Hobson’s trip down Memory Lane

THE mid-19th century brought rapid expansion to Peterborough in the shape of the railways.

The arrival of four railways in five years from 1845 had a major impact on the city. Until then Peterborough was a fairly small market town with a population of under 10,000.

New railway lines created lots of jobs and housing had to be built to provide places to live for the many new railway workers.

Earlier this year I included a photo of the old railway buildings when they were used for sheet storage. It caught the attention of reader Maggie Woods, who emailed me to say her father used to work there.

“The picture of the railway buildings brought back many happy memories of when I was a child,” added Mrs Woods.

“My father, Jack Goodley, was a storeman for many years until he retired. His two sisters, Jessie Burbage and Doris Goodley, worked there as well.

“Auntie Doris was an expert in embroidery and stitched the railway motif on the corners of white linen serviettes.

“Apart from being in charge of the supplies in the sheet stores my father looked after the many cats who kept the numbers of mice down.

“Every Sunday, when the units were closed, he would take me to feed them. The inside picture made me smile for it was in there my father taught me to ride a bicycle. Boy that floor was hard!

“Now when I go into the pet shop (the building is now the premises for Pets at Home) it’s not tins of dog food I see but the tall, long, units that echoed the voices of happy people at work.”

What lovely memories. Thanks for sending them in.