This is one of those posts that was lost when we moved to the new site.
It shows a group of labourers amongst the demolition of Housewife Lane, Stockton c1927
We have tried to recreate as many of the original comments as possible…
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Does any remember mf the greyhound and ken harker? And the greyhound called gay donald?
Belleview was a real flapper track the only one worse being Coundon, there were more fiddles going on including dog swapping, feeding the favourite before a race and I am sure things went on once the dogs were taken to the kennels.
They were a tough crowd and yet the Bookies must have made money or they would not have gone, it got quite crowded at times. My Pal ran a dog called Champo which was put in the Sidecar and driven to tracks round the mining villages but only once, he was a flyer so the next time we could not get the odds, and that is me who would never put a bet on a horse but loved watching the dogs. I had some good memories of the Muldowney’s, the old man would often break into song more so if he had a big win.
The only dogs at Stockton I recall was Prince Bill and Famous Jean. Maybe I should have mentioned when I left school I joined Cleveland Park as a kennel boy for theprincely sum of £2/10/- a week, and that was for 7 days work walking an estimated 20-30 miles a day, I had 32 dogs to look after and worked mostly with kennel maids. Racing nights Wednesday and Saturday you worked unpaid overtime 5pm to 9.30pm. Fastest dogs Blue Dusty, Lawmaker, Red Cloak., Dangerous dogs only 2 out of 130 greyhounds these were, ”Master’ and ”Quarry Tanist’, a dog who savaged me badly, I still have the scars today. They took me to Middleslbrough General, I was so embarrassed at being stripped by nurses, most of the dog bites I knew nothing about, I had no idea he had bitten me on my back, thighs and trousers compartment, and thought it was just my hands. Once a month the vet called to destroy four dogs. Serious injuries due to bend collisions were one a month, the track was flooded in the winter but they still had to run. When ice was about they covered it with straw. The most annoying injury to tend was ‘the end of tail caught in the trap injuries which never healed’. All the dogs were track owned, slow dogs 31. 50 secs 525 Shelbourne, they once bought a dog too fast to grade and had to send it back for a refund, just a cheap dog that ran like a Derby winner. It was breaking the record in trials, and was too fast. The most impressive dog apaprt from this was Rompaway, who they soon spoilt with their locked up in a kennal for 23.5 hours a day care. Manager was Bobby Burns, Trainer Harry Gendle (the skinniest man in England) Assitant trainer Ken? race starter Bob? (rabbit face), Lots of fun for mugs.
Interesting comments from Bob regarding memories of Cleveland Park, I went there as a young boy in the mid-sixties until the closure in the nineties. It was so sad to see it looking run down at the end compared to the glory days of dog racing… favorite dogs were from the sixties; Shanes Al, Roseril Steelborough, Kilsarcon Pride, Inny king and many more. I also worked at Belle Vue Norton from 1965 aged 11 till 1970 started as parading the dogs, to paddock lad to head trap lad. Best dog I saw race at Belle Vue was Royalty. Track record holder at 770yds. I would love to purchase race cards from cleveland Park mid sixties…
The most dangerous dog I saw in my time in the early sixties at Belle Vue Track was a big brown greyhound called Young John (more like a mountain lion) it was a pitman’s dog brought down for the £100 handicap, it savaged a track dog handler called Arnold Dawson.
Frank, I believe my grandad was a steward at Coundon dog track in the early 1950s, he would send an ice cream van to our house to take us up to Coundon. We would go to the dog track where my grandma worked behind the bar. Apologies for any errors here, I was only about 6 or 7 at the time. My Grandparents later moved to Tamworth, and both worked on the Dogtrack there, near where Drayton Manor Amusemant Park is now. I have fond memories of times spent in Tamworth in the 1950s
Hello. My mum used to type the race cards at Coundon in the 50’s. I’m trying to find out a bit about Liddle Towers, who was the licensee at the time. Would you know where I might find any information? She says she was typing the winners before the races!
