Anybody know what happened to Little India, and when? Was it pulled down completely or just revamped and renamed?

Used to be somewhere around the Owton Lodge/Seaton Lane area as I recall, with not a few legends attached to it

I remember, back in the 70's being on the bus coming home from school one day when it stopped alongside Little India. I was sat there staring at the back of one of the houses when a horse put its head out of the bathroom window. I assume it went with the rag & bone cart parked in the front garden!

it was in there using the bog

i remember a lad told me when he was working in them once he was putting floor boards back when the woman said "keep the noise down" you will stop the hens laying they were in the bedroom

Poor bloody horse, that's where it was supposed to drink from!

The bath was used for keeping it's hay in.

Garston Grove
Harwich Grove
Ilkley Grove

Then Jutland Road and Keith Road.

Used to be the walk they gave every new postman that started.

The horse story I'd heard about tho not the one about the hens!

What intrigues me is where the Little India people came from....I know West Hartlepool was a very mixed bag, but even so, Little Indians seem to have been a race apart. Also (slightly more worrying) where have they gone?

most of them are neighbours of chip

There was no straw in the bath, it was full of sea coal !

to be fair in the early days it was on the outskirts of the town and the council used it to put problem families and those that had been evicted but needed to be housed
the council created the problem

WHERE DID THEY END UP...? I am reliably informed that when the Central estate was demolished and rebuilt in the early 80's, it was the place to be and everyone wanted to move there. When Little India was demolished the second phase was built to the new houses on the Central Estate and the former residents from Little India were moved there...... and the rest as they say is history, or so I'm told.

I can't remember little india but from what I hear it sounds like PORT CLARENCE...... Now you can't tell me that anywhere in the north east is worse than that hell hole.........

There was one Grove (Calcutta IIRC) that had no houses at the end and opened up directly onto the Wagga field, presumably due to good foresight by the town planners who realised that the horses needed access to grazing land.

Me and my mates once decided to take a short cut across that field in the dark when coming home pissed from Seaton. Talk about a death trap. We thought we'd never reach the other side. And that was AFTER crossing Calcutta Grove. It took about half an hour longer than if we'd passed by the bleeding Flatts!

The most popular place to keep the 'family pets', was the dining room, as it offered easy access to the rear 'garden'... they invented 'patio doors' or 'stable doors' as we like to call them.
There was also a certain character who had a ladder in place of his stairs which were 'recycled' on the fire...

The guy with the ladder must have have had one of the "deluxe" houses!

As I remember during the summer most of the houses front doors would be always open, and I can remember seeing more knotted ropes to get access upstairs, not ladders, where the stairs used to be!

stupid

I've already mentioned delivering mail in that area so more than a few doors were opened for me. To be fair it was a minority who were responsible for the estate's reputation, but since this dissuaded all but the most squalor-tolerant from accepting a council house there it was a somewhat self-perpetuating situation.

BUT

Squalid as it was, that wasn't where the stinkiest houses were. Especially malodorous places that come to mind were Romaine Park, Owton Manor "L" block, Raby Gardens, and the "Wagga" estate (Scawfell Grove and neigbourhood). But the worst EVER was a pre-war council house in Harwood Street (off Chatham Road). The blast of foetid air that hit me when the door opened literally had me weak at the knees.

Edit: ah yes, I just remembered another ghetto: Old Town, cut off from the world by the rail yard. You didn't go there unless you had a reason to. And the residents didn't expect you to go there unless you had a reason to!

The houses that never, ever fail to depress me are the ones opposite the T.A. centre in Easington Road....

the people that inhabited those houses don't think like the rest of us. They just don't see what they are doing is strange, compared to how we live our lives.
It's a bit like me enjoying pot noodle with fried egg and corned beef sarnies. Not everyone else likes it, and I reckon it's everyone else who's strange where food is concerned.

...neither did Ghengis Khan, but I wouldn't want him in the house next door, flailing bodies to death and having beheading barbies in the summer.

but at least the burglars wouldn't dare come near the area

Burglars ... ?.... never had a problem since that nice Mr Stalin moved in next door and Mr and Mrs Vlad the Impaler moved in the other side ...lovely people.

This is all really fascinating stuff. I think we should each write a Hartlepool-related story and do an anthology. Perhaps it's just that I don't know other towns as well but there can't be many to match it for local colour.

p.s. I used to know Graham Whitley quite well, Cornelius, in the days when he used to run the Nursery folk club. There's nothing like this board fro bringing back memories, is there?

pps how did Parmo find out he liked pot-noodle, egg and corned beef sarnies? No wonder his hair fell out

..including Jesus sandals, a beard, finger in ear and a liking for real ale...? I'm getting a picture in my head ...well there's nowt else there.

Never mind jesus sandals, Snowy, what about this anthology?

When I was a kid I virtually lived at my grans and some of the tales she'd tell us really made me laugh..

Did she have a beard and a 150 cm German shell from the bombardment in 1914 which she wedged the coal house door open with...?

what colour was the beard...?

... goatee or full set...?

DISTINGUISHING MARKS OR TATTOOS...?

I thought that's what they did with the 'square' in Bruce Crescent

not for too much longer most of the raby gardens and surrounding areas are to be demolished more news on this in february

had some good sunday nights in there mike elliott was a regular

now i am intrigued as there was more than one square in bruce crescent
EUREKA!!! now i have you you posh barsteward just cos you went to henrys

OH I do hope so....

Now now snowy, the Dyke House estate is part of the cultural heritage of West Hartlepool.

Besides, i grew up round there

Did you grow up in those shitty grey depressing 'houses' opposite the T.A cantre...?

i twatting well dont we only bought our house in chatham gardens 6 years ago and have done a lot to it we will have to spend a lot more to get a similar house.
mind my £12500 is now worth £80000 so not every thing is bad news

Er, ......you just started your own rumour and argued against yourself

that price includes the bus in the drive no 6 of course

no the rumour if it was only raby gardens easington road wouldnt bother me
but seeing as my house may be affected i would be less than pleased.

ps it is more than a rumour

wish my drive could fit my bus on
but the turn in is a bit tight and next doors wall would have to go

There was only one 'square' in Bruce Crescent. There was also a Cul-de-Sac called 'Smythe Place' which may have caused you some confusion.
And that's 'smooth talking barsteward' to you.
I'll bet I'm not who you think I am - although there's every chance that I'm what you think I am.

... but I'm only interested in seeing Easington Road demolished ...quickly!

ok will go along with that

only a clever clogs from henrys would flood a post with punctuation

what didnt everybody on here attend "henry smiths grammar school"?

No.6, I remember Mick Elliott (of Nursery fame) well.
I expect I know you, if you used to go along there on Sunday nights.
Were you around in the Bill Jack era?

phhaaarrrrppp
bunch of wusses

Bill Jack a wuss?
He'd have your guts for garters as soon as look at you....

the name means nothing to me
in the mid seventies the girl i was seeing at the time used to go with her mother and the mothers boyfriend so had a few nights in there as they lived in sherriff street and mike elliott was a friend of theirs he often ended up back at theirs having a shandy or 2

ONLY IF HE WENT TO HENRYS