Bootle Times News

Do you think that the houses on strand road known as the American streets were more posher than the houses on marsh lane known as the Welsh streets because all the houses on strand road all had a garden in front of the houses and the Welsh streets had nothing

Henry, you’re a snob.

Bet they had an indoor toilet Joe
bobhamo

Bob.

WE HAD CELLERS MARSH LANERS CALLED YOU WOOLYBACKS and henry we stole all your BOMMYWOOD marsh lane had the biggest bonfire opposite the alex pub it was a badge of honour to picked to guard the bommy wood and the girlies done the first shift still remember them fresh from st James net ball team with the school issue big blue bloomers full of holes arrrr memory's

BOBHAMO wrote:Bet they had an indoor toilet Joe
bobhamo

No indoor toilets and no running hot water and it was called an outside lav

Mmm Welsh streets or US States.... which was the poshest? Forget garden areas and cellars did either of them have vestibules and a long lobbies?

bjones wrote:Mmm Welsh streets or US States.... which was the poshest? Forget garden areas and cellars did either of them have vestibules and a long lobbies?

Ours the posh ones did have a vestibule but the lobbies were not very long

I bet you had two big aspidistra plants in your lobbies, Bee and Henry.

Henry if you had any size lobby with stairs at the end and doors off it then you're deffo the poshest.
Joe, no room for aspidistras, ours was usually full of kids!
On summer days when we were tiddlers our Ma left the front door open and had a baby gate across the vestibule and we kids played in the lobby. Cheeky neighbours were forever popping their kids over the gate and leaving them whilst they went to the shops along the road!

fatboyjoe90 wrote:I bet you had two big aspidistra plants in your lobbies, Bee and Henry.

No plants only lino on the floor and a coat hanger

WE DIDNT HAVE STAIRS WE HAD A LADDER ME DAD BURNT THE STAIRS FOR THE FIRE WHEN HE WAS ON STRIKE NO MONEY FOR COAL ETC

WatsonTommy wrote:WE DIDNT HAVE STAIRS WE HAD A LADDER ME DAD BURNT THE STAIRS FOR THE FIRE WHEN HE WAS ON STRIKE NO MONEY FOR COAL ETC

YOU SHOULD HAVE ROBBED YOUR BOMMY WOOD

put you on it jealous henry y we had a 20ft lobby and when the cops came the pitch and toss men ran down it through the kitchen and out the back to the back jigger and away me dad shut the on the cops though every body left the front door open there was nothing to steal

Errrr 'ang on 'ang on Tommy Watson I'm calling for a stewards' inquiry! You lived in Audley Street didn't you? That was NOT one of the welsh streets that Henry drew his comparison with. I'll be asking for you to be disqualified as an inappropriate entrant.

As a "Self appointed 'Steward'" and to try and settle this matter, I would go with the assessed value of the houses at the time of sale
or the highest rent paid for the privilege of living there!!

In Strand Road we valued our homes not like some on marsh lane who wrecked the houses by pulling down the stairs and burnt them for example

Gents. I enjoyed the discussion and don't wish to pour oil but:
1. I lived in Brookhill Road and the most feared gang - for removing our carefully stored bonfire wood in the 60s -was definitely The Marsh Lane Gang.
2. Our outside lav had at least 2 problems. Not only did the candle blow out, when windy, going down the yard - but the bits of Echo hanging on a meat hook on the wall contained news - but the final part of a story was inevitably missing - used by a previous occupant - such is life.
3. As time went on, I installed an outdoor cable and electric light - the only lav. one on the block, My Ma put a blue down the basin Then, in 1969, they demolished our slum, posh lav down the yard, aspidistra in the window and all...We gained an inside toilet and running hot water but lost an era...
Happy days. Walshy

Bootle Times January 6 1961. The new Marsh Lane maisonettes making headlines.