Eyam village - Memories of the last fifty years.

I have been asked to write this article based on my memories of the last 50 years, but I must state from the beginning that I am a "comer," being born is Sheffield. Please excuse this awful fact.

There have been many changes during this period, the most noticeable ones being the great increase in the number of cars, the decrease in local employment, the closing of local shops, and the installation of a sewage system and street lighting. When I first came here there was a piped water system but a few old villagers still collected their water from the tap on the wall of the Peak Pantry in the Square. One of them was Mag Gibbs, who lived near the Wesleyan Chapel. She rationed herself to two buckets a day for everything. There were two types of sewage disposal, once was chemical toilets which were emptied into a tanker on a weekly basis. The contents were spread on the fields in an untreated state. The second was middens, which were emptied every six months. I do not know where this went to.

In the early days most farmers, coal merchant, doctor and other trades people owned at least one horse. There used to be hay and corn stores where there are now flats over the "Spar" shop. I can remember sacks and bales being lowered down by winch onto carts waiting in the road. What few cars there were obtained petrol from the filling station at what is now the motor mechanics workshop at the top end of the village. There were no car parks or parking problems. the big car park behind the Miners Arms used to be a field, and was the site for the annual fair visit for wakes week.

The administrative offices for a Sheffield steel works, Edgar Allen and Co. Ltd, were evacuated to Eyam during the last war and were located in the large house "Eyam View to the west of the village on Foolow Road. Some senior staff came from Sheffield to live in Eyam, and of course, during the years, local people swelled the work force to about 60. Soon after the end of the war the offices moved back into Sheffield, and everyone commuted by bus to Grindleford Station and then train into Sheffield.

At the top end of the village was Ridgeway Willis & Co, a shoe manufacturer later to become G.Robinson & Co Ltd. The works employed about 50 women and girls and 40 men. The shoes went mainly to Marks and Spencers and various catalogue companies. The first company made shoes entirely by sewing, but the later company used the then newer method of bonding the uppers to artificial soles. This building is now used by Lloyd Loom Ltd after a period of use by Wild Country, the world famous climbing equipment company.

There was another shoe factory opposite the church, Wests Ltd. this factory is now Leedum Ltd. It was never as big as Ridgeway Willis, employing about 25 workers. They made shoes by traditional methods, and even kept personal lasts for some villagers. You could have a perfectly fitting pair of shoes made by pointing to an illustration in a catalogue.

Many young people now go to college and university, a thing unheard of 50 years ago. The peak of educational excellence was Lady Manners School at Bakewell, with a second choice of Hope Valley College. Now local colleges offer a wide choice of courses including motor repairs, cooking, beauty treatment and many, many others.

In conclusion I can only say that I have no regrets getting married to a local girl and spending the last 52 years in this beautiful village set in the heart of the Peak District.

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