A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE
1971
THE COUNCIL
JANUARY There was vandalism in the Station Lane level crossing subway with the lights being constantly broken. It was suggested they should be sunk into the wall, The surveyor, Mr G F Adamson, said even half-inch glass was broken. They must have used a hammer.
The twinning of Featherstone with Bergheid, a comparative town in Germany, was considered. Caravan dwellers were parking on the fairground in Station Lane and the local tenants were worried about it. Cr Holt said they should not be there and we want something doing about it.
The council wanted to buy the former Purston Methodist Church and demolish it as part of an open plan scheme. It was in the hands of the district valuer to negotiate a price.
"Tenants who constantly fall behind in their rent payments are a drain on good society" said Cr J H Livesey. He said this after it was revealed rent arrears were still well over £2,000. If people do not fulfill their obligations they are out. On the other hand the council would help those who really needed it.
The twinning of Featherstone with Bergheid, a comparative town in Germany, was considered. Caravan dwellers were parking on the fairground in Station Lane and the local tenants were worried about it. Cr Holt said they should not be there and we want something doing about it.
The council wanted to buy the former Purston Methodist Church and demolish it as part of an open plan scheme. It was in the hands of the district valuer to negotiate a price.
"Tenants who constantly fall behind in their rent payments are a drain on good society" said Cr J H Livesey. He said this after it was revealed rent arrears were still well over £2,000. If people do not fulfill their obligations they are out. On the other hand the council would help those who really needed it.
FEBRUARY The council were concerned about the state of some council houses when the tenants move out. in some cases it was up to a month before the property could be re-let. The clerk said if possible the tenant was asked to clean up the premises, but some did a "moonlight flit".
MARCH In a discussion on the new larger authorities, and the end of Featherstone Council, Cr N Longbottom said Featherstone would have about four representatives and would always be outvoted. He hoped the members of the new council would think of the area as a whole, and not just the area they came from.
The council decided it would cost too much money to keep Purston Park North Lodge in good repair and it would be demolished.
APRIL The council held a meeting with the county council and police in Station Lane to consider further parking restrictions because drivers were parking in the street instead of the car park and causing congestion. There would be a total ban of parking on the east side of Station Lane.
For the second year the council were told Featherstone did not qualify for a grant towards the building of aged persons accommodation. The council said without a grand it would not be financially viable to build any more aged people's bungalows or homes.
The Council's first youth club, in the converted St Peter's Mission Church in Green Lane, was nearly ready for opening. It would be the seventh youth club in the Urban District.
MAY Cr J W Bettridge was appointed chairman for the next financial year. The photo is from the Express.
There was continuing vandalism at Jaglin Court. A six feet high wall had been demolished, and some residents complained of door rattling in the night. Cr R Widdowson said the police are doing their best but there is no stemming the tide of vandalism. The surveyor, Mr G F Adamson, suggested a concrete fence instead of the wall.
JUNE Mr R J Coxwell of the Transport and General Workers Union wrote to the council to complain about motorists parking at some of the towns bus stops particularly one in Green Lane. Cr Widdowson said the demolition of John Street and Back John Street would create more parking space in the near future. The clerk, Mr G B Copley, said any moving of the bus stops would have to be discussed with the county council and the police.
JULY The wave of vandalism continued, and the council sent a letter to the Home Office in London stressing the need for more policemen to combat the menace. The Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire said in view of their limited resources they were doing all they could.
More amateur football and rugby league teams wanted to play on the pitches in Purston Park and the Miners' Welfare ground than could ne reasonably accommodated. Cr R Widdowson suggested the council should look for other sites.
The council held a competition at the schools for new street names. The winners were Clive Spark of Ackworth Road (for Greenside), and Terry Slater of Mount Pleasant Place (for Eastbourne Avenue).
The county council said the proposed bypass road from Wakefield Road to Pontefract Road which would go down Post Office Road was still in the road improvement schemes but it was not likely to be built for ten or 15 years at least. The county council engineer Mr J A Gaffney said the future of the proposal depended on how the opening of the M62 affected the traffic on the Wakefield-Pontefract Road.
SEPTEMBER Mr P L Green of Hill Crest Avenue, a new housing development, wrote to the council to say there was an urgent need for a fence to separate it from the main Wakefield Road. Cr Longbottom said it was intended to build a permanent wall, but meanwhile a temporary fence was necessary.
