A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE
1994
THE NORTH FEATHERSTONE OPENCAST PROPOSAL
Miller Mining appealed against Wakefield Council's decision to refuse an opencast mine next to the cemetery. Before the public inquiry in January, Dereck Enright, the local MP, said he was determined that planning permission for the Cutsyke Road site was never granted. James Holt, solicitor to the council, said it is not considered the social and environmental effects of the proposals and the landscape of the area are acceptable. Miller mining said there are no sound and clear-cut reasons for refusing the application.
The inquiry was held at Wakefield Town Hall. Stephen Cottrell for Miller Mining said the council's planners had recommended planning permission and advised there were no significant grounds to justify refusal. Independent experts hired by the company concluded that noise, dust and possible blasting would not cause an unreasonable disturbance. Regarding the cemetery he said "We are happy to show our respects and have offered to stop work while interments take place". When the mining finished, 3,000 trees and 500 metres of hedge would be planted.
In a letter to the inquiry Geoff Lofthouse MP wrote "The site is close to North Featherstone cemetery and I am greatly concerned that its peace and tranquillity will be destroyed. I have emotional feelings because my parents and ancestors are laid to rest there".
Outside the inquiry David Enright MP said "It will be quite scandalous if people who have suffered from mining were made to suffer any more. I have not found a single person in Featherstone who supports this". Cr Graham Isherwood said "It is an obscenity to rip up a green belt site by opencasting when coal is being stacked all over the place. It's scandalous, immoral and indecent". The inspector, David Donnison, closed the inquiry and would now make his recommendations to Environment Secretary John Gummer.
In June Mr Gummer reported he had decided to refuse the appeal by Miller Mining. Cr Graham Isherwood said "The only way Miller Mining can overturn this decision is in the High Court. Cr Peter Wroe said "The landscape has been disrupted enough in this area and we do not want any more opencasting. The people in this area voted unanimously against it".
THE COUNCILS
JANUARY Featherstone Swimming Pool was closed for a new boiler costing £90,000 to be fitted. Knottingley pool was also closed because of subsidence problems, and the Knottingley Canoe Club which had move to Featherstone's pool said it was up the creek without a paddle. Steve Wells for the council said the boiler at Featherstone had been soaking up a lot of time in maintenance and repair work and the closure would be for two or three months.
APRIL The district council had installed plastic cages for a district wide plastic recycling scheme. Vandals had attacked 14 of them, including one in Featherstone. Some were stolen, others slashed or set on fire. The council now spent £5,000 putting lids on them and said it was delighted with the public's response to recycling plastics.
MAY The son of former Featherstone Mayor Dick Belfield, Cr Alan Belfield was elected Mayor of Featherstone. His wife Kathleen was Mayoress. Photo - The Express.
The election result for Wakefield District Council was:
Peter Rowe (Labour) 3,441
T Steele (Conservative) 253
JULY Outdoor market traders at Castleford, Pontefract and Featherstone complained about the increasing number of empty stalls which they said put shoppers off. The council said it would let existing traders have a second stall for half price of £4 and first time traders could start at £1 and then half price before moving to the full rate.
Michelle Dyas age 16 of Post Office Road fancied a career as a bricklayer. She did her work experience from Featherstone High School in the building department's depot at Featherstone, and had now become the only female out of the 20 new apprentices in Wakefield District Council's building service department. Photo - The Express.
THE ROVERS
Featherstone Rovers had to sell the Post Office Road ground to Wakefield Council in August 1988 to provide finance for safety improvements which were required after the Bradford City stand fire disaster. There was a buy back clause, and the council decided it could no longer support the rugby league clubs financially; so a deal was set up for the Rovers to buy back their ground.
At the annual meeting in July, the secretary Terry Jones said he felt more optimistic about the Rovers chances in the coming season than at any time since he took over as secretary 17 years ago. The club now had players from France and Australia. The new extension to the clubhouse included junior teams dressing rooms, a new secretary's office and a club shop. The downside was a loss on the season of £118,041, mainly due to transfer fees.
In November the National Lottery began. The Rovers lottery manager, Terry Mullaney, said it was already having an effect on the Rovers finances because people who bought the Rovers tickets were now saying they preferred to take their chance on the National Lottery.. It was also vital because the new rules for inclusion in the Premier League included raising £250,000 through commercial activities.
The club house had been extended and a series of concerts arranged. The club sold 300 tickets at £3.50 for the first one, but it ended in a brawl and the police had to be called. Four arrests were made and two policemen were injured. Chief Inspector Peter Cromack said they were very concerned about the large numbers of people present and they would be speaking to the management. A further setback was the cancelling of the tribute band Slayed when it was revealed there were no original members of Slade in it.
