A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE
1987
THE COUNCILS
JANUARY After a couple living in Leatham Crescent complained they could not keep their house warm the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council said half the council houses in Featherstone were without central heating, but because of Government cash cutbacks slow progress was being made on completing this work.
FEBRUARY The Featherstone Labour Party decided not to nominate any of
the sitting members of the Featherstone Town Council for the new council
next May. One of the deposed councillors, Jack Everson, said they had
not been given any reasons for not being re-selected. Seven of the twelve
members had put themselves forward to remain on the council.
Cr Ernest Longley was not chosen to defend his seat on the district council in May. He had first been elected to Featherstone Urban
District Council in 1970 and became a member of the district council in 1974. He said "The decision was made democratically by the Labour
Party members and I completely accept it".
MARCH The district council announced Featherstone High School
would be adapted to cater for some children with physical disabilities,
there would be smoke control schemes for Featherstone, and the council
and British Coal (formerly NCB) were considering a housing association
to buy the British Coal houses.
A breakaway group from the Labour Party, called Traditional Labour, decided to put up candidates
for 11 of the 12 seats on Featherstone Town Council. They were three
minutes late with the nomination papers for the 12th. The group
included those who were deselected in February and Roy Widdowson.
It was also decided to put up Ernest Longley against official Labour Party candidate Graham Isherwood. Mr Longley told the Express the
traditionally moderate Featherstone Labour Party had been infiltrated
by extremists during the miners' strike. This was denied by Steve
Vickers, the secretary of Featherstone Labour Party.
MAY The May election resulted in the official Labour group winning 11 of the 12 seats on the town council. Only Ernest Longley of the "Traditional Labour" group won a seat. Cr Roy Beckett said "The result speaks volumes for the electorate's preference for the official Labour Party". Roy Widdowson said "Obviously we are less than happy with the results, but we accept the decision of the ballot box".
In the district council election the result was:
G L Isherwood (Labour) 2,894
E Longley (Traditional Labour) 1,165
L Morgan (Alliance) 417
JUNE Tenants in Huntwick Crescent and Priory Road sent a petition to the district council about their houses being too cold and damp. It was agreed central heating would be installed in the financial year 1989-90 when a smoke control order for the area would come into force.
SEPTEMBER The district council housing sub-committee were told the probation, education, health and social services were concerned about the lack of facilities on the Priory Road and Huntwick estates. Points raised were:
the very high proportion of offenders
the high percentage of children on the at risk register
the high increase of children with respiratory tract diseases
the below average learning ability of a high percentage of children
The sub-committee agreed to provide a property on the estate to be used by those investigating problems and the Huntwick Tenants Association.
There were 700 houses on the estate and there was a low demand for them.
NOVEMBER The district council spent £8,000 on 1,000 electric light bulbs and displays for Christmas illuminations from the bottom of Station Lane to the library. Cr Isherwood said "We hope it will encourage people to do their Christmas shopping in Featherstone instead of going out of town". Ian Dransfield, spokesman for the new Chamber of Trade said "We welcome the move with open arms. Business can only be better because of it".
The district council were considering bye laws to ban dogs from public parks, which would include Purston Park.
The Town Mayor, Cr Sam Bailey, switched on the Christmas lights assisted by Cr Graham Isherwood.
DECEMBER The attendance figures at All Saints' Junior and Infants School in North Featherstone went up from 62 in 1982 to 129 in 1987, mainly because of Parkfield Grange Estate and allowing the intake of 10 and 11 year olds. The district council education committee approved the schools appeal for a mobile classroom costing £10,000. It was sent to the Department of Education and Science for consideration.
Pedestrian crossing kerbstones were to be dropped to road level to make it easier for the disabled to cross the roads. Tactile paving - red flag stones with a pimpled feature - would be installed to hep the blind. Photo - Google Street View.
THE ROVERS
At the half-yearly meeting in January Bob Ashby said he had given up the chairmanship of the Rovers so he could concentrate on his duties as chairman of the Rugby League. He was elected by the committee to the vacant post of club president. He was replaced as chairman by Richard Evans, chairman of Pontefract Box Company. The photo of Mr Evans is from the Express.
Peter Fox was appointed team manager in May. He began his playing career with the Rovers before moving on. He took over as coach in January 1971, and was in charge for nearly four years including Wembley in 1973 and 1974.
The committee held talks with the district council about the sale of the Post Office Road ground in order to provide finance for the club. Mr Evans said "It is difficult to see how we can maintain the ground's facilities to satisfactory safety standards without substantial support from the council".
Denise Milthorpe age 17 of Went Avenue. the Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Queen, became the Yorkshire Federation of RL Supporters Clubs Queen. Photo - The Express.
