|
From
the Scrapbook #01
Natland
Parish Magazine No. 5, May 1898
THE
SCHOOL
|
The
following particulars will be of use to many parents,
and will relieve the managers of much criticism:
To
entitle a child to half-time exemption from school attendance,
it must be of the age of 11 years, and have received
a certificate from one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of
Schools that it has passed the Third Standard. Applications
must then be made to the local School Attendance Committee,
who, if satisfied that the child is of the proper age,
has passed the necessary Standard, and is being beneficially
and necessarily employed, will grant a Labour Certificate.
|
The
old school and the old church
Reproduced
with the kind permission of
The
Westmorland Gazette
|
A
child between 10 and 13 years of age is not required
to attend school if it has received a certificate from
the School Inspector that it has passed the Fifth Standard.
In
all cases, the children must hve been individually examined
and have passed the requisite Standard in the three
subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic.
The
School Attendance Officer, Mr Moss of Mint Street, Kendal,
will give any advice or instructions to parents who
have children requring half-time or totally exemption
certificates.
Parents
and employers of youthful labour must remember that
they are subjecting themselves to legal penalties if
children are withdrawn from school without having fulfilled
the conditions required by law. The school managers
have nothing to do with putting any such laws in motion.
Their duty is simply to manage the school for
the beniefit of those scholars that are sent there.
Thanks
to Canon Tim Evans for this contribution, 16th June
2008
From
the Scrapbook #02:
Opening
the Village Hall 1953
Older
residents may recall the Village Hall being opened in
1953. Others may or may not have seen these photographs
that hang in the Village Hall recording the event.
Here
we see Mr W P Dobson (Chairman, South Westmorland Rural
District Council), Mr G C Jackson (Architect),
Mr J Allen (Secretary), The Reverend D F Marrs (Vicar
of Natland), Anne Charnley (who presented the bouquet
to the Mayor & Mayoress of Kendal), the Mayor of
Kendal Mrs M I Pennington, Mrs Crewdson, Mrs M B Ewan,
Colonel S D Crewdson, Mrs Marrs, The Mayoress of Kendal
Mrs A Thompson and Mrs M Charnley.
Posed
for this picture on the Village Green were the committee:
Mr W Hewertson, Mrs M Croft, Mr R A Johnson,
Mrs A George, Mr A Brown, Mrs B Balmer, Mrs M Fearson,
Mr J Allen, Mrs C Ball, Mrs C Hewertson, Mrs S Prickett,
Mrs K Brown, Mrs E Tatham, Mr Horace Cottam and
Mrs S Johnson.
Editor,
2nd August 2008
From the Scrapbook
#03:
Natland:
The Best Kept Village
|
Looking at the
Sedgwick Parish Council Notice Board the other day,
I noticed that they had been involved with a "best kept
village" type competition.
This reminded me of
Natland's "glory days" when it was regularly
highly placed in the large village section of the then competition.
In Daphne
Lester's photo album I found this reminder of Natland's
greatest success when, in 1979, it was the outright
winner in Cumbria.
The
presentation took place at a packed Orton
Village Hall and was made by the ITN newsreader
Anna Ford. She told the audience that
she turned down many invitations to events
but she was delighted to accept this
request. She reflected on her time
in Cumbria and remarked on the great exercise
in cooperation between villagers that the
competition generated.
Receiving
the awards on behalf of Natland were Mr
E. L Clarke and Pearson Charnley.
|
Reproduced
with the kind permission of
The
Westmorland Gazette
|
Editor, 5th September 2008
From the Scrapbook
#04:
Tying
the Knot- and the Gate!
|
One
of the old village customs is for local
children to tie the gates of the church
when a wedding takes place, in the hope
that they will be rewarded with a shower
of coins when the wedding party emerges.
Here
you can see children rushing to collect
their illgotten gains at Alan Willoughby's
wedding in 1969.
Don't
forget that Natland.info is always
happy to show wedding photographs of Natlanders,
past and present.
|
Photo
courtesy of Daphne Lester
|
And
tell the Best Man to take plenty of change!
Editor,
28th September 2008
From the Scrapbook
#05:
Church
View and the
Crossroad on the Green
|
|
Photos
courtesy of Daphne Lester
|
Most
Natlanders will be aware that the Village Green used
to contain a crossroad. The left hand photograph
from Daphne Lester's Scrapbook shows the view from the
Church tower. The date is uncertain but the crossroad
is clearly visible. Also the Hawes Lane houses had not
been built and Church View still comprised seven separate
cottages.
Annie
Gibson
lived at 4 Church View and following the publication
of Daphne's memories of Annie, Dora Bianchi contacted
Natland.info to say:
My
name is Dora Bianchi, nee Kitchen, I now live in
Burneside but lived in Natland from 1936 - 1957.
My younger brother still lives on Park Close in
the house we moved into after my dad came back from
the war in 1948.
I
came to live at 3 Church View in 1936. As I was
only six months old I don't remember much of the
first few years. One thing I do remember, when I
was about three, was going with my dad up to his
allotment which was opposite the church up Helm
Lane.
No.
3 was the house jutting out from the others. No.
2 was lived by the Holmes family and No. 1 was used
as a very small shop. This house was demolished
to widen the road.