THE GALA
The attendance at the Gala in Purston Park was over 3,000 which delighted the organiser David Bond. He said "Since the miners' strike the attendances had been falling but this year there was a large crowd throughout the day. The Gala relies on local people doing local things for the day, and what we want to do is generate community spirit".
The Gala Queen was Catherine Waddle. The Express photo shows her with previous queens Kirsta Marshall on the left and Nicola Davidson on the right.
Frickley Colliery Band provided music throughout the day It was not all plain sailing. Lee Ravy age 11 broke his ankle playing in a rugby league game and ended up with two screws and a plaster cast holding it together.
Mrs Susan Speak had a stall to raise money for her brother Malcolm Poxon who had been in Pontefract General Infirmary for two years He needed a portable life support machine costing £6,000 to enable him to live a better life. She ended the day with £700 and was able to open a trust fund. One woman gave her an envelope containing £100, and others offered to help with other fund raising efforts. The Express photo shows Susan and husband Peter at the Gala but doesn't explain what is in the bucket.
CLIFF "SLAM" LAMBERT
Cliff "Slam" Lambert, one time Featherstone Rovers player often called "the best loose forward never capped", retired after 50 years at Yorkshire Copper Works, later Imperial Metals. He told the Express he realised early the rugby would never provide a living so he was always mindful of his position at work. "I would work all day Friday and Saturday morning, play in the afternoon then work all day Sunday". He signed for the Rovers in 1949 for £80 and received £5 for a win and £2 10s for a loss. He began at the Yorkshire Copper Works when he was 14 and rose to the post of production manager. Photos - The Express.
NURSE WILFORD
Former midwife Jean Wilford of Leatham Crescent died in December age 88. It was said she had delivered over 3,000 babies during her career which began in 1934.
Her son Douglas said "I remember my mother being called out at all times and going to people's houses with the delivery bag strapped to her back. There were many times when we were young, because of the demands of work, that neither the children or my father used to see her for long periods.
"When mum first acquired a car during the war she would get calls during the blackout and have to be escorted by the police. However they got disgruntled with this arrangement and would let her go alone in the pitch darkness. We feel it is easy to lose the history of local communities, but we hope our mother will never be forgotten by Featherstone or its people". The photo in uniform is from the Express, and that with the car is from the Dr Gatecliff Collection.
1994 NEWS ITEMS
FEBRUARY Ian Clayton published an updated version of his 1984 book 100 Years of Featherstone Rugby which he called A New History of Featherstone Rugby and done in collaboration with Ian Daley. He said "We do not pretend that this is a definitive history of rugby in Featherstone, but it it will solve some of the tap room squabbles".
MARCH Robin Neal of Ashcroft Road weighed nearly 23 stones and decided to be sponsored to shed the pounds for the children's ward at Pontefract General Infirmary. He was spurred on by doctors telling him he wouldn't make it through the next ten years if he didn't lose a lot of weight. The Express photo shows Robin at PGI with Vincent Pavlitski and Joe Sheldon.
British Coal sought the help of the British Trust of Conservation Volunteers in planting 102,000 trees on the now restored Ackton opencast site. Children from local schools, anglers and leading Featherstone citizens began planting round the custom built fishing lake made for Ackton Anglers Club. The lake would have a car park and fishing platforms to give disabled people equal access. Cr Alan Belfield said "We have had opencasting in this area for a lot of years and now we are getting something back". The Express photo shows children and volunteers at the tree planting. The photo of the information board is by Dr J Gatecliff.
APRIL The Featherstone and District Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society were rehearsing for their Summer Cabaret which was to be put on at Featherstone Community Centre and the Disabled Miners' Centre in Pontefract in June.
MAY Stephanie Musther of Church Lane, North Featherstone, was named Pontefract and Castleford's Mum of the Year in a competition judged by officials from Asda at Glass Houghton in the Asda and TV Times Mum of the Year competition. She was nominated by her son Jonathan and won a £50 shopping voucher. Photo - The Express.
Tony Lumb of Albert Street published his latest book Featherstone People - Anthony Albert's Irreverent History. He said "It's really a follow-up from my last book The History of Featherstone, but this time it's more about people". Photo - The Express.
The New Central pub was reopened on a trial basis by Brian Parkinson the landlord of the Corner Pocket. He said "If I can make a go of it then we will negotiate a purchase price. Either they (the public) will come in and use the facilities or they will ignore it. If it does not work after this attempt I believe it will be nailed up". Mr Parkinson had been landlord of the Corner Pocket snooker club since 1988. The New Central was owned by Sheffield brewers Wards.
