Briarcroft was a large house, built a few hundred yards away from The Hindles. It was the home of Philip Fletcher, the son of Ralph and Marie Sophie. He lived at the large house with his wife, Phyllis and their sons: Philip and Basil. There was also a large staff of six female servants.

The property itself had an interesting history. It was built in 1870 as a pair of semi-detached villas, named Stanley Terrace. This type of housing was extremely fashionable among the middle classes at the time and at this point the model village hadn’t been built, so Stanley Terrace was surrounded by fields and a few farms. The houses were initially lived in by Reverend Horne and Ralph Peters. Philip Fletcher was living there from at least 1881. In 1886 and 1887 he had the house altered and enlarged and it was known as Brookfield House. It is likely that he knocked the two properties into one at this time. Further alterations and extensions in 1891 resulted in a much larger property and this likely warranted the change in name, to Briarcroft. Around 1922 when Philip Fletcher left Atherton to retire to Southport and he gave Briarcroft to the Atherton Collieries Joint Association to be used as a clubhouse. It was used as a boys’ club in the 1940s and 1950s, after which is became a general youth club until the late 1980s. Once it was derelict, it was targeted by vandals and a fire severely damaged the structure. It was demolished in the 1990s. The house and grounds were replaced by flats in the early 2000s.

 

THE PERSON WHO CREATED THE YOUTH CLUB AND WAS ALSO THE CLUB LEADER WAS A MAN NAMED ARTHUR HASSALL, ARTHUR WAS A PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER AT ST GEORGES, SCHOOL, DERBY STREET, ATHERTON AND RAN A BOYS CLUB IN THE SCHOOL, BUT, AS SOON AS BRIARCROFT HALL BECAME AVAILABLE,  ARTHUR OFFERED HIS SERVICES TO CREATE AND RUN A YOUTH CLUB. IT WASN`T LONG BEFORE  ARTHUR HASSALL SOON  BECAME A LOCAL LEGEND WITH YOUNG PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVITIES AND INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP THAT BECAME THE SPINE OF THE CLUB.

PART OF THE CLUB ACTIVITIES WAS AN OUTDOOR SECTION THAT NOT ONLY TAUGHT YOUNG PEOPLE HOW TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS, CANOE, BE RESPONSIBLE, CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, CARE FOR EACH OTHER AND A MYRIAD OF OTHER VIRTUES AND LIVING AIDS.

ARTHUR INTRODUCED THE MEMBERS TO THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS SCHEME AS FAR AS I KNOW THIS GROUP HAS STILL GOT THE RECORD FOR THE NUMBER OF GOLD AWARDS IN ONE YEAR, I BELIEVE IT WAS ABOUT 30 GOLD AWARDS.

THERE WAS MANY HUNDREDS OF MEMBERS OVER THE YEARS AND I CAN`T REMEMBER A SINGLE ONE WHO WENT OFF THE RAILS OR WHO ENDED UP IN COURT.

 

IT WAS A PHENOMINAL CLUB WITH A PHENOMINAL LEADER WHO SHAPED THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE.  THANKYOU ARTHUR HASSALL, THE LEGACY YOU LEFT IS UNDOUBTEDLY A TRUE TESTAMENT TO  YOUR OWN VALUES, AMBITIONS AND SUCCESS. AN UNDISPUTED LEGEND !!

 

BRIARCROFT HALL WAS DEMOLISHED IN 1995 FOLLOWING A FIRE THAT DESTROYED MOST OF THE INTERNAL STRUCTURES, AND THE SITE IS NOW A BLOCK OF FLATS