Jottings From The Past - Tom Dorrell
My parents were born in the late 1800's - both were members of fairly large families - Father was one of 6 children while Mother was one of 8. Both families gained their livelihood from what was then the main industry - agriculture. My paternal grandfather was a general farm labourer - though not all of his life had been spent working on the land. Born about mid-19th century, he had, in his early years, developed a thirst for wondering and had travelled in "steerage" to America, where in the Carolinas he spent some time working on railway construction. However, he returned to his native land and settled in a small cottage at Kings Ash, having married a local girl from nearby Swan Bottom.
My parents were born in the late 1800's - both were members of fairly large families - Father was one of 6 children while Mother was one of 8. Both families gained their livelihood from what was then the main industry - agriculture. My paternal grandfather was a general farm labourer - though not all of his life had been spent working on the land. Born about mid-19th century, he had, in his early years, developed a thirst for wondering and had travelled in "steerage" to America, where in the Carolinas he spent some time working on railway construction. However, he returned to his native land and settled in a small cottage at Kings Ash, having married a local girl from nearby Swan Bottom.
I remember little of my paternal grandmother – she died in 1921 when I was 6 yrs old. I remember her funeral however being lifted up to see her in her coffin before the lid was screwed down – the long walk from Kings Ash to the church at The Lee, following behind a black hearse drawn by plumed black horses, & the grave side ceremony & then for weeks after, wearing a black arm band as a sign of mourning.
In this cottage, which had only one living room and scullery downstairs, and two bedrooms upstairs, the family grew up. How they arranged themselves in their limited accommodation one can only guess. Of the 6 children, 4 were boys and 2 girls. This degree of overcrowding was, I imagine, a pretty normal state of affairs for the period - since cottages rarely offered much more accommodation than this family had.
In spite of the overcrowding, a small "home industry" was carried on -straw plaiting yards and yards fine straw plait, made from split wheat straws were produced, for the hat industry in Luton. These rolls of plaited straw were periodically taken to Tring, where they were sold in the market - the proceeds being used to purchase such essentials as flower, salt and sugar. The journey to Tring was made on foot, a distance by footpath, walks, and road of 7 or 8 miles, and the flour we purchased in the market had to be carried back home. It must have been a good day out!
Bread was home-made - the cottage had an inbuilt bread oven. My father's 2 sisters both went into "service" - one in London, where she married and settled the other in Hemel Hempstead, where later, she married, and with her husband established a small-holding and became relatively affluent.
Of my Father's brothers - one, inheriting his own Father's wonder lust, emigrated to Australia, but with the outbreak of World War I he enlisted with the ANZAC's, and was one of the victims of the disaster which occurred at Gallipoli. - This brother - George, was apparently the 'bright boy' of the family - I have still two school prizes awarded him in 1908 and 1909 one of which is inscribed "top boy of school." The youngest brother, after a spell of service in the post-war army, including service in India, worked as a chauffeur/gardener in the district, while the oldest of the four moved to London where he worked as an official on railways. My father was the only member of the family to follow his father to work on the land, where he was to become an expert in the many arts of husbandry.
Of Mother’s family, I am much less informed - the family originated in the north of the county - my Grandfather in Slapton (near Leighton Buzzard) and Grandmother in Soulbury (near Milton Keynes)
The mode of engagement of farm workers at this time is of some interest. Farm workers were hired by the year – the year beginning as farming years do, at Michaelmas – i.e. the yearly cycle of ploughing, planting, harvesting, finishing with “Harvest Home” in September. "Hiring Fairs" were held in most towns at this time of the year, and farm workers seeking employment, and farmers looking for employees, would gather at these fairs. Farmers would strike bargains with those employees whom they considered would be suitable, and the deal would be made sealed by a handshake.
Unmarried workers moving away from their local village, would "live in" at the farm where they were engaged - often in most primitive conditions. Female employees were engaged by the same procedure. Of course, well established workers, satisfied with their employment, and employers satisfied with their employees would not need to go through this annual hiring procedure. My Grandfather, on his first hiring, was not at all happy with his place of work and, I understand, ran away – presumably to live at home again. He would probably not have been more than 10 or 12 years old at the time! Working and living conditions must have been very hard for many of these 19th century "serfs", and the hiring and employment conditions were gradually improved by Government decree, but the "Statty" Fairs still circulate round the county towns at Michaelmas time.
My grandparents worked at the same farm in Slapton - (Church Farm - now alas, a modern housing development) - he a cow-man and she a dairy maid, but there must have been times when they were both in their own villages, since I was told of one occasion when grandfather was walking from Slapton to Soulbury to see his Isobel - tramping through thick snow, he was tracing, in the snow with a stick, not the name of his lady-love, but the word ‘FOOL’ to describe what he thought of himself for undertaking that particular journey in such bad conditions (Slapton to Soulbury must be some six miles). However the fool and his dairy-maid married and their union was fruitful – eight children surviving – four boys and four girls. Again one wonders how families of such size fitted themselves into their quite small cottages.
