The Brigg Newsletter compiled by Peter Thompson

A review of life in the market town over the past 12 months for those who live locally and also for the many who log in from further afield and overseas.

January 2007 

Brigg County Primary School

Tears were shed as pupils of Brigg County Primary School walked out the gates of the Glebe Road School for the last time.
For Head Teacher Steve Pearce and his staff it was a case of  the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. Pupils had an extra two day holiday before the new £5 million school was set to open. Before Glebe Road  was vacated each class in turn walked to the new site on Appleton Way to see the finishing touches being added to a building that has taken just ten months to build.
“We are leaving behind a lot of happy memories. Nostalgia for Glebe Road was such that over three hundred visitors, many of them old pupils came for the open afternoon. But that building was past its sell by date and short of what is required for the 21st century,”Mr Pearce declared.
Mr Pearce leant a hand as classroom equipment and books were all moved in at the new site and children were wide eyed and open mouthed with awe as they saw what had been made for them. In one room there were over thirty computers one for each child and state of the art whiteboards.
For Mr Pearce it was full credit to the contractors that they had completed the work in ten months:
“The building has been completed as per contract. The construction crew got the extras finished on time – absolutely fantastic,” added Mr Pearce.
“Excited anticipation” – and not about the extra two days holiday- was how Mr Pearce described the atmosphere at Glebe Road as it ended a lifespan  that had begun in 1926.

March

Mayoral Change

Retiring Town Mayor Maureen Glossop handed over to the town's new first citizen,retired solicitor  Mike Doherty.Mrs Pat doherty will be Mayoress and Coun.Mike Campion Deputy Mayor.

Coun Glossop looked back on a busy twelve months in office:"A highlight has been the opening of the new Brigg County Primary School,"she declared.

She thanked retiring councillors who were not seeking re-election-Councillors Mike Birkitt, Tony Morris, Tony Sykes and Adele Tasker.
“Their contribution will be missed,” declared Coun Glossop.
Coun Glossop announced that £3300 was the total money raised in her charity appeal and she presented cheques to Anthony Darker of Brigg Lives 1st Responders and Sharron Riggall and Diane Wilson of the Friends of Brigg County Primary School.

June Brgg High School

Students of the former Brigg High School turned up in numbers to mark the 75th anniversary of the opening of the school on what is today the Sir John Nelthorpe School site. Among those attending were Ailsa Moore Head  Teacher in the 70s and Brian Williams former Head Teacher of Brigg Grammar School and the first head of the newly formed Sir John Nelthorpe School.The oldest girl present was Joan Peart still living in Brigg. Barbara Kernon made a splendid job of co-ordinating the events.

August Brigg Fair

Brigg Horse Fair was a resounding success! The travelling community descended on the town in greater numbers than for several years.
The summer sunshine brought the crowds out in big numbers to another hugely successful event.
Visitors and townsfolk alike were mindful of the heritage that Brigg Fair is, a tradition going back 800 years and imortalised in the music of Delius.
Frank Buck from Doncaster had been coming for many years to trade his horses:
"Its been good for trade this year, I've sold six horses.There are a lot more of us here than in recent years and its good to see the tradition of the market being kept up. I've stayed a week and its good to see the fair building up again,"he declared.
The Town Fair was opened by Town Mayor Mike Doherty and MP Ian Cawsey and both paid tribute to the hard work of the organising committee under secretary Sarah Angell.

This years Fair is on the traditional August 5th date. 

Town Mayor Mike Doughty walked from Broughton Bridge to the Motorway Bridge, a distance of 2100 metres for his charity appeal.

Canon Maher

In August the town lost its long serving Catholic Priest as Canon Roger Maher retired to live in Ireland.

Sixty years in the Roman Catholic ministry is a long time! It is a remarkable statistic of one man’s devotion to his faith and the people in the five parishes he has served. Canon Roger Maher (85), officially retired on the day of his celebration, and with the good wishes of parishioners speeding his journey, set sail for his native Ireland.
He came to Brigg in September 1992 after serving in Nottingham, Mansfield, Staveley and Derby. Now a quiet retreat on the border of County Limerick and County Tipperary will be his home. He will take with him many memories of his church, of the town, and of his garden. Canon Maher was a familiar face to everyone who passed by as he was pulling up the weeds as priests do!
“Brigg is a very friendly place. I was brought up in the countryside,”he declared.
A flower festival appropriately celebrated his ministry that began when he was ordained Priest by Bishop Edward Ellis in Nottingham Cathedral on July 13 1947.

