Little Brown Road – my dad and Stargate

By Maureen Gordon

I was born at Stargate, my dad worked at Stargate colliery. When he came home from the war he couldn’t get a job, the only job was pit work. We lived in a colliery house with stone floors, and gas and candle lighting…..(and beetles). When dad came from work the children had to go out while he had a bath in front of the fire. The house was always warm, as we had a huge fireplace with a big round oven, and a pot boiler which was always full of soup.

My dad had an allotment. He kept bantam hens and pigeons, we always had plenty veg and potatoes as he was a great gardner. He had leeks and flowers, he nearly always won prizes for his leeks at the local clubs.

The miners used to walk down the cobbled streets to work carrying their safety lamps making a clatter as they passed.

My dad’s family lived at Capheaton. Grandad and Grandma worked at Capheaton Hall she was the sewing maid, he was the groom. They lived in a cottage on the estate, my dad was born there.