Cinemas gave way to bingo

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The modernisation of the traffic system, plans for a pedestrianised shopping area, a boom in bingo halls and the near loss of a favourite county landmark – they all made headlines in the Derby Evening Telegraph in 1961, writes Nicola Rippon.

AS had been the case in most years since the end of the Second World War, new developments in town and county continued apace.

The new Allenton market, in the making for the past three years, finally opened for business. It joined three town-centre markets, the Victorian Market Hall, the market on Cockpit Hill and, as the Evening Telegraph described it, the “gaudy, gay Morledge open market”.

In fact, so impressive were Derby’s markets that the Telegraph devoted a two-page feature to “The Lure of Derby Markets” and the “Glamour of the Stalls”.

But while an unnamed greengrocer in the Morledge was happy to say that, despite rising expenses, profit margins had remained the same, others warned that markets were in danger from big-name shops. “People are forsaking the markets for the large stores, that’s the trend everywhere,” cautioned one haberdasher.

One of the problems seemed to be that markets were seen as the place for a great bargain. “They want something worth 15 bob for 10 bob – and you have to get it for them,” claimed one trader.

The weather also presented differing fortunes for stallholders. A rainy day would usually see most people abandon the Morledge and Cockpit markets for the comfort of the indoor Market Hall. “They can shop here in the dry and get everything they want,” boasted one Market Hall stallholder.

The Telegraph noted that, at the Cockpit Hill market, “many of the traders are in the old tradition of market salesman, the type of person who must have been borne in mind when the expression ‘gift of the gab’ was coined”.

Rather than using corporation-supplied market stalls, traders here rented a pitch and erected their own tents and stalls, put up tables or simply laid their wares on the cobblestones. Despite the claims of several stallholders that trade was “not was it used to be”, the Telegraph reported that there was a waiting list for new stalls, that rarely was one given up and that, when it was, there would be at least 30 applications to take over.

Elsewhere in Derby work had begun on the new Bradshaw Way, between Traffic Street and Osmaston Road – the second phase of the inner ring road scheme. The council’s “Operation Mole”, to provide a two-and-a-half-mile-long tunnelled storm water culvert, was also well under way, while a range of state-of-the-art flats had been constructed on the former Little City at the top of Burton Road, just before the hill fell away into Babington Lane and Green Lane.

The Little City’s tight, narrow streets, built in Napoleonic times (evidenced by names like Cannon Street and Trafalgar Street) had effectively become a slum; the clean, modern flats regenerated the area considerably.

Derby’s Civic Society was doing its bit to improve the more historic parts of the town, with a scheme to give Sadler Gate a facelift. However, the council also had plans for this ancient lane that had its origins in the Viking occupation of the town. An idea had been proposed by Councillor J H Christmas, a former mayor, to restrict vehicular access to Sadler Gate and this was causing something of an uproar, among traders at least.

George Dixon, proprietor of Dixons (Derby) Ltd, wrote a letter to the Evening Telegraph opposing the scheme, while praising the activities of the Civic Society whose work, according to Mr Dixon, would make Derby “very proud of this ancient street when it is finished”.

Pedestrianisation, as Mr Dixon pointed out, would cause difficulties to local traders because most of the properties had no rear access. A half-hour parking limit was already in place “and yet the street is always lined with cars, vans and lorries – adequate proof that the free access to our premises by road transport of all kinds is vital to our very existence”.

Mr Dixon called for the widening of George Yard, which ran virtually the length of Sadler Gate and could be adapted to provide rear access to at least one side of the street, and act as an alternate traffic route. “We would be very sorry indeed if our efforts only resulted in the singling out of Sadler Gate for the town’s first experiment in banning vehicles to business premises,” he wrote.

Entertainment opportunities in Derby had also begun to change rapidly since the conclusion of the war. In a year-end review, the Telegraph noted that, since 1945, 11 of the town’s 18 cinemas had closed. However, the paper reported: “Bingo has succeeded where films failed.”

In 1961, several of the town’s former cinemas reopened as bingo halls. The paper went on: “Down have come cinema screens; up have gone bingo boards with flashing lights, magic numbers and automatic ping-pong ball blowers.”

Local manufacturing industry enjoyed fairly steady progress in 1961. “In a year of many political and economic uncertainties, Derby district can show a balance sheet which compares favourably with other industrial centres, although it has not come through 1961 entirely unscathed,” wrote the Telegraph’s industrial correspondent.

Although “no easy future can be foreseen in the aero-engine field”, there were tremendous possibilities for new markets – in Europe, particularly if Britain’s application to join the European Common Market were to be accepted.

