What a wonderful piece of ephemera! Beautiful, high-quality scan by Lawrence Hodgkinson.
A lovely enquiry for the Bank Holiday weekend came in a couple of days ago courtesy of reader Lawrence Hodgkinson, who has submitted a beautiful scan of a rather unusual ticket stub from a railway special excursion in 1952.
I’ll let Lawrence explain:
Bob,
The attached scan is of a Sankeys W.M.C. Half Day Excursion railway ticket from Brownhills to Colwyn Bay in August 1952.
This is number 285 and for a Juvenile under 16. As the tickets were specialy printed for this excursion, presumably there were at least 285 people on the trip.
Can you perhaps find out more about this trip? Do any of the children who went on this trip still remember it? There is a Sankeys Working Mens Club at 166 Lichfield Road, Brownhills.
There used to be a Working Mens Club in Lichfield Road near the station, but I don’t know if it was called Sankeys.
Perhaps there was more than one Sankeys Working Mens Club. Was Sankeys Corner at Chase Terrace named after a WMC?
Regards
Lawrence Hodgkinson
Now there’s a corker of a challenge for the holiday weekend!
I’ve said before that clubs were at the very heart of Brownhills life for years, and Laurence is correct – the Sportsman (now demolisted) was built as a W.M.C. and known as the ‘Top Club’ for years, as well as the Middleton House which was, I believe, the Bottom Club and in-between, Sankeys. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I have no idea of the derivation of the name Snakeys Corner, and if it’s related. Anyone?
Thanks to Lawrence for a real boster of a question, and for sharing a beautiful artefact. If you can help, please do – either by commenting here, or mailing me: BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com.
Cheers.
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re the club trip these were anual events put on by the local working mens clubs for the kids and old folk it was the only time some ever saw the sea the big clubs in browmhills were the sankeys half way down lichfield road men only in the big room women in the snug breezes alrs known as middleton house at the lunction of chase road and lichfield rd erny breeze being the publican and the top club opposite brewes shop an interesting factor for me it was knocked down to modernise it to raiise funds shares of one pound were sold i have share number three which my dad purchased ha ha a big evevnt each weekend was the membership numbers a type of todays lottery if your number was drawn out a financial sum was paid out for a small payment to enter there would reign a silence on trip day eeeeeach club would have its own day and place to visit happy days again thanks for the memory god bless
Sankey’s Corner was named after a local farmer …..
From the Burntwood Chase Heritage Group “Burntwood Heritage Trail – Chase Terrace & Boney Hay” (still available to buy)
“Site 4.
Present Day Location: – Bridge Cross Club, Bridge Cross Road, Chase Terrace.
History: – Bridge Cross Farm.
Bridge Cross Farm was built in 1864, several farms being formed after the l 861 enclosure.
Thomas Sankey was the first occupant of the farm and by 1900 the area around the crossroads
was known as Sankey’s Corner. In 1874 the 240 acre Bridge Cross farm was growing turnips
and barley. In 1925, Miles Jervis, the owner of Chase Cinema, purchased Bridge Cross Farm
on the opposite side of the main road. This purchase included surrounding fields extending
right back towards Chasetown. He used the land and outbuildings to store fairground
equipment. He turned the top floor of the farm house into living quarters, where the family
lived until they built a house next door in the 1930’s. The ground floor was immediately leased
as a social club. Today it is Bridge Cross Club.”
Bridge Cross Working Men’s Club is no more, ALDI covers the site. In front of the SCAMP Miner and Pony statue is the lintel stone from the farm.
If local WMCs were named after him, I don’t know.
Dec 1866…2 men in the employ of Mr Thomas Sankey, at Bridge Cross Farm were brought before the Rev J Muckleson, on charge of stealing a quantity of wheat straw and clover…
Aug 1889…A storm of exceptional violence occurred at Chase Terrace, doing a great deal of damage and causing consternation among the inhabitants. The workmen’s house belonging to Mr J Cassell at Bridge Cross Farm, was struck by lightning; and William Holmes (wagoner), who occupied the house , while going down the stairs, was severely injured..
My great great grand mother was a domestic servant at Sankey’s Farm in 1871!
sorrey before any one coreccts me ther was also ogley club midway beteween lichfield road catshill these were the big four family minded clubs and the week end membership run god bless thanks again for the memeory
Tribute to mining legacy revealed in Burntwood…The bronze statue depicting a miner and pit pony has been revealed at Sankey’s Corner in Burntwood…(Express and Star)
How strange that such a tribute should stand at Sankey’s Corner, named after a farmer from 1864.
In 1919 a Royal Commission, led by Sir John Sankey, reported on joint management or nationalisation of the coal mines, and also considered the working conditions, wages and hours.
I think it is fair to say that this report came down squarely on the side of the miners. Lloyd George filed the report in the waste bin.