We
only had four rooms. There was a livingroom
with an old fashioned range with oven and boiler
for hot water. When we needed hot water a "ladle
can" was put under the brass tap . There was
one window which looked out onto Ted Gibson's garden.
The
other room downstairs was the "back kitchen";
it had no window and just a cold water tap on the
wall. My mother used to cook on a parafin stove
in this dark little room or in the oven on the range.
We did have electric lights.
Upstairs
there were two bedrooms, one a good size like the
livingroom but the other (my room) was triangular
in shape. Just enough room for a bed across the
wide end and a small chest; it had only a tiny window
in an alcove.
You
will notice I haven't mentioned a bathroom! The
bath was a tin one in front of the fire, filled
with the ladle can. The toilet was quite an expedition,
it was round the corner of No. 1 and into the back
gardens( I think the building is still there). It
was an earth toilet with a wooden seat, ashes were
put down the hole. At night we used a chamber pot.
The
old man at No. 5 was Mr Hewertson (Old Rob). He
worked at Natland Park farm; my dad (Bill Kitchen)
used to cut Rob's hair once a year.
No
6. was the home of the school teacher, Miss Proctor,
who taught me in the infants class at Natland old
school.
Dora
has promised more tales of growing up in Natland. We
look forward to them.
The
right hand photo above shows the Green in 1962 after the
crossroad had
been seeded. The old School can be seen to the
left of the Church.
Can you identify the children playing
on the Green?
Editor,
20th October 2008
From the Scrapbook
#06:
Natland
Sports Day
Dora
Bianchi sent Natland.info this picture of
the prizewinners at Natland Sports, circa 1947. The
picture was taken in the field where St Mark's School
now stands. Dora remembers the line up as:
Back
row from the left: Bill Brown, Dorothy Slater, Sonia
Swainbank, Geraldine Sharpe, Richard Swainbank
Seated
from the left: George Nicholson, Peter Humber,
Lady in hat with Roger or Stephen Sharpe on her knee,
Canon Miller, Phyllis Sennick, Dora Kitchen
Dora
adds "I was dressed as a Russian girl. My mother
put dolly blue on my wellies. The lady in the
hat might be Mrs Keesey or Mrs Maples."
Can
you confirm the identity of the lady in the hat? Or
do you know what has happened to any of the others in
the picture? Or do you have a story about Natland
Sports? Why
not tell us about it?
Editor,
1st November 2008
From the Scrapbook
#07:
Natland in the War
Dora Bianchi, formerly
Dora Kitchen, who lived in Natland from 1936 - 1957,
continues her reminiscences of life in Natland.
Dora
plus a pre-war
photo of her with her
mother and Raymond Elvey who lived at Compton House.
My dad was called up in 1940.
He bought our first
wireless (radio) before he went. I think the first thing
I remember hearing was the story of the Three Little
Pigs.
I became a great fan of Children's Hour with Uncle
Mac reading stories. I can still hear the voices of
Larry the Lamb, Dennis the Dachshund and the Policeman.
Another favourite was the Romany Stories.
The war didn't seem to come to Natland really, except
for my dad being away.
As a child, I didn't notice a
lack of food. We kept hens so had plenty of eggs. We
got fruit and vegetables from Natland Park farm; my
mother worked there, helping Mrs Kendall in the house.
We could buy sweets from the post office, they sold
"Lucky bags" 3 old pence each. The sweets
were a bit sticky but we enjoyed them, we also
used to eat OXO cubes which we bought for a penny.
Once during the war, my dad was passing on the main
road in a convoy and his officer let him call on us.
He brought a box of sweets which had been issued to
his tank crew.
Natland school got some hot chocolate powder sent
from the American army. We all had to take a jar or
a paper bag to school and were all given a share of
it. We didn't know what to do with it, I think most
of us ate it by licking our finger and dipping it in
the powder.
We had lots of evacuee children at school.
They lived
at St Marks Home. Most came from Cullercoats; we found
them very rough and noisy. They seemed to be always
in trouble at school. I don't suppose we were very nice
to them, resenting their towny ways. I remember there
was a lady evacuee living at the vicarage; she had a
baby in a pram. The vicar (who shall remain nameless)
wouldn't let her stay in during the day, she had to
walk the roads whatever the weather. My mother sometimes
asked her into our house when it was wet. My mother
once took the coat off me and gave to her for her baby.
German prisoners used to work on several of the local
farms. They walked from Kendal every day. They came
on their own with no guards. I suppose they didn't want
to escape; it was better than fighting! They wore brown
uniforms with POW on the back. We used to walk along
with them and talk to them; they were very pleasant
and friendly.
It's strange but I don't remember any Victory parties
but I am sure there must have been something, perhaps
some one else can tell us about them?
Dora
Bianchi, 23rd November 2008
From the Scrapbook
#08:
School
Days at St Mark's
Dora Bianchi, formerly
Dora Kitchen, who lived in Natland from 1936 - 1957,
continues her reminiscences of life in Natland in
the 1940s.
My
school day memories start with me standing at the school
railings (taken later for the war effort) shouting "Come
and get me" to my mother whom I could see across
the green, working about the house. The school room
(infants) had a large black cast iron stove, which used
to glow red hot. The teacher, Miss Procter, made cocoa
on it for the children who brought their dinners,this
was before the school canteen. Miss Procter gave us
a chalk and a slate to write on; we sat in little wooden
chairs and a table in front of us. Another thing we
did was thread beads onto shoe laces, rather a waste
of time as we had to unthread ready for next time.
