company
Macclesfield Council decided not to spend any money for projects associated with the Festival of Britain,
The Martineau Hall on Jordongate was still operating as an office for issuing new ration books.
May
Widely known auctioneer and sportsman A. Stanley Turner died at the age of 69. He was well remembered for playing a golf ball from his house on Buxton Road to the Cat and Fiddle, a distance of 5 miles. He started after breakfast and, in 64 strokes, was at the inn for luncheon.
An unexploded bomb was found at Marl Spinks Farm, Rushton, and immobilised by and army bomb unit.
June
Miss Clamentina Potts (85) of Bollington Cross, who was still going to work at the Clarence Mill, was awarded the British Empire Medal. The eldest of a family of 21, she was born in Bollington
Lonsdale and Adshead Brewers, Park Green was sold to Ind Coope and Allsop, Burton
A traveller from London on Barnaby Monday said he had never experienced any town so devoid of activity. Mill Street and Chestergate rattled.
July
Professor J Hollingsworth of Fallibroome was hoping that an electrical gadget would do away with the need for the church clock to be wound manually and hence remove the need for him to climb the steps in Prestbury Church tower.
An undefeated Bosley Tug of War team, weighing in at 112 stone, defeated Wolverton Athletic Club to win the Pyatt Club.
The cost of designing and registering a coat of arms for Macclesfield would have cost £296, 10shillings. The council decided not to go ahead – it eventually registered a coat of arms in 1961
August
During a 7 day traffic survey taken on Manchester Road Tytherington only 21 horse drawn vehicles passed the check point. During a similar census at the same spot 12 years earlier, the checkers recorded 94 horse drawn vehicles during the week. Overall figures were 35,762 vehicles compared with 35,598 in 1928. Pedal cycles averaged 500 a day.
September
Russell Wright (any relation to Nicholas Wright) walked backwards to Buxton fro Macclesfield, in 3 hours 14 minutes, emulating John Alcock (62) who, in March 1902, did the same walk in 3 hours 15 minutes.
A coach excursion to Morecambe illuminations cost 11shilings and three pence, 10 shillings to Blackpool.
October
Work had at last started tidying up Macclesfield Cemetery, opened 84 years ago and now with some 20000 graves.
The average age of men employed in the spinning room of Clarence Mill was 43.
Spinner George Tinslay, who began work at Clarence Mill, aged 10 retired after being employed continuously for 60 years
The male members of St Oswald’s Church Choir Bollington protested that the curate had chosen the hymns and not the choirmaster. They took their seats amongst the congregation
November
A Stoke Man, Mr T Shaw, had a miraculous escape when he fell between the rails at the Central Station and the 7.10 pm train passed over him. At the Infirmary he was found to have only small cuts and a bruised groin. He was taken back to the Central Station to catch the next train home, discovered that it left from Hibel Road and had to walk there.
Thorneycroft Hall, Siddington, a 40 roomed mansion, was sold by auction for £10,000. It was bought by St Vincent Nursery, Manchester, to be used as a Catholic children’s home.
The Town Clerk, Walter Isaac, was negotiating on behalf of the corporation to purchase the Moss Rose Football Ground from Ind Coope and Allsop Ltd
December
Bollington window cleaners were to raise the cost of cleaning windows in the new year – 2d downstairs, 3d upstairs.
In a talk on retirement pensions, it was stated that if a man worked until he was 70 he would draw 36 shillings a week instead of 26 shillings if he retired at 65 and his wife would receive 26 shillings instead of 16 shillings.
Seventy pupils from the King’s School were employed to cope with the Christmas Mail from a temporary sorting office in Townley Street. There was one delivery on Christmas Day and it cost one penny to send a card.
An average of 22 tons of waste paper was collected each month in Macclesfield. The corporation received £6 10shillings a ton towards the relief of the rates.
The tower of Christ Church was floodlit to celebrate its 175th anniversary.
