Lawrence Lacey: Townfield Yard in the Twenties

Townfield Yard

Before I was five we moved from Blucher Street to Townfield Yard. Our house was very small. There was a main living room with a solid fuel cooker, the only means of warmth, boiling water and cooking. There was a small wash room at the back. Water was obtained from an outside tap and this and the outside toilet were shared with two other families. The only lighting was by means of oil lamps.

We shopped at the Co-Op but with two younger children to care for, Mum often sent me there. There were not many shops in the Yard. If you were short of bread you could purchase a loaf at the White Lion Inn. The baker, the milkman and a man who sold paraffin all called regularly. We also had occasional visits from a muffin man, a man who sold black puddings, a French onion seller and various 'tally' men trying to sell clothing. Eventually all our shopping was done in Market Square or Red Lion Street. Market days were a great attraction; they were held on Fridays and Saturdays. A few of us boys were often there, helping out with little fetching and carrying jobs for the stall holders and for Philip Howard, the market keeper. We were not paid, but when I helped the plant stall man to collect his empty trays he often gave me a few surplus plants. My grandfather allowed me to plant them and I was proud to be told I was the first in the family to grow tomatoes.

I lived in the Yard for about seven years and in spite of the primitive conditions they were happy ones. I soon got to know all the neighbours; they were mostly kind and friendly people and there were many other children to play with. We were all often referred to as 'Backyarders'. This did not bother me; it seemed like a little world of its own. There were about thiry-two cottages, the old British School, which my father had attended, the White Lion Inn which was used by passing tramps as a doss house and a Strict Baptist Chapel which was used as a Brush factory. There was also a large derelict building known as Trowers Mill. One of the cottages was used as a chapel and was known as Townfield Yard Mission. I regularly attended the boys' meetings there and the young leaders were an inspiration to me.

There were very few motor vehicles at this time; the tradesmen all used horse-drawn carts or handcarts to distribute their wares. A regular event in Red Lion Street was the passing, twice a day, of the horse-drawn pole wagons as they made their way to collect timber from the local woods to supply the factories. When the wagons were empty we often hitched a ride on the long pole at the rear of the vehicle.

We spent a lot of time playing in the local area. Our usual haunts were in The Yard, on the Steps and on The Backs footpath, where our favourite spot was the Iron Bridge. From there we could see the steam trains passing by. White Lion Yard had a nice smooth patch of asphalt, very suitable for games such as marbles. On wet days I was often invited into friends' homes to play board games like Snakes and Ladders and Ludo. One friend had a gramophone and some records; we thought that was wonderful. Often on a sunny afternoon we would migrate to Germain Street taking a jam jar with us and spend many happy hours paddling in the Chess and catching tadpoles or tiny fish. About 4pm we would have to get out of the river for the horses to pull their loaded wagons to Wright's wood factory. They were not allowed to use the footpath!

Lawrence Lacey

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