Bernard Toft, accused in 1984 of burning down the Posh Penguin Club, situated in the Rovers car park, was rearrested in June after being on the run for 15 months.
The Rugby League introduced a new system for players. Previously they had signed on with a club for life. Now they had to be offered a contract for an agreed number of years and after that time they could leave for another club which would pay compensation to the first club. If a sum could not be agreed the Rugby League would arbitrate and fix a sum binding on both clubs.
The annual general meeting in August reported a loss on the season of £47,404 with total liabilities of £356,474. Chairman Richard Evans assured the club members they would be consulted if the council made an offer for the ground. The increase in liabilities was due to the ground rebuilding work. The club was hoping for a successful season under new coach Peter Fox.
In December Bernard Toft was sentenced to four years in jail for setting fire to the Posh Penguin Club and claiming £240,975 insurance, although the club, contents and a car were valued at £85,000.. He lit two propane gas cylinders in the concert room and then went into the living quarters to wait for the fire to be discovered by someone else.
THE GIRNHILL LANE NCB ESTATE
Tenants on the Girnhill Lane NCB (now called British Coal) estate were worried in January about the intention to sell off the remaining 74 rented properties to private landlords. Those who had not bought their house feared the rent would go up from a controlled £11.50 a week to a "fair rent" of £17.50. British Coal said they had put the properties on the market because they were in need of repairs and no grants were available. The photo is from the Express.
By June the houses had been bought by Undersky who immediately put up the rents by £3 to £4 a week. Mr Roy Beckett of Went Avenue said "I think it is terrible considering the condition of the house. The walls are badly in need of repair, electric sockets are loose and the whole house is potentially quite dangerous.. I just hope the new landlords are going to do something about these problems".
Mrs Patricia Millard said her rent had gone up by about £4 a week. "We expected this to happen, but that does not make it any easier to take". Mr Joe McNally said "We moved into this house when it was built in 1953, and now it is dropping to bits. We have not been able to use the fireplace in the sitting room for years because it smokes too much, and the guttering is rotten in places. Quite simply I cannot afford to pay this rent and as far as I can see things are only going to get worse".
Mr Michael Wrest, for Undersky, said every tenant was sent a letter asking if they had a problem with the house. Three people replied and workmen were sent to carry out repairs. I can assure tenants that if they have a complaint to let us know and it will be investigated".
THE GALA
More than 5,000 people attended the Gala in Purston Park. There were floats, a steel band, vintage bicycles, music from four colliery bands and a show by Kellingley Falcons Majorettes. Lisa Blakestone age 14 of Verner Street .was the Gala Queen. The following five photos are all from the Express. The first one was named as the Gala Queen. It turned out to be the Normanton Gala Queen.
Above - Lorne Mosley surrounded by Sue Barker, Carole Whelpton and Richard Kelly. There were no names for the two below.
GAUNSON LTD
Gaunson Ltd celebrated its 50th anniversary in July. It was founded in 1937 and moved into it present site in Featherstone Lane in 1963 when it took over from the Featherstone Clothing Company. It replaced the old wooden buildings (once the adult school) with a modern factory which employed 350 people.
Director Mr Arthur Finch said "Gaunson is successful because we offer products the customer wants at a competitive price and we are very optimistic about the future. We have an excellent labour force here and there's a good working atmosphere among the staff. When I first came to this site there was nothing but a couple of huts, We rebuilt entirely and i decided that a nursery unit should be built as well. It is now used by our employees and by children referred to us by the council social services".
The company also had a Youth Training Scheme and gave a job to all who reached a certain standard. Mr Finch said "Half of all our vacancies are filled by YTS trainees but we don't take on trainees unless there's a job for them at the end of training. The future is our youngsters which is why we have a total commitment to YTS" .The three photos from the Express show the factory, Mr Finch and Mrs Kath Burnell of Wentworth Road who had worked for Gaunson and Featherstone Clothing Company for 37 years.
MAL KIRK
Mal "King Kong" Kirk age 51 of Huntwick Crescent, a 24 stones professional wrestler, died of a heart attack in August at the Hippodrome Circus, Great Yarmouth. His wife Ilona said he wrestled for just £25 and petrol money, She said his last words before he left for Great Yarmouth were "I hate this job. I don't want to go, but I suppose I'd better". Hundreds of people turned out to pay their last respects at the funeral. This action shot of Mal Kirk is from the British Wresters Reunion website. The other two photos are from the Express.
DOOM AND GLOOM?
In October Presto supermarket announced the closure of the Station Lane branch after 16 years. It became the ninth empty shop in the Lane. The Express sought comments locally. Graham Isherwood of Ravensmead, Purston, a district and town councillor, said " There is no doubt about it. British Coad has bled Featherstone white. It has taken the money and run. BC has seen fit to shut up shop and move without so much as a moments consideration for the miners and their families".
