Chester Chronicle - Cheshire Memories

Frodsham's story set in verse

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:30:28 +0000

MOST of us in this part of the world have a soft spot for the rural delights of Frodsham and the rustic charm of its surrounding villages.

The Domesday Book had Frodsham inscribed on its pages and there has been a market there since the 13th century. The name of St Laurence, the best known of Frodsham's churches, both past and present, can also be found in the Domesday Book.

The railway came to the town as far back as 1850 and a stone bridge was built across the marsh. Castle Park remains one of Frodsham's enduring attractions and is as popular today as was the old Mersey View landmark.

All of which gives me the opportunity to present one courageous lady's view of her hometown, described in verse under the heading A Very Potted History of Frodsham.

Joyce Warner penned her version of Frodsham through the centuries in 1999 for Frodsham History Society in preparation for the then forthcoming millennium celebrations.

Joyce suffered from motor neurone problems for 19 years but continued to pen poetry and raise money on behalf of the society.

Her daughter, Gill, of Beechwood, Runcorn, kindly gave me a copy of her mother's work following her death. It appears here and I hope you will find it as enjoyable as I did.

A VERY POTTED HISTORY OF FRODSHAM

TWO thousand years of history - it's hard to visualise.
So many scenes, so many men will pass before our eyes.
From Roman times to present day their stories have been told
We read of their achievements, these stalwart men of old.

And what of Frodsham through the years? - there's not a lot to know.
For the first thousand years at least, nor do the records show
If it was "Froda's hamlet" or "Hamlet on the Ford".
That's an interesting fact historians don't record.

We do know that a Roman road found Frodsham on its way
To Middlewich from Chester's fort, called Deva in its day.
Then, in the seventh century, the Vikings landed near
And Frodsham men helped man the forts that stopped them settling here.

The Domesday Book had Frodsham's name inscribed on its page.
It's said that Frodsham "Castle" is also of this age.
And since the 13th century there's been a market here -
though what was sold in those days wouldn't sell today, I fear.

Destroyed and rebuilt many times, "The Castle", as 'twas known
'Til in the 18th century became a family home.
Then in the 1930s it was put in council care
That the folk of rural Runcorn could find enjoyment there.

If you visit Castle Park today you have a treat in store:
There's tennis courts, a bowling green, an art centre and more.
A playground for the children and homes for the retired.
And the beauty of the gardens leaves visitors inspired.

Also in the Domesday Book, St Lawrence Church is found
Rebuilt in the next century, the traces still abound
Of Norman arches, pillars, and also you will see
A 15th century sedile ( a seat to you and me).

Many additions through the years, replacements and repairs.
Chancel and two chapels added, pews replaced by chairs.
But still the ancient nave remains, where people kneel to pray.
Proof that the faith our forbears knew is still alive today.

The rest of Frodsham's churches: Five Crosses, Trinity, Bourne,
The Rock, "The Union", were built last century.
Sadly some churches, founded then, this century have gone.
St Luke's and Main Street Chapel were founded later on.

It was in 1850 when the railway came to town
The stone bridge built across the Marsh, the iron bridge knocked down
Then shortly after that they opened up the Mersey View
You could have swings and donkey rides, tea and ice cream, too.

And soon the helter-skelter came - you'd queue up for a ride
Pay a penny, climb the stairs, sit on a mat and slide!
But by the 1970s it had really had its day -
They knocked the helter-skelter down and carried it away.

But you will find the Mersey View a different place today.
Where teenagers have discos and dance the night away.
While built next door is Forest Hills, hotel and club for leisure
Where you can dine, lift weights or swim - whatever gives you pleasure.

In olden times the wars were fought with arrows, spear and pike
And cannonballs and powder kegs, crossbows and the like.
We have not changed - we still fight wars - but nowadays, alas,
It's likely to be nuclear bombs or deadly poison gas.

Two World Wars this century and each one took its toll
Of Frodsham's men and women; their names upon a Roll
of Honour on an obelisk on top of Frodsham Hill
Though many years have passed since then, their memories honoured still

'Twas in the 1950s Frodsham started to expand
Houses grew like mushrooms on our green and pleasant land
Impossible to cross the road - the traffic was so fast
They had to build a motorway; we had some peace at last.

But still you'll find in Main Street memories of days of yore
The Bear's Paw and the Old Hall, thatched cottages galore
And high above the town St Lawrence keeps his vigil still.
The ever present watchman sitting there upon the hill.

So Frodsham, once hamlet, then a village, now a town
Retains much of its old world charm, though older people frown
To see the houses spring up where once the fields were green
And supermarkets fill the space where village shops have been.

