Ron & Margery Milton

St Mary's is obviously the main church. Holy Trinity was built in 1909 - where the leisure centre is - that's where it was originally. That was like a big hall with a gallery round and it was always said that the architect had plans at the same time for a theatre somewhere and he got the plans mixed up and that's why it was such a big hall with the gallery round - now what truth's in it I don't know but that's what we've always been told.

I can remember Hurrell, when we were youngsters. Hurrell was here during the First World War, and Griffiths was at Holy Trinity. They were both in the parishes during the war. I always remember Griffiths, when I was in the choir, listening to him reading out the list of casualties that had happened. Griffiths was quite a gentle, kind man. In fact, he was his own worst enemy in many ways because he was always helping people, in those days there was no keeping of accounts in the church, the vicar had the money. Whatever money came in and he used the money - I don't mean he used it fraudulently - he used a lot of it particularly during that war to help families, and it wasn't until after that 

that they called a parish council to attend to those sort of affairs.

St Mary's Sunday School used to go up to where the John Cleveland is now, up Butts Lane, and in some fields...they would do more or less the same sort of thing. Once a year and then you'd have what they called a Christmas Sunday School treat. In which you'd go to the hall, you took your own mug for your tea and then again you'd have bread and jam and a piece of cake. Then after you'd finished your tea you'd take your mug back home and then you went back for games. You imagine doing that now.

In those days the treats, as they were called, were the main attraction annually. The free church treats were a big day. They were always the first Saturday in July and each chapel would have a tableau, a huge lorry or something with a biblical tableau on it and there was quite a bit of competition, and ill-feeling unfortunately, between the chapels over these because they were judged. All the little girls used to have a new dress for that day and they'd have garlands of flowers, they used to go round the houses collecting flowers to make them - and perhaps young mothers would have a baby in a pram and that would all be decorated...anything was decorated. It was very competitive.