People of the Arches by Bobby Cosgrove

Continuing the fascinating insight into the years gone by in East Belfast through the eyes of local historian Bobby Cosgrove.

PEOPLE OF THE ARCHES

Having written about the early days of Newbridge Village & The Holywood Arches and how the area was developed from a few cottages into one of the major industrial areas in Ireland. No story of districts like the Arches would not complete with out talking about the people and what life was like for them living in an industrial area like Connswater.

Most of what you will read is from my personal memories as a boy growing up at the Arches, and also those of others from the area as one told me we were not just neighbours but a large family “That tells all”

Early Memories.

One of the first and lasting memory is that of noise, and people on the move all the time, noises like the banging of the riveters hammers while they were building the great ships in the yards of H.W, or the wee shipyards of Workman Clarke. Then of course there was the wonderful sound, and sight, of steam engine trains travelling along the high embankments, on their way over the Hollywood Arches and on to places like Comber, Newtownards, & Donagadee, not forgetting the line to Ballygowan and on to Newcastle. Another series of noises that would bring back memories is the factory horns, each company had a different sounding horn, and some like the Rope works give two blasts, the first was called the minute’s horn giving their workers a two-minute warning to report for work. The second blast was the starting horn, and if you were not in through the gate when this horn sounded you were locked out and a days pay was lost.  These sounds along with the noise of the trams going along the Newtownards Road, and also the clatter of horses hoofs going over the square sets on the streets, meant that everyone looked forward to Sunday a day of not only rest but peace and quiet.

Hard Life / Wonderful People

Life even at this time was still very harsh, as wages were still very low, and the housing was no better than slums, but the people were wonderful and the comradeship and community spirit, that was shown at times of need were unbelievable, with the motto being “we have nothing but will share it with you”. One story often told was of two men who broke into a house in Oakdale St, but instead of stealing anything they left a 10 bob note on the mantle piece, with a message that stated, your are worst off than us this will help you put food on the table. My Great Grandmother Rowley lived at number 10 Manderson Street, which is off Townsley St, the last Street on the left hand side of the Newtownards Rd just before the Hollywood Arches, and I myself along with my parents also lived in this Street at no 16, these two streets even by Belfast standards was unique as they consisted of 19 houses, 3 stable yards, 1 boat yard, 1 bookies, and the rear entrance to 2 pubs, it also had a blacksmiths shop, with the N.I labour party rooms above it. This was what in Belfast terms was called a dead end Street, as there was only one way in and the same way out, today they would be called “cul- de-sacs” to-day.  The boat yard is still producing boats after 75yrs, and although Harland & Wolff and the Workman Clarke yards have now all but gone the art of boat building for so long the life blood of East Belfast workers and their families, is still carried on by the Duffin family in Manderson Street

The Toss, the Peelers, and the Lookouts.

The bookies which was owned by Clarke Groves, was a house to the front but inside it was large as an extension was build out the back of the house into Holland’s yard.   On a wet Sunday this became our indoor soccer pitch, as we would have helped Sammy Allen to clean the place and as a reward he would let us play football with a tennis ball in the bookies shop. Almost every Saturday afternoon there would be a “pitch & toss”, this was held on the embankment of the now defunct railway track and embankment at the rear of the houses, at times you would also have had the Crown & Anchor board man.  Both these forms of gambling were illegal, and the people that ran them paid the young lads from the street to keep a lookout for the peelers coming, if the Police came to make a raid it was usually along the railway line, the lookout job was to shout out a warning. When this happened they would lift the linen sheet, or newspapers with the money on them, and take off over the nearest yard wall, and through someone’s house into the street, sometimes there would be police in the street to catch them, but most times they would have got away, and the lookouts would then lift up the odds that were left lying, as they made their escape from the police. Many a fish supper or and ice cream was bought on a Saturday night when this happened, of course when people like Hughie Bowers did lookout, the shout of here comes the peelers was called every time, Hughie had it sussed out how to get extra money from the toss.

Drinking & Bare Knuckle Fist Fights.

Manderson Street was notorious on a Friday & Saturday night for its bare knuckle fist fights at the rear of the Bloomfield Bar, and quite a sight it was to see two hard men striped to the waist fighting with bare fists only, as the use of anything else, i.e. feet, head, or weapons were not excepted. When it was over they shook hands and went back into the bar were the loser bought the drink. There was many a bet placed on these fights and some of the fighters made a name for themselves as a hard men. One of the hardest men associated with the fighting was Walter Cunningham a brother of Hard Screw Cunningham one of the most famous characters in the Area.

Well Known Characters

Pastor Joe Glover was a well known character in the east end of the city, he worked as a bag filler in the coal quays and enjoyed his drink at the weekends he had a family of 5 and his wife Martha was born in the street he also had a small stable and kept a donkey and trap. There are two different stories as to how he got the name Pastor, the first is that it was because of the wide brimmed hat he wore when he got dressed up in his Sunday best clothes this was the same as that worn by Pastors. The other story is that every now and again Joe would get religious, he had joined the Coalman’s Mission and would along with Martha be seen standing outside the Clock & Bloomfield bars handing out tracks and was giving the nickname Pastor by the locals. But the truth is that Joe was the son of a Pastor.