In the past two centuries much change has taken place
The motor car, the aeroplane - man even walks in space.
Communication, medicine, technology and such
We celebrate the pioneers to whom we owe so much.

But remember, as you dance all night or party until late
Two thousand years since Christ was born is what we celebrate.
So many men have died for their belief, but, sad to say,
So few of us will be in church on the Millennium Day.

Tears and laughter at the glorious Gateway

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:48:55 +0000

PEGGY WOODCOCK looks back on 40 years of Chester's inimitable Gateway Theatre.

I remember the Gateway stage rippling with water for a stunning production of Pinter's emotive play Betrayal.

On the same stage I once talked to acting legends Pauline Collins, of Shirley Valentine fame, and John Alderton, currently in BBC's Little Dorrit.

These hugely successful actors memorably made clear the value they placed on small venues like the Gateway, and their determination to give support.

I remember children squealing and laughing through Charlotte's Web, Jungle Book and other Christmas productions, some of which went on to other theatres.

There was the youthful Hamlet writing red graffiti on dazzling white walls. Not for me, but, away from the classroom, a teenage audience was actually enjoying Shakespeare!

The Chronicle campaign is rightly focusing on the present, pressing for a re-opened Gateway as a way of redressing the dire situation existing for the arts in the city centre.

The strong case is being argued on these pages. Maybe some snapshots from the past will help to bolster it, to remind everyone what an asset the Gateway was to the city.

I helped report the Gateway from the early nineties, when the theatre created its own productions of wide-ranging plays like the shocking, brave, gay Torch Song Trilogy, the happy Yorkshire-set Second from Last in the Sack Race, the passionate Wuthering Heights, the thriller Night Must Fall.

Artistic director Jeremy Raison, now at Glasgow Citizens Theatre, attracted talent like actor Patrick Robinson, Ash in Casualty and then the first black Heathcliff in Chester. He went on to Stratford, is now in the TV drama Survivors.

Raison brought in household names, like Michael le Vell, Coronation Street's Kevin Webster, making his first foray into theatre as the sinister Dan in Night Must Fall.
It brought the national press to the Gateway as, later, did heavyweights Dennis Waterman, Patrick Mower and the late Ned Sherrin, when they made our theatre the first stop for their scriptwriter comedy Bing Bong.

The theatre commanded respect within the industry and helped talent grow.

And it entertained as Raison upped audience figures to more than 84% and brought a prestigious regional theatre award to the Gateway. He gave us rock and roll summers with great shows like Three Steps to Heaven, which twice went on to national tours.
I remember the relief of crucial Arts Council funding and the welcome arrival of pink seats from the Mayflower, Southampton - second-hand but such comfort! - and of Deborah Shaw, a talented director who made a success of the recent mammoth Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival in Stratford.

Passionate about the Gateway, she promised "the best of theatre, what Chester deserves and should have" and delivered with treats like a delightful Alice in Wonderland, a clever Vanity Fair and a lively version of the Hitchcock thriller Marnie.
Sadly the Gateway ceased as a producing theatre but went on delivering entertainment as a venue for visiting companies, stand-ups and other performers.

I remember laughter with Maria Gibb as a comic Joyce Grenfell, Aussie Caroline Reid, naughty as trolly dolly PamAnn, and Rodney Bewes, a delight in Three Men and a Boat.

And the fun of Hull Truck's nightclub Bouncers and football Perfect Pitch.
Colin Baker boomed through The Haunted Hotel and Rula Lenska shocked, well, some of the audience, in The Vagina Monologues.

I remember the pathos of Trestle's masked Stoneheads and the drama of death, bagpipes and Edinburgh Castle on stage for Tunes of Glory.

Soap stars came: Steven Pinder (Brookside) in Dial M for Murder, Chloe Newsome (Corrie) in Pride and Prejudice, and Scarlet Johnson (Eastenders) as Daisy Miller.
Rani Moorthy cooked curry on the same stage where, years earlier, Sunny Ormonde, as Shirley Valentine, had memorably fried chips and egg.

So many local societies entertained with opera and musical theatre, like Tip Top Productions, now keeping the Forum Studio alive.

It was here I watched school kids engrossed in a dark, mini Macbeth, and the marvellous Iestyn Edwards reduce his mini audience to tears of laughter as ballerina Madame Galactica.

You will all have your own memories of the Gateway, of productions that have made you sad, made you laugh, made you think, enriched your life.

But like me you will remember arriving to a crowded foyer buzzing with anticipation for the entertainment ahead, whatever it may be - this same foyer where once, earlier in the day, you may well have had a coffee or a sandwich lunch.

Great days. Let's get them back!

The famous day all peace broke out

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:29:49 +0000

A FOOTBALL match played this week held historical significance for those who gave their lives in the 1914-1918 Great War.

