HISTORY

The Quarries Update 16/1/03 from Steve Jones appears at the foot of this article.

Location of The Quarries, 1901. Imagine the Cafe Casita at the top of the map and the Labour Club at the bottom.	In response to Rob's recent question about the building that stood on the site of The Paddock, we are grateful to Ian of www.sedgleymanor.com for the following information: I lived at No. 35 Priors Mill from 1955 until 1961 (Gary Westwood lived two doors away at No 39) and we often played in the old house which was by that time empty and fallen down. Of course we always thought the place was haunted! I believe that the owner of the house in 1901 was a Mr Edmund Howl. The playing field/park in Priors Mill was the old walled garden of the house. I'm pretty sure that the wall with it's domed archways is still standing. Though I think the arches have probably been bricked in by now. The Quarries was situated near another well known house, The Firs. If any Yampy reader has further information or comments, please email us at admin@yampy.co.uk
* * *
Update 16/1/03 Thanks to Steve Jones for the following: During the 1940's and 1950's my father Barry Jones lived in Quarry Brow in Upper Gornal, and has a few memories of Quarries house. They lived between Priors Mill and Tudor road, and their back garden backed onto allotments which were adjacent to the Quarries house gardens. My father thinks that the gardens behind the arched wall were in two tiers, and that the lower tier was a courtyard and stables, with access though the archways. These archways where later used by my grandfather and other locals as garages during spells of bad weather in the winter months. It is also possible that a local church (possibly Ruiton chapel) used the gardens in the summer months,for fetes and Sunday school outings. I myself while living in Tudor road during the early to mid 1970's,can remember playing round Priors Mill, and seeing metal bars stopping access too the archways. These were later bricked up.