4000 holes in...Arnold and elsewhere


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Walking through the town centre in Arnold yesterday I noticed some building work going on around the health centre. Specifically they're digging up it's car park, I'm not sure for what reason. I'm always fascinated by looking down these holes - make a point of it always - out of curiosity. These particular holes appear to have revealed some brickwork that looks like cellars from the original housing on Wood Street that I recall as a kid. Wonder if ayone remembers this area and all the other yards that ran between Front St and 'Back St'?

Does anyone.share this fascination for glimpses of the past down these excavations?

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Hi Jimmy. Smithy Crescent is nearby but stands behind the east side of Front Street whilst the leisure centre lies to the west side. I'd say that most of the houses on Smithy Crescent were of a slightly more modern era (perhaps post WWII).

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My brother sent me a photo of Wood Street, I wonder if I can find it?

There were a number of alleyways between Front St. and Back St. (As it was known to locals when I was a nipper) I seem to recall one running alongside the old Baptist? chapel at the lower end of Back St, coming out almost opposite the British School.

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Think that route is kind of still there now, Compo - at the side of what was the Co-op and formerly through the church graveyard. They stood old gravestones up thre for many years. I used to cut through there on my way to the British School.

Hardstaff's Yard was another and is still defined as a path as it runs down to what was the Lord Nelson and on the other side ASDA.

There was another yard just north of there also before the next one, a small road called Wellington Street which kinded at the bottom and came out on Front Street near Marion Bryan's (sp) the chemist. The cut through from what is now a car park is still there.

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  • 1 year later...

I was born on Wellington street, some of the other cut throughs from high st to front street were, Hardstaffs yard, Wood Street.

The Druids tavern was at the top of Wellington st and the rear car park of Arnold workingmens club was a few doors down from us, there was a coal yard and also at the top of the street an Adkins bookmakers shop.

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Thankyou, I was just doing a google search to see if I could find any photo,s of our old street when I found your site.

It is very interesting.

I have so many fond memories of my early days living in Arnold, there were quite a few wastegrounds as we called them to play on.

I seem to remember Oscrofts yard as well as Hardstaffs yard.

And I also think that ours was the only house on " Wellibob " street that had no bathroom...the tin bath hung outside the back door.

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