Thirty officers and soldiers from the Chester-based 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (Royal Welch Fusiliers) played a football match in Frelinghien, France, to commemorate a brief time of peace that occurred on the first Christmas Day of the First World War.

The Royal Welch Fusiliers met their German opponents, the Saxons of the 133 Infantry Regiment and the Prussians of the 6 Jager Battalion, in no- man's-land for an impromptu game of football on what was a rare day of peace on Christmas Day, 1914.

Captain C I Stockwell, who was present at the original Truce, wrote an account of the events on "one of the most curious Christmas Days" he had ever experienced.

He describes the singing, cheering and the exchanging of beer that took place. However, after this one night of peace and festivity, the fighting was resumed the next day.

Captain Stockwell recalls: "The German captain and I both saluted. He fired two shots in the air, and the war was on again".

The football match this week was played on the site of the original Truce game. The opposing team comprised members of the German Army's Panzergrenadier Battalion 371, formed from the Saxon Infantry, who originally played in 1914.

British soldiers attended the unveiling of a Christmas Truce Memorial in the town. This Memorial displays the badges of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the Saxon infantry and the Prussian Jager. They also took part in a Service of Remembrance before the football match, taking part in a two minute silence.

The Commanding Officer of The Royal Welsh 1st Battalion, Lt Col Nick Lock, said: "We are delighted to be taking part. The Christmas Truce illustrated the basic humanity of the men from both sides engaged in that terrible conflict."

Airfields in the front line

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:33:01 +0000

Cheshire airfields had a massive hand to play in the Second World War, according to leading World War II historian, Aldon Ferguson.

At the height of of the Second World War, Cheshire had nine operational airfields, with six of them purpose-built to aid the war effort at Calveley, Stretton, Poulton, Cranage, Little Sutton and Tatton Park, while airfields at Ringway, Hooton Park and Woodford were already in existence.

These nine airfields were used by the Royal Air Force and many war-time fighters and bombers were built, while thousands of pilots, navigators and paratroopers were also trained according to the book Cheshire Airfields of The Second World War.

The book explains in depth what has happened to all nine of the airfields since the war, with only two of the sites, Ringway and Woodford still operating.

The other seven have been built over or returned to the quiet fields that they once were, with a corner of the old Cranage airfield now lying under the M6.

Detailed research takes the reader through the action during the conflict that took place at the airfields during the war, including the construction of an aircraft that was amazingly assembled in just 24-hours, before having a successful test flight within just 45 minutes.

The book also describes how the airfields helped to protect Manchester and the docks at Birkenhead and Liverpool and how training at the airfields directly affected the D-Day Landings.

Mr Ferguson has also obtained access to several interesting photographs which help the reader to picture what the airfields looked like in the early forties.

Chester Zoo's wild start chronicled in book

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:25:34 +0000

Today, Chester Zoo is the jewel in the crown of the city's tourist attractions, but a new book has revealed the storm of protest and legal wranglings that threatened its creation.

Reared in Chester Zoo tells the story of June Williams, née Mottershead, whose father George founded the zoo in 1931 when June was only five.

Now 82, she has set the record straight on the troubled history of her father's creation in the book, written by Crewe-born author Janice Madden over the past two years.

Janice now lives in Australia but made two journeys to Chester to meet June, as well as speaking to her regularly on the phone.

June tells how, having established an aviary and zoological gardens in Shavington near Crewe, Mr Mottershead set his sights on a picturesque, 11-acre site which included The Oakfield House.

But after paying £3,500 for it in 1930 and announcing his bold vision, Mr Mottershead faced fierce opposition from residents and councils.

Local children would even throw stones at June as she walked home and a petition was handed to the council containing the signatures of hundreds of local residents.

After hearing from people who feared the arrival of wild tigers, lions and "people of mixed types" in then rural Upton, Chester Rural District Council and the Chester Town Planning Committee refused to consider the proposal.

Mr Mottershead promptly hired a barrister for an appeal at Chester Town Hall on February 6, 1931.

Under cross-examination from the town clerk, he responded to fears Upton would be overrun with visitors.
"If people came in hundreds and thousands, I would raise the entrance fee," was his astute response.

As the hearing continued an estate agent, Colonel Brown, was asked if he thought the zoological gardens would benefit Chester as an attraction.

He replied: "Oh, I don't think you could expect a very large number of people coming to Chester because of The Oakfield."

After hearing numerous representations, the town planning authority and the rural district council concluded The Oakfield was not a suitable place for a zoo and aviary.

The president of Upton Women's Institute and the chairman of Upton Parish Council also gave evidence against the application.

Mercifully, the Ministry of Health granted the zoo permission to open on March 13, 1931, subject to conditions agreed upon with the City of Chester which further delayed the opening until June.

