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Keeper of the Scrolls
2010 Posts
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 Posted -
14/06/2004
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23:06
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REMINISCENCES OF OLD EARBY (Part II)
By Florence Wright (nee Smith)
Chapels
On Sundays we went “ter T Mission” the Primitive Methodist Chapel, situated where the surgery now stands. We went up some wooden steps to the chapel. I remember Raymond playing the harmonium for the services. Two services every Sunday, morning and evening. Sunday school was in the afternoon.
We had a “Band of Hope” group which met during the week. We once had a lantern slide show and I played the harmonium to accompany Marjorie Perry, who sang “Won’t you buy my pretty flowers?”.
There were three workshops underneath our chapel. Speak’s paint shop and Starkie’s bakehouse. Behind the workshops, where the doctors’ car park is now, were some stables (smelly places) and in summer, when we had our chapel windows open, there was an awful smell from the stables and big blue-bottles flew in; so we decided to raise some money to build a new chapel.
We were in Barnoldswick circuit. The Minister was Mr. Longstaff, followed by the Rev. L. Graydon Beardsall. We raised enough money to buy a plot of land, but the project fell through and the chapel closed. So we started going to the Baptist Chapel.
There were three Methodists Chapels in those days. Our Primitive Methodist, George Street Methodist, where Elaine Nuttall (nee Foxtrot) was the organist, Riley Street Wesleyan Methodist (now St. Peter’s) where Rennie Pawson was the organist, later Elaine.
Once a year in August, we had a Sunday School walking day, usually a beautiful day, when the tar on the road melted and blackened our white shoes. A few days previously the council tarred the roads, sprayed with water. Then the steam roller came along to flatten the surface. Every Church had a banner and we stopped at various places in the town and sang hymns. After walking round Earby, we would go back to Chapel for sticky buns and coffee. What a treat. The Salvation Army would show lantern slides about “fallen women and drunken husbands”.
Memories of Mount Zion Baptist Chapel.
When I started going to the Baptist Chapel, the Minister was the Rev. Joseph Tinker, very popular. We had a baptistery in the old big Chapel, in which I and my friends were baptised by Mr. Tinker.
Behind the chapel was the old Sunday school with a stage, where we had concerts. Some of the artists being Milly Turner - violinist and contralto singer, Clara Watson and her sister Grace - soprano singers, Herbert Lord - bass, Tommy Nuttal - tenor, Dorothy Perry - pianist, John Smith - accompanist, and others. We used to have concerts on Saturday evenings and we young ones, who always sat at the back, used to go across to Aunt Louie’s “Wooden hut” at the interval to buy sweets. My favourite’s were black Victory V lozenges - yum-yum!
Once a year we had a choir weekend, when we invited celebrated artists to come and sing e.g. Elizabeth Harwood the soprano, John Lawrenson and others. There was always a celebrity concert on the Saturday night, followed by an oratorio on the Sunday afternoon and evening. John Smith was the organist, and Levi Turner was the conductor. Later, John Smith was the conductor. Milly Turner once took the part of Queen Elizabeth in the choir’s production of “Merrie England”.
We also had a “League of Young Worshippers” group and we sometimes went on trips. We used to go on rambles at Easter. On Good Friday, after morning service, we rode to Skipton for a picnic lunch, then on to Burnsall. There were rowing boats on the river there and at Grassington. Easter Sunday we usually walked from Skipton to Ilkley and up on the moors. Easter Monday there was usually a special train from Leeds to Bell Busk, which we caught at Skipton. Then walked from Bell Busk to Malham, spent the afternoon there, then walked back to Bell Busk Railway station and back home. Sometimes as many as fifty or sixty of us.
Maggie and Joe Foulds were very good caretakers (cleaners). Mr Tinker wrote quite a few plays, which were performed on the stage in the “old School” behind the Chapel. One of these was called “Sea Fever”.
The big organ in the Chapel was a two manual one. The wind for the organ was provided by hand operated bellows, the operator sat at the back of the choir. Later we had an electric pump installed in the “black hole”, a little room situated under the organ, behind the stage of the old school. We used this room and the minister’s vestry as changing rooms when we gave plays.
Other Memories.
Earby used to have an “Earby Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society. Once a year they gave a musical at the Empire. The Arcadians, No No Nanette (Phyllis Watson “Pip” was Nannette - very dainty). The Mikado etc. Names like Bolton Crowther, Jim Watson come to mind, Henry Bailey was the accompanist. Saturday night was always a full house.
We used to have two cinemas, The Empire and The Cosy (today's library). There were three shows at the Empire on Saturdays, a matinee in the afternoon, ‘silent films’ featuring Charlie Chaplin and other comedians and in the evening ‘first and second houses’.
Earby was a very busy place on Saturday nights, people coming and going between the two shows. The Salvation Army used to come and stand opposite our shop, playing their tambourines and singing hymns. We stayed open much later on Saturday nights, because there were plenty of people about.
Earby had a brass band and on summer evenings we could hear them in our backyard practising at the Band Club in the New Road. I also remember the “big Mill “ that is Victoria Mill being on fire one Saturday night and firemen coming into our house for a drink of tea, sweat running down their faces and dripping off the ends of their noses. Whenever there was a fire, a buzzer sounded and Teddy Lancaster had to go and round up the horses (they were kept up Bailey Banks) to pull the fire cart, with the hose pipes on. The same buzzer was sounded at 12 noon on Saturdays, to mark the end of the working week. Later it went at 10 a.m., when all the weavers came out of the mills.
Part III to be continued in the Spring 2004 edition.
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REMINISCENCES OF OLD EARBY (Part II)