I
loved school as I got older; I sat my 11 plus and passed
but decided not to go to the High School, you had a
choice in those days.
I
can remember one of the classrooms being made into a
kitchen, so we could have school dinners. The meals
were cooked by Mrs Simkiss and other ladies helped.
The meals were very good and plenty of them. Meals were
cooked at Natland for Crosscrake School; these were
taken in big metal boxes by Mr Broadbent from the Post
Office; he had a van.
We
used to go for walks from school to Helm. We collected
leaves and flowers on the way back. These were for the
nature table. The school won a prize at Kendal
show for a display of Autumn berries and fruit.
We
used to collect rosehips during the war, for making
rose hip syrup for babies. We got three pennies for
every pound we collected,from the govenment.If you collected
10 lb you got a badge.
One
family who came to school were the Wightman family,
they farmed at Prizet. The boys sometimes rode down
Hawes Lane on a donkey. The donkey was put in the field
at Natland Hall while the boys were at school and collected
at home time.
We
always had a concert and party at Christmas at school.
The mothers of the children helped at the party tea,
we had games afterwards.
In
summer we had sports day with races and a fancy dress.
We all got a bag with our tea in it.
The
school had a garden, behind the school house in Natland
Park field. The older children used to do the gardening.
We had all sorts of vegetables and potatoes and also
raspberries and strawberries.
I
really enjoyed my school days and learnt a lot. I never
regretted not going on to the High School.
Dora
Bianchi, 1st December 2008
This
is a photograph of the pupils of St Mark's School, Natland,
possibly
in 1948. In those days children who did not go to the
High or Grammar schools stayed on at the village school.
Dora
remembers the names of many of the people in the photograph but not
all.
Can you help identify those marked "?"
?
Click on the photo for an enlargement.
Back
row: ?, ?, ?, Peter Sennick, Tom Dixon, Ronnie Holmes,
?, ?, ?, Reginald Capps, George Holmes, Billy Stobart,
Richard Hall
4th
row: Mr Inglesfield, ?, Sidney Appleton, Ronnie
Bell, John Mansfield,
Margaret
Copeland, Elizabeth Dixon, Dorothy Slater, Glynis
Atkinson, Betty
Kirk, Joseph
Wilkins,
?, Peter Kirk, Geof Wightman, Mr Collett
3rd
row: Phyllis Sennick, Margaret Croft, Alan Brown, Edith
Kirk, Hamish Thew, Peter Humber, ?, John Holmes, Brian
Nicholson,
?, ?, Dorothy Cottam, Miss Dale
2nd
row: Dora Kitchen,?, Derek Wightman, ?, Judith Kendall, ?, ?, ?,
?, Kathy Wilson
Front
row: Geraldine Sharpe, ?, ?, Bill
Brown, Robert Dodgson, Margaret
Kirk, ?, ?, ?, David
"Spud" Tatham,?
Dora
added that she would be very interested to hear if anyone
out there can fill any of her gaps. She found
it quite sad as she was writing those names as there
are so many of them that she knows to have died.
Afternote:
Subsequently Brian Noholson has been identified on the
photo which suggests it must have been taken in 1948
at the earliest.
Alan
Brown added several more identities, shown in green
From the Scrapbook
#09:
Park
Close Houses
In
From
the Scrapbook
#05:
Church
View and the Crossroad on the Green,
Dora
Bianchi talked about moving into Park
Close in 1948.
Brian
Nicholson has subsequently provided Natland.info
with more
information about the building of these houses and their
original occupants.
These council houses were built just after
the war in 1947. Originally only 8 houses were built. The semi-detached houses at each end of the row were built as
soon as the first 8 houses were occupied.
Park
Close circa 1950
My parents
moved into number 7 in November 1947 with three children
and eventually having four children.
to bring up there. When the other end houses were finished
and occupied the council had to re-number the row and
our house became number 9.The postman must have been
confused until he knew everybody's name!
The
original occupants were:
|
1
|
Gilbert
& Edna Brown
|
|
2
|
Mr
& Mrs Hodgson
|
|
3
|
Mr
& Mrs Jury
|
|
4
|
Mr
& Mrs T Dixon
|
|
5
|
Pearson
& Margaret
Charnley
|
|
6
|
Mr
& Mrs Jack Sharpe
|
|
7
|
Mr
& Mrs Bill Kitchen
|
|
8
|
Mr
& Mrs Tom Smith
|
|
9
|
Albert
& Joyce Nicholson
|
|
10
|
Joe
& Gerty Armer
|
|
11
|
Mr
& Mrs R Bindloss
|
|
12
|
Mr
& Mrs Ball
|
Brian
Nicholson, 28th December 2008
From
the Scrapbook #10
Queen
Meets Natland Brownies
This
picture comes from Daphne Lestor's scrapbook and is
from The
Westmorland Gazette
in May 1974. The caption read: "The lucky Brownies
of Natland as the Queen stops for a few words with them."
Reproduced
with kind permission of The
Westmorland Gazette.
Can
you identify any of the Natlanders in the picture?
