DEMOLITION men called in to flatten Jessie "The Cropper" Graham's landmark Leigh home discovered a time capsule hidden over the front door.

The hand-made wooden box placed over the lintel, revealed the true cost of Cropper's Hall, and the love and dedication that went into building the eccentric barber's beloved bungalow.

Bought

The Manchester Road house, which was started 40 years ago, was bought by neighbours, Waterfields' Bakery, when Jessie died four years ago.

He had lived there alone after the tragedy of losing his wife, Ida, and only child, Ida, in her thirties.

The hall, which took six summers to build was reduced to rubble in just two days, but the bakery plans to keep the memory of its "guardian" alive.

Chairman Richard Waterfield will rename the site after Croppers Hall, and if no member of the family comes forward to claim the contents of the capsule they will be put on display at the company's head office.

Richard said: "We are unaware of any surviving members of the family, but we had a good relationship with Jessie. He was virtually the gate keeper for Waterfields.

"He used to crop my hair when I was a little lad."

The capsule was buried in 1963 and contains old pennies and halfpennies dated that year, two copies of local newspapers containing a story on Jessie himself and an aerial view of the town, photographs of the family and the house in progress, holiday brochures for Llandudno, a street map of Leigh, and a hand written letter from Jessie signed by the family, including Ida when she was 12.

This, headed Christmas 1963 reads: "This house was built entirely by one small family named the Grahams, Mr Jesse Graham, aged 49, Mrs Ida Ennette Graham, aged 50, and Miss Ida Graham, aged 12.

It has taken six years to build this home, but the building only being done in the summer months from Easter until Christmas. In winter no work was done at all.

None of the family was skilled in any way with the building trade, Mrs Graham being only a real home mother and lovely wife, Mr Graham being a gentlemen's hairdresser in business at no 6, Silk Street, Leigh.

Our third and last help was from our young daughter, Miss Ida Graham, who was quite young and was attending Leigh Girls' Grammar School.

Family

All work and building of this home was done only by the family with no outside help at all, drawings, bricklaying, joinery, plastering, plumbing and gardening.

The entire cost of the home was £657 17s 3d and every love and care was put into making it, and every moment was enjoyed.

We all in this small family thank the Lord for giving us love, health and strength to build our home".

Anyone with a claim to the capsule should contact Lesley Richards at the Journal.