The upbringing of the children was, I understand, quite strict - they all had to attend church regularly - the boys sang in the church choir and were bell ringers. Later, during World War I, all four boys enlisted in the army, and the youngest died in action at Ypres. The daughters were, I believe domestically employed locally, but my mother being the eldest daughter was placed “in service” (house maid) and spent some time with a family in London. Later she was similarly employed at a country house near Wendover, and here it was that she and my father came together, & married.
In 1912, they moved into a cottage (one of a pair of semis) near Kings Ash, where my eldest brother was born, followed in 1914 by another brother, and finally, at the end of 1915, I arrived.
The cottage in which we lived (it still exists) is situated about ½ mile from Kings Ash, on the lane which runs from Kings Ash to Hunts Green, and also gives access to one other cottage and a farm. These cottages and a great deal of the surrounding area, villages and farms were part of The Lee Manor Estate. This was quite an extensive estate, purchased and developed during the Victorian era by Sir Arthur Liberty (then owner of the Regent Street Store) and he, as Squire, had introduced many good things in the area, some of which are in evidence today.
Among his beneficiaries the village of The Lee was provided with a new church, and now has the distinction of being a 2-church village. A club-room for the men of the village was built. Many acres of conifer were planted, and the estate operated its own saw-mills, providing all the fencing & timber needs for the whole estate. The Lee Manor is, alas no longer the home of the Liberty’s, and the estate has been broken up, but in my early days it was still intact and well run - and in a sort of "feudal" way, was beneficial to the local people.
The cottage we occupied, being on the Lee Manor Estate, was rented from the estate. I don't know what rent was charged when Mum & Dad took it over in 1912, but in my earlier days I remember it had risen to 3 shillings (15 pence) per week, and by the time Mum & Dad left it to move to Kings Ash, after Grandfather died, in 1940, the rent had risen to 5 shillings (25 pence) per week.
In this cottage, which had only one living room and scullery downstairs, and two bedrooms upstairs, the family grew up. How they arranged themselves in their limited accommodation one can only guess. Of the 6 children, 4 were boys and 2 girls. This degree of overcrowding was, I imagine, a pretty normal state of affairs for the period - since cottages rarely offered much more accommodation than this family had.
In spite of the overcrowding, a small "home industry" was carried on -straw plaiting yards and yards fine straw plait, made from split wheat straws were produced, for the hat industry in Luton. These rolls of plaited straw were periodically taken to Tring, where they were sold in the market - the proceeds being used to purchase such essentials as flower, salt and sugar. The journey to Tring was made on foot, a distance by footpath, walks, and road of 7 or 8 miles, and the flour we purchased in the market had to be carried back home. It must have been a good day out!
Bread was home-made - the cottage had an inbuilt bread oven. My father's 2 sisters both went into "service" - one in London, where she married and settled the other in Hemel Hempstead, where later, she married, and with her husband established a small-holding and became relatively affluent.
Of my Father's brothers - one, inheriting his own Father's wonder lust, emigrated to Australia, but with the outbreak of World War I he enlisted with the ANZAC's, and was one of the victims of the disaster which occurred at Gallipoli. - This brother - George, was apparently the 'bright boy' of the family - I have still two school prizes awarded him in 1908 and 1909 one of which is inscribed "top boy of school." The youngest brother, after a spell of service in the post-war army, including service in India, worked as a chauffeur/gardener in the district, while the oldest of the four moved to London where he worked as an official on railways. My father was the only member of the family to follow his father to work on the land, where he was to become an expert in the many arts of husbandry.
Of Mother’s family, I am much less informed - the family originated in the north of the county - my Grandfather in Slapton (near Leighton Buzzard) and Grandmother in Soulbury (near Milton Keynes)
The mode of engagement of farm workers at this time is of some interest. Farm workers were hired by the year – the year beginning as farming years do, at Michaelmas – i.e. the yearly cycle of ploughing, planting, harvesting, finishing with “Harvest Home” in September. "Hiring Fairs" were held in most towns at this time of the year, and farm workers seeking employment, and farmers looking for employees, would gather at these fairs. Farmers would strike bargains with those employees whom they considered would be suitable, and the deal would be made sealed by a handshake.
Unmarried workers moving away from their local village, would "live in" at the farm where they were engaged - often in most primitive conditions. Female employees were engaged by the same procedure. Of course, well established workers, satisfied with their employment, and employers satisfied with their employees would not need to go through this annual hiring procedure. My Grandfather, on his first hiring, was not at all happy with his place of work and, I understand, ran away – presumably to live at home again. He would probably not have been more than 10 or 12 years old at the time! Working and living conditions must have been very hard for many of these 19th century "serfs", and the hiring and employment conditions were gradually improved by Government decree, but the "Statty" Fairs still circulate round the county towns at Michaelmas time.
