o/ Council estates in Rotherham in the 70's and early 80's

[the_idiotb_stardson]

What are your memories them?

How do they compare with council estates today?

Which was the best kept council estate in the 70's and 80's?

Which was the roughest?

What about the characters?

[animallittle3]

Good solid communities when I grew up in the 60's and 70's .

Everyone worked and took pride in their families and modest homes and gardens .

Money was tight but it was the same for everyone .

We kids fell out and made up , parents chuckled and left us to it .

Neighbours could give you a *******ing if you mis-behaved , nobody thought anything of it , my old man said if Mr Parkers shouted at thi then tha must have deserved it .

Cricket and football games that lasted all day , lampposts doubled up as the wicket , six and out , no LBW .

Coats for goalposts in the street , no cars to worry us .

Taking empty pop bottles back for a refund .

Whitening on white pumps .

Raleigh choppers , how cool were they .

The FA cup final , nobody played out till after the final whistle and then we replayed the match .

3 day week and my mam going out to work , fecking hell , what about our tea , end of the world .


Great time to grow up , wouldn't change a thing .

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

I'll never forget that first day at t'pit.
Me an' mi father worked a 72 hour shift, then wi walked home 43 mile through t'snow in us bare feet, huddled inside us clothes med out o' old sacks.
Eventually we trudged over t'hill until wi could see t'street light twinklin' in our village.
Mi father smiled down at mi through t'icicles hangin' off his nose. "Nearly home now lad", he said.
We stumbled into t'house and stood there freezin' cold and tired out, shiverin' and miserable, in front o' t' meagre fire.
Any road, mi mam says "Cheer up, lads. I've got you some nice brown bread and butter for yer tea."
Ee, mi father went crackers. He reached out and gently pulled mi mam towards 'im by t'throat. "You big fat, idle ugly wart", he said. "You gret useless spawny-eyed parrot-faced wazzock." ('E had a way wi words, mi father. He'd bin to college, y'know). "You've been out playin' bingo all afternoon instead o' gettin' some proper snap ready for me an' this lad", he explained to mi poor, little, purple-faced mam.
Then turnin' to me he said "Arthur", (He could never remember mi name), "here's half a crown. Nip down to t'chip 'oyl an' get us a nice piece o' 'addock for us tea. Man cannot live by bread alone."
He were a reyt tater, mi father.
He said as 'ow workin' folk should have some dignity an' pride an' self respect, an' as 'ow they should come home to summat warm an' cheerful.
An' then he threw mi mam on t'fire.
We didn't 'ave no tellies or shoes or bedclothes.
We med us own fun in them days.
Do you know, when I were a lad you could get a tram down into t'town, buy three new suits an' an ovvercoat, four pair o' good boots, go an' see Frank Randall at t'Palace Theatre, get blind drunk, 'ave some steak an' chips, bunch o' bananas an' three stone o' monkey nuts an' still 'ave change out of a farthing.
We'd lots o' things in them days they 'aven't got today - rickets, diptheria, Hitler and my, we did look well goin' to school wi' no backside in us trousers an' all us little 'eads painted purple because we 'ad ringworm.
They don't know they're born today!!!

[CAMiller]

We were lucky enough to move into a new build estate in Rawmarsh in 1964 that was much as described by animal (and Grist ). Paid a visit back there last month, much changed but still a place I'd be happy for my grandson to grow up in if needed.

[Yak]

We were lucky we had a greenhouse with glass in it not plastic.
Six weeks holidays I was out all day playing football on herringthorpe playing fields.
Rotherham tattoo watching Lancaster bomber coming over.
My mum had 3 jobs tea was at 5 if I wasn't in I got knowt had to sit down as a family and eat. East dene was my home and I loved it.

[Brin]

Good solid communities when I grew up in the 60's and 70's .

Everyone worked and took pride in their families and modest homes and gardens .

Money was tight but it was the same for everyone .

We kids fell out and made up , parents chuckled and left us to it .

Neighbours could give you a *******ing if you mis-behaved , nobody thought anything of it , my old man said if Mr Parkers shouted at thi then tha must have deserved it .

Cricket and football games that lasted all day , lampposts doubled up as the wicket , six and out , no LBW .

Coats for goalposts in the street , no cars to worry us .

Taking empty pop bottles back for a refund .

Whitening on white pumps .

Raleigh choppers , how cool were they .

The FA cup final , nobody played out till after the final whistle and then we replayed the match .

3 day week and my mam going out to work , fecking hell , what about our tea , end of the world .


Great time to grow up , wouldn't change a thing .

Animal you've probably best described most kids upbringings from the days gone by.

Council estates today? - absolutely gutted to visit my old area of Lockwood Road, East Herringthorpe the other werk. What a down and out dump of a place. Lovely back in the early 60'and very well maintained up to the mid 70's when I moved to Eastwood, Coleridge Road.

Again a very well kept area and people were house proud and especially of their gardens. Villa can verify this. Eastwood now? What a ghetto! Every race under the sun adorns what once was a very pleasant area of the suburbs.
Wouldn't put a rat in it now.

Hard to say which was the roughest back then if you didn't live in a particular area. Suppose Dalton backs were one of the most run down areas along with Whinney Hill but, people made the most of what they had in those days.

Best kept and most desired area? Broom Valley, everyone wanted to move to Broom. Would you live there now? Not a prayer!

Just a brief look back and could post a multitude of stories on characters I've grew up with but that would take an age.

[rileyev.the.third]

Grew up in Canklow. Not a place for the faint hearted but some terrific people lived there.

I was the first generation of kids to go to Oakwood following South Grove not taking anymore kids.

I will never forget the open day we went to. Kids from Moorgate, Broom etc sat in short trousers and the Canklow kids walking in in denims and 14 holed Dockers. The look on their faces I will never forget, terrified springs to mind.

Made some fantastic friendships with those lads over the years and still socialise with them to this day.

Judge the boy, not the area he's from!!!!

Roughest area..... Eastwood, those Spurley boys were sick!!!

Nicest area, Broom Valley, aka no go area these days!!!

[shropshirelad]

I remember as a 14/15 year old lad with long hair running the gauntlet of skinhead gangs on the Kimmi Park Estate in the early 70s

[Scum-Triumphant]

I was from Laughton Common White City and I loved it.

Nobody stole from each other there because nobody had anything. The council demolished it 2001-2003 and rebuilt a new housing estate and in the process they destroyed the community.

Mostly full of Wednesday fans and a couple of us Millers. Townies hated us but we still never claimed to come from Dinno.

[bogsdollox]

Roughest estate White City - Maltby
Sunnyside in general was a close second.
Roughest pub - Grapes
Best pub Mail Coach when Don and Pete ran it.