Chester City Council drew up the conditions, including one barring signs advertising the zoo. Only one sign could be erected and that was to be at the entrance.
June says they found ways to get around the legislation.

"Because council workers weren't working during the holiday, we put signs out at the start of the bank holiday and took them down the night before they came back to work," she explained.

"The biggest thrill for many years after was when you saw 'Chester Zoo' on signposts."

The zoo failed to make a profit until 1944 when a lion enclosure was opened.

"We were just getting on our feet and it was getting established, then war started in 1939," adds June.
Mr Mottershead went on to buy three farms and 26 houses as the zoo expanded to its present 500-acre site.
June says: "My father bought as much land as he could to stop it being used for urban development."
He was made president of the International Zoological Society in 1962 and in 1963 the zoo achieved its first million visitors over a year when the tropical house was opened.

From Lunatic to Countess in 180 years

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:31:47 +0000

THE Countess of Chester Hospital acquired its present title at a "naming ceremony" in 1984.
And although the West Cheshire Hospital site has been a venue for health care since 1829 it hasn't always had such a flattering name.

The site was first known as the Cheshire County Lunatic Asylum when it opened in 1829. The original building, which housed 90 patients, was designed by county architect William Cole Jnr.
In 1855, the first of a number of name changes occurred when it became Cheshire Lunatic Asylum and in 1870, it became Chester County Lunatic Asylum.

In 1889, Cheshire County Council became responsible for the asylum and in 1899 the original name, Cheshire County Lunatic Asylum, was restored.

The early years of the 20th century saw significant advances in the treatment of, as well as changing attitudes towards, mental illness.

These were reflected in developments at the site.
A new pathology laboratory was opened and in 1914, an annex was built.

In 1921, the name "asylum" was dropped and the title, County Mental Hospital, was adopted.
In 1948 the National Health Service took over the running of the hospital from Cheshire County Council and it was renamed Upton Mental Hospital.

In the early 1950s it became the Deva Hospital.

Following the amalgamation of Chester and District Hospital Management Committee and Deva Hospital Management Committee in 1965, it was renamed the West Cheshire Hospital.

In 1983, a new general hospital and an accident unit were opened on the West Cheshire Hospital site and following the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales on May 30, 1984, the present name, Countess of Chester Hospital, was acquired.

Since the closure of Chester Royal Infirmary in 1996 and Chester City Hospital in 1994, the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust has become the area's main district general hospital that we know today.

Dancing queens

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:00:54 +0000

By June Withenshaw

AT ONE time, most village fetes and carnival parades would have seemed lacking without a display from the ubiquitous, pompom-swishing morris dancing girls.

Always eager to perform - and earn more medals for their uniform waistcoats - the troupes were an almost obligatory attraction, entertaining crowds and impressing competition judges with their high-stepping routines.

Some are still going strong - but the glory days of Frodsham's own champion country dancers are long gone.

It is now almost 30 years since the Frodonians Morris Dancing Troupe performed for the last time, packed away their pompoms, sold their tour buses and donated the proceeds to local charities.
Inspired by Frodsham Community Association's first village carnival in 1968, many local youngsters pressured residents Doreen Woods, Pauline Bibby, Miriam Jennings and Barbara Pearson to re-form the village morris dancing troupe.

The ladies organised an open night at the community centre for potential members and more than 100 children and parents turned up.
"We were overwhelmed by the interest and the Frodonians were born," said Doreen who, as a youngster herself, danced with the old Frodsham Trinitaires Morris Troupe.

The girls trained at the community centre and began fundraising.
Said Doreen: "Parents were an important part of our group and Ted Sutton, Don Mellor, Ron Astbury and Dennis Pritchard started a bus fund so we could buy our own coach to take us to competitions.

"This was so successful we ended up with two buses which were driven and maintained by Peter Davies, Jim Whitfield, Pete Edwards, Ray Spruce and Ken Deakin."
The Frodonians began entering competitions in 1969, said Doreen, "and for the next ten years our summers were taken up with morris dancing."

"We were very successful and I have only praise for all the girls. We were the All England Champions, the United Kingdom Champions, Welsh and Border Counties Champions and the proud holders of many more trophies."

The group had novice, tinies, juniors and senior troupes, said Doreen: "And our cleanliness and smart appearance became renowned with the carnival organisations, which can only be put down to the parents who cared for the uniforms."

She added: "I couldn't begin to mention all the children, parents and helpers by name, there were so many; but they were all appreciated very much. More than 250 girls took part during our ten years, many starting at four years old and staying with us right through to their late teens.

"But in 1979 numbers started to fall and it was agreed to end the Frodonians while we were still of a high standard."