September

Vale of Ancholme Technology and Music College.

A new arrival in Brigg was Mrs Gail Young who took up the post of Principal from the start of the Autumn term.She succeeded Geoff Hensman and arrived following  the awarding of  Music as well as  Technology Status.

Civic Service

Town Mayor Coun Mike Doherty and the Mayoress Pat Doherty led the procession to and from St John’s Church for the Civic Service. The service was led by the Town Mayor’s Chaplain Father Owain Mitchell. After the opening hymn ‘Praise My Soul the King of Heaven’ Pam Braithwaite read the first lesson, Psalm 146 on behalf of St John’s Church. The New Testament reading from Matthew 5 was delivered by Matthew Doherty and then the Mayor gave a reflection. St John’s Music Group led the singing of ‘From Heav’n You Came’ and then an African Folk Song was sung by ‘Lawrence and Family’. Prayers were led by Father Mitchell and St John’s Choir sang the opening verse and chorus of ‘Make Me a Channel of Your Peace’. After the National Anthem the congregation retired for refreshments in the Angel Suite.
Civic guests included Ian Cawsey MP and Mrs Linda Cawsey, the Mayor of North Lincolnshire Coun Tony Ellerby and the Mayoress Mrs Jane Sanders. Other guests came from Barnetby, Beverley, Bottesford, Broughton, Driffield, Gainsborough, Immingham, Goole and Kirton Lindsey Town and Parish Councils.

East Park

Brigg's East Park was one again a peaceful resting place after work to improve the area had been completed.The tin tabernacle  also received a tidy up and coat of paint and for a short while at least is almost unmarked by vandals.Felling of trees is not now likely to happen after Brigg Town Councillors heard at their Policy Committee meeting that crown lifting and pruning of the trees has had a dramatic effect in allowing more light to reach the area.

Gardens    The Town Council made is annual awards to gardeners and allotment holders.Mick Green of O’Hanlon Avenue collected the L T Jarratt Memorial Rose Bowl and £50 worth of vouchers as winner of the Best Kept Garden Award, from Town Mayor Mike Doherty.

POW Camp

Brigg's former prisoner of war camp on Bigby High Road looked set to be demolished after West Lindsey District Council's Planning Committee  approved redevelopment proposals submitted by Turley Associates for Barford Builders Ltd for mixed business and residential development. German POWs lived there in World War II and some found local employment and were befriended particularly in the latter stages of the 1939-45 conflict. Some of the huts contain artwork done by prisoners and planning officers recommended this be salvaged and sent to a wartime museum in Durham. Officers also reported that significant asbestos was in the buildings and would increase the cost of demolition. The wall art is considered to be of national historic importance. ‘Bats’ also will need to be treated as protected species and if any are found on site, work will stop and ‘Natural England’ consulted!
No demolition will be allowed to take place between March and August while birds and bats are breeding. There are sixty derelict buildings on the site, mainly pre-fabricated. The development is for mixed business use and low density residential development of ten houses.

October    Rowers from throughout the East Midlands and the North of England travelled to Brigg for the annual Ancholme Head of the River Race. There were 114 crews rowing in a variety of categories on a course from Broughton Bridge to the Motorway Bridge, a distance of 2100 metres. Ancholme had members on the river in numbers competing against crews from Bradford, Doncaster, Newark, Boston, Lincoln and  Leicester Rowing Clubs as well as St. Peter's School from York. Ancholme Rowers ranged from 16 year old duo Joe Steede and Ben France to Class F Veterans Mike Branton at 68 the oldest competitor and his boat colleage Pete Mordue. The duo took 1st place in the category with a time of 12 mins in the morning row to defeat their Boston Rowing Club rivals.
Ancholme went 'hi tech' for the event:
"We have taken all entries on line under the 'Amateur Rowing Association On Line' scheme and in fact we are piloting the system for the ARA at this event. Its preety good for a small club like ours to do this,"said the club's Mandy Barratt.
Event organisors were Iain Lee and Penny Barker with Patrick Ibbotson as official starter and Jim Copson as start marshall.