Editor, 16th January 2009
From
the Scrapbook #11
Growing
Up In Natland
Another instalment from Dora Bianchi, formerly Dora Kitchen, who lived in Natland from
1936 to 1957.
Opposite
3 Church View, where I lived until I was 12, is Compton
House. Mrs Cook lived there with several cats and a
little dog called Lindy. When it was Christmas or my
birthday Mrs Cook would let me choose a book from a
large tin trunk, kept upstairs. I think they must have
been her books as a child. They were very old fashioned
books but, as I loved reading, I got lots of pleasure
from them. They were very morbid stories about poor
children dying of some illness or another, I can't remember
any of the titles. After tea. my mother, myself
and Mrs Cook and Lindy went a walk; we gathered sticks
for the fire next day.
|
I
used to play with Holmes boys, who lived
next door; Ronnie, George, Bryan and John.
I
suppose there were about eight or nine children
of my age. I remember John Bellas, Margaret
Bellas and David Tatham.
We
played all sorts of games and were never
bored. We played Tin Can Tommy, Hide and
Seek, Cuckoo Rounders, Cricket and Hop Scotch.
We
also went for long walks, sometimes nearly
all day; nobody bothered us.
|
The
Holmes boys
|
Another
thing we did, I can't for the life of me see why now,
was collect car numbers. We would buy a new notebook
and pencil from the shop. We walked up Hawes Lane to
the main road and sat on the side of the road writing
every car number down. Of course, there were very few
cars so we never filled our notebooks. It is awful to
think now how times have changed; children can't wander
like we did.
In
winter we went sledging at Cracalt We always got
snow. We use to borrow a large sledge from the
house next to the smithy. It was a very good sledge
going down hill but nobody wanted to pull it up again.
We also used to slide on the frozen pond behind Holmes
gardens.
|
Natland
Village Green with crossroads
|
Every
summer weekend lots of families from Natland
and Oxenholme used to walk down Hawes Lane
to Hawes Bridge and then along the fields
to the river. We took food for the day and
old tyre inner tubes blown up. We all had
great fun in the river.
We
all had bikes (second or third hand) and
used to ride around the village green, which
had crossroads then.
Dora
Bianchi, 17th January 2009
|
From
the Scrapbook #12
Women's Institute
1965 Success
We
return to Daphne Lester's scrapbook and this photograph
of Natland & Oxenholme Women's Institute's success in singing at
the 1965 Mary Wakefield Music Festival.
With
a little help from her friends, Daphne
has identified all the people in the
picture.
1:
Annie Johnson;
2: Audrey Ireland; 3: Kate Foss; 4: Clare Ball
5:
Marion Wood; 6: Norma Hewertson; 7: Wendy Balmer
8:
Mabel Smith; 9: Kath Robinson: 10: Daphne Lester;
11:
Jean Cheeseman; 12: Dorothy Tyson
Editor,
24th January 2009
From
the Scrapbook #13
Childhood
Games
Dora Bianchi continues her tales of life as a child in Natland
in the 1940s.
|
Every spring we walked to the woods near Sedgwick
Gunpowder works.
We went for the Snowdrops and
Wild Daffodils; you could pick wild flowers then. We
can't have done any harm because even now there are carpets
of Snowdrops and Daffodils in spring.
The
farmers used to bring their full milk kits to the milk
stand at Natland Hall every morning and collect the
empty ones.
We sometimes got a ride in the trailer,
to one of the farms and then walked back.
We
used to play in the barn at Natland Hall; the hay was
loose then and we had great fun playing in it.
We
also used visit the smithy, the smith came three days
a week to shoe any horses that needed it.
I can
still remember the smell of a hot shoe being put on
the horses hoof.
It was marvellous to watch the smith
make a shoe from a straight piece of metal.
|
A
very young Dora on the Green
|
There were people we called tramps; men and women
who tramped the roads doing odd jobs and begging for
food. They seemed to come the same time every year. I
suppose they had a route and knew which households would
feed them. There was an old lady, she had an old fashioned
babies pram with all her worldly goods in it. Dodgsons
at Natland Hall allowed her to sleep in the barn.
Most
of the tramps were polite and my mother would fill their
"billy cans" with tea and give them bread and
jam or cheese. The farmers sometimes gave them odd jobs
to do in return for a meal and sleeping in the barn.
No social secruity in those days.
Harvest time was exciting; we used to go and watch
the thresher; a traction engine drove the threshing
machine. All the farmers came to help each other while
the thresher went round all the different farms.
Front: Geoff Scott(?),
Ernest Ireland, Margery Armer, Geraldine
Sharpe, Dora Kitchen
Back: Jeff
George, Brian Holmes , ???
Every
autumn we went "conkering". We collected
baskets full; I don't know why we needed so many! The
girls didn't play conkers; the boys used to bake or
soak their conkers to make them extra hard. The girls
threaded them onto string for a necklace. We also made
doll's chairs: pins were pushed into the conker for
legs and then four pins in the top and wool woven in
and out to make a chair back. We also collected
acorns and made men with matches for legs and arms.
