T03 – Summary – Ramsbottom Heritage Society

T03 Mrs Ellen Mills

A 93 year old resident shares memories of her life

Recorded 1987-88

Length 00:38:34

A 93-year-old resident of Ramsbottom, shares memories of her life.
Childhood: Attended Holcombe School, participated in church choir, and played traditional games like hopscotch and skipping.
Family: Came from a large family with five sisters and three brothers; recalls limited toys and Christmas gifts.
Work: Worked in a weaving shed, enjoyed it, but had to leave due to family pressures.
Life Changes: Discusses the evolution of household chores, cooking, and the impact of both World Wars on her life.

She was born and lived in Ramsbottom all her life — over 90 years.
Came from a large family of eight children (five sisters and three brothers).
Her mother was a devoted churchgoer, and she herself was christened, married, and active in the choir at Holcombe Church.
Schooling: She attended Holcombe School and Sunday school.

Played traditional street games such as skipping, jacks (also called “Jackson”), hopscotch, hoop rolling, and whip-and-top.
Toys were scarce — families were poor, so children made do with simple or homemade playthings, sometimes created at school.
She recalled sitting on doorsteps playing games and using a piece of hearthstone for hopscotch.

Described a working-class household: large family, limited money, and a lot of chores.
Helped her mother with washing and cleaning, including woollen stockings and the doorstep.
Talked about old-fashioned domestic routines:
- Monday was washday, Tuesday ironing, Wednesday baking.
- Washing was done by hand in tubs; baths were taken in a tin tub in front of the fire.
- Toilets were outside; wastewater went through “tipplers” (drain traps).
- Cooking was first on a range, later on a gas cooker.
- Laundry used Fronkle soap, and later gas boilers replaced coal-heated ones.
- She remembered mangling with wooden rollers and boiling water manually.

Left school just before 12 and began working.
Almost got a job as a milliner (hat maker) but her father insisted she work in a weaving shed like her siblings.
Worked as a weaver in local mills (Nuttall and others), beginning with four looms.
Later worked alongside her sister, teaching her to weave.
Enjoyed weaving despite hard work and poor conditions: carried weft manually, worked long hours, and started early (up at 5 a.m. to walk to work).
Married a velvet weaver from Preston. After marriage, both worked in the weaving shed until her husband, a foreman, told her to leave work — “either you give notice or I will.” She reluctantly quit to manage the household and care for children.

Had a son and a daughter, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Talked about balancing mill work and domestic chores: she worked days and did housework and cooking in the evenings.
Her husband helped with the children — bathing them and putting them to bed when she was busy washing.
They gradually acquired furniture and appliances as they built a home together, starting with almost nothing.
Spent weekends taking the children on walks “all over the world in a pram.”

Her husband served in the First World War, was wounded in France, and treated in Sheffield and Bakewell hospitals.
- A bullet passed through his hand and elbow while he was reading a newspaper in the trenches.
She recalled peace celebrations at the end of WWI.
During the Second World War, Ramsbottom experienced Zeppelin raids:
- Bombs fell near Holcombe and Nuttall, damaging a mineral water works and a post office.
- Luckily, there were few casualties.
Her sister was involved in civil defense duties (possibly an air raid warden), and her husband took part in fire-watching.
There were many evacuees, including children from the Channel Islands.

She reflected on how life had changed — more comfort, money, and technology today, but less community spirit and gratitude.
Felt that despite hardship, “we were happy — they were happy days.”
The transcript ends with her reciting a humorous poem, “If I Was a Man”, about gender roles and marriage, showing her wit and memory despite age-related forgetfulness mentioned near the end.

Industrial heritage: Textile work shaped community life.
Women’s resilience: Hardworking, resourceful, and family-oriented.
Social change: From manual labor and poverty to postwar prosperity.
Memory and nostalgia: Clear affection for her past and the values of her generation.

T03 – Summary