The 'Great North Road'

[Bush Tucker Man]

Probably more applicable  to West Yorkshire members, than anyone else, but who knows?..............

This may be a long shot, but......... does anyone remember the days of the Great North Road (in  modern terminology, the A1) when its route took it;
1. Over the old bridge at FerryBridge?
2. Past the Brotherton Fox?
3. Through Micklefield?
4. Through Aberford & past The Swan (with its old coaching signs on the stable block)
5. When Bramham Crossroads were exactly that?(Frank Coopers garage in situ)
6. Through Wetherby (pre by-pass)

Does anyone have old photographs of the places mentioned

At present this is the best Great North Road site I can find.

This chap (Eddie) started his site after I spoke to him in FerryBridge about the old 'Greyhound Inn'
Eddie's got this one of the John Carr designed bridge on his site.
I reckon it dates from about 1960??

Carr was also the architect of Harewood House (between Leeds & Harrogate)



Other locations of interest to me are Bawtry & Scrooby Top

[Grumpy]

I can remember a lot of the places you mention, When I was a boy the family used to travel up to Aberdeenshire from Hertfordshire to visit relations for our summer holidays in a Ford Anglia!! on the Great North Road
These were all landmarks we used to look for on the 500 mile journey
I also remember always seeing Pickfords heavy haulage units carrying large diesel engines, ships propellors and big presses etc being pushed and pulled by up to four Scammell ballast tractors, a sign of our industrial past gone for ever
Great memories :lol:

[mmgemini]

Yes I can...

I can also remember the A1 through The North Riding of Yorkshire from Catterick Village to Wetherby being up-graded to dual carraigeway in 1960/61.
Yes I also drove that road as a single carraigeway......

[Pike]

JEEZ!!!!!! I cant remember that,I wasnt born in 1960,but I CAN remember the A64 goin thro tadcaster b4 the York by pass was built,and I didnt know until last week the boot and shoe on Selby road is derelict!!!!

[Bush Tucker Man]

JEEZ!!!!!! I cant remember that,I wasnt born in 1960,but I CAN remember the A64 goin thro tadcaster b4 the York by pass was built,and I didnt know until last week the boot and shoe on Selby road is derelict!!!!

Yes The Boot & Shoe is gone now, just essentially a shell.

I've got a 1964(?) OS map (1" to a mile) & the GNR still goes through;
(over) Ferrybridge, Aberford, Bramham &  Wetherby on that.

It's nice to refer to it.

These were all landmarks we used to look for on the 500 mile journey
I also remember always seeing Pickfords heavy haulage units carrying large diesel engines, ships propellors and big presses etc being pushed and pulled by up to four Scammell ballast tractors, a sign of our industrial past gone for ever
Great memories

S'funny.  Iwas watching an episode of the 'Classic Trucks' series 9as voiced by John Peel) a couple of days ago & it featured Wynns & Pickfords heavy haulage quite strongly.

[schuee]

Living in Grantham I can remember my parents,grandparents talk about the traffic jams through the town centre when the Great North Road ran through.
I knew that it ran through Long Bennington, there is evidence their because the main road which runs through it is wider than you would expect for a normal village road.
The website has shown me a lot about the history of the Great North around the Grantham area which I did not know, a great find BTM.

Cheers
Schuee

[Bush Tucker Man]

, a great find BTM.

Cheers
Schuee

Thanks :oops:

See if you can find in your local library (or bookshop, if you want to buy it), this book;
The Great North Road;  A Guide For The Curious Traveller
I bought my copy about a year ago, it's a wonderful source of reference material
The diagrams are very Wainwright-ish (the famous Lakeland walker/climber)

[tonycougar]

I remember travelling from Leeds to Sedgefield regularly when I was a boy, and I remember all those landmarks, aswell as travelling through Boroughbridge, I ended up living there for a while later on in life and it was a right trip down memory lane.

[mmgemini]

Who remembers when Scotch Corner was only a lump of earth in the middle of the road and the A6108 to Richmond had a pub on the corner at that junction.

[Bush Tucker Man]

Who remembers when Scotch Corner was only a lump of earth in the middle of the road

I do know hat the proper name is Scots Corner after all the drovers at use to meet there to drive Cattle,Sheep & Geese down to the English markets

[mmgemini]

Who remembers when Scotch Corner was only a lump of earth in the middle of the road

I do know hat the proper name is Scots Corner after all the drovers at use to meet there to drive Cattle,Sheep & Geese down to the English markets

Thank you for that correction.
The only thing that is Scotch is oats !!!

I've now remembered the name of the pub on the A1 A6108 junction.
The Bluebell.