At
Halloween we made turnip lanterns. We ate a lot of the
turnip we carved out, giving ourselves tummy ache! We
put a candle inside. We also put a tin lid on
top and fried slices of potato, I am sure they tasted
awful!!!
|
Dorothy Cottam,
Kathleen Wilson, Dora Kitchen & Phyllis Sennick in the school yard
|
We
had bonfire on the green, near the hawthorn tree; this
was after the war. We used to borrow Mr Holmes'
trailer and pull it around the village collecting bonfire
stuff.
We roasted potatoes in the fire. We
ate them with great enjoyment; they must have tasted
awful as the fire was lit with old oil and tyres were
also burnt.
None of us had fireworks but Margaret Dobson
always had a box full and we enjoyed watching hers.
|
I
don't know if I should tell you this, we used to play
at the canal; it had water in then. We floated
on boards; how we didn't fall in and drown I don't know!
None of us could swim much. Barges were used to repair
the clay in the bottom of the canal. When the workmen
had gone home we used to untie the barge and push it
along with poles. Once we got it stuck cross-ways of
the canal. It took us ages to get it back to where
it had been tied up. We didn't do it again after that
fright.
Dora
Bianchi, 14th February 2009
Afternote
Regarding
the boy on the photo named as Geoff Scott(?), I am not
sure this was his name, I think he may have been an evacuee
who lived up Oxenholme Lane in this first house after
the school. This was lived by Mr ans Mrs Jack Howson,
if I have got the right person. I think they adopted
him. We used call Oxenholme Lane Bindloss Lane; Mr Bob
Bindloss use to the farm at the bottom of the hill.
I hope you get some people writing in with more
memories.
The
small boy marked "???" might be Alan Robson.
Dora
Bianchi, 18th February 2009
From
the Scrapbook #14
The
Killing of a Pig
These
days animals leave the farm and meat appears in the
shops with the general population giving little thought
to what happens inbetween. We are shielded from
the sights, smells and sounds of slaughter. It
was not always so. Sixty years ago the killing
of a pig was, for Natland schoolchildren at least, an
exciting though rather bloodthirsty event.
|
Dora (Kitchen)
Binchi and Alan Brown recall that
the pig wasn't sent to a slaughter house but was taken
the barn (later to become George Holmes'
joinery workshop and now converted to a dwelling) at
the back of the old school on the village green
The pig was walked through the village
to the barn
. It squealed all the way, as if it knew what was going to happen. This squealing was
a signal for all the children at the school to go to watch.
|
The
Old School Buildings
|
The
pig was killed by having its throat slit. This
used to be done by a Mr Addison and subsequently
by Eddie Kendal of Natland Park.
Afterwards
the boys would ask for the pig's bladder which they
would use as a football. Miss Procter, one
of the teachers, would also see what parts of the pig
she could take home.
It
might sound awful by present day standards but the children
didn't think anything
about it. It was just part of village life.
Editor,
19th April 2009
From
the Scrapbook #15
Maurice
Collett's Class
Maurice
Collett, former teacher at St Mark's School, has passed
Natland.info this photograph of his class taken on the
village green in the early 1950s.
The
children are believed to be:
Back Row: David
Wightman, Robin Petty, Nigel Jeffries, Michael Trotter,
Alan Dison,
Brian Nicholson, David Saul, Philip
Ball
Middle
Row: Margery ???, Geraldine Sharpe, Judith
Kendal, Pauline Simpkis,
Edith Kirk, Margaret Croft,
Margaret Kirk
Front
Row: David Tatham, Billy Brown, Robert Target
Do
you agree and can you date the picture?
Editor,
2nd May 2009
From
the Scrapbook #16
More
W.I. Singing Success
Do
you remember Scrapbook
#12
featuring the Women's Institute's Choir's success
in 1965?
We
return now to Daphne Lester's memorabilia
for the further success of Natland
& Oxenholme W.I. had further successes at the 1967
Mary Wakefield Music Festival.
The Westmorland
Gazette of 26th May reported that
The
two-part test piece "The sorrows of my heart"
by Boyce provided some of the most interesting singing
of the morning. [The winners] Natland and Oxenholme
gave an evenly-balanced and well-blended interpretation.
The
test piece for the three-part class was a setting of
"Sweet and low" by Malcolm Williamson. Natland
and Oxenholme were winners, with a performance which
Mr Bunney said had gentleness and in cradle song style.
Natland
and Oxenholme also came second in the unison class for
larger choirs and third in the mixed voice choir category.
Here
are the winning choristers.
Can you name them?
Here
is Daphne's recollection:
|
1:
Mabel Smith
5: Eva Hewertson
9: Lavinia Swainbank
13:
Clare Ball
|
2: Mrs
Clegg
6: ???
10: Annie Johnson
14: Wendy Balmer
|
3: Daphne Lester
7: Audrey Ireland
11: ? Roscoe
15: ?
Holmes
|
4: Kate Foss
8: Kathleen Robinson
12:
Norma Hewertson
16: Dorothy
Tyson
|
If
you can identify No 6 or the missing first names, please let Natland.info
know.
Editor,
5th May 2009
From
the Scrapbook #17:
The
Sack Race
Back
to Alan Brown's schooldays and here he
is taking the sack race by storm during Natland
School's sports day!
Editor,
16th May 2009
From
the Scrapbook #18:
The
Punch and Judy Show
Compare
these two pictures. The first was passed to Natland.info
by Alan Brown, the second by David
"Spud" Tatham. Both are taken at
Natland School Sports Day in the early 1950s.
