Shops

1) Eardley's which stood on the corner across from St. Thomas Church, this was run by Arthur Eardley & his wife. He worked as a full time conductor on Stanier's buses, which used to reverse from outside the shop up the side of the Church & back round the corner, ready to begin another run. Shop sold groceries & cigs.
2) Inghams stood next door but one to Eardley's. Run by an old woman (Doris) who always had a flip in her mouth & always wore an old knitted tam. She also had a chippie, right over the road where the dirt footpath goes up to the Castle. For years she served people through a sliding window whilst they stood out in the weather.(At the shop that is). She served chips in a newspaper & they were that greasy that you could have oiled the marl hole tubs with your chip paper. We used to stand outside, up the side of the shop, warming our hands on the wall where she had her fire in the living room. Then we`d stand on the front singing;-

Don`t eat Ingham`s bread,
It makes you s**t like lead,
No bloody wonder,
You f**t like thunder,
Don`t eat Ingham`s bread.

Then she`d come out & run us with her poker! (Oh! Those were the days.)

3) Jeffrie's was further down opposite the opening at Moorland Road (council estate) lit by paraffin lamps & they were both about 90, which is OK except, they kept a lot of their stuff like sacks of spuds & their paraffin down the cellar. So you can imagine going in there for 5lbs of spuds & a gallon of paraffin. You used to have to take your snapping with you it took them that long. By the time you?d got served, the spuds had got eyes in & all they were fit for was planting out! But they never seemed to shut.

4) Porter`s; which is Castle Stores shop now was started off in a wooden shack by Jackie Porter; Clive`s dad; then when he died Mrs. Porter took it over. She used to cure all her own meats especially off pigs, as they had their own pigs for years. The farm buildings were on the ground between the shop & the first council house; then, Clive & Marj Porter took over until Ray Kelsall bought it.

5) At one time the post office was in the 1st house opposite Porter`s. The fellow who ran it was called Broad & when he moved or died, the PO went up to the High St.

6) Jeffrie's; this shop was the first house on your left, in the row going down to the Ash. The house still looks like a shop at the front. It wasn't used much by people up the top I think it depended more on the few people round about.

7) The Co-op was next to the Ash. It said on the sign over the window "Congleton Equitable Cooperative Society. No. 14 Branch." This was originaly Bailey's.

8) Mrs. Ball's; this shop was where Rena's hairdressers building is. Again it never seemed to do much business; whenever you went in for anything, they never seemed to have it.

9) Morris's; this shop was on Sand's Road. The 1st building on your left which faces the main road, after you've passed Biddulph Road. They sold everything.

10) Sanderson's shop in Dales Green, which was also a very good shop. Like Morris's, they used to deliver to the door in order to compete, mainly with the Co-Op, I think.

11) Cotterill's; this was right up under the Castle & catered for that end of Mow?. Mr Cotterill also used to come round with a pony & trap selling ice cream.