Tony Cunnane's Early Years 1935-53

I soon learned that there were several more ‘our pieces’ in other areas not far from Cotton Street. As far as I can recall, none of the ‘pieces’ had proper names; each was simply referred to as ‘our piece’ by whichever folk happened to live closest.

The image on the left shows Avondale Street photographed in 2008 (click on it to pop up a larger version). The backs of the houses on the left looked out over the 'outback' - the waste ground behind the semis on Cotton Street. Halfway along Avondale Street on the right hand side, in the space before the house with the red side, was the entrance to another large 'piece' of waste ground in the 1940s. That piece was also a favourite playground for my pals and me - it seemed not to belong to anyone else.

Curiously ‘Avondale’ was pronounced locally with a short initial ‘a’ and not a long ‘a’ as in River Avon. The Avondale piece was bounded by Denby Dale Road, the 99 Arches, and the LMS railway embankment. Unlike 'our piece' which was relatively flat, the Avondale piece was covered by large mounds of earth - presumably spoil from the building of new homes. The mounds became an exciting bicycle racing area with well-defined tracks across them. If you were travelling fast enough as you went over the top of the mounds, both wheels would leave the ground and many spills occurred on the down side. Snuggled under the 99 Arches, at the far side of this piece, was the Greyhound Racing Track which, as far as I can recall, was out of service for the duration of the war.

This piece is now covered with industrial sites and the gap on the right hand side of Avondale Street has been filled with another house. The greyhound track is no more.