The
first shows the children watching a Punch and Judy show.
Initially,
I thought the second picture was of the same event but
on closer inspection (click on the photos for an enlargement)
I am inclined to think that it was not the same year.
What
do you think?
In
the first, Sam Inglesfield can be seen
to the left, carrying a little boy and in front of him,
wearing a hat, is the Reverend Marrs.
Can
you identify anyone in the photographs?
Editor,
19th June 2009
From
the Scrapbook #19:
The
School Garden
St
Mark's School used to have its own garden. Here
we have a photo from David Tatham's scrapbook showing
Pauline Simkiss, ? Dixon and Judith Kendal hard at work.
Editor,
1st July 2009
From
the Scrapbook #20:
The
PT Lesson
Standing
smarkly to attention are two boys from St
Mark's School, waiting their turn to summersault over
the box. Note the "short back and sides"
haircuts! Can you identify anyone in this photo
from David Tatham's scrapbook?
Editor,
21st August 2009
From
the Scrapbook #21:
Two Natland Postmistresses
Ruth
Booth from Stoke on Trent recently contacted Natland.info
with some photographs of the village taken many years
ago.
She
knew that her grandmother, Miss Shepherd,
ran the Village Post Office and Shop until about 1944
when she moved to Rodley.
Ruth's
father, Derek Shepherd, was born in 1924
and joined the Merchant Navy when he left Natland. He
married her mother in 1948.
|
Miss
Shepherd
|
Natland
Post Office
|
|
Natland
cricketers
|
Dipping
into Whin Inglesfield's book
Natland and Oxenholme- The story of a Westmorland village,
we discovered that, in fact, Ruth's great-grandmother
had run the shop from shortly after the
First World War to 1932 when her daughter
took over as Postmistress, a position she
retained until 1944.
Shown
here is
- a
portrait of Miss Shepherd
- the
Village Shop in the early 1950s
- a
group of young Natland cricketers including
her father, front left, other children
unknown, circa 1936
- a
group of children posing on the Village
Green with donkeys, ponies and a trap.
Unfortunately
Ruth has no knowledge of the event,
the date or the people in the photograph.
Can
you help identify anyone? Click on
any photo for an enlargement.
|
Who,
What, Why and When?
Editor,
25th September 2009
Afternote:
Dora Bianchi told Natland.info
that the girl holding the pony is Jennifer Temple,
daughter of a Kendal Solicitor who lived in the big
house opposite Oxenholme Station. She added that they always had
horses - there used to be two stone winged horses on the gateposts of the house
but someone stole them. She thinks the boy on the left sat on the donkey
could be one of the Wightman boys.
Anthony
George added:
My
wife and I have looked at the photo with the children
and horses and we think the boy on the donkey behind
Jeniffer Temple could be my late father Jeffrey George.
The
photo is right opposite our former home Lea Green, which
was built on land purchased from the Swindlehurst family
in 1930. The cost of buying the land plus building the
house was a total of £506/ 9s.
From
the Scrapbook #22
Natland:
a Post-War View
In
response to the request for old photos of Natland,
Michael Duff sent in this picture.
|
If
you look closely, you can see that only
eight of the twelve houses at Park
Close existed.
Judging
by Brian Nicholson's contribution From the Scrapbook #09: Park Close Houses,
it would seem, therefore, that the photograph
was taken in the late 1940s.
It
is interesting to see all the empty space
that is now filled by more modern housing.
|
Park
Close, Natland
|
Editor,
12th October 2009
From
the Scrapbook #23
Early
Memories by Brian Nicholson
|
I
lived at Barrows Green with my mother and my grandparents
Joe and Elsie Farrer who kept the shop where I was
born in
1940.
The shop and cottage next door were demolished
in the 1950s
to widen the A65 road.
An
article subsequently appeared in the Westmorland Gazette with
photos showing the road before
and after the widening.
Wartime
memories include convoys of tanks and armoured vehicles
heading north and planes flying overhead. I don't know
whether they were English or German!
|
The
shop at Barrows Green before A65 wdened
Reproduced
with the kind permission of
The
Westmorland Gazette
|
I can remember
seeing searchlights on clear nights, probably over Barrow.
Finally, V.E day when everyone hung flags out of their
windows. The Punch Bowl Inn seemed to have more than
anyone else.
|
Brian
Nicholson on the A65
|
Joyce
& Albert Nicholson outside the shop
|
I remember going for walks and picnics
on Helm but cannot remember much about Natland. I cannot
remember seeing my father much until he came home from
the war in India and Burma. When he finally arrived
home in the middle of the night, he threw pebbles at
the bedroom window to wake us up. I remember him
putting his Chindit regiment hat on my head. I
used to wear it a lot!
|
I started school at Crosscrake
in 1945 and my mother used to take me on the back of
her bike down the A65 or I would walk down the lane
past Dr Banardos with other children by ourselves.
My
grandfather was a signalman on the railways so when
he was moved to Lancaster we all left the shop and my
parents, sister Pauline (born 1946) and I went to live at Park End
Cottage, Brigsteer with our other grandparents.
I
went to Helsington School for a while until we got a
house at Park Close, Natland in 1947.