Robert Hollings age 12 of Katrina Grove featured on Channel 4's Big Breakfast show because his pet tortoise was notorious in the area for going walkabout. It even managed to climb over a one foot high mesh fence. The Express photo shows Robert with Flash the tortoise and Snowball the pet rabbit.
Ellen Simpson celebrated her 103rd birthday in Old Vicarage Nursing Home, North Featherstone. She was not a Featherstonian being born in Chesterfield and later living in Pontefract.
JUNE Featherstone Fire Station sub-officer Graham Millard said more retained firemen were needed. Their number had halved over the past eight years and needed to be put back up to full strength. He said "We need people who don't mind getting up in the middle of the night when someone is in distress". They were paid a retainer of £1,410 rising to £1,542 after three years, as well as a weekly drill fee and a turnout fee. Photo - The Express.
Featherstone's Off The Shelf Theatre Company called its new show Basic, described as a form of self-expression with dance. All money raised would go to fund future productions including one about Featherstone's "Tripey Dan" and the TT Races.
AUGUST Yorkshire Water imposed a hosepipe ban for watering gardens or washing cars because of a long dry hot spell. Ken Eley, Yorkshire water's general manager said "We need to reduce demand and preserve existing water stocks as we move towards autumn".
SEPTEMBER Colin Seal, owner of Green Lane Industrial Park, had to fix a burst water main himself when British Coal and Yorkshire Water each said it was the others problem to sort out. Malcolm Booth, who owned a car valeting business, lost nearly a day's work. The photo of Mr Booth is from the Express.
The Off The Shelf Theatre Company got a pleasant surprise for their Tripe and Sunbeams play in the Community Centre when the current owner of Danny Oldroyd's 1926 Sunbeam motorbike, Garnett Orford, offered to put it on display for them. The Express photo shows Ian Daley, who wrote the play, on the motorbike it was about.
Keeley Gates age four appeared on the TV show 999 Lifesavers. She was only three when her mother Melanie had a severe asthma attack. She could neither move nor speak, but Keeley went straight to the cupboard and got the nebuliser. She put the mask on her mother face but wasn't strong enough to pump it so she ran outside to get help and someone else pumped it. After her story was told on a TV chat show last year she received a donation to buy an electric nebuliser. The Express photo shows Melanie with Keeley and four months old Rebecca, born four months after the incident.
Residents in Dixon Street complained about a hole in the road leaking water 12 months ago which Yorkshire Water had inspected but done nothing. It was now three feet wide and still leaking water. A Yorkshire Water spokesman said work carried out failed to reveal a leak. The hole has not been filled in because we want to keep a check on it and if a leak showed it would be repaired.
There was a dispute between Stewart Hawkes of Pontefract and Ian Daley of Featherstone about who wrote the play Tripe and Sunbeams. Stewart said he based the play on Ian's original idea, but he wrote virtually every line. Ian refuted all allegations that he had not written the play, and said Stewart was making his comments now because the play had been a success. Ian's name appeared as author on the first night's programme, but it included both names for the other performances.
OCTOBER Featherstone History Group invited 16 local people to the Community Centre as part of the Arts Festival to recite their experiences in verse. Among them were Dorothy Williams who read the poems of her father-in-law the late Billy Williams, Billy's son Jim recited his own collected works and author Tony Lumb treated the audience to a selection of his nostalgic slice of life poetry. Other poets included Dorothy Maxwell, Amy Gott and Elsie Green. The Express said it was an unusual and entertaining event.
A sculpture of St Francis of Assisi was unveiled at St Wilfrid's Catholic High School. It was carved by Father Andrew McMahon OFM and was unveiled by the Bishop of Leeds, David Konstant, for St Wilfrid's Day. It was to be placed in the school's science block. The Express photo shows Father McMahon and the bishop.
NOVEMBER Sandra Jex, Nicola Field and Mel Tagg went on a sponsored walk through Pontefract and Castleford in fancy dress to raise money for the Malcolm Poxon Trust Fund to buy air vents and a wheelchair. They collected £200 and the fund total was now nearly £9,000.
DECEMBER After 20 years in darkness All Saints Church would be lit for Christmas thanks to an anonymous donor who telephoned the tower keeper Tom Precious to tell him the donation would be put through the church door when the church was deserted. The Express photo shows the church floodlit in a previous year.
After Christmas a young couple disturbed thieves stealing the equipment. The cable had been dug up, but Tom Precious said it was hoped to keep the tower lit up until January 6.
Tony Lumb published his second book about Sherlock Holmes in Featherstone.
