Middle Road Cottages

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Maps of 1840 show several cottages along Middle Road. Over time a number of these cottages have disappeared. Middle Road was one of several routes which led to Griffy Well which was an important source of water until 1939. It was also a route to the school on School Lane built in 1915. The map shows a Post Office on Middle Road. In 1911 Herbert Rowell and his family lived in the Post Office and he was also a baker.

In 1939 two families lived at "West View": the families of William Rowell and George Bird. Next door at "Roseleigh" lived John Waterfield and his daughter Eliza, who is listed as an Auxiliary Postwoman. These properties may have been combined to form what is now known as "Westleigh".

In 1916 the Hodges family lived in the house pictured and circled on the map. Thomas Hodges was a coal miner. The children shown in the photo left to right are Thomas Wilmot Hodges, Frederick Hodges and Zilpha Hodges. It is thought that the house was demolished when the bungalows on Top Road were built in the 1960s.

Further along Middle Road there is a house which in the 1950s was a sweet shop. Children walking to and from the school on School Lane would stop here to buy their sweets. The sweets were stored in large jars and the shopkeeper Mrs Brooks filled a triangular paper bag for a penny.

Other cottages further along the road have been demolished. The remains of which can be seen in the hedgerow as you walk along towards the Griffy Well.