Old people in the Market Street bungalows said they were pestered with children from the Earl Street area knocking on their windows. The council decided to consider blocking a footpath from the bottom of Earl Street.
OCTOBER The problem of nuisance children spread to New Priory with them playing football on the grass in front, and knocking on windows at night. The deputy surveyor, Mr D Sanderson, said a fence would cost about £800 and he felt vandals would destroy it in a short time.
Trouble within the bowling club at Purston Park led to only 4p being taken at the bowling green one week. Mr J R Vaughan, the parks superintendent, said it was not because of the condition of the green. The bowling green at the Miners' Welfare Ground was extensively used and he was not cutting the grass any lower than the experts said.
A London company wanted to hold an open air market behind the Lucky Seven Bingo Club (the Hippodrome) but was refused planning permission because of the so called Ghost Road. Cr G Holt said he was fed up of hearing about it. We do not want this road to keep industrialists out, we need them in. It also affected the council's plan to reclaim the land between Featherstone Square and the railway line which had been bought from the NCB.
NOVEMBER The newly formed Featherstone Trades Council wrote to the council to ask if there were any plans to remove muckstacks and tidy up generally. The clerk replied the council had definite plans.
Cr G Holt said the council should consider selling council houses to good tenants as one way of bringing the repair bills down. The clerk told the Express it was the council's policy not to sell council houses, and for at least the past three years there had been no requests to buy.
Plans were approved for a multi-purpose building at the Miners' Welfare field to include dressing rooms, tea room, spectators balcony and other amenities.
DECEMBER All eleven councils which would form the new West Yorkshire District (e), including Featherstone, formed sturdy groups to enable a smooth takeover which would take place on 1 April 1974. The elections for councillors were to take place in spring 1973. The joint committee of the sturdy groups would consider a name for the new council.
The publicity about council house sales brought requests from some tenants to buy their house, but the council decided to stick to its no-sale policy.
The county council decided Station Lane and Green Lane road was greasy and spread fine black ash. Rain turned it to mud which was splattered on pedestrians. The county council asked Featherstone council to clear it away but they hadn't got the manpower or equipment so the county Council did it. Cr Holt, who had raised the matter, said there is still evidence of this disgraceful episode.
DAISY'S MILK ROUND
The Express did a feature in January on Daisy the milk cart horse owned by Copley's Farm, North Featherstone. She was brought from Leeds as a three-year-old to pull the milk cart, and had been doing it so long she was now one of the town's personalities. After 14 years on the job she plodded up and down the streets knowing just where to go and when to stop.
She was driven by Clarrie Davis and his sister Mrs Joan Dunn, who had done the round together since they left school. Mr Ernest Copley said he had tried to get them to change to a milk van, but they. insisted on keeping Daisy. The photo is from the Express.
SCHOOL FIRE
There was a fire at North Featherstone Secondary Modern School in January in a detached block of two classrooms which were completely destroyed at an estimated cost of £5,000. The cause was logged as "unknown". The fire was on a Saturday and the headmaster, Mr D Booth, had the problem of finding alternative accommodation for 70 pupils on the Monday morning.
It resulted in every possible space being utilised including corridors and cloakrooms. The deputy divisional education officer, Mr E Bashforth, said two more classrooms would be built as soon as possible.
by February the orders for new classrooms had been placed and they would be erected as soon as they came. Mr Booth said the hall was in constant use for lessons, as was the staff room and the girls' changing room.
THE AMDRAMS
Featherstone District Musical and Dramatic Society put on Carousel at the Lister baths in February. The Express review said after a shaky start at the opening night, the show went from strength to strength, and at the finale, with the entire cast singing You'll Never Walk Alone there was hardly a dry eye in the audience. The chorus was in fine voice, and the dancers may not be the most skilful, but they were certainly the most energetic.
In June it was announced the next show would be at the Civic Centre in Castleford. The chairman, Mr E Norton, said the fact we were having to hold our shows earlier in the year (because of the extended swimming season) meant bad weather and smaller attendances. There was no quarrel with the council and they were grateful for the help received over the years.
DOWN YOUR WAY
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The BBC radio programme Down Your Way visited Featherstone in February. Franklin Engelmann spent a day in the town interviewing residents.