Ken Vaughan, who became redundant when the pit closed, said "There are far too many men like myself who have been thrown on the scrapheap by British Coal. The number of men carrying shopping bags or walking the dog in the afternoon when they should be working is criminal".
Featherstone Town Council leader Steve Vickers commented "British Coal has given this village a very raw deal indeed. It's diabolical how it took the coal, sold off the houses and cleared out. Now we are faced with many men unemployed. Is this any kind of return for the labour the Featherstone people provided over the generations".
A British Coal spokesman said Ackton Hall Colliery was losing money heavily and they had no option but to close it. "It's absolute nonsense to suggest BC acted incorrectly. We provided the community with jobs over three generations and propped up the economy as a result. The strike brought forward the pit closure and the workforce were offered redundancy or a transfer. There was nothing else we could do in the circumstances".
"Our houses were offered over a period of ten years to the tenants, but in the end we were forced to sell to private developers as a last resort. After all, we are in the business of coal production. We are not a housing association. The former pit site is an enterprise workshop which is further evidence that we do as much as possible to provide opportunities and jobs wherever possible".
1987 NEWS ITEMS
JANUARY Father and son Barry and Terry Sinar were given places in the London Marathon. Barry, age 45, lived in Bedford Close, and Terry, age 23, lived in Ackworth. Barry was hoping to raise cash for Cancer Research, and Terry for the British Heart Foundation. Photo - The Express.
FEBRUARY Geoff Lofthouse MP advised tenants on the Girnhill Lane NCB estate to form their own housing association and put in a tender for the properties to prevent them falling into the hands of private landlords. The tenants did form a tenant's association but did not put in a bid for their houses.
John Burke of Nunns Lane had started a taxi service called Ackton Hall Taxis in Ackton Hall Colliery pit yard. He said his business had suffered because rumours were going round about him starting work at Wheldale Colliery before the strike ended. He said this was untrue and he had a commemorative miner's lamp given to every man who stayed out to the finish.
One pound of free butter, courtesy of the European Economic Community's "butter mountain" was given to pensioners. It was distributed by Age Concern.
Derek Davis of Hardwick Road was awarded an Open University degree in history and social science. He was an ex-payer with Featherstone Rovers and Wakefield Trinity, a one-time singing member of the Featherstone and District Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society, and a semi-professional club singer. photo - The Express.
MARCH Featherstone High School were to incorporate the colours of Featherstone Rovers in a new school tie, and the old Featherstone Council coat of arms in a new blazer badge.
The Pontefract Health Authorities draft plans for 1983-1994 proposed closing Ackton Hospital. There was opposition from some of the Pontefract and District Community Health Council, but not enough to prevent a vote being passed in favour.
APRIL Vandals hacked nearly 90 pieces of turf out of the wicket at Featherstone Town Cricket Club's ground only days before the first game.
It had been decided to educate some disabled pupils at Featherstone High School. A technical and vocational education initiative course was set up at the school for the fourth year pupils to look at ways to make the school more accessible. Five pupils, Jane Long, Deborah Hewitt, Darren Ward, Dean Hunter and Wayne Heptinstall, went to Rockley Mount School at Barnsley to see the facilities there and report back.
MAY Featherstone High School pupils were to have the Town Council's coat of arms on their blazer badges and sweaters from September. It would also be on the school's reports and stationary. Tony Warden, headmaster, said this was to strengthen the school's ties with the community. The Town Mayor, Cr Terry Ward, presented a plaque bearing the crest to the school at an assembly. Photo - The Express.
Lin Pac broke their own world record by producing 110,062 metres of corrugated fibreboard in an eight hour shift. The Access Engineering site in Station Lane was put up for sale.
The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority was considering a scheme for the future development of public transport in West Yorkshire. It included reopening the Wakefield to Pontefract line to passenger trains, and was inviting comments from interested parties.
JUNE George Buckley (Labour) was elected MP for the Hemsworth Constituency which included Featherstone with 27,859 votes. He was more than 20,000 votes in front of Edward Garnier (Conservative) and John Wooffindin (Alliance).
The Featherstone and District Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society broke new ground by performing Sweet Charity at the Theatre Royal and Opera House in Wakefield.
Pensioners were evacuated from their homes when a fire broke out in the porch of a bungalow in Greenside. Annie Blackburn had to escape out of the back door and was treated in hospital for the effects of smoke. Fireman Patrick Broughan was treated for burns when molten glass fell onto his hands. The fire was thought to have started in a dustbin, and was being treated as suspicious by the police.
