Welcome to our updated guestbook where you can pass on memories or thoughts about Brown Edge and its people. Any personal requests such as attempts to contact people should be made through the contact us section. Current topics and news items should be addressed in the Parish News Forum. Please click on the guest book image below to see existing messages from previous visitors.
To complete our new guestbook just scroll to the bottom of the page and add your comment.
Hi I’m looking for an old school mate called Garry or gaz age 30 who live’s in brown edge went to the meadows school please help
Hi – this is a great site. Does anyone have any old photos or information about Lask Edge, particularly the cottages (Chapel Cottages) which once stood opposite the methodist chapel on Lask Edge Road? I understand that they were demolished in the 50s and what appear to be the foundations can still be seen in the field where they once stood. Thanks Kerry
Hi all. I found this website tonight and I am impressed. I was born into the village in 1959 to my parents Alan & Jean Whiston. I have one brother, Peter. I worked as kid on Newfold Farm with Gary, Alan & Chris Hargreaves. I worked with Alan Lowe on the milk round from age 11 until 21, he was my mentor and I was very sad to hear of his death. Moved to Cornwall in 1984. Bought my first boat soon after, catching mackerel by handline to supplement my income as a Site Engineer and to feed my fascination with the sea. In 1990 I joined the crew of St Ives lifeboat. In 1993 I married Cheryl, we now have two grown up daughters, Alice 18 and Victoria 17. My fascination with the sea has been such that, whilst continuing as an RNLI crew member, my passion was for scuba diving on shipwrecks off the North Cornish coast. I became Coxswain of the RNLI St Ives lifeboat in July 2011. The coxswain of the neighbouring Sennen Cove lifeboat has, for some years now referred to me as Stoke Harbourmaster! Keep well all of you Brine Edgers.
I have recently only come across this Brown Edge website and i think its great someone has taken the time to create it , and i thought id add my two bobs worth.
I was born in 1956 in the miners houses on Breech rd and we moved to 29 Spring crescent when i was 5 or 6 years old next door to Janet Willis’s grandparents Annie and Arthur Meredith.
I spent my childhood around Tinsters wood , the quarry and surrounding area.
I remember the working mens club outings, the coop , the cobblers shop, Hannour, Ann and Derek Bates from The Lump of Coal, Tommy Moors barber shop, Eardleys paper shop, i think the post office was held up at some time, The Woolshop, Garners shop , the petrol pumps at the Sytch, Cumberlidges shop on Church Rd.
Cubs at the Church hall, went to infants and junior school , Mr Fisher , Mr Brown and Mrs Whiston were my teachers, my sister Glenys married Peter Whiston.
Fond memories of Marshes Hill , Highest Point, fishing trips to Knypo , Long hot summers and always snow at christmas. Mrried and bought 2 Back Lane , Bank End , across the lane from Milly Sigley and next door to Josie and Flakey White. Lived there for 6 years.
Then moved to the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia with my wife Roz who comes from Etruria and 3 young kids Katy, Daniel and Richard and have been here for 24 years and love the place.
Though since finding this website , i find myself thinking more of my past life in Brown Edge , no matter where you live in this world , once a Brine Edger , always a Brine Edger.
One little rhyme thats always stuck with me :
Cos kick a bow agen a wo n yed it till yer bost it , i can cos thay….
Best wishes from Australia
Trevor Hewitt.
I am a descendant of the Holdcrofts of Brown Edge, sometimes spelled Houldcroft in the old records. My granny was called Betty, she married Raymond Schofield of Ball Green and they lived in that area all their lives. I’m trying to tie up my family tree on both sides, but there’s a lot of Holdcrofts and I haven’t got much detail about their lives other than if they were coal miners, blacksmiths or similar – any personal stories would be greatly appreciated.
Lindsay
Was delighted to see the new updated Brown Edge website, many congratulations to all those involved. Brown Edge will always be in my blood!!
