A tree lined view of the High Street in Norton. Date unknown.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
A tree lined view of the High Street in Norton. Date unknown.
The trees in Norton High Street were there in maturity when I walked down the High Street to the Norton Board school before the war, your Granddad may have added to them although I have a picture of mature trees in 1901.
There is also a picture of Norton Green circa 1870’s with no trees at all, it was one big meadow with cattle grazing. The trees must have gone in from around 1880+ as my Dad told me he collected conkers from the Oaks on Norton Green as a lad as I did and my Grandchildren do now.
The pond on the green plus wells, with pumps in some of the various yards off the High Street, were the only sources of water until water was piped to the village.
I remember a pump that worked in the yard off Mill Lane although like all the houses we had one cold water tap per house though we also had a flush toilet at 5 Mill Lane quite a few houses still had earth middens. At the fact I also remember electricity being put in the house, it was gas light which we kept until after the war as a softer warmer light. Those good old days people talk about were hard, I much prefer what we have today.
I noted the Allegro and possibly the rear of a mini van on the far right, I think the daffodils have us in the spring time.
Miss Brown only to be matched by ‘Winnpenny’s’ bowler hat stroll to his shop in Stockton on an almost daily basis.
It was Mr Martin who did his daily bowler hat stroll into Stockton to his tailoring shop.
You are totally correct Bob I racked my brain and double checked and whilst it didn’t really gel, I committed to paper, a relation of mine used to work for him in the shop. I’m glad you brought me back in line.
Was the Winnpenny’s bowler hat chap called Jack Martin?.
Hunter Martin, he was the gentleman’s tailor in Stockton High Street somewhere near to where Barclays Bank is now. When the old part of the town was knocked down he moved onto Norton Road nearly opposite to where the Grammar School was.
Cheers Bob, I got the surname right, his shop on Norton Road was about next to Laurie Wilcox’s Hairdressers on the Norton side, Chapmans Garage and the Co-op Shops were opposite the old grammar school.
And was the full name Ernest Winpenny, gold and black lettering above the shop? A shop or two passed Finkle Street?
Looking at the cars a Mark 1 Vauxhall Cavalier in the foreground a Mark IV Cortina and a smattering of Austin Allegro’s would place the date at late 1970’s possibly early 1980’s depending on the age of the cars
I remember Miss Brown driving around the village in a Morris Minor Soft top usually with a Yorkshire Terrier on her lap.
Keith, you are probably right going by the cars, having always had the use of cars from being very young they were merely transport to me, as long as a model went from A to B with some comfort it was all I asked. Now if there had been a truck in the picture I could probably have told you the make model day and hour it was built they were my interst and I did drive the biggest.
I had second thoughts about the railings they were missing for many years they probably did go back when the High Street was relayed sometime in the seventies the lamp posts too more that time, that is nearly forty years ago.
Miss Brown was one Lady I lifted my hat too, a real Grand Dame indeed and how she got away with driving that car as she did makes me think the Police hid up the back street when they saw her coming. Miss Page who lived on Norton Green was another Lady, I always found her very pleasant, Miss Goothy who lived in Mill Lane Norton another Lady whom I did small errands for, names I will remember until the end.
It must be winter, the trees are bare, the cars, mid fifties early sixties, dress fifties sixties and the iron rails are back which was nearer the sixties. They were removed as most iron rails were at the beginning of the war, to be left in yards and never used for scrap so some were refurbished and put back well after the war. It was something to do with engaging people in the war effort, the collection of aluminium pans to build aircraft and turned out to be the wrong type of aluminium, oh well we tried and as Boy Scouts we did collect barrow loads of scrap, rags, paper and anything we thought would help.
The picture taken shows the Priory wall just up from the Alms Houses and Lumley’s farm later lived in by Les Barker, Miss Brown would still be living in the Priory at that time. Just spotted the concrete lamp posts so that could be just into the 1960’s. Nothing much changed even today and memories of the Sunday night walks down the High Street people greeting each other and stopping for a chat. Us young blades walking the girls down the Mill path along the Willow Garth, over the railway and back up Station Road, always in groups, a time forgotten though not by those of us who lived those times.
My grandad planted the trees when they were saplings approx mid-twenties.