Pupils at Purston First School, St Thomas's Middle School and Featherstone High School were trying out a new board game called "Safe and Sound". It was designed by the police to educate children in all aspects of safety from not talking to strangers to taking care on the roads. If it proved successful Waddingtons of Leeds would print 5,000 copies. Photo - The Express. Purston First School pupils from the left, Andrew Hollings, Chris Hunter, Helen Taylor and Helen Millward.
Wakefield District Council's computer bus visited Featherstone. Staffed with four computer skill tutors it was to give folk the chance to experience the world of word processors and electric typewriters. - The Express.
JULY The Featherstone Local History Group had raised £2,500 by the sale of its photo book A Glimpse of the Past. The money was split among six local charities.
The Springfield opencast site was producing up to 7,000 tons of coal a day, and the Ackton bypass, a benefit of the project costing £665,000, was opened. It was expected 1,750,000 tonnes of coal would be mined by 1992.
AUGUST A new superloo opened in the pedestrian precinct/market area. It cost 10p to use as against a normal price of 2p. It was automatically cleaned after use. There were only three in the country, and Wakefield Council had paid £9,000 a year to hire it. Photo - Dr J Gatecliff.
The Central Funshow comedy mime showgroup were featured by the Express. There were 23 in the group who gave shows at local venues including hospitals to raise money for charity. There repertoire included songs, dances and mimes. There base was the Central WMC and Mrs Moira Taylor was the organiser. Photo - The Express.
OCTOBER There was a violent thunderstorm with an inch of rain in half an hour. There was flooding at the bottom of Station Lane for a while and £10,000 of damage was caused at ornamental plaster manufacturers Mode-tex Marketing. Tony Green and his wife Jackie spent all night trying to keep the water out. He said this happens every time it rains heavily.
Mr Green wanted to build a £36,000 production unit at the rear of his store. He blamed the Wakefield Council for delays and built it in Walsall. A council spokesman said no planning application had been received and without that nothing could be done. Photo - personal.
James Brear of Leatham Crescent won the Featherstone No.1 Cup for allotments and also Wakefield District Gardener of the Year award. Photo - The Express.
George Bonson of Verner Street was a pigeon fancier. His 24 pedigree racing pigeons valued at £4,000 were shot in their Wakefield Road allotment loft by a kind of air weapon. The Express photo show George on the left and friend Glynn Gentry about to bury the pigeons.
The adventure playground in Station Lane, run by Pontefract Council for Voluntary service, organised a competition to find the best design for the repainting of the wall that was once part of Ackton Hall Colliery sidings. Angela Walker age 10 of Ivy Street was the winner with her underwater scene. The Express photo shows Corrina Hennessey age six having a go at painting.
Women's football team, White House Rovers, based at the pub of that name, were looking for more players. They trained at Featherstone Sports Centre where they played their home games. Their manager/coach/player was Julie Turner, a games teacher at the High School, who said anyone interested should come along to our training sessions on Tuesday evenings. Photo - The Express. Pictured are, back row from the left - Louise Malpass, Eileen Thompson, Julie Turner, Caroline Mauger, Sue Cottingham, Julie Roberts, Jayne Hopkinson. Front Row - Paula Rodwell, Sue Bosah, Mandy Chippendale, Gill Speake, Giselle Rowlinson, Katrina Clarke.
NOVEMBER The inaugural meeting of the Featherstone Chamber of Trade was attended by 50 local traders at the Railway Hotel. The aim was to try and make the town a better shopping centre.
The 2nd Featherstone Brownies raised £240 for Pontefract General Infirmary special care baby unit by holding a 15 minutes sponsored silence.
West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority suggested reopening Featherstone station, closed in 1967, as part of the proposed Wakefield to Pontefract service..
Goldie, a blue and gold parrot valued at £1,000 was stolen from Ian and Ann Morley's Bird Centre on the Ackton Hall Enterprise Park. Only the parrot was taken. Cash and other stock was untouched.
Dawn Crossfield age 16 found a goal wandering in the street. She took it to her grandparents Reg and Minnie Crossfield to put it on their allotment. Reg of Alexander Crescent contacted local farmers to find the owner but without success. Until someone claimed it, the goat was sharing the oats of Dawn's horse. The Express photo shows Dawn with young Hayley McDermott and the goat.
DECEMBER Vandals daubed graffiti on Brentwood old people's home and damaged a newly laid concrete path. Cyril Jones, for the council, said people throw their rubbish over the fence. Its been going on for years We are constantly trying to solve the problem but we cannot say we have been very successful.
Frank Lambert of Priory Road died age 77. He was well known as a local historian and wrote articles for the Express in the 1960's and 70s under the pen-name of Stradivarius. Photo - The Express.
There were now 16 firms on the former Ackton Hall Colliery site as part of British Coal Enterprises.