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T18 Mrs Edith Robinson
Memories of Edenfield
Born 10/09/1907
Recorded 15/04/1996
Length 01:16:49
- Discussion of local sports and children's games, not formal sports like cricket or football.
- Mention of Dr. Deans and his partnership, followed by Dr. Crompton and Dr. Struthers taking over practices.
- Limited access to music and concerts due to transportation restrictions in Ramsbottom.
- Description of the delivery of medicines via tram and train.
- Schooling details, including attending Stubbins School and taking school certificates before leaving at age 16.
Early Life and Moving to Edenfield
- She was born in Padiham, then moved several times due to unemployment: Great Harwood → Ramsbottom → Baker → Edenfield.
- Arrived in Edenfield in 1915 at the age of eight and lived there until 1933 (around 18 years).
Village Life
- Edenfield was quiet, with life revolving around Sunday school and church.
- Limited transport: only a half-hourly tram service; most travel to nearby towns (e.g., Rawtenstall) was done on foot.
- Few organized youth activities — no scouts/guides — but church clubs (e.g., badminton) were popular.
Religious and Social Life
- The Wesleyan Methodist Church was central, holding 600–700 people.
- Sunday school was large and influential; the Beswick family played key leadership roles.
- Ministers included Reverend Saunders (Haslingden circuit) and Reverend Gordon Mee (brother of Arthur Mee of British Encyclopaedia fame).
- Sundays were very full: morning and afternoon Sunday school, choir practice, and evening service.
- Choir sang at all services and performed Handel’s Messiah at Christmas, sometimes joining the Rossendale Male Voice Choir for performances in the theatre at Rawtenstall.
- Weekly activities included:
- Ladies’ meetings on Wednesday afternoons and evenings (“Ladies Bright Hour”), with her mother as president.
- Family heavily involved in church: siblings in choir and organ-blowing duties (large hand-cranked bellows).
Family and Home
- Family of five children (four girls, one boy). She was the middle child.
- Lived on Bury Road, in newly built terraced houses (c. 12 in the row), with basic amenities:
- Gas lighting, no electricity.
- Backyard, small garden, outdoor flush toilet.
- Coal storage outside.
- Gas mantles downstairs; fishtail burners upstairs.
- Mother sewed and knitted extensively, including knitting for soldiers during WWI. Worked part-time at Barlow’s Mill (Bridge Mill) during the war.
Father’s Work
- Loom overlooker at Bridge Mill.
- Witnessed the mill burning down — described vividly.
- Later operated a haulage and charabanc business, adapting a lorry for passenger trips on weekends (joined with Schofield to form Kilburn & Schofield).
Village Buildings and Shops
- Market Street mostly fields when she arrived; housing developed over time.
- Key locations:
- Liberal Club (Elm Street)
- Co-op Hall over the shop
- Conservative Club
- District Bank near Rushton’s Arms (manager Mr. Suffiff lived above)
- Doctor’s surgery at Newlands, run by Dr. Henry Deans; later Dr. Struthers (moved to Acre’s House), then Dr. Ford.
- Dispensing of medicines happened in Ramsbottom, sent to Edenfield by tram and pigeon baskets, before NHS.
- Shops were numerous compared to today:
- Shoe repair shops, grocers (Trapwood’s, Chatwood’s), bakery (Fisher’s), drapers, confectioners, butchers, greengrocers (Hartley’s), paper shop, clogger’s, plumber’s (Jewish), Co-op stores.
- No library initially; later moved or closed.
Transport & Communication
- Transport largely horse-drawn; Whittakers were local carriers to Manchester.
- Pigeons were used to signal return journeys before telephones.
- Telephone use was rare — doctors and factories among the first to have them.
Festivals & Community Events
- Sunday School Anniversaries (April) and Whit Friday Processions were major annual events, with marching to Turn village and back, banners, and brass bands (e.g., Goodshaw Prize Band).
- Afternoon field days included children’s races (egg & spoon, sack races), rounders, and band music.
- Christmas centered on church Messiah performances; little decoration or village activity otherwise.
Schooling
- Attended Stubbins School, then Accrington Grammar School on a scholarship (first from Stubbins).
- School facilities were basic: shared large rooms, inkwells, long desks.
- Early fire meant winter with no heating.
- Teachers taught multiple standards simultaneously.
Health & Birth
- All births were at home, attended by Nurse Burton, a well-regarded local midwife who lived on Rochdale Road.
- No hospital births mentioned for this period.
Gardening and Food
- Small home garden; grew vegetables during wartime.
- Baking was done at home — Holland’s pies not commonly bought.
Holidays and Leisure
- Limited travel due to finances; occasional trips to Blackpool, Fleetwood, Morecambe, Southport.
- Father was a keen cyclist and took cycling holidays alone.
- Later in life, visited Bridlington, Whitby, Torquay, etc.
Marriage and Later Years
- Married in Ramsbottom (1927/28), lived nearby at Brown Bent.
- Continued strong ties to Edenfield through family.
Photographs and Events
- Discussed photos of:
- Whit Friday processions (men at back, banners).
- Armistice celebrations, possibly 1918.
- Funerals (noting Holland’s pies delivery).
- Acre’s House (considered haunted by children).
Overall Themes
- Strong Methodist religious community shaping social life.
- Industrial village transitioning from horse & cart to motor vehicles.
- Modest living conditions with gas lighting, no electricity, and tight-knit family and village structures.
- Significant role of women in church, home, and wartime workforce.
- Oral history gives rich detail of social structure, daily life, and local geography of Edenfield in the early 20th century.
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