People would swear by the appeal of bustling Burslem
North Staffordshire historian MERVYN EDWARDS explains how the much maligned town of Burslem is haunted by its industrial ghosts
OVER the last few years, national newspapers have queued up to run what is essentially the same story about the Potteries’ Mother Town, over and over. In July of this year, it was the turn of the Daily Telegraph to present a piece on “Britain’s emptiest High Street: Burslem.”
I don’t deny that Burslem is economically in big trouble, but it makes me wonder whether the businesses that trade successfully in the town are not just a little peeved that so many people have given up on it in retail terms.
In some respects, it is a town haunted by its ghosts – the fading shadows of once mighty industry and the infrastructure that it helped to create – emporia of all kinds where you could buy anything from haberdashery to ceramics or from dolls’ houses to a chip butty.
The Woolworths shop stood at the foot of St John’s Square and is much missed.
It opened in 1929 and at one time stocked an impressive range of locally manufactured china and pottery ware. Following a facelift, the store was converted to self-service in 1966.
Margaret Montgomery, of Burslem History Club, has vivid memories of working at Woolies, joining in 1972.
At this time, she tells me, there was a staff of around 30 workers including cleaners, a cook and Saturday employees.
Margaret, who is still very chatty at the age of 87, enthuses: “I was able to talk to lots of people, including the workers coming across from their factories at lunchtimes.
“Among our customers were operatives from local factories such as Boulton’s, Wood’s, Acme Marls, Johnson Matthey’s, Royal Doulton and many others.
“I also got to know people in the old terraced houses nearby. I used to feel quite depressed when the potters went on holiday – it was as if the town had died.
“Shops stopped making sandwiches when the potters were on holiday, as if nobody else mattered, and there were fewer local buses, so the place was like a ghost town.
“I used to go with another lady colleague from Woolworths to Burslem baths in Moorland Road on our Thursday half-day off to learn to swim.”
Memories of James Cock’s shop in Market Place still abound if you talk to the right people. At various times, James called the shop the Busy Magnet or the Magnet Store.
Jean Matthews, of Tunstall, writing in TWWW last year, worked there for 20 years, starting at the age of 16 in 1946.
“On the ground floor were 10 departments – haberdashery, menswear, overalls and aprons, ladies’ underwear, hosiery, gloves, material, house furnishings, carpets and rugs, and the wool department,” she recalled.
She also remembered the cash carrier system that conveyed money to and from each department.
“Mr Cock, although elderly when I started there, still visited the store each morning,” mused Jean, who also remembered how each department had at least two assistants.
Another famous shop stood in Market Place and was recalled by Wenda Dyer, who was born in 1946, when I interviewed her a few years ago: “At Askey’s fish shop, all the fish were on ice and the game would be hanging up – rabbit, grouse and pheasant. Game pie, which included venison, was also sold, and on one occasion I bought a bag of mixed game from Askey’s and made a game pie. Mother wouldn’t eat it, but I loved it.”
Joan Taylor, born in 1934, spoke about a Burslem chemist when we chatted in 2003.
“At the age of 14, I went to work for Mr Salt, who ran a chemist’s shop near the foot of Dartmouth Street,” she explained.
“There were drawers which were labelled with their contents, which you measured out for the customers.
“People weighed themselves on our weighing machine, which came complete with weights. People suffering from a cough wouldn’t usually go to the doctor’s.
“They would come and ask for a bottle of Mr Salt’s ‘Special’, which he had formulated when his own father had been plagued by chest problems. “People swore by it as a remedy.” People are still swearing in Burslem today – but it’s over the relative lack of shops.
Mervyn will present a Burslem Welcomes History walk entitled When Burslem Was A Shoppers’ Paradise on Monday. It starts from the Barewall Art Gallery at 11am and admission is £2.50, pay on the day.
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