The Muldowney’s had a great little black dog called Pantry Boy in the early sixties, it won a lot of races but unfortunately it broke a hock and was only a shadow of the dog it was. Belle Vue dogtrack attracted a lot of good dogs in the £100 handicaps they used to have. In those days a lot of the Boro players used to be there, Billy Day had a brindle dog called China Doll.
Was this the same Billy Day who used to hang out at Hartlepool dogs, and go running to the bookies with news of any good dogs he’d noticed in the trials, he was forever clocking the dogs with his own timer because he did not trust the track owners to return the accurate times. A bit of a pal, but no use if you wanted news about a useful dog hushed up. Is Billy still around? I hope so,
He has been seen a few times in photos and on the Boro web site with the ex Boro payers.
Some of the Muldowneys lived around the Swainby Road area and had Greyhounds, the old man used to get me to go to the BelleVue dog track and as I loved watching I would wait. He would then shove a wad of notes in my hand and tell me which dog. Walking into the tin cover where the bookies set up the boards I would watch the odds go out for the race then step in and slap the lot on the named dog, all the boards would be instantly wiped and new lower odds posted but I had got Muldowney’s bet on. He marked my card for the last three races and I always got a double out of it.
Those races must have been well and truly fixed and me betting for the Muldowneys was because the bookies would wipe the board as soon as they saw any Muldowney appear, they did not know me. They were a hard lot although once you were with them they looked after their own. A couple of bookies runners grabbed me one night after I had laid the bet, I did not really need help but the lads were there in seconds and the runners got the worst of things.
There were quite a few well known tough families around the area covering the Beck and recreation ground at Lustrum and some hard battles fought on Saturday Nights after the pubs closed and dances emptied out, it was a way of life back then.
Frank, our paths must have crossed because as a kid I walked our greyhounds every day (my nickname was ‘Bob the Dog’ because I always had a greyhound with me on a lead) they raced at Stockton dog track which as you must know was a 440 yards flapping track with an inside Summer Hare pulled by a wires wrapped around a grooved wheel device. Most of the dogs at Stockton Dogs were too slow to qualify on an NGRC licensed track or were older dogs past their prime.
My brother bought a really good bitch for £10.00 (£250.00 today) and made the mistake of overfeeding it, in 9 races it’s best performance was 5th, (5/6) so in disgust he sold it too a family who were so poor they couldn’t feed themselves properly never mind a dog, this bitch soon lost weight and believe it or not she then won 12 races and ended up one of the better class dogs at Stockton, I saw two fiddles going on there, one was to enter 2 similar looking dogs in the same trial, one was slow the other one fast and when the trial ended you swapped racing jackets whilst walking off the track. You then entered the fast dog for a race using the slower dogs name and jacket number. The snag was if someone waved a £10.00 note in front of a bookie in those days they wiped the chalk-boards clean so it did no good at all. The other fiddle was the track owner/s ran up bets for themselves on the Totalisator (the Tote) which they owned and controlled after race was over and the result known. My most vivid memory of Stockton dogs was how cold it was at night, and how miserable it was when the fog came down. Like most kids I collected old racing programs and had hundreds also bookies tickets. I imagine you must have ordered from the newsagent ‘The Greyhound Owner paper’ for 6d, TV broadcasting in 1951 onwards soon scuppered all the dog tracks, then the betting shops in 1961 finished them off.
I have had the occasion a few times to visit the main office at Houghton-le-Spring dog track. I was shown all the certificates of the dogs which are registered as racing dogs. It gives in details, date of birth, which was mother and father to the dog, dog or bitch and all the identifying details of colour and markings and scars. How is it then that at Belle View they can use an alternative dog to take part in a race?
.
The greyhounds also had a number tattooed in their ear which identified each dog, which the vet checked as well as the dogs fitness prior to each race.