(Roebuck Inn – 1967-1977)
From Chris Duffy
Royal Australian Air Force, Adelaide, Australia
Hi chris, nice to see your comment on the brown edge site, reading this made me sit up and make contact. Thankyou for your Christmas card I hope you and Louise had a good one, did you have your Christmas lunch enjoying the Aussie sunshine !! Don’t know if you have seen the news but if we have any more rain us Brits will all have web feet ! I now promise to keep in touch with you and I wish you a happy healthy and prosperous new year. Thankyou for your invitation I am giving it some serious thought. Lots of luv to you both Judith xx
Thanks Judith, we are both well, weather here in the mid 40′s at the moment with terrible fires. Promise to put them out if you visit?
take care..Chris..xx
does anybody remember my great uncle , Sam Turner , he lived at 2 Ball Lane cottage , passed away 10 years ago , husband to Sally , think his sister had a farm just up the lane , i believe her name to be annie (pop)
I was sorry to read that Reg Twemlow had passed away. I remember him taking me home to my parents at least once having been ‘nawty’.
I was at Leek School of Art with his son Richard in the early 70′s.
John
Found and really enjoyed the Brown Edge web site. I lived in the “miners houses ” from
about 1957 until leaving for London University in 1966. I currently live in Melbourne
Australia. Two of my good friends were Stan Kapusta and John Bowler — are they still
around ?
Peter,
Reference your entry in the magazine.
TWEMLOW Reg Suddenly on Tuesday, January 3rd at his home in Stockton Brook, Reginald aged 91 years (former Brown Edge Police Constable), husband of Marjorie and father of Richard. Funeral arrangements later. Inquiries to: David H. Smith Funeral Directors, Fountain House, 17/21 Fountain Street, Leek, Staffs, ST13 6JS. Telephone 01538 399661 www.davidhsmith.co.uk
Well New Years Day came in with a bang message received that this Web Site had been stolen and I quote, ” It basically looks as if it’s been stolen! You won’t be able to connect to it, so just cancel any password prompts you may get asking you to log in.
” Has it been stolen has Mr Gates realised the threat this site offers to his Monopoly I await the outcome.
Well it does appear that an attempt was made to Hijack this and other connected sites, but no Its still here.
Who disigne your web site has done you a great job, hope it do’s you for you what ever you want from it.
Geoff Burgess
Hi Pete
Haven’t been to the site in a while — wow what a nice change! Looks great — keep up the outstanding work!
Wendy
I have recently only been able to visit, by chance, Brown Edge via google earth – it’s a long story as to why that I had typed out but somehow accidentally deleted and am too tired/fed up to retype now! sorry – but I had still wanted to ask two questions about two sites in Brown Edge so will retype these – I’m pleased you continue the tradition of well-dressing, albeit differently to Cornwall and at a different time/festival, but wondered if the nearby rocks – ‘The Rocks’ – which I happened upon in my ‘travels’ had any tradition associated with them, or were mentioned as special in any way by locals in the past? Secondly, I was interested in the derivation of the name of Judgefield Lane, having been struck by the sight of the prominent hillock you can see from some distance around and wondering if there was a connection between the two, regarding ancient law-making places, even gibbet hills!! though I expect there may be a more mundane explanation.
O – a third question, seeing as my virtual wandering (especially in the ‘summer’!) has enamoured me to the enchanted landscape of your area – can anyone recommend to me a reasonably-priced self-catering place in or around Brown Edge?! so that I can finally tread the ways for myself.
Thanks. And by the way, has anyone written a good history, the more ancient the better, of the area that anyone knows of? – I’ve read the Wikipedia site which was okay, and interesting regarding the well-dressing etc. but I’m sure there must be much more about the area that could be told.
Hi Janet
The judgefields name has changed lately. In my lifetime the sign has changed from Judfield (which everyone still calls it)
Locally anyone with the name George is called Judder. or Jud so it probably derives from that.