I then
attended the old St Mark's
school in Natland before going to Kendal Grammar School. I
enjoyed village life in Natland, spending many hours
fishing on the canal or collecting birds' eggs from
the fields and woods around Natland.
I lived on Park
Close until 1962 when I got married.
|
Brian's
St Mark's School photograph
|
|
Brian
in his running gear
|
I
spent all my working life of 41 years at James Croppers
as an engineer until I retired in 1997.
I
still live in Kendal but spend most of my time at my
static caravan holiday home at Silloth on Solway.
When
I am at home, I still run or cycle through Natland and
often think I probably knew everybody who lived at every
house in Natland.
Happy
memories of a wonderful village.
Brian Nicholson,
December 2009
|
From
the Scrapbook #24
Natland:
a Post-War View 2
At
first sight, you would be forgiven for thinking that
this picture from Barry Charnley was the same photo
as shown in Scrapbook
#22.
But
if you look very closely at the bridge on Hawes Lane,
you will see that a train has miraculously appeared
on the line!
Editor,
17th December 2009
From
the Scrapbook #25
A
Five O'Clock Chat
|
Thanks
to Barry Charnley for this R. A. P. Company
postcard sent from Crow Park, Natland on
30th September 1947.
On
the right hand side, having a 5 p.m. chat,
are Mary Holmes, with young Ronnie in her
arms, and, on her bicycle,
Barry's mother, Margaret. Who the lady
between them is, we don't know. Can
you help?
The
van, JM993, is from KCS Ltd- presumably Kendal
Co-operative Society.
Note
that Oxenholme Lane is prohibited to Locomotives,
Heavy Goods Cars and All Motor Vehicles
carrying more that 18 Persons.
At
least I think that is what it says!
|
The
5 p.m. chat
|
You
also get a good view of the old Wellingtonia
that was felled in 2005
Editor,
26th December 2009
From
the Scrapbook #26
Natland Flower Show 1950s
Barry
Charnley passed Natland.info these pictures of the Natland
Flower Show sometime in the 1950s. The flower
show was held in the old school building on the Village
Green. In the background you can see a Vicarage
window.
The
tall, distinguished gentleman towards the left is Colonel
Crewdson. To his left are Molly Croft, Dick Armer,
Mrs Crewdson, Jim Frearson, Pearson Charnley, Ann Charnley,
Dick Holmes, Margaret Charnley, two unknowns, Mrs Frearson
and Mrs Ewan. Barry appears in the photo in the bottom
left hand corner.
Afternote
from Angela Thackray:
The lady standing beside Mrs Ewan and
in front of Mrs Frearson is my mother Mrs. Clare Ball.
My mother and Mrs Frearson were great friends and very
active in the WI. My mother, in particular, was a qualified
WI produce judge and was often called to act as a judge
across Westmorland. She was on the Flower Show committee
for some years and always had a number of entries in
the show.
Judging
by Colonel Crewdon's clothes, the photo below is of
the same event. The picture was taken inside the
old school.
Pictures
reproduced
with the kind permission of The
Westmorland Gazette
From
the Scrapbook #27
Another 1950s Natland Flower Show
Reproduced
with the kind permission of The
Westmorland Gazette
This
picture (thanks again to Barry Charnley
for bringing it to our attention)
was taken two or three years later than From
the Scrapbook #26
judging by how much older Ann Charnley
(middle) appears to be. On the left is Mrs Frearson
and the on the right is Mrs Baron.
The man in the middle is Hubert Williams.
Can you identify the other ladies?
We
are still trying to track down a copy of the booklet
Hubert produced
on the history of Natland Mill Beck Lane
so if you have a copy or know
where one could be found, please contact Natland.info.
Editor,
15th January 2010
From
the Scrapbook #28
School Trip to Where?
Both
Dora Bianchi and Barry Charnley
sent Natland.info copies of this picture. They,
in turn, had received it from Barry Evans
who had obtained it from Ronnie Holmes!
It
records a St Mark's School trip,
sometime in the 1950s. At the front left of the
photo is Dora's mother, Fanny. Prominent in the
foreground, slightly left of centre is Alice George.
Behind her, at the back in the light coat is Joyce Ormerod
and to her left, Mary Dixon. The lady holding
the baby, Mark, is Mrs Bindloss.
Unfortnately,
no one so far has been able to identify where the picture
was taken. It is thought that it might be on Windermere.
Can anyone help?
Editor,
19th January 2010
My
initial response is that the picture is on Windermere
and I recognised two of the ladies in it. At bottom
right, I am sure, is Mrs Veda Brimacombe who lived at
the top of Helm Lane with her husband, Fred, and their
two daughters, Cherilyn and Vanessa.
Slightly
to her right is Mrs Nicholson who came from Tebay to
Oxenholme with her sons Alan, Brian and Barry.
I think there was a sister... Catherine?
Steve
Sharpe, 27th April 2010
From
the Scrapbook #29
The Oxenholme Sheds
One
here from Billy Moffat's collection for followers of
the Scapbook
and of Steam
alike: Stanier tank engine 42464
leaving the sheds at Oxenholme.
42464
is known to have been based at Oxenholme in 1948 when
the railways were nationalised. It was based at
Newton Heath in 1965 when it was withdrawn from service
and subsequently scrapped.
