MEMORIES OF BRIGG TOWN CENTRE WHEN HEAVY TRAFFIC FLOWED THROUGH DAY AND NIGHT

A generation has grown up in Brigg since through traffic was removed from the Market Place and Wrawby Street by the creation of the inner by-pass along Barnard Avenue in the early 1990s - accompanied by pedestrianisation to make shopping more comfortable.
So these pictures from our collection of past Brigg scenes may surprise younger visitors to our site, and will hopefully bring back memories for those who are old enough to remember the heavy traffic that once pounded its way through the town centre - day and night.
The image above, taken in the early 1970s, shows a tanker turning right out of Cary Lane to join the A18 and head off over the County Bridge.
Note the sign pointing the way to the Bus Station, and also the shops beyond Barclays - Melias (groceries), Clark of Retford (dry cleaners), plus Lawson & Stockdale and Shaw's (clothing).
The bank it still with us today but all the other business premises have since changed hands - some several times.
On-street parking was still available within the Market Place in the early 1970s, unless it was market day and the stalls were out. Many more were required in those days.
The picture below shows a male worker in a white cap of the type worn at Spring's riverside jam factory. Perhaps he was making his way there to start work or at the end of his lunch break. The ladies' fur hats and top coats suggest a winter date.
The Ford Anglia outside No 7 Market Place looks to have seen better days, but the Fiat next to it carries a 'K' registration, meaning it first took to the road between August 1971 and July 1972. It must have been quite new when this scene was recorded.
We think Smith & Robinson, the company which owned the tanker lorry, had a depot on the edge of the Newlands estate - roughly where Atherton Way is today.
Can anyone confirm this or supply further information?
Perhaps some of its ex-drivers, or their relatives, are still living in Brigg.
People today often moan about car drivers entering the pedestrian zone and even grumble about delivery vehicles arriving during peak shopping hours, sometimes blocking part of the paved area. However, we should not forget that HGVs were once an everyday sight.
Picture credits: The Ken Fisher Archive.