Old Ledbury - Hollybush

Photos are credited to the owners and comments are from members of Old Ledbury group on Facebook.

The page is divided into the following sections

BUILDINGS AND CHURCHES, CLUBS AND SOCIETIES, EMPLOYERS, FETES AND SHOWS, HOTELS AND PUBS, LOCAL BANDS, SCHOOLS, SPORTS

Hollybush related items may be found in the LANDWORK, MILITARY, SMITHS PHOTOGRAPHERS AND WEDDINGS Galleries which can be found on the home page.

Buildings and Churches

Clubs and Societies

Employers

Hollybush and Gullet Quarry

Date Unknown

Early Postcard of the Quarry

Watermarked ' Quarry at the Hollybush' and ' Tilley and Son'

Photo Geoff DALLEY Collection Collection

The road where the horse and carts are is the main Ledbury to Tewkesbury Road...SD

Amazing old view of the quarry!...SD

The Blossom tree stands in the ground of what used to be The Old Post Office at Hollybush...SD

The path where the nurse is stood leads up into 'The Chestnut wood' and on to White leafed Oak...SD

1961

Portable crusher at Gullet Quarry

Geoff DALLEY and Ken JAKEMAN (Castlemorton)

Photo Geoff DALLEY Collection Collection

Major Hervey- Bathurst bought this landrover for the maintenance fitters - on the back was attached a welder so that the mechanics could do their 'on site' repairs in both Quarries...SD

Geoff DALLEY mentions that the Vauxhall car on the bottom left was Jim SMITH's - married Violet GORIN...SD

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1961

Geoff DALLEY under the bonnet of one of the Quarry lorries

Photo Geoff DALLEY Collection Collection

That was a 5 ton Austin which once belonged to Charlie GARDNER...JG

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1962 - 1965

Aerial view of the Gullet Quarry - Hollybush

Photo Geoff DALLEY Collection Collection

The road on the bottom right is the one that leads up from Castlemorton Common...SD

The buildings at the top of that road are where the offices were and the silver looking one that looks like a metal shed is where Dad kept his jalopy in the 80's...SD

The embankment behind that shed got slowly eaten away with the blasting and towards the end of the quarries life I went to see what Dad had been doing with the jalopy and the entire corner of the floor of the shed was gone and below you was the quarry floor/basin. Scary...SD

Where the mound is behind the shed is now the wall to stop 'oaf's' from getting into the water. This is why they are told not to dive because the likes of the heavy plant are still under that water...SD

Top right of the picture is Midsummer Hill...SD

Great picture Shirley, we moved thousands of tons of stone out of there, the quality of roadstone used today is very much inferior to Hollybush Granite. PS. Some very nice people worked there too!!!!...JG

These pics are a real find! Glad Dad had them....SD

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1964 Aprrox

Closer shot of the Quarry

Photo Geoff DALLEY Collection Collection

Dad Geoff DALLEY worked on anything from the lorry's to the crushing plants...SD

In the far right corner is the area where the pool now is - there being a pool at both the Gullet and the Hollybush quarry...SD

The allotments on the bottom left belonged to Bill and Hilda HOWELLS who lived just down the road. Behind the allotments is one of the stone crushing plants...SD

Where the lorry is coming out - is the area where the weigh bridge is (still is today)...SD

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1964 Approx

Aerial View of Hollybush Quarry

Photo Geoff DALLEY Collection Collection

In the bottom most left corner of the picture is a cottage - this is where we lived until about 1966/67. In front of the cottage is the main road over from Eastnor to Tewkesbury...SD

My Dad Geoff DALLEY was one of the fitters who worked at these quarries which provided most of the stone for the M50 when it was started...SD

The Quarry opening at the top left hand corner is known as 'Slashers Quarry'. Dad did not know the reason for the name....SD

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3 days before the closure December 1977

George THORPE, Jim SMITH (Gorins sweet shop), William HOWELLS (Uncle Bill), Mr SMITH (Eastnor Estate), Jack STEPHENS (Wayend St. Eastnor)

Derek WOOD, Mr Peter LLEWELLYN, Jack ENTWISTLE, 'Big' George LANE R.I.P., Geoff DALLEY, John WHEELER

Tom BRIMMELL, Major Benjamin HERVEY-BATHURST (Eastnor Castle), Ray BRAZIER, Jim BOOTON

Photo Geoff DALLEY Collection Collection

The lorry to the left of the picture belonged to Peter LLEWELLYN and the one on the right belonged to the Major...SD

Ahh George LANE great bloke was George. Taken far too early was George...CP

Jim BOOTON lived opposite old swimming baths, snudges dad...AH

Thats what i love about this site the stirring of memories of great Ledbury friends and characters that are etched in your mind but forgotten about till they are jogged by these pictures...CP

Another good one. Lived opposite Peter LLEWELLYN for years!...CE

Well the weirdest thing is that Alan HOPKINS tagged me in the exact same picture just this afternoon and when I got to my parents at Eastnor today Dad had this picture. I am amazed that two turned up on the same day...SD

I remember George too. i think he got involved in the jalopy/Autograss too at one point...SD

Yes he did a bit of Autograss.He always jokingly blamed me for wasting his money getting him into Yanks. I had a Dodge Challenger at that time in the early 80's and after seeing it George was smitten and bought himself a very nice and rare now 68' Pontiac Firebird 400. Great times. ...CP

I remember seeing him round the tracks...SD

And as far as the pictures are concerned. The memory is etched in the mind of how they were too. Forever a youthful George...SD

Yes you're so right Shirley. I'll always remember his sense of humor and wicked grin...CP

Great pictures of Quarry. Used to watch George THORPE and Geoff DALLEY racing, great times, George's wife, Rene used to race also. I think, but maybe wrong, George's number was SV 77...CG

Yes, George and Rene both raced under SV77. My Dad was SV80. They both kept their racers in the Quarry sheds...SD

Gullet Quarry ! I spent many a happy hour working there. Shirley ask Geoff about his workmate Sid and his mate Irish Dave. Are they still around ? Jack ENTWHISTLE used to drive the digger and Ken JAKEMAN ( lovely chap) was the foreman. ...BH

Dad told me a story yesterday about the time that he and Neville JAKEMAN were called on to rescue a badger that was stuck on the blasting site at Hollybush. He said they started their climb and Neville said to Dad - you take the front and I'll take the behind. Dad said 'you can go dance' - Badgers have the sharpest teeth ever. Luckily he ran off himself. ...SD

This part of the Hollybush quarries - The Gullet was closed in 1977....

Uncle Bill HOWELLS came from a long line of Quarrymen. The main employment being in that area on the 1881 census/1891 census. A lot of people from The White leafed Oak area came down to work at the Quarry too...SD

Another great picture to stir up memories of better times...JG

Ah yes can see uncle Ray lovely photo...CP

Dad says the Gullet eventually closed in 1979. He and Tom BRIMMELL were given an extra six months to put up the fence that runs around the perimeter of the Hollybush Quarry...SD

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Fetes and Shows

Hotels and Pubs

Local Bands

Schools

Sports

Ledbury Reporter

The Reporter now has Archive photographs for the years 2005 - 2009 which you can view and order. Select a year then make sure Ledbury is the keyword entered before pressing GO. I have spent many an hour in the Ledbury Library looking through the old Reporters which are on microfiche. Support this great local paper.

Alzheimers Society

The leading UK care and research charity for people with this disease and other dementias, their families and carers. When mum was first diagnosed this site was a great help.

Ancestry

Discover your family history and build a family tree with the world's largest genealogy website. This is where I have my Family Tree stored.