Nostalgia - What are your memories of Stafford?

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
I saw this today and the students that I was visiting commented on how intimidating the giant black fence looked. I was reminded of the Outlaws' house, which was nearly opposite where they are living and I don't think that they really believed me about what it was like. I have been unable to find any pictures of it - anybody got any ideas..?
My sister was 'acquainted' with 1 of the occupiers ages ago, she said they had go thru so many locked doors to get into the main part of the house that, if ever there had been a fire they would have all perished. Did they ever find another base, or just meet at the local pub now and again these days?
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
My sister was 'acquainted' with 1 of the occupiers ages ago, she said they had go thru so many locked doors to get into the main part of the house that, if ever there had been a fire they would have all perished. Did they ever find another base, or just meet at the local pub now and again these days?
My memory says that they moved to somewhere in the Derby area..

I had a few conversations over a period of time with various of the members and they seemed generally OK - to me. They may have viewed me as a potential convert, of course.

There was the general air of perceived intimidation and the odd gun-fight, otherwise there were no real issues...
 

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
You know you are old when

You can remember a skyline pre Pennycroft

You have seen a new fire station built and then demolished

You have winged half pennies at Patrick Lichfield near to The Hough

Hixon will always be associated with tragedy

Rangers played without floodlights

You could drive out of The Sun car park onto the High Street,turn right, and carry on through the town centre in a straight, non crazy paving or Faulkland direction until you hit a National Front march
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
My memory says that they moved to somewhere in the Derby area..

I had a few conversations over a period of time with various of the members and they seemed generally OK - to me. They may have viewed me as a potential convert, of course.

There was the general air of perceived intimidation and the odd gun-fight, otherwise there were no real issues...

I was in the next Crown court to one of their cases when on Jury Service. Phew ! So glad I wasn't chosen for that one.
 
I enjoyed the Stafford pageant, the floats, dancing, marching bands. I was in one or two myself and my Mum in her heyday did The Beatles. What about the big Gas thing where Sainsbury's is parked now. I spent a day or two watching The Colosseum smouldering hoping that nothing like it would ever return . . and one of my earlier memories is, my Mum dragging me into the local butchers every Saturday and being greeted by a blood covered butcher, that man terrified me for years. Who knew then that 20 odd years would pass and I'd fall in love with his son and make him a Grandad.
I remember going to the gas works to collect coke in an old pram
 
The big car parks where the courts and Sainsburys now stand. Wilko's being Sainsburys.

The town centre not being pedestrianised. There being a cafe on the first floor next to where Pizza Express is now, where you could sit and look out over the buses going round Market Square.

Mr Sandy giving out badges in the Wimpy behind Woolworths.

The workers doing all the excavations where the Guildhall now stands.

Getting them little chocolate buttons (pearl drops?) with little coloured bits of shit all over them from the old indoor market.

The sports shop underneath the Ancient High House. You used to go downstairs and all you could smell was brand new trainers. Got my first pair of Adidas from there. I reckon that shop is the main cause of my unhealthy trainer fixation.

There being a chippy in Doxey.

Weird what you remember.

Does anyone remember the underground toilets in Market Square? I don't, but apparently they just filled 'em in and built over them. It'd be wicked to uncover it all and have a look at what the bogs used to look like.
Freddie Sandy started with the Juliet Coffee Bar on the Newport Road, we used to frequent after school, King Edward VI.
I remember the toilets in market square ( the mines ) they were dire, not a place to loiter late at night.
 
I stumbled across this pic and thought it was Wayne Manor for a minute. It is in fact the old Coton Hill Alysum on the site of the Stafford District Hospital on the Weston Road. Coton Hill Asylum was built in the 1850s and opened in 1854. It was originally built as an extension to the County Asylum in order to house private patients. It was to be known as The institution for the Insane of Staffordshire and the Adjacent Counties. The hospital was built in a Tudor style and features included its own chapel, cinema and dance hall, sports facilities, gardens, orchards for growing fruit and vegetables and farm. The building remained until 1976 when, apart from the chapel and the lodges, it was demolished and the new District General Hospital was built on the site.
Old Mother Riley ( Arthur Lucan ) died here
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
Peter Boynton was there for a while - but that may have just been a used car situation, I never took much notice..
Peter Boynton moved in when the Austin garage closed. Can't for the life of me remember what it was called...
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Peter Boynton moved in when the Austin garage closed. Can't for the life of me remember what it was called...
Struggling on that - I have asked my local agent in that area and he can't remember the name - so far. I remember thinking at the time that it was just a little too close to Charles Clark...

Apparently, though, it had been an agricultural supplier before then.
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
Apparently, though, it had been an agricultural supplier before then.
Mitchell Farmers (or some such name) used to be on Silkmore Lane but I didn't think it was the same building as the garage. Could be wrong though as it's all a bit of a fuzz what went on round there for some reason :(

I can remember my dad looking at buying a Wolseley Princess from the garage but apparently they offered him a rubbish part exchange deal on his Riley Kestrel but neither of us can remember the name.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Mitchell Farmers (or some such name) used to be on Silkmore Lane but I didn't think it was the same building as the garage. Could be wrong though as it's all a bit of a fuzz what went on round there for some reason :(

I can remember my dad looking at buying a Wolseley Princess from the garage but apparently they offered him a rubbish part exchange deal on his Riley Kestrel but neither of us can remember the name.
Mitchell's still has an existence on Tollgate...

I had a feeling that they were there at the same time, possibly in adjacent buildings...
 
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