Providing historic
information & images about Colton and surrounding areas.
The People & Memories of Colton.
Mike Horne lived in Colton as a child &
has kindly re-counted some of his memories of Colton Primary School
& the surrounding area.
"I used to live at Lulworth Crescent,
Whitkirk from my birth in 1954 to 1962, and have many great memories
of my time there.
I first went to Colton Templenewsam Primary
School in 1960, and I remember being seen off by my mother, at the
gates on School Lane. My classroom was in the buildings with the
corrugated roof, behind the main victorian building. The desks used
did not have lids as such, so you had to have canvas bags (known
as "tidy bags") in which to store your school equipment
in. The children used to enjoy Fridays there as it was a day that
you could bring toys to school. There were also many toys and games
stored in cupboards located near the
blackboard. The staffroom was located between these two classrooms.
Colton Institute on Meynell Road was
used as a classroom cum dining room. There were two rooms in the
Institute, with connecting doors between them. The west facing room
was used for Tombola, and other games, and also stored the dining
tables & chairs. At mealtimes, pupils had to move their desks
& chairs in to the west facing room, and help move the dining
tables & chairs in to the east facing room (and vice versa).
At the time of my stay at Colton school,
the headmistress was a Miss Duxbury. The deputy head was a Mr. Greaves.
I was first taught by a Mrs.Backhouse, in 1960. The classroom was
in the top end of the building with the corrugated roof (now also
boarded up), which is situated to the east of the main school building.
This can be best viewed looking from Colton Road East. We used both
these classrooms in this outbuilding. Another teacher that I remember,
was a Mrs.Oliver, who lived in the same street as my family.
We never often went in the main school building. The only time that
I can remember going in there, is when we had an Easter egg decorating
competition.
I remember going on several country walks with the school. We would
often walk to Temple Newsam, sometimes by Meynell Road, and then
by the footpath that lead through Bluebell Woods. Other times down
through Park Road. Sometimes we went by Colton Road East to Bullerthorpe
Lane, and round to the park that way. It is hard to envisage that
the area around the school was once open countryside. The farmhouses
that are situated along Colton Road East, today, look very much
out of place with the new buildings that have since been erected.
The school had a maypole, which was erected in an area north of
the old building, when used.
When I was moved to the institute building
on Meynell Road in 1961, my teacher was a Mrs.Storr. We were situated
on the eastern side of the institute building, the other side being
used for tombola. It was difficult having a classroom which also
doubled up as a school dining room.
Sometimes my brother, Nigel, and myself
stayed for school dinners, but mostly we went home for our meals.
It was easy to get to Colton school from where I used to live at
Lulworth Crescent, Whitkirk. I used to cut through to Austhorpe
Lane, past Smeaton's Farm (now long demolished - the only sign of
it left is an old wall along the roadside), and then up to Selby
Road, then a single two way road (no dual carriageway then). There
were provisions for a "lollipop woman" to guide children
across the road to School Lane, during term time.
Sometimes it was difficult to get to school, due to bad weather
conditions. There used to be problems with smog in those days (a
mixture of smoke and fog). It made it very bad for walking and driving
conditions. It would have been very difficult to get across Selby
Road.
It is hard to believe that in those days,you could get a bus, which
ran from Leeds to Colton (Number 39).This was usually a double decker
open platform bus, which went from Leeds Central Bus station to
Colton, stopping at Whitkirk (Austhorpe Parade). The bus stopped
directly outside the old school building. Opposite the school, there
was a wooden shelter (painted green), where you could wait for the
return bus. This shelter has now long been demolished.
The washrooms were situated on each side of the building, viewed
from Colton Road East.
The school open days were based where the Colton Sports Club
is now situated on School Lane. Parents were encouraged to take
part in school sports, e.g. "3- legged race".
I left the school in 1962 to live in
East Suffolk, but we returned to Leeds in 1967, and now live near
Bramley."
Mike still returns to the area when he can,
usually at weekends.
You can visit his website on www.mikesradio.freeservers.com
Mike is also interested in finding out about
the closed footbridge at Cross Gates railway station, and what the
authorities are planning to do with it. Can anybody help with his
query?
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