November

Remembrance

Poppy Appeal Honorary Organiser in Brigg Maureen Glossop  paid tribute to the ‘extraordinary generosity’ of people in Brigg. The amount raised in the town  was just under the £8000 mark.
“People both in the town and those who come in from outside have been remarkably generous. I think what has been happening in Iraq has got through to so many people. I thank everyone who supported the collection either as collectors, businesses and individuals, or as givers,” she declared.

Wreaths were laid in memory of the fallen at the town war memorial on Remembrance Sunday and poppies were laid by children of the town's primary schools at their service.

December

Lights

On the count down of ten Town Mayor Mike Dohertry turned on the Brigg Christmas Lights. The Vale of Ancholme Technology College Brass Group warmed  up a large crowd with seasonal music and then it was the turn of stars from the pantomime Aladdin being staged at Scunthorpe's Plowright Theatre to go on stage.
Santa arrived on his sleigh hauled by two Shetland ponies and after fighting his way to get through the packed crowd he handed out presents from his grotto. Lots of local organisations did brisk business from stalls lining Wrawby Street in what proved a splendid start to the festive

Brigg Town Mayor Coun Mike Doherty was delighted at the support from the town for his Christmas Extravaganza in the Angel Suite. The venture was a new initiative in the festive programme this year and it was a case of standing room only in the hall. Music came from the Vale of Ancholme Youth Band, George and Irene Mitchell Singing Duo, St Mary’s Primary School Choir, Lawrence and Family with Zimbabwean traditional music. The Brigg Rainbow Puppets entertained and the Mayor himself provided some ‘tricks’ on the stage.

Reunion

An evening of pure nostalgia raising many a tear. That was the verdict on the Vale of Ancholme Technology College’s 50 year celebration of the opening of Glanford School on the Redcombe Lane site. A detailed display of photographs brought the memories flooding back. For Carol Hedison there was a special memory:
“I was twelve then and chosen to present a buttonhole to the Chairman of Lincolnshire County Council Sir Western Cracroft Amcotts. I had to practice a speech  and was petrified as I walked up on stage.”
The school opened on 6 November 1957 after taking two years to build. New Head Ernest Urry had three hundred pupils in his charge. There were thirteen full-time and one part-time teacher making the school a small one by the standards of today’s college.
Shirley Bruce (nee Rogers) attended from 1971 to 1978 by which time the first of four name changes – to Brigg Secondary School – had occurred.
“I have lots of happy memories. My mum worked here, my brother came here. I remember the old outdoor swimming pool.”
Andrew Markham was goalkeeper for the school football team in 1970 and was among those looking at the photos together with another goalkeeperfrom an earlier era in Peter Altoft.
George Mouncey a Senior Master at the school in the 1970s and 80s was back to meet old colleagues while present head Gail Young was delighted to see the school celebrating its past as well as looking to the future. She paid tribute to the efforts of long serving teacher Patrick Neal who had put the exhibition together with his helpers.
“A lot of hard work has gone into this,” she declared.
And it is also likely to happen all over again in 2009 to celebrate the opening of Westmoor School on what is now the same site!

January 2008
Holocaust Remembrance

Brigg’s observance to mark National Holocaust Day was led by the Town Mayor Coun Mike Doherty. A ceremony in the Angel Courtyard saw M.P Ian Cawsey, the Town Mayor and young people in the town, lay stones at the Holocaust Memorial. The service was led by the Town Mayor’s Chaplain Father Owain Mitchell. Coun Doherty read the words by Martin Neimoller – ‘First they came for the Jews’ and Tony Sevilla Harland represented the local Jewish community reading the ‘Kaddish’.

Brigg Market

Brigg Market is not only alive and well, it is positively thriving according to national magazine 'Market Trade News.'
The market earns high praise as a traditional street market that can accommodate up to sixty individual stalls usually manned by 35 regular traders. It gives traders and punters good value for money.
Rent for a three metre stalls is £14 per day on Thursdays and £12.60 on Saturdays except on Farmers Market Day when stallholders are charged £20. In trying to attract newcomers the magazine appealed for traders in fabrics, curtains, menswear and crockery.
“Many of the Brigg traders have stood the market for a great number of years which is a sure sign of a good market,” said the report, which has gone down well with Market Manager for North Lincolnshire Council Graham Fowler.
“We have been delighted to receive the favourable comments about the progress that Brigg market is making,” he said.
Among the traders featured and pictured are Onkar Nijjar of OJ Ladies Fashions and ‘Stan’ Matthews of ‘Grimsby Fresh Fish’ who both ‘stand’each week .
Market Trader News Editor Peter Naylor concluded:
“Although not very big, the town of Brigg is extremely popular as a tourist destination and attracts many walkers and ramblers. Its market is one of the best street markets I have come across, catering for almost all needs with a nucleus of dedicated, professional and friendly traders.”
It is recommended that any new traders interested in standing at Brigg telephone Assistant Market Manager John Fullerton

