Post by coxhead on Jan 1, 2008 0:25:47 GMT -5
Hi to all out there,
i was very interested to read all history/ replies to the history of Gatacre & surrounding areas. My name is Tom Magness, My family where the last to live at Coxhead farm, ( which was built in 1798)I moved into Coxhead with my parents in late 1950 and moved out in early 1957 ( or late 1956) when they knocked down the farm to build the new housing estate.
my memories of the farm where all fabulous, i was the only child upto 1955, when my second brother Stan. was born, he was the last person born at the farmhouse. I played on the railway line running through the farm, with my friends and cousins who lived at lineside road ( prefabs) namely the Darlingtons, Bacons,Benns,
and others i will recall later. We put the white stones on the line and when a passenger train passed it would crush the stones to dust, and we would shout " gunpowder" little did we think that we may have derailed the train. Eventually they sent a police train and we only just escaped, but it did stop us from doing our bad deeds. Farmer Jackson was a nice gentle person, who employed my father on chores around the farm ( this is how we came to live there) he had big rosy cheeks, and drove a short wheel base green land rover. ( ex military)I remember myself and my mother potato picking for 10 bob a day, and remember when my father and co workers where turning the soil with the plough, their efforts unearthed lots of hidden early crockery ( only i knew of it and told my father many years after the event) it was all broken by the plough, but a lot would have been deeper and survived, this was in the field across the road from where the cats whiskers pub
now stands, and i dare say some of the homes where built on old plates etc. Jacksons farm had a pond, but Coxhead farm had one also, i played there on the rafts ( old doors that were from the old shed that was knocked down, originally it was in the orchard) nearly every day,
and would swing on the cows tails while being dragged along by the cow, this stopped when i let go and ended up head first in fresh cow dung!!! Oh happy days. My parents often found me asleep with the dairy cows in the cows shed, the pigsty was run down by then, and disused, except for courting couples!. The manager of the cats whiskers pub had photo's of the farm on the walls within the pub, they renovated the pub and removed the photo's, but the manager would not sell them to me. I often wonder what happened to them, as i am on one of them. My cousin John Williams runs the merseymouth internet site, and his stories often cover myself and family ( Alices farm is just one) Coxhead was apparently haunted, and had a cell where a person had hung themselves, many years before, we had a lodger, old Johnny, he was an Irishman, who boiled his billy all day over the fire, his tea was like ink.( he did leave me a penknife when he left)
My family moved to Hedgfield road ( prefabs)when the farm was taken over, and i attended belle vale school until 1959, when my family moved to Huyton, and Knotty Ash.
I have photo's of the farm, and will attach them if i can. Presently i live in Australia and visit L/pool quite regularly. So on my return in 2008 i hope to see changes yet again in the city of culture. I could write more but its getting a little boring for some people.
regards
Tom Magness
i was very interested to read all history/ replies to the history of Gatacre & surrounding areas. My name is Tom Magness, My family where the last to live at Coxhead farm, ( which was built in 1798)I moved into Coxhead with my parents in late 1950 and moved out in early 1957 ( or late 1956) when they knocked down the farm to build the new housing estate.
my memories of the farm where all fabulous, i was the only child upto 1955, when my second brother Stan. was born, he was the last person born at the farmhouse. I played on the railway line running through the farm, with my friends and cousins who lived at lineside road ( prefabs) namely the Darlingtons, Bacons,Benns,
and others i will recall later. We put the white stones on the line and when a passenger train passed it would crush the stones to dust, and we would shout " gunpowder" little did we think that we may have derailed the train. Eventually they sent a police train and we only just escaped, but it did stop us from doing our bad deeds. Farmer Jackson was a nice gentle person, who employed my father on chores around the farm ( this is how we came to live there) he had big rosy cheeks, and drove a short wheel base green land rover. ( ex military)I remember myself and my mother potato picking for 10 bob a day, and remember when my father and co workers where turning the soil with the plough, their efforts unearthed lots of hidden early crockery ( only i knew of it and told my father many years after the event) it was all broken by the plough, but a lot would have been deeper and survived, this was in the field across the road from where the cats whiskers pub
now stands, and i dare say some of the homes where built on old plates etc. Jacksons farm had a pond, but Coxhead farm had one also, i played there on the rafts ( old doors that were from the old shed that was knocked down, originally it was in the orchard) nearly every day,
and would swing on the cows tails while being dragged along by the cow, this stopped when i let go and ended up head first in fresh cow dung!!! Oh happy days. My parents often found me asleep with the dairy cows in the cows shed, the pigsty was run down by then, and disused, except for courting couples!. The manager of the cats whiskers pub had photo's of the farm on the walls within the pub, they renovated the pub and removed the photo's, but the manager would not sell them to me. I often wonder what happened to them, as i am on one of them. My cousin John Williams runs the merseymouth internet site, and his stories often cover myself and family ( Alices farm is just one) Coxhead was apparently haunted, and had a cell where a person had hung themselves, many years before, we had a lodger, old Johnny, he was an Irishman, who boiled his billy all day over the fire, his tea was like ink.( he did leave me a penknife when he left)
My family moved to Hedgfield road ( prefabs)when the farm was taken over, and i attended belle vale school until 1959, when my family moved to Huyton, and Knotty Ash.
I have photo's of the farm, and will attach them if i can. Presently i live in Australia and visit L/pool quite regularly. So on my return in 2008 i hope to see changes yet again in the city of culture. I could write more but its getting a little boring for some people.
regards
Tom Magness