Artograffi: Amble Then and Now

Posted on 20th June 2019 | in Community

Amble is a well-developed town- we have everything we need, from schools to boats. But what was this quiet little town like many years ago?

The Artograffi gang with local historian Andy Sim

Well, lots of things. We have changed so much and are looking for more development in the future. We went on a walk with local history expert Andy Sim to see what we could find out. Here are five historical facts you probably didn’t know about Amble.

1. The Fourways centre, now home to meetings and business, was once the spot for dancing! It was a very popular dance club, hosting local bands- it was the perfect place to learn to dance.

2. The buildings neighbouring the Amble Youth Project were Amble’s first school, teaching the youngest to the oldest. This was from 1900 to 1940. The building next door was originally the council offices, later to be a library and now flats.

3.The famous Spurellis ice cream parlour was once a busy boatyard. When the demand for boats declined, Nick Spurr (who had been working there, then bought the boatyard) set up Spurellis in 2010 and made it the best ice cream place in town.

4. When visiting Spurellis you might notice a plaque on the fence, this says about the Amble brickworks. Here, they produced 60,000 bricks a week before they closed in 1958.

5. Shockingly, the main sewers used to lead out underneath the pier- pumping untreated sewage straight out to sea. This meant that when people were trying to swim in the Little Shore they were surrounded by sewage and dirt!

-Lily and Ava

Share this...
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter

3 thoughts on "Artograffi: Amble Then and Now"

  1. Ava Tibbitts says:

    Fantastic! Amble is cooler than a fridge!

  2. Ian Hinson says:

    They caught some very good fish in the harbour, and all the kids who swam and played on the Little Shore developed good immune systems.

  3. Mo says:

    Not forgetting Freddie the dolphin.

Comments are closed.