Those on the programme were:
Irvin Saxton - about rugby league and Featherstone Rovers
Richard Wastell - Ackton Hall Colliery manager
Gwen Matthewman - champion knitter
William Fox and Lesley Townsend - Power Boat Club
Donald McNair - Lin-Pac plant manager
Three members of Featherstone Ladies' AFC (not named by the Express)
Bill Cressey - farming
Note: Bob Jackson, the president of the Rovers, was invited to be on but he declined and nominated Irvin Saxton.
The photos of Mr Engelmann with Richard Wastell and Irvin Saxton are from the Express.
THE ROVERS
Maureen Taylor of Went Grove was chosen to be Featherstone Rovers Queen from five contestants at the Social Club in March. The photo is from the Express.
At the annual meeting in July the chairman, Mr John Jepson, said the loss on the season of £3,306 was very disturbing. They could easily have got out of the red by selling players, but preferred to keep faith with the supporters.
The financial secretary, Jim Reed said home gates and subscriptions averaged £472 per home game, just enough to cover the first team wages if they won home and away, leaving nothing for general expenses and A team wages. He felt the future was in the hands of the people on the terraces.
The secretary, Mr D Hobbs, said winning only 14 out of 34 matches was the lowest for several seasons, but with reasonable luck and less injuries he had no doubt about the teams ability to get back into the top half of the table.
There was criticism from the members about the BBC not choosing Featherstone's home games, and the selection resulted in the rich clubs getting richer from match fees. Mr Jepson said the BBC had a contract right to select their own games.
EDUCATION
A new ten-form comprehensive school was to be built in south Featherstone. Cr N Longbottom said in April it would be a wonderful thing for the public of Featherstone. It would need 24 acres of land and a possible site between Ravensmead and the start of housing at Purston was being considered.
North Featherstone was to have a replacement for the Church of England School. The church would have to contribute £5,000 towards the cost. In June the vicar, Revd R A Nelson said £1,700 had been received from the sale of St Peter's Mission Church so the target was now £3,300. The proposed site was land near Ackton Hospital.
In October Cr Longbottom complained they were being kept in the dark about the new schools. They were now told work would probably begin at the end of the 1972-73 financial year and, if Featherstone Council contributed, a sports hall could be included in the comprehensive school and the public could use it after school hours.
Cr J H Livesey complained they didn't even know where the comprehensive school was going to be built. Cr Longbottom said sites for schools were constantly being changed. The proposed North Featherstone Church of England School was now on its fifth suggested site.
GAUNSONS
Gaunsons clothing factory in Featherstone Lane was expanding, and in July a new extension was about to open. The firm employed 270 people, mostly women, and another 230 workers would be needed in the next three to four years.
The extension would provide offices, a warehouse, pressing and finishing rooms, and a new coat floor. The canteen would seat 230 and provide varied meals at reasonable prices. Photo - Wakefield Libraries Collection.
Gaunsons took over from the Featherstone Clothing Company in 1961 and produced about 200,000 coats and 400,000 pairs of trousers every year which were sent all over Great Britain and some for export. Photo - the Express.
MEALS ON WHEELS
In August the council decided to examine the possibility of providing a meals on wheels service for the old people of the town. About 20 volunteers would be needed for it to be a success. in September Cr Norman Longbottom said the response from the public about meals on wheels had been good. They could get a 10p grant from the county council towards the cost of each meal. It was agreed to give it further discussion.
The council chairman, Cr J W Bettridge, appealed to the public to provide the service, which was needed by a number of old people in Featherstone, and said a meeting would be held in the Methodist Church Hall. Gaunsons Ltd had agreed to cook the meals each day ,but they could only be supplied to the homes of people by volunteers.
If people came forward the kind offer of Gaunsons could be taken up, and those persons who for some reason or another were unable to provide themselves with at least one warm meal a day could be offered such a meal on one or even more days a week at a small cost of 5p.
The proposed meeting could set up a committee independent of the council and county council and arrange for the conveyance of meals from the factory to the recipients. Only 20 people turned up for the meeting but it was decided to press on, and social services would establish how many old people were interested in such a scheme.
It was announced in November enough volunteers had come forward to provide meals for 60 old people a week. It now depended on the County Council Welfare Committee to give approval and then the scheme could start. Approval was given, and the county council provided the containers for the meals.
1971 NEWS ITEMS
JANUARY Cr R Widdowson allowed Featherstone Rovers Social Club to borrow the piano from the Lister Baths. When the band turned up for LinPac's New Year's Day dance the piano hadn't been returned. The dance would have been a flop, but a local resident loaned his piano for the evening. There was a disaster in the upstairs bar when an overloaded table collapsed, and £20 worth of spirits was lost.