[JPJ]

When I was a lad we used to live in Barnsley and Ferrybridge, the Brotherton Fox were landmarks on the way to the coast. There was great excitement when the A1(M) was first opened - a real motorway.

On a slightly different tack anyone remember those traffic jams on the way to the coast through first of all Tadcaster and then Malton - oh happy days!

[JPJ]

When I was a lad we used to live in Barnsley and Ferrybridge, the Brotherton Fox were landmarks on the way to the coast. There was great excitement when the A1(M) was first opened - a real motorway.

On a slightly different tack anyone remember those traffic jams on the way to the coast through first of all Tadcaster and then Malton - oh happy days!

[DaveS]

Don't know about oop north but I remember when the A2 used to go through the Medway Towns and Dartford, nightmare !

Also going through London to get up to Lincolnshire -pre M25 days what fun- North and south Circular etc!! :shock:

[Bush Tucker Man]

I've got a 1964(?) OS map (1" to a mile) & the GNR still goes through;
(over) Ferrybridge, Aberford, Bramham &  Wetherby on that.

It's nice to refer to it.

I've got the map in front of me, & it's actually a 1960 edition; Sheet 97/ York
(the old cream  & red covers)
I've scanned the FerryBridge & Wetherby sections, but they're probably in need of too much magnification?

The fam linked in my intial post as 'Point 5' (White Hart) was on the pre-1960's alignment & served travellers. It can be seen as a cluster nestling in the north-east corner of the junction

[discograham]

Great North Road site... can't take long to read through that.......
Half an hour later and I'm still on the Roman history of it...and the links....arghghghgh... I'm on Ancaster now.... what a fascinating site... cheers...

[Bush Tucker Man]

Who remembers when Scotch Corner was only a lump of earth in the middle of the road

I do know that the proper name is Scots Corner after all the drovers at use to meet there to drive Cattle,Sheep & Geese down to the English markets

Thank you for that correction.
The only thing that is Scotch is oats !!!

I wasn't trying to correct you, merely giving the reasoning behind the name. Practically everyone calls it 'Scotch' anyway

I've now remembered the name of the pub on the A1 A6108 junction.
The Bluebell.

Don't know that, before my time I guess?? (I'm 40)

On a slightly different tack anyone remember those traffic jams on the way to the coast through first of all Tadcaster and then Malton - oh happy days

You still queue at the end of the York by-pass section of the A64 & hence onto the east-bound A64, as it becomes single-carriageway after being dual all the way from 'Bramham crossroads'

[tonycougar]

Thank you for that correction.
The only thing that is Scotch is oats !!!
.

And whisky

[blacknight]

Probably more applicable  to West Yorkshire members, than anyone else, but who knows?..............

This may be a long shot, but......... does anyone remember the days of the Great North Road (in  modern terminology, the A1) when its route took it;
1. Over the old bridge at FerryBridge?
2. Past the Brotherton Fox?
3. Through Micklefield?
4. Through Aberford & past The Swan (with its old coaching signs on the stable block)
5. When Bramham Crossroads were exactly that?(Frank Coopers garage in situ)
6. Through Wetherby (pre by-pass)

Does anyone have old photographs of the places mentioned

At present this is the best Great North Road site I can find.

This chap (Eddie) started his site after I spoke to him in FerryBridge about the old 'Greyhound Inn'
Eddie's got this one of the John Carr designed bridge on his site.
I reckon it dates from about 1960??

Carr was also the architect of Harewood House (between Leeds & Harrogate)



Other locations of interest to me are Bawtry & Scrooby Top

A workmate who's a very good friend of mine, his mother-in-law lives in Micklefield, i'll have a word with him.

[Bush Tucker Man]

A workmate who's a very good friend of mine, his mother-in-law lives in Micklefield, i'll have a word with him.

Thankyou, I look forward to reading any stories.

I know about the metal mile-post on the old GNR route, I can't remember if it's there or at Fairburn(?) where there's 'North Road Terrace'

[Bush Tucker Man]

Try this one for a over-view of most A-roads in the country

Society (for) All British Road Enthusiasts

[blacknight]

BTM

Back at work tomorrow after quite a few weeks on sick, only back a fortnight though before going back in to hospital in May

May finally get to see workmate about him asking his mother-in-law about Micklefield.

Will contact you with details, if any, as and when.

Nigel

[Bush Tucker Man]

Hope it all went okay in Hospital 'blacknight'?

[Bush Tucker Man]

When I was a lad we used to live in Barnsley and Ferrybridge,

Not got any old photos of FerryBridge have you?

(especially the (old) GreyHound???)