Longford (inc. The Red Hills)

Blimey MR, where are you digging this lot up from..We used to skate at the Capitol, there was a hand rail around the rink, and many a time i careered over it, and we came out well battered ..Happy days though

Hiya all I have read the thread and felt compelled to join. I'm born and bred in Longford, as was my mum and my grandad was from Aldermans Green. I know many of the names mentioned here and have a few answers to some of the questions raised (although they may have already been answered and I missed it). My family name is Docherty, mum's maiden name was Lowe. They were one of the last families to live in Oaks Place and moved from there from the cottages to be demolished in 1971. They were cottages that had no bathrooms and they bathed even in 1971 in front of the fire and went the loo 'in the yard.' Nan and grandad moved to the maisonettes across from Oaks Place which they rented until about 1997 from the Ashmore's (who owned a lot of land and buildings around there). Nancy was the wife, don't remember her husband, I think he died when I was young, they have 2 sons, one John and the other slops my memory just now. I was born on Grange Road (number 6, the new builds as were then opposite Grangehurst School (the old school which was previously Foxford). Mum and grandad both went to Foxford (the old Grangehurst building). Mum and dad had the Old Griffin in Longford for a short time about 20 years ago, but I grew up on Longford Road opposite (No 161). When I married I moved to the Sutton Stop end of Grange Rd. Brays yard next to the Griffin was ran through my lifetime by Tony, his brother Peter did the deliveries and his very elderly dad had a tiny corner shop in Exhall (behind the Texaco garage). The Old Post Office had an old fashioned sweetie shop that sold sweets from jars when I was a little girl and went further back than more recent years. When the sweet shop closed they reduced the size of the waiting area in the post office... I think because the proprietor Stuart, in the post office, didn't like people very much and didn't want to encourage too many in. Over the years it was robbed a few times but that's not why it closed, Stuart simply retired. I know the Brays, my family were friends with the Sephtons (will see Colin the son tomorrow) and Loles, trying desperately to think of other names mentioned. I will have a reread and get back. Just really wanted to say hi and say this put a lovely smile on my face, it's lovely to reminisce isn't it!

Hi Longford Lass, It certainly is so do come along and reminisce with us. You will be made most welcome by all.

Hi Longford Lass. I & the team want to add our welcome to you. Thank you Dreamtime. We trust that you will enjoy your reminisces along with us all on here.

Lovely to read that, Longford Lass. So glad you have decided to join the Forum and share all your memories.

Hi Longford Lass, this forum has also brought back memories of Longford for me. Each contribution is a new piece of information that triggers new memories. I remember Oaks Place as the houses I could see across the park from St Thomas Rd. I think there was a shop on the corner -- at one time I think it was a model shop. My grandmother used to send me to the old post office to collect her pension, and well remember Stuart's "unfriendliness" -- I think his surname was Black. I have also had a few pints in the Griffin, but that would have been in the late 60's or early 70's. My grandmother lived earlier on Grange Rd. and I know she mentioned the names Lowe, Bray, Lole and Sephton. Her surname was Bond. I also went to school (Foxford) with a John Sephton. I am sure there are other Longford Lads and Lasses around who have more pieces of the puzzle.

Re Midland Red's photographs of Longford, beautifully executed shots of the village in which I was born, but which today I barely recognize - it looks so clean and colourful. In the 40s/50s it was dirty and drab. However, I should point out that the CAPITOL photographed was the Capitol Billiard Hall, the Capitol Roller-Skating Rink being behind the bus stop close to St Thomas's. There was an alley between the shops, and down that alley - at the alley's bottom, and to the right was the door that admitted the skaters. LongfordLad (in Toronto)

The Dovedale/Rivoli/Ritz/Dovedale cinema did indeed have steps leading up to its foyer, in front of which was an outdoors semi-circular waiting area in before its quite-imposing entrance. It was a "third-run" cinema at best, like its Foleshill Road sister the Redesdale/Roxy/Redesdale, for the newest movies opened in the city centre cinemas, played next in the major "second-run" cinemas - the Regal, the Standard and such. But this Longford cinema was not a flea-pit in my youth, for all that many of its movies (particularly those screened on Sundays) appeared to have come from the Ark. I recall that above the screen - in relief on the wall - were words from Shakespeare - ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE, and the side (under the side house lights) bore the names of famous composers, of which I specifically remember Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Chopin, but I always sat in the cheap seats and the cinemas system of names was probably alphabetic, running from the screen backwards. Here, I am writing of the early 50s when the cinema's name was the Rivoli (pronounced Riv-a-lie). It was, improbably enough, a picture palace, but there's no room in the world for such a place today, for we now may buy a DVD/Blue Ray copy of a new movie for home use in a shorter time than it would have taken back then for the film to reach a place like the Riv., as I and my pals called the cinema. Opposite the cinema was the closest thing I ever encountered in Longford to what we would call in North America, an ice-cream parlour, and this was owned by D. DiMascio and family - Dee-Di's we called the place, and the family operated a fleet of ice-cream vans - well, one van at least. On an unrelated matter, the pubs of Longford - running from Blackhorse Lane to New Inn (later the Fiesta) Bridge were - the Black Horse, the Engine, the Coach & Horses, the Saracen's Head, the Griffin and the New Inn. The surnames associated with Longford are names that I recall well, and Staley was a name long associated with the Sara, or Saracen's Head.

They have their own thread on the forum

Dovedale cinema

What an impressive cinema this was! My, but I had quite forgotten the Doric columns, around which we under-age kids would await an adult to accompany us into the cinema to view an A-rated movie. As I recall the begging phrase, it ran thus - Will you take us in with you, mister? (Added, as a sort marketing ploy was - We won't sit with you.)

My mum's family were the Styles's, most of them lived down St Thomas Road, my Auntie Agnes Mills (Ag) worked in the Old Crown pub on Windmill Road, they all went to Windmill Road School

I don't remember it being D.Di's ice cream shop, if my memory serves me right it was "Dan the ice cream man"

I remember D.Di's vans being parked against the wall of that shop on the car park of the pub. The Dovedale was the first cinema I went to, taken by an aunt to see Pinocchio. The Old Windmill was run by Jack Snape who used to play for the City, I worked occasionally with his son Mike.