Glossop Street Parties

As the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee draws near people are preparing to celebrate. This year there is a whole variety of events to mark the occasion including the lighting of huge beacons right around the country. However, here in Glossop we have kept with the tradition of street parties. Surely no one can resist a party? A chance to have drink, relax and spend some time with friends and family.
The tradition of street parties as we now know as residential events that take place in their own streets seem to have taken off on a large scale in 1919. They were held in July as 'Peace Teas' as a genuine celebration of the signing of the Versailles peace treaty after the First World War. They were tea parties that were focused on a special treat for children in those times of hardship and were quite formal sit down affairs.

These residents led street parties were a popular mass participation and were probably a development of more formal public street dinners that had historically been held, such as for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Then after the Second World War the entire county went street party mad. The craze continued with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Street parties have been seen on many occasions since such as the Golden Jubilee and the Royal Wedding last year.

At the end of this month there will be small exhibition in the Glossop Railway Station depicting 60 years of Glossop past and present. There will also be a celebration walk on the 26th May and on the 9th June.

I am looking for photographs of Glossop street parties over the years. It would be great if we could find one from 1953 Coronation.

If you would like to share your photographs memories then please get in touch.

Masons Arms & Your Memories

Last week I asked for your thoughts and memories of the Masons Arms pub in Hadfield and the response has been overwhelming.

The Masons Arms public house has served the local community for over 150 years and has now closed with an uncertain future. There are already several plans in the pipeline from large chain supermarkets to convert the local pub into small a metro store.

I would like to thank everyone who has sent me a message over the last week as your memories and ideas have been pouring in. There are many happy memories, such as regular pub crawls that both started and ended at the Masons Arms. The pub held a “League of Gentlemen” convention in 2006 where people came from far and wide to celebrate the success of the hit TV show which was filmed in and around the town.

One memory that stood out was that of Bill Roberts:-

“One evening in early summer 1958 I walked down to the Masons Arms from the old farmhouse at the top of Hadfield Road which my wife and I had bought the year before. We had been married only a few weeks and just beginning to find our feet in the locality.
Serving my pint, the landlord asked if I would like to pay a few more pence for a chance on the domino tables. Much to my - and everybody else’s - surprise I got a seat. Many of the regulars had tried for years to get a place on the domino tables.

I did not know the finer points of the game, only that you had to put down a matching tile when you could. When the match ended I found that I had won and you can imagine how the regulars felt. They looked at me in astonishment mixed with suspicion - was I some sort of undercover maths genius come to torment them?”

There was a very clear message that no one really wants to see another supermarket open in the town, however, it is yet another one of our historic buildings that stands empty. A youth club, disco, café, music venue and a cinema are just a few of your ideas for a possible future for the 155 year old building.

What do you think should be done with the Mason Arm’s Building?


A special thanks to Bill, Jean & Allan


By Matthew Cox