Sad Old Town

A few weeks ago on the occasion of a school reunion, I managed to get back to my home town Batley for a few days. I’ve managed to get there quite a bit over the last few years, but I have seldom got out and had a look around town. This time was different. Meeting friends that I hadn’t seen for more than 30 years, we obviously had a walk around town and went into the pubs we used to frequent.

This visit has left me very unhappy.

The Pubs
When meeting somebody you haven’t seen for a long time, any self respecting Englishman meets in the pub. And so it was with us. We had agreed to meet in a certain pub at the bottom of Carlinghow Hill (I will not name it here, but anyone who knows their way around in Batley, will know which pub I mean), which used to be one of the best pubs around (OK, I admit, this is going back 30 years or so). It was a vibrating, pulsating place. A place you could take your wife, somewhere where you could have a good evening. Not anymore. When I walked into that place it seemed to be frequented only by sad old men, the atmosphere reflected by the meager decoration.

On this day we went into a number of pubs, all were the same. The bleak atmosphere was overwhleming nearly everywhere we went, and I would like to stress that these are places that used to be nice.

A sign of the times? I don’t think so. during my visit I went to two places that were well run, one pub and one restaurant. Needless to say, they were packed. So what’s going wrong? Where are the breweries? Don’t they care?

An article on the BBC website says that Britain is losing 52 pubs a week. If they are all in this condition, its no wonder. Although it is suggested on the page that the economic crisis is largely to blame for this state of affairs, I am sure that these houses did not get in this situation overnight (they just look as though they have been left to fall apart), and the economic crisis isn’t that old. One publican suggests that the standards are dropping, and I think this may be nearer to the truth

Heritage
The shop at the bottom of Batley Field Hill, where I, as a 15 year old, used to buy my cider, is derelict and still standing. My mother has heard that there is a preservation order on it. But the small farmstead on Ealand Road that I was always led to believe dated back to the Saville’s of Howley Hall (is what we were told at school at least), has long since gone to be replaced by houses.

The manor on the corner of Carlinghow Lane / The Drive has gone and has been replaced by housing

The banking at the back of the Drive where a spotlight was situated during the last war, and where we, as children, would play and collect uniform buttons that were buried under the dirt, now has housing on it.

Assets
In the midst of all this gloom, one light shines: A light that surprised me to be quite honest. On the sunday I went up to Mount Pleasant to watch the Batley Bulldogs. Being a long time fan of Batley, I remember the bad days in the 70s when we competed with Doncaster for the wooden-spoon. I remember the days when David Brooke was our biggest star, when the standard of Rugby at Mt Pleasant was appalling, handling skills were nearly none existent.

So it was a very pleasant surprise to see how the ground has developed over the years. It really has become a nice little stadium, and if the officials can find some sort of solution for the broken-down remains of the Long Stand, then it will be perfect. The turf was in great condition, and the hill of course belongs to Batley as fish and chips do. Batley Bulldogs really do have the potential to play a great part in the local community. The standard of play has greatly improved over the years, the attendances, however, have not.

Considering our current form, it is a little dissappointing to see how far Batley really are from being part of it though. But the last years are like a lead collar around their necks, its difficult to explain why people should go and see Batley when Leeds, Bradford and other superleague teams are only a stone throws away. They really need to get some consistancy in their form, and work on their (in my eyes traditionally very poor) image, maybe then there could really be a love affair between town and team. Both could use it…

The photo of Bagshaw museum at the top of the page was taken by techiedog and is released under a Creative Commons license