Croft

 

 

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Croft - has changed over time, maybe not as fast as other villages, but inevitably it has changed. The original village consisted of:

  • Farmland.
  • Blacksmith.
  • Wheelwright.
  • Hamper Maker.
  • Brewery (on Heath Lane).
  • Weaving as a Cottage Industry.
  • Public Houses -Plough, General Elliot, Horse Shoe, Joiner's Arms (demolished to provide space for a Petrol Station - which also has been demolished).

Before the 2nd World War:

Although much as been written about Croft in the last century, not a great deal has been put on paper about how it was sixty or seventy years ago, when we only had a two-hourly bus service(from 2pm) and we could sit in the middle of the road on a summer's day bursting tar bubbles. We did not see a car for most of the day. The high spots of the year were the visits of the Fair in the School Meadow, and the appearance of the threshing machines to the local farms.

The main business area was on Lord Street:

 

2nd World War:

The outbreak of the Second World War brought about tremendous change in the life of its residents:

  • The peaceful village was transformed, virtually overnight, by the construction of the Royal Ordnance Factory at Risley. Roads which had previously seen very little motorised traffic, became virtually impassable, as lorries, buses, and cyclists made their way through the village on a daily basis.
  • Familiar landmarks such as signposts were removed, so as not to give directions to the enemy.
  • Place names were painted out of business premises and from the sides of commercial vehicles.
  • Street lights were blacked-out except for a couple of small slits.
  • Lights on car, bicycles, businesses, and homes could not be visible from the air.
  • Air Raid Wardens- enforced these restrictions vigorously.
  • An Anti-Aircraft Unit was based on the field upon which now stand Croft Primary School.
  • Communal Air Raid Shelters were built in various parts of the village. One being in the School Meadow, for use by the shool in the daytime, and by residents at night. Althought bombs were dropped at Culcheth and Myddleton, no bombs were dropped on Croft, which is somewhat surprising, given its close proximity to such prime targets as the Munitions Factory - at Risley, the Airfield -at Burtonwood, and the Vulcan Foundry -which was then producing tanks and not locomotives.
  • HMS Gosling, a naval training camp, was established on New Lane, and later became a holding camp for refugees from Malta. HMS Gosling 3 was also situated in Spring Lane. Reflectors were placed in the Church Fields, to the horror of locals, to attract enemy bombers away from the Risley Munitions factory. A fighter plane was brought down in the sandfields behind (Croft Nursery).

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