Flood Warning

A severe flood warning was issued by the Environment Agency on the River Ancholme.
River levels reached their highest with the agency and North Lincolnshire watching levels at locations on Cadney Road and near the Oil Mill Bridge where water invaded one home. Otherwise the alarm passed without serious damage.The sluice gates at South Ferriby were opened at 6-30pm and levels dropped gradually.The severe warning, the highest level, was issued for the river from Bishopbridge to South Ferriby.The car park at the Ancholme Leisure Centre was flooded  and was put out of action. 
Cadney Road was shut for a while.There was concern at the worry the situation was causing to elderley residents at Ancholme Gardens Group dwelleings on Cadney Road, but staff from North Lincs Homes visited the flats to reassure residents.
Concerned residents can  contact North Lincolnshire Council for advise on 01724 276444.
Simon Driver, Chief Executive of North Lincolnshire Council said:
“I want to thank everyone for their hard work in helping respond quickly to any problems relating to the recent bad weather. But the weather is picking up and looks like it will continue to improve. 
As always, we are on standby and will continue to pump water from affected areas.  On behalf of the Flood Forum, thank you for your patience.”

February

Wilko's

Major high steet retail firm Wilkinsons announced they are moving in to Brigg. The company has bought the former Kwiksave supermarket site on Cary Lane and hopes to open in June.
The firm held a job market in the Angel Suite with over seventy jobs on offer at the store from the opening date. The store is already underdoing some conversion work internally ready for the June opening.
New manager is  Adam Leaning  presently at the Freeman Street store in Grimsby:
"We are calling the Brigg store a core store meaning that we shall have all the goods on offer traditionally with Wilkinsons such as garden products, DIY, decorating materials, household goods and office and secretarial material. We are to recruit seventy seven staff and that is the aim of our fair today but we also want to educate Brigg about Wilkinsons. We were due to open the jobs fair at 9am but even at 8-30am people had started arriving,"he declared.
Assistant Manager will be Richard Hale presently based with the company in Halifax.
Mr Leaning said the company hoped to create a new entrance from Cary Lane rather than the old entrance via the footpath. We are looking forward to coming to Brigg," he concluded.
picture
New manager of the Wilkinsons Store in Brigg Adam Leaning left and his new assistant Richard Hale promote the new Brigg store.

A unique watercolour print has seen a Brigg artist capture the spirit of his and  many other local people's childhood with a limited edition print of Brigg County Primary School on the Glebe Road site. The school closed a year ago and has been bought by developers. Stephen Hill who now lives in Gloucestershire returns to Brigg on a regular basis.  He studied at the Lincoln School of Art and then at the Central School in London. He remained in the capital to work in the music industry later moving into the field of marketing and publishing.
Stephen has produced a range of prints depicting scenes in his home town. As in the Glebe Road picture he is especially interested in nostalgic scenes.
“I remember the Maypole dancing and that Mary France was the pianist, they were happy days and I hope the print captures the spirit of the school and the building in that era,” he recalled.

The 88th North Lincolnshire Music and Drama Festival gets under way with the drama classes.
The opening class, verse speaking for children of 7 years has for its test piece the poem ‘Flying’ by J M Westrup. The class has fifteen entries coming from Brigg Primary School, St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Brigg Prep School, Worlaby Primary and All Saints Grasby Primary. Classes with many of the same schools giving great support continue at the Angel Suite throughout the morning and restart at 2 pm in the afternoon. Evening classes are at Westmoor House at the Vale of Ancholme Technology and Music College starting at 7 pm.
On Monday evening the ‘Duologue’ (Secondary) and Dramatic Quartet (Primary) classes should provide plenty of entertainment. Because there are seventeen entries – all from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School – the primary dualogues on Wednesday evening start at 6.30 pm. Thursday morning will be the final classes in the drama section and the music classes start on Monday 3rd March in St John’s Church. Drama adjudicator is Patricia Hammond. Programmes costing £1 are available from Grandad’s Shed.