Editor,
25th January 2010
From
the Scrapbook #30
Farewell
To The Old School
Several
of the Scrapbook
items make reference to the old St Mark's
School, located on the Village Green next to
the Church. Following the opening of the new school
in Oxenholme Lane, it was demolished in May 1969.
|
The
old school.....
|
.....going....
|
.....gone!
Thanks
to Daphne Lester and The
Westmorland Gazette
for permission to reproduce the photographs.
George
Wenman subseqeuently added:
In
the photo of The Old School, I can recognise
the window which the Head Teacher flung wide open so
that my singing of a Christmas Carol (in the run up
to Xmas 1945) could be heard outside the school.
George
Wenman, 26th February 2010
From
The Scrapbook #31
Two
Natland Postmasters
In
Scrapbook #21
we met two Natland Postmistresses from before the war.
Here, thanks to Daphne Lester, we
can meet two Natland Postmasters from the 1960s. Pictured
left, in 1968 is Mr Howarth with his wife
and son, whilst on the right is Mr Bradby
with his wife in 1969.
|
The
Howarths 1968
|
The
Bradbys 1969
|
Editor, 17th February 2010
From
The Scrapbook #32
The
Morris Dancers
|
We return to Daphne Lester's
Scrapbook.
It
is July 1968.
The
Morris Dancers appear in Natland, performing
by the Village Green.
Two
ladies lean on a garden wall, amused by
the display.
Christine
Moore informed Natland.info that
the lady on the left was Kitty Mansfield from Oxenholme.
Can
anyone identify her friend?
Let
Natland.info know if you know her name.
|
|
Editor,
11th March 2010
From
the Scrapbook #33
The
Phantom Oval
|
This
aeriel photo supplied by Billy Moffat shows the top of Hawes Lane, Natland, circa
1969.
But what is the cause of that oval shaped
mark clearly visible behind his yard at Ashfield?
Roman
Fort?
Running track?
Any ideas?
Click on
the photo for an enlargement.
|
|
Editor,
18th March 2010
The Phantom Oval Explained?
John
Inglesfield, having consulted his
mother, Whin, responded:
As
the Natland Village Sports (not the
School Sports) were held at some stage on
Natland Hall fields, the oval is surely
a running track of some description - but
what sort of track, when was it made, and
how is it still visible in 1969?
Evidence
that the sports were held in the field next to Billy
Moffat's
may come from the enamelled "Gents" sign dug
up by Whin in our garden when we lived down Hawes Lane.
In our time, the sports were held at Natland Park, becoming
defunct in the 1950s.
Anthony
George was able to provide an explanation as
to why the track was still visible in 1969. He told Natland.info:
Around
the time of the picture, there was a group of youths
who regularly used the fields shown. We rode our dirt
track bicycles and motorcycles around the fields. The
group included Andrew and Mark Bindloss, Andrew Atkinson,
Christopher Inglesfield, Steven and Roger Holmes and
many more.
The
problem with that explanation is that the track does
not look particularly worn. Another possibility, which
is not inconsistent with either of the above, is that
a drought exposed a scar in the land caused by its earlier
use as a track.
Editor, 22nd
March 2010
From
the Scrapbook #34
St
Mark's Parish Magazine: 1898
The
earliest edition of St Mark's Parish Magazine
that we have discovered is that from May 1898. Below,
you can read the headlines.
Thanks
to Billy Moffat for providing the original.
|
No.
5 May 1898
Price
One Penny
- Easter
in Church
- The
School
- The
Doctor's Daughter:
A Story of Real
Life
by
Mary Hancock
- God's
Spotless Messengers
- A
Morning Prayer for the Little Ones
- Ascension
Day and Whitsun-tide
by the
Rev. C Pickering Clarke M.A.
- Glimpses
of Modern Church History: The Reformation
in Switzerland
by the Rev.
Henry Gee B.D. F.S.A.
- Clerical
Incomes: The Unbroken Continuity of
the Church's Property
by the
Rev. H Granville Dickson M.A.
- The
Ancient Cities of Refuge
by Wood
Smith
- Our
Literary Competition
- A
Chat with the Girls
by May
Cochrane
- Our
English Butterflies
by the
Rev. B G Johns M.A.
- The
Ascension of Our Lord
- Hints
on Indigestion
by a Physician
- Saints'
Days
by the Rev. Henry Greene
M.A.
- Gardening
Notes May
- Rogation
Days: Why They Are Kept
- Kitchen
Notes: On Steaming
by Dora
de Blaquiere
- Home
Chat: The Management of Lamps
- Our
Bible Questions for May and Answers
for February
- The
Children's Page
|
|
From
the Scrapbook #35
The
Old Village Green
Yvonne
Rowan Robinson recently passed these photos
to Natland.info. They had belonged to Miss
Broadbent and were obviously taken before the
roads crossing the green were removed (circa 1960- see
Scrapbook
#05).
What
caused the two circular marks on the green? Bonfires?
Can anyone solve the mystery? Click on the
photos for an enlargement.
Editor,
1st December 2010
For
more pictures and tales
of old Natland, see
Scrapbook
2
E-mail addresses on this web site are protected
by
Spam Trawlers will be further frustrated
by
Spam Blocker:
help fight spam e-mail! |