Hi Bob Irwin, the dogs were unmarked when they took part in a trial race, you simply give the paddock clerks the dogs name and 10/- trial fee, he put your dog in a trial with others, after the race was over there was a scramble to separate the dogs who were diving at the hare, and after catching yours you were expected to remove the cotton racing jacket and return it to the paddock, so you switched the jackets with a pals dog. If your dog had qualified in this trial you took the dog into the racing paddock where they wrote down the IRISH ear tag number, and if it did not have one they had a pair of needle-pliers and tatoo-ink ready to give it one. Most ex-Irish and NGRC dogs had a white identity book. On these cards apart from the coat marking/s, it also listed the dogs front TOE NAIL COLOURS, what’s not commonly known is greyhounds have white and brown toenails, so the card would read: Name of dog: ”Caseys Pride” bitch, 61lbs, black & white, left ear I.D 3845, toes, B B W B / W B W B, then scars, then height etc
Stockton dog track never asked for the Irish card, and if another track did you simply claimed not to have got one from the previous owner. The King Of All Flapping dog men was in those days was JOE BOOTH, from Mansfield who brought Paul’s Fun the future 1954 White City Derby winner to England from Ireland.
Does anyone still have Cleveland Park race-cards from 1964 to 1970? I have fond memories from this era.
There were the Muldownies that lived in Greta Road, Norton and I believe they were involved in the scrap trade. That was going round the streets with their loud voices shouting for their wares.
Both Bobs, I knew the Muldowney’s very well, Lillie Mulldowneys used to come around with old pram selling cloths, we were always very friendly with Lillie, she was a lovely lady, her son Jimmy was one of the best double darts player I ever saw, I always found them amongst the most friendliest of people, shame I didn’t know about the family connection years ago, and yes I went to scholl many a time with a jumper on that came from Lillie’s pram and so did lots of other kids from Swainby/Danby nad Tilery. When Lillie and Husband left Tilery they moved into the house on Norton Road right next to the my local the Brown Jug, if their is any Mulldowney’s out there would love to here from you, funny how my Casey ancestory keeps getting wider with Irish connections.
Derek pal, those Muldowneys were a hard lot and would fight a man, any man for a 1/-. I’m certain a lot of them moved to Middlesbrough when the main Stockton foundrys closed, and most of them ended up around the Cannon Street area, or over the border.
The days of real ‘hard graft’ amongst our grandfathers, the post demolition spoil-removal from these ancient properties evidently being carried out with just shovels and wheelbarrows, no doubt taking weeks of long-hours to complete. A site like this, could now be cleared and levelled flat, ready for new construction within 10 days, by 4-men and a good JCB digger/driver.
My great grandparents lived at 9 Housewifes lane, they were Francis and Isabella Casey
(nee Lyons). I have the 1901 sensus and wondered what happened to the children, one of the children was my grandfather Robert, he was born 1895, he worked for Ropners & Sons as an apprentice riveter before joining the K.O.S.B 1912. My grandad Robert passed away in 1939, we his grandchildren never got to see what he looked like. I have since obtained my grandads full war records and know a little about him if not all, but I now wonder what happened to his brothers and sisters. The 1901 sensus states Hannah Casey age 14 – did she marry, have children/Frank Casey 11 – think he married one of the Jobsons/Mary Casey 8 again – did she marry and have children/Robert Casey age 5 – he was my grandad/Elizabeth Casey age 3 – she married James Gavaghan, they had a son named James born March 1929, sadly Elizabeth died very young. She was also a witness at my grandads wedding to Beatrice Warhurst Kirk June 6th 1917 St Marys Stockton. Although not on the sensus the next child born to Francis andIsabella was James Casey, now I knew Jim.
I would be interested to hear from any one who can connect with any of this, PictureStockton have my e-mail address so please get in touch.
I would like to update my posting here on Housewifle lane, as you can see my 1st posting here was in 2005, now know my great aunt Elizabeth married Martin Muldowney, he was from Co Mayo, they had 4 children.