Others that were well known in the area would have been Winkie Bowers, Rocky Burton, Freddie (Blowie up) Robinson—he was a big man who cried at the simplest thing, one day he called at our house to see my budgie and on hearing that the cat had killed it he cried like a baby, and every time he passed my house on his way to his brothers house, down the street he cried for Joey the budgie. The reason he was nicked named blowie up was because he drank cheap wine called blowie up wine.

From Ashdale Street there was a man called Hardscrew Cunningham you could fill a book with what this man did but one story is about a wake for an uncle of mine called Co Magill of Oakdale St, it seems that Hardscrew visited the house to wake the deceased with a few drinks in him and brought in fish & chips he sat on the stairs beside the coffin he asked for salt & vinegar but was only given the vinegar and on being told there was no salt he said that’s alright. He then reached over and took some salt out of the bowl of salt that had been placed in the coffin to ward of evil spirits; he then sprinkled the salt on his chips and eats away at them.

Another great story is that while attending a funeral of a relative of Winkie Bowers and as the procession moved through Ballyhackmore, and on towards the green fields of Knock, on its way to Dundonald Cemetary, Hard screw suggested to Winkie that they should have a farewell drink with the deceased, as he would not be coming back with them, so they all retired to Paddy Lambs Pub with the coffin and had a farewell drink

The last story about Winkie again relates to a friend of his that died, and when he went round to the house of the deceased there was only the brother of the deceased in. Winkie then decided to play a trick on the mourners. Once again the coffin was placed beside the stairs and he placed a piece of thread around the little finger of the corpse, he then worked it up into the front bedroom where he lay in wait as the house filled up with family and an friends. When someone said he looks so peaceful and happy hardscrew pulled the thread and as the arm of the deceased was raised the room emptied in two seconds flat, these are just a few of the many stories that can be told about him.

We cannot leave this part without mentioning the hobby horse man, William “Bull” Ellison, this man was running hobby horses for years before the late Mickey Marley got on the road. The bull was a veteran of the bore war, and kept stables in the street that housed many horses, and a number of carts, traps, and of course the famous Hobby Horses.

Ghosts, Food, & Entertainment.

Millen’s supper saloon at the bridge was our fast food outlet, and a penny worth of broken biscuits from the Inglis biscuit factory shop, or the Home & Colonial Stores was our treat, ice cream or hot peas from Fuscos, “boy how the Italians could make ice cream” this was our heaven. Sweets from Maureen’s newsagents, and toys from Barlow’s fancy goods & toys shop. Our meat was from Thompson’s, the largest butchers shop in Belfast. Carryouts of the cheap wine came from Courtney’s off license at Westminster Ave at the bottom of which was a number of aluminium bungalows. As I was saying earlier about noise the same can be said about smells, and if anyone ever smelt the connswater on a summer day at low tide the stink was revolting, but the sweet smells from the biscuit factory made up for it we, also had a resident ghost in the building that housed Irvines Shoe shop at the bottom of Bloomfield Avenue this lady was seen on a number of occasions walking round the upper rooms of the building.

Pigs feet and bacon ribs were another Friday & Saturday night favourite and a man used to go round the bars on a bike with a basket on the front selling them to the patrons, Our escape was the Saturday morning minors club with Uncle Mac in the A.B.C. Strand or the New Princess with its wooden seats and of course Costa Victoria with its outdoor swimming pool and boating lake once you had a swim in the pool at Victoria you could have swam in the Artic in the Autumn was up to the big houses in Strand town to collect the windfall apples falling in the orchards (sounds better than raiding the orcies) and of course in July collecting for the bonfire took up a lot of our time. The 1^st of July was always a great night with the Orange Parade coming down through the Arches on its way back to Templemore Ave the music from the bands the wonderful colours on the banners, families out together in a carnival mood sucking on ice creams from Fuscos and eating Fish & Chips from Millen’s this was utopia.

We also had our own all year round toboggan run as we would sit on tin sheets, and go sliding down the railway embankment, of course on going home we would get told off for having ripped the arse out of our pants. Their was no ice cream that night, other lasting memories were the site of thousands of bicycles on the Roads and Streets, as men made their way to work in the shipyards, Shorts men went by bus or car.  The Rope works produced many characters and one of the most famous was a man known to one and all as Daft Eddie, famed for wearing safety pins all over clothes— it was claimed he would do anything for a pin. The Ropeworks employed most of the women from the area and without there income many people would have even in the 50s starved.

I hope you have enjoyed this trip around the Arches of yesteryear to those who lived around the Arches it is a living memory and to those others who did not, I hope it has given an insight into life in Belfast Streets in the 50s & 60s and I also hope that any names given will not cause offence to any living relatives.

Bobby Cosgrove