I commented on one of your previous videos, which had peripherally featured West Oxford Community Centre, stating that the roof had been stolen at one point. Thinking about it, the current building was opened, I think, in 2004. Memory jerked, I believe the chain of events was that the previous iteration of the community centre was quite an old structure that had been refurbished, including a new roof. It was that new roof that was stolen. A ‘temporary’ roof was fitted, of blue plastic tarps and battens. Temporary, in the eternal manner of temporary things, stayed put for at least a couple of years. This, inevitably, allowed water to do what water always does and the building deteriorated to the point of dereliction. All that happened, evidently, before the days of the internet, as I can find no online record of the event. It took some years to raise enough money to clear the site and erect the current building.
As I settled down to my cornflakes this morning and turned on my TV to TH-cam, I was delighted to see your recent visit to Helen Road! I don't remember the house where my wife and I stayed for a few months in the winter of 1960-61, but I do recall that we rented just a couple of rooms in the same building where the bachelor owner lived. We had no hot water and shared a toilet with the owner for what today would amount to about 75 pounds a month. Part of this rent was for garage space which allowed me to park my unreliable 1954 Hillman Minx off the street. I recall that the garage was very narrow, and may have been one the spaces you show @ minute 22.0 and 34.34. One of the reasons we didn't stay on Helen Road for very long was that my wife bicycled six mornings a week across town to Nuffield Exports in Cowley rain or shine, and there ain't much shine in an Oxford winter. One other Botley Road connection: my wife's mother worked at Frank Cooper's marmalade factory for many years, and I still enjoy the rough cut on my toast to this day. Keep up the good work! Bob Neuman
Did the owner have hot water? If they were in the same building, I suppose not. I do hope this wasn't typical of Oxford's standard of living then. One other question: do you remember whether there was a Botley Park then, or a bridge at the end of the road? I found this: www.britishpathe.com/asset/71886/ . "The Nuffield Exports Ltd, motor works at Cowley, has instituted a railway system 'Export Express' for getting their cars to the docks. The trains run twice daily from Morris Crowley station." 1948, but is this the same business?
@@WalkingOxford The owner had some kind of tank built into a fireplace in his kitchen, which he filled and heated with the fireplace upon a request from my wife and me. We could tap from this tank into our "kitchen" sink, where we stood and bathed as best we could. People bathed far less often in the 'Fifties than they do today, so we blended in with everyone else. Anyway, with about three quarters of adults smoking cigarettes gave just about everyone a common and unnoticed "hum." I don't remember if there was a Botley park or a bridge over the ditch. Incidentally you mention the Construction of the Oxford Central Girls' School in New Inn Hall street. My wife attended this school from 1947 to 1952 when she took her O level exams before taking a job as a lab assistant at the Pharmacology Labs on South Parks Road.
@@WalkingOxford Yes, this is the Nuffield Exports business responsible for shipping cars and parts around the world. My wife worked in the wages department responsible for paying employees weekly in cash (!), and she earned in 1961 the princely sum of 8 pounds a week (purchasing power today of about 150 pounds a week). And yes, there was an extensive network of railways to /from/around the mighty Cowley car works including a station for workers from surrounding areas. In 1961 about 15,000 people worked at BMC and Pressed Steel, many of them who moved from depressed economic areas in Northern England and Wales. (See Wikipedia "Plant Oxford") My wife's parents moved from Northampton to Cowley in 1936.
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I commented on one of your previous videos, which had peripherally featured West Oxford Community Centre, stating that the roof had been stolen at one point. Thinking about it, the current building was opened, I think, in 2004. Memory jerked, I believe the chain of events was that the previous iteration of the community centre was quite an old structure that had been refurbished, including a new roof. It was that new roof that was stolen. A ‘temporary’ roof was fitted, of blue plastic tarps and battens. Temporary, in the eternal manner of temporary things, stayed put for at least a couple of years. This, inevitably, allowed water to do what water always does and the building deteriorated to the point of dereliction.
All that happened, evidently, before the days of the internet, as I can find no online record of the event. It took some years to raise enough money to clear the site and erect the current building.
As I settled down to my cornflakes this morning and turned on my TV to TH-cam, I was delighted to see your recent visit to Helen Road! I don't remember the house where my wife and I stayed for a few months in the winter of 1960-61, but I do recall that we rented just a couple of rooms in the same building where the bachelor owner lived. We had no hot water and shared a toilet with the owner for what today would amount to about 75 pounds a month. Part of this rent was for garage space which allowed me to park my unreliable 1954 Hillman Minx off the street. I recall that the garage was very narrow, and may have been one the spaces you show @ minute 22.0 and 34.34. One of the reasons we didn't stay on Helen Road for very long was that my wife bicycled six mornings a week across town to Nuffield Exports in Cowley rain or shine, and there ain't much shine in an Oxford winter. One other Botley Road connection: my wife's mother worked at Frank Cooper's marmalade factory for many years, and I still enjoy the rough cut on my toast to this day. Keep up the good work! Bob Neuman
Did the owner have hot water? If they were in the same building, I suppose not. I do hope this wasn't typical of Oxford's standard of living then. One other question: do you remember whether there was a Botley Park then, or a bridge at the end of the road?
I found this: www.britishpathe.com/asset/71886/ . "The Nuffield Exports Ltd, motor works at Cowley, has instituted a railway system 'Export Express' for getting their cars to the docks. The trains run twice daily from Morris Crowley station." 1948, but is this the same business?
Once again, I can only see my reply to your comment if I add another dummy comment. So please ignore this.
@@WalkingOxford The owner had some kind of tank built into a fireplace in his kitchen, which he filled and heated with the fireplace upon a request from my wife and me. We could tap from this tank into our "kitchen" sink, where we stood and bathed as best we could. People bathed far less often in the 'Fifties than they do today, so we blended in with everyone else. Anyway, with about three quarters of adults smoking cigarettes gave just about everyone a common and unnoticed "hum." I don't remember if there was a Botley park or a bridge over the ditch. Incidentally you mention the Construction of the Oxford Central Girls' School in New Inn Hall street. My wife attended this school from 1947 to 1952 when she took her O level exams before taking a job as a lab assistant at the Pharmacology Labs on South Parks Road.
@@WalkingOxford Yes, this is the Nuffield Exports business responsible for shipping cars and parts around the world. My wife worked in the wages department responsible for paying employees weekly in cash (!), and she earned in 1961 the princely sum of 8 pounds a week (purchasing power today of about 150 pounds a week). And yes, there was an extensive network of railways to /from/around the mighty Cowley car works including a station for workers from surrounding areas. In 1961 about 15,000 people worked at BMC and Pressed Steel, many of them who moved from depressed economic areas in Northern England and Wales. (See Wikipedia "Plant Oxford") My wife's parents moved from Northampton to Cowley in 1936.