by Ray Poole ISBN 0-7509-0623-5
When living in a generation where there are tv screens, digital tv and a luxury such as running water from a tap, motorised delivery vans and trains, being brought up in the age of computers also, it seems hard to imagine life without any of these things, although I was reminded as a child in the late 1970s and 1980s that we were lucky to have a television and a telephone.
I remmber a time where you could walk down the high street and nobody owned a mobile phone yet the older generation whom were born in the late 1920s onwards will remember that the only form of communication was a letter and in some homes, the rich owned a telephone in their own homes.
Leek, Staffordshire, known to many as the "Queen of the Moorlands", is no different to other towns back in the victorian times (when Queen Victoria was on the throne) many goods were transported by horse and cart, in some cases steam trains or even by canal, deliveries from local shops to the surrounding area were regularly done by bicycle.
A prime example on how Leek, like many other towns in its era, that has changed dramatically in this
photo of Derby street in late victorian times. If you compare that photo to one of now (2008), then you can see the vast difference. There's no cobbled road and the only existing cobbled areas I have so far observed, are the market square, Albion street and the little side road adjacent to St. Edwards church in Stockwell street, which leads to 'Mount Pleasant' and Brough Park.
The Book I resourced some of this information and photographs actually remind me of older photographs from my family, my mum for example, in her Sunday best back in the late 1940s to 1950s, posing for a Sunday school photograph, together with my two aunts and my eldest uncle, a similar style dress to many of that the children are seen to be wearing in old school photographs in this book.
Schools of Leek...
There seemed to be quite a lot of schools back then, as there is now, I know of 4 first schools in Leek, there is St Edwards in Cheddleton, Westbrook junior/1st school over the West end of Leek, 1st school on the Haregate estate off the Buxton Road and All Saints primary by the junction of Compton and junction road, in fact there may be more.
Leeks schooling system has nursery to primary at first schools which are aged 3years/4years to 8 years adn then there is Churnet View Middle school and St Edwards Junior High (nee middle) whom cater for 9 years to 13 year old pupils, then it is on to a choice of either Leek high school or Westwood High. It surely takes some getting used to.
Now to schools in Leek around a hundred years ago...
When living in a generation where there are tv screens, digital tv and a luxury such as running water from a tap, motorised delivery vans and trains, being brought up in the age of computers also, it seems hard to imagine life without any of these things, although I was reminded as a child in the late 1970s and 1980s that we were lucky to have a television and a telephone.
I remmber a time where you could walk down the high street and nobody owned a mobile phone yet the older generation whom were born in the late 1920s onwards will remember that the only form of communication was a letter and in some homes, the rich owned a telephone in their own homes.
Leek, Staffordshire, known to many as the "Queen of the Moorlands", is no different to other towns back in the victorian times (when Queen Victoria was on the throne) many goods were transported by horse and cart, in some cases steam trains or even by canal, deliveries from local shops to the surrounding area were regularly done by bicycle.
A prime example on how Leek, like many other towns in its era, that has changed dramatically in this
photo of Derby street in late victorian times. If you compare that photo to one of now (2008), then you can see the vast difference. There's no cobbled road and the only existing cobbled areas I have so far observed, are the market square, Albion street and the little side road adjacent to St. Edwards church in Stockwell street, which leads to 'Mount Pleasant' and Brough Park.
The Book I resourced some of this information and photographs actually remind me of older photographs from my family, my mum for example, in her Sunday best back in the late 1940s to 1950s, posing for a Sunday school photograph, together with my two aunts and my eldest uncle, a similar style dress to many of that the children are seen to be wearing in old school photographs in this book.
Schools of Leek...
There seemed to be quite a lot of schools back then, as there is now, I know of 4 first schools in Leek, there is St Edwards in Cheddleton, Westbrook junior/1st school over the West end of Leek, 1st school on the Haregate estate off the Buxton Road and All Saints primary by the junction of Compton and junction road, in fact there may be more.
Leeks schooling system has nursery to primary at first schools which are aged 3years/4years to 8 years adn then there is Churnet View Middle school and St Edwards Junior High (nee middle) whom cater for 9 years to 13 year old pupils, then it is on to a choice of either Leek high school or Westwood High. It surely takes some getting used to.
Now to schools in Leek around a hundred years ago...
St Lukes build in 1871 to cater for 164 pupils, a church school, the picture in the book was taken in 1912.
Ramshaw Primary, Buxton Road, photo taken around 1904
All Saints school, photo taken in 1920, not sure where this stood yet I have a feeling it was either opposite all saints church on Compton or on the same side of Compton, where some small modern flats now
stand?
These two pictures on the left are of Regent Street School. Sadly the school has since been demolished. I doubt any of the children in these photographs are still iving today, my great aunt is 102 years of age, and although born in 1906, there are not, to my knowledge, any other elder generations of her age still living in staffordshire.
All Saints school, photo taken in 1920, not sure where this stood yet I have a feeling it was either opposite all saints church on Compton or on the same side of Compton, where some small modern flats now
stand?
These two pictures on the left are of Regent Street School. Sadly the school has since been demolished. I doubt any of the children in these photographs are still iving today, my great aunt is 102 years of age, and although born in 1906, there are not, to my knowledge, any other elder generations of her age still living in staffordshire.
Cheddleton School is still standing if it is the one I am thinking of that is now named St Edwards (first) primary and is situated near Ostlers Lane, 50 Yards from St Edward the confessor church. 
There was also Leek Girls High School (shown here in 1921) and I am unsure if that it is the same High School which is now known as Leek High School?
There was also Leek Girls High School (shown here in 1921) and I am unsure if that it is the same High School which is now known as Leek High School?
If you wander out of Leeks main retail area and market square, towards what is known as Clerk Bank, there is a pink building and a blue building, to look at them and realise that htere contemporary make up hid what was in 1723, The Old Leek Grammar school would be hard to imagine.
It seems that Leeks original high school was not up off the Ashbourne Road, yet it was originally situated in the inner quadrangle behind the Nicholson Institute in and around 1901.