We’re excited to continue our Voices of Caistor series, celebrating and capturing the rich history of Caistor, through the voices of those with a connection to the town – whether past or present.
This story is especially fitting following our Heritage Open Days hard hat tours, which took place earlier this month, and welcomed 100 people through the doors of 2-4 for the first time since renovation began.
Among them was Adrian Degnan, a former resident, who stepped back into a place he hadn’t seen in over 40 years.
Life above the shops
For Adrian, Caistor first became home in the mid-1970s, when his family moved from Halifax into a flat above 3 Market Place. The flat was full of character and quirks, from a window that led secretly onto the roof (something his parents might not have approved of) to a kitchen doorway that connected to Cordells Wool Shop below, which was occasionally left unlocked. However, as a ten-year-old, that opportunity didn’t spark quite the same interest as a sweet shop might have. Nevertheless, it was all part of the flat’s charm.
It was a home full of surprises. A four to five-inch drop in the floor, halfway across one of the rooms, would always catch a visitor off guard, an occurrence which often gave Adrian the giggles. Some rooms lay undisturbed until Adrian called Number 3 home as he found the remnants of a previous New Year’s Eve celebration in his soon-to-be bedroom.
If he wasn’t watching the world go by from his watch point on the roof, Adrian would be sitting next to the flat’s front window. Watching the busy Market Place below, and a view that stretches into the Lincolnshire Wolds. It was from here, Adrian recalls, watching the Big Snow of 1979. The Market Place became a winter wonderland, covered in snow drifts and completely cut off, which resulted in local farmers delivering milk across the village on their tractors.
Karate lessons and football anthems
Now, it wasn’t all just about watching the town; this little flat was full of all sorts of adventures, from karate lessons above number two, to band practice just down the corridor, there was always something happening. Adrian’s stepfather, Tommy, was a professional singer who wrote music in 2-4 itself and recorded in a studio in Laceby. Some of his songs were for special occasions, like a tune for the Scotland World Cup in 1978, and another for Halifax Town FC, which is still played at Halifax Town games today.
Step back to the 80s
As a teenager in the 1980s, he rented a camera from a local shop and went around filming the streets, shops and community. He remembers the Co-op we know today as the old Talbot, where his stepfather used to play, or across the Market Place and down the hill to the Arts & Heritage Centre, which Adrian recalls as the old youth club. These videos are available on YouTube to watch and step back 40 years into Caistor’s Past.
Got your own story of Caistor you’d like to share? Get in touch with our team today.