Pete
to all who visit brown edge i recommend the view from st annes church (standing in the graveyard surrounding it) on a lovely day a breathtaking site
Hi. Thanks to this site I have lots of information on the Simcock family but I am trying to trace my g.grandmothers family tree. Her name was Mary Mountford b.1852 she married Enoch Simcock b.1952
in 1875. I don’t know if she came from Browb Edge or moved there when she married. I hope that someone is able to help me. I have visited the village on a number of occassions and plan to visit again soon.
Great site.
Just wondering if there are any family members still in the village related to the late Joseph Hancock. Joseph was killed in action during WW2, not sure exact year. Would like to get in touch with any family member.
Thank you….Ronald Carter
May be a different Joseph, but my Uncle Joseph Hancock was killed during WW1 His brother, also Joseph survived WW2 Like to hear from you if we have a common ancestor
hello,i am trying to find any information regarding my dads family who i belive originated from brown edge,although my grandparents lived in foundry sq,norton green for a while.my grandads name was james berrisford & nans name was true,they had 3 children,raymond,alfred(dad)&mavis.i only know that my grandads family lived at hilltop and possibly had something to do with the rose & crown(top pub)the family nick name was bleyder.i would be very gratefull for any information.thank you
ann oldfield
I read the Sheldon family history with interest as Hannah Sheldon was my g.g.g.grandmother. Her son Daniel Simcock from her first marriage was my g.g.grandfather. He was a boatman and he and Eliza transported coal on a barge. There was a report in the “Sentinel” 2009 about the death of his wife, Eliza,she drowned in the canal at Stockton Brook. Although this accident happened in the 1880′s the story was passed down in our family and is still referred to today. Hannah took in her son and five grandchildren, the rest went to live with the Sherratt family at “The Rose and Crown” , two through marriage. Hannah is 78 at the time of the 1901 census and living with 3 grandchildren.
I wonder if anyone remembers Rose Sheldon? She married Arthur Bestwick during the war. She removed to Ipstones and died a young woman. She lived in the cottage next to the Trent, at Norton Green. There is a dvd about Norton Green and there is a photo of a family outside the house and I wondered if one of the children was Rose. She would be around 90 now.
Hi
Someone was asking about landlords of some of the pubs in Brown Edge. The Roebuck. In the late 60s and 70s it was run by John Connell and his wife. Many a good night we have had in there. The Holly Bush my grandmother was the land lady way back her name was Adeline Maud Simcock.
My father Tom Simcock and his brother Bill were both at one time presidents of Brown Edge Working Mens club.
Mr Walter Jones who was headmaster of the school was my great grandfather. His wife was also a teacher there. My other great grandmother was both coal supplier and the local midwife. She smoked a clay pipe
Love reading this web site as much as I love living in Australia, (have been here since 1977) there are still a lot of things I miss.
Hi
found this website and loved it. My grandparents kept the Holly Bush pub their names were Adaline Maud and Alfred Simcock.My great grandparents were name Jones and and Mr Jones was the headmaster at Brown Edge School and his wife was a teacher, my dad Thomas, his brothers William and Arthur and sisters Violet and Florence all attended that school and also the church. My mum and dad are both buried in the new section of Brown Edge church. I have been over many times and think that church yard has to be the best I have ever seen.My grandma and grandad lived at Rock Cottgage which was the house belonging to the Charles family.
Norma
I enjoyed reading the article on local dialect and have a few to add;
runge, pronounced runj meaning to move awkwardly in ones clothes,
sward pronounced sord meaning bacon rind,
hus meaning house as in coalhus,warehus, outhus,shithus,
tranklements meaning toys- I spotted the word tranqillement in a Jane Austin novel .
Also to add to your list of nick names my grandad George Bourne,eldest brother of Gladys Bailey was nicknamed Judder. Norma Kaczmar
Dear Brown Edge webmaster – I am a soft Londoner but my roots (grandmother) are Simcocks and so you can imagine my amazement when I came across your website. I can trace back (thanks to you) to the Edward Symcock (1620) supposedly from Graz Austria. Can that be correct? I would love to know more. My grandmother married and moved to Tissington in Derbyshire so I have never visited BE but plan a visit!
Regards
Bee Hayward