BURNLEY was a world of cotton mills and gas lights when little Alice Ingham was born in 1894.

She played whip and top and hopscotch after school and organ grinders were a familiar sight round the streets, often with chained monkeys.

Queen Victoria was on the throne when Alice was born in Kendal Street, in Westgate and six years later she was one of the first pupils at Coal Clough school, when it opened in 1900.

From an essay she wrote as a pensioner about her childhood, we can look back to life in Burnley 118 years ago.

She recalled: “In those days, girls wore big, white starched pinafores and on windy days, we would hold on to the corners and let the wind take us ‘full sail’ down Ulster Street to our lessons, where we wrote on slates in wooden frames.

“If we were ever late we go the cane and had to nurse our smarting hands for the rest of the day.

“We had inspection parades for cleanest hands and shoes and we were very proud of our appearance.”

She continued; “For playtime ‘eats’ I used to take oatmeal and sugar in an envelope. After school, we played whip and top, hopscotch or with hoops which we knocked with a stick along the street. The boys played marbles and we also used to put a rope on the gas lamp or across the back gate for a swing.

“Other games would be bobbies and burglars window knocking.”

She remembered coalmen used to ply their trade along the back streets, selling sacks for 10d, while the farmers came to the front door, twice a day, selling milk in huge cans, which was ladled out into housewives’ jugs.

The children would often dance to the music of the barrel organs who travelled the streets, which were often followed by dancing bears, but Alice remembered being scared of these huge animals and staying inside until they had moved on.

Alice could vividly remember the sound of the mill workers’ clogs on the cobbles at 5am and the knocker-up who collected 2d from every customer, including her dad, on Fridays.

For Friday was pay day and the housewives went straight out to buy their groceries from the Co-op — Alice was given 1d to spend.

On Saturday mother would take her to the shops at Cheap John’s bazaar in Hammerton Street or along St James’ Street.

They would catch the horse-drawn bus home, though there were also the steam trams which used to cost 2d to travel up Westgate and 1d down.

On Mondays there was an auction market round the cattle market, which would sell quack medicines, clocks and umbrellas.