Happy Days

A Memory of Ecclesfield.

An early memory I have is the Whitsuntide march. We all put on our best Sunday clothes and marched behind a band with our church banner held aloft by the strongest boys. The marching column passed through the village picking up on the way other marching groups of children. These other children belonged to other places of worship e.g. The Wesleyan Chapel. In the end, there was this very long parade of children, all marching behind the band. Each church group had its own banner and considered it far superior to all the others, with childhood banter, proclaiming superiority over the others.
This harmless "conflict" sometimes resulted in the odd minor skirmish.
The parade, on reaching the southerly end of the village then turned left down Cross Hill, along The Common, up Church Street and finally to Stcks Hill where the Whitsuntide hymns were sung.
Stocks Hill, in those days, housed the stocks which now are located in the churchyard, just off Priory Road.
Happy days indeed.

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