The correspondent’s report ended on a note of caution, however, in particular for Derby’s railway industries as the country awaited the conclusions of the Beeching Report, which was expected to revolutionise the rail system.

Elsewhere in Derbyshire, one of the area’s most famous landmarks came perilously close to destruction. In December, just days before Christmas, the Chesterfield church of Our Lady and All Saints, famous for its crooked spire, suffered a devastating fire.

The alarm was raised just before 9.30am by a clerk at Chesterfield Library who noticed smoke coming from a window in the north transept. Before long, much of the church was ablaze and it was only thanks to what was described as a “superhuman” effort on the part of the firemen, who turned their water jets on the belfry, that the famous twisted spire was saved.

While firefighters fought for two hours to bring the blaze under control, church officials, assisted by library clerks, attempted to salvage as much as they could from inside the burning building, removing registers, valuable books and artefacts and even furniture.

The church’s Archdeacon, the Venerable Talbot Dilworth-Harrison, told reporters that, when he first saw the fire, he thought his church would be lost entirely.

“The firemen did a fine job to save so much, but we have, of course, lost a tremendous amount.” The severest damage was wrought in the north transept, chancel and organ loft, where the church’s famous organ was damaged beyond repair. Installed by the famous Swiss-born organ maker Johann Schnetzler in 1756, at a cost of £500, it was one of only six surviving in the world.

Once more some of Derbyshire’s actors were making headlines. Allestree’s Alan Bates starred in the delightful film Whistle Down The Wind alongside child actress Hayley Mills, whose mother, Mary Hayley Bell, had written the story.

Described on its U.S. posters as “A Story About Kids...For Everyone!” the film was a charming tale of a little girl and her brother who discover a fugitive hiding on their father’s farm. When she asks him who he is, the fugitive, played by Bates, is able only to mutter the words “Jesus Christ!” before passing into unconsciousness.

The God-fearing children believe they have the Son of God in their barn and attempt to protect him. Eventually the police, who are hunting Bates’ character down for murder, find and arrest him.

Another Derbyshire actor, former Bemrose School pupil, Eric Lander, was enjoying the height of his fame in 1961. Described as the “sexiest man on television”, Lander received more fan mail than Clint Eastwood, who was then appearing in Gunsmoke.

For two years, Lander had starred in the popular crime series No Hiding Place, as sidekick to Raymond Francis’s Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart. Now Lander’s character, Harry Baxter – promoted to detective inspector – was given his own series Echo Four Two.

Based in Bow Street, Baxter’s patch extended to the market at Covent Garden, the Thames and into the West End – giving plenty of opportunity to discover a variety of storylines and characters.

However, due to an Equity strike, the planned 13-part series was never completed. The finished episodes were aired during the hiatus between two series of No Hiding Place, but the new series never captured the public’s imagination. When it ended, Lander returned to the original series.

With Herbert Beetham retaining his English billiards title, sport in Derbyshire was given a lift. If old familiar faces were continuing to entertain, a new one, at the start of what would become a long and legendary career, was about to make a name for himself.

Derbyshire’s young wicketkeeper, Bob Taylor, made his first-class debut for the county against Sussex in June, standing in for the injured George Dawkes. That season, Taylor would play in 17 first-class matches, taking an impressive 47 catches and making six stumpings.

He would also boast a batting average of 11.8 runs, making a top score of 48 – not bad for an out-and-out wicketkeeper at the very beginning of his career. Once Taylor permanently took over from Dawkes the following season, he would continue playing for the county, and eventually his country, until his retirement in 1984.

The previous month saw the much-anticipated visit to Derbyshire of the Australian cricket touring side, captained by Neil Harvey in place of the injured Richie Benaud. Derbyshire CCC’s committee had improved facilities and ensured that extra seating was installed at Queen’s Park in Chesterfield.

Unfortunately, a weekend of heavy rain had drenched the pitch and play was delayed until 11.45am on the second of the scheduled three days. Only 22 overs were possible in 66 minutes of play before the heavens opened again and the match was disappointingly abandoned.

Inclement weather had been something of a feature in 1961. In January, persistent heavy rainfall had led to flooding in much of the county and the year ended with icy, foggy conditions with rivers and lakes freezing over.

The Evening Telegraph’s front page even featured a photograph of skaters on Allestree Lake despite warnings that the lakes and rivers were not safe for such activities.

Yet, if the weather in 1961 was to prove problematic for householders, cricketers and those simply seeking a little outdoor fun, it was nothing compared to the conditions that Derbyshire folk would experience in 1962.

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