The Horticultural Society closed down because of lack of interest, and the Clock Cafe which they had used would probably be turned into extra offices for the council. it was intended to use the £100 they had left to buy 300 personal alarms for old people who did not have the supervision of a warden.
FEBRUARY Ackton Hall Colliery produced 20,953 tons of coal in one week, a new output record. The mine was now one of the most profitable in the North Yorkshire Area of the NCB.
MARCH Mr and Mrs Thompson moved from Doncaster to open a fish and chip shop in the Station Lane precinct but after constant vandalism to the door and extractor fan on the roof costing them £150 they were thinking of leaving.
APRIL Gwenn Matthewman of Priory Road decided to give up championship knitting. The competition involved ten minutes to knit as many rows as possible. Gwenn's record was 45, and the nearest anyone had got to her was an Essex woman who managed 25. She had held the title for nine years, and the editor of the Guinness Book of Records told her she would still hold her record until someone beat it.
She told the Express "I suppose I will miss the travelling but I would rather be with my family more. I intend to knit for pleasure now, not for records".
MAY Carol Millard age 13 of Went Avenue was chosen to be Queen for the Gala.
A discussion was under way for a development at the Miners' Welfare Ground (the cricket field). The North Yorkshire Area Welfare Committee had already agreed to provide £3,000 for dressing rooms, but the local Welfare Committee considered if the money received for the Miners' Welfare, said to be about £8,000, was included a much larger multi-purpose building could be built.
British Rail announced the station's disused buildings would be demolished as a tidying up operation, and there were rumours about the bus depot in Wilson Street also being demolished and the staff being transferred to Castleford.
JUNE An appeal by the council to provide floats for the Gala had no response so the procession was cancelled, much to the dismay of the children. One of the attractions was a model of a fairground organ made by Harold Gates of Mount Pleasant Street out of wood and knitting needles. There were over 40 entries for the fancy dress competition.
AUGUST Mrs Edith Cookson age 61 of Victoria Street was chosen as "Glamorous Grandmother" out of 17 entries while staying at a Cleethorpes holiday camp. She said she only entered for a bit of fun and was pushed into it by her friends. Photo - the Express.
Mr Len Bullock of Green Lane was appointed leader of the Featherstone Central Youth Club about to be opened in Green Lane. He was already leader of the Miners' Welfare Boys' Club. Mrs Glenys Westwood of Ackton Lane was appointed as assistant. The welfare club would disband and join the new youth club. The photo of Mr Bullock is from the Express.
Bricks had been thrown through the windows of the Salvation Army Hall on Wakefield Road while youth members were holding a meeting. The windows were boarded up as a temporary measure, and over £200 was needed for a more permanent solution. The commanding officer, Captain A Ford said he hoped the vandals would keep away when the work was completed.
SEPTEMBER Persistent trouble on the last bus from Wakefield at 10.57pm could result in it being withdrawn. The drivers, conductors and inspectors faced abusive language, threats and sometimes physical violence. There was also vandalism including slashed seats and broken windows.
OCTOBER The Ministry of Science and Education approved the scheme for a multi-purpose building at the Miners' Welfare ground which would include accommodation for teams and spectators, a new scoreboard, a tea room and showers.
The London Welsh male voice choir gave a concert in the Methodist Church on a Saturday and also sang at the Sunday morning service. Eddie Waring of the BBC led the worship and introduced the hymns at the evening service.
NOVEMBER A barn at Shaw's Farm, North Featherstone, housing 150 tons of potatoes and 300 bales of straw, was spotted on fire by a passer-by. The roof of the brick building was completely destroyed and most of the contents damaged. The cost was estimated at well over £2,000.
The Ackton Hall Colliery Workmen's Band led the Remembrance Day procession to the colliery yard where a short service took place before moving to the Rovers' ground for an interdenominational service held by clergy of all the churches and the Salvation Army. The final service was at the War Memorial where wreaths were laid.
Entertainer Mark Stanley was currently in Rhodesia and South Africa after a season in Whitby, and when he returned he was due in Blackpool. The photo is from the Express.
Purston Parish Church organ broke down completely during a service and a piano had to be used. It was expected, and a replacement had already been acquired from Easingwold Methodist Church.
Thieves broke into seven houses on the 1914 council house estate through ground floor windows and stole money from the gas meters.