My grandparents worked at the same farm in Slapton - (Church Farm - now alas, a modern housing development) - he a cow-man and she a dairy maid, but there must have been times when they were both in their own villages, since I was told of one occasion when grandfather was walking from Slapton to Soulbury to see his Isobel - tramping through thick snow, he was tracing, in the snow with a stick, not the name of his lady-love, but the word ‘FOOL’ to describe what he thought of himself for undertaking that particular journey in such bad conditions (Slapton to Soulbury must be some six miles). However the fool and his dairy-maid married and their union was fruitful – eight children surviving – four boys and four girls. Again one wonders how families of such size fitted themselves into their quite small cottages.
The upbringing of the children was, I understand, quite strict - they all had to attend church regularly - the boys sang in the church choir and were bell ringers. Later, during World War I, all four boys enlisted in the army, and the youngest died in action at Ypres. The daughters were, I believe domestically employed locally, but my mother being the eldest daughter was placed “in service” (house maid) and spent some time with a family in London. Later she was similarly employed at a country house near Wendover, and here it was that she and my father came together, & married.
In 1912, they moved into a cottage (one of a pair of semis) near Kings Ash, where my eldest brother was born, followed in 1914 by another brother, and finally, at the end of 1915, I arrived.
The cottage in which we lived (it still exists) is situated about ½ mile from Kings Ash, on the lane which runs from Kings Ash to Hunts Green, and also gives access to one other cottage and a farm. These cottages and a great deal of the surrounding area, villages and farms were part of The Lee Manor Estate. This was quite an extensive estate, purchased and developed during the Victorian era by Sir Arthur Liberty (then owner of the Regent Street Store) and he, as Squire, had introduced many good things in the area, some of which are in evidence today.
Among his beneficiaries the village of The Lee was provided with a new church, and now has the distinction of being a 2-church village. A club-room for the men of the village was built. Many acres of conifer were planted, and the estate operated its own saw-mills, providing all the fencing & timber needs for the whole estate. The Lee Manor is, alas no longer the home of the Liberty’s, and the estate has been broken up, but in my early days it was still intact and well run - and in a sort of "feudal" way, was beneficial to the local people.
The cottage we occupied, being on the Lee Manor Estate, was rented from the estate. I don't know what rent was charged when Mum & Dad took it over in 1912, but in my earlier days I remember it had risen to 3 shillings (15 pence) per week, and by the time Mum & Dad left it to move to Kings Ash, after Grandfather died, in 1940, the rent had risen to 5 shillings (25 pence) per week.
Accommodation provided by our cottage was one fairly large living room and scullery downstairs while upstairs there were three bedrooms (luxury!) Floors to the downstairs rooms were quarry-tiled. Windows were small and ceilings low. The front door opened directly into the living room. Heating was provided by an open-fired cooking range, fuelled by coal or wood. This range had a side oven for roasting, while for boiling things in pots, there were "trivets" which would enable a pot to be swung over the open fire. There was also a "pot hanger" fitted up the chimney, from which a large cooking pot (boiler) could be suspended. In which we often cooked the greater part of a meal. Meat pudding, in a basin, potatoes, carrots, swedes, turnips, brussel sprouts, (contained in a string net) suet pud or jam roly poly (in a cloth) could all be cooked together. The kettle would normally be sitting on a trivet all day, keeping near to boiling. All cooking pots quickly became thickly encrusted with soot. Paraffin oil lamps and candles were the sole source of lighting. The arrival of pressure oil stoves, and improved oil lamps in the 1930s made life somewhat easier.
Rainwater provided the water supply - the run-off of rain from the roof being collected in a large underground tank situated outside the house - the tank was, I imagine, at least 8 feet deep and 6 feet in diameter - fully bricked and cement rendered - it was covered by a wooden lid. This one tank provided water for the two cottages. Water was scooped up in a bucket tied to the end of a rope. (Mains water supply didn't arrive until some years after the war (1935 – 45), and by this time Mum and Dad were at Kings Ash) there was of course no sink no drainage or sewage system as waste water was disposed of simply by pouring it back onto the earth.
Facilities for bathing were basic - heating water in pans & kettles and bathing in a zinc bath at some convenient time. The lavatory was the usual country seat - a wooden seat with bucket under. This was housed in a small outhouse. A small garden plot was attached to the cottage, this was given over exclusively to growing vegetables, though the yield was never sufficient to meet the needs of the family throughout the year. However there was always a supply of swedes, turnips, turnip tops & kale available from the farm fields. So under these somewhat grim conditions my parents struggled to raise a growing family.
During my early years my father worked on a small farm at the foot of the hill, about half a mile below our cottage (DURHAM FARM). Its fields extended close up to our cottage. I don't know what my father's weekly wage was at that time - probably 25 shillings (£1.25). During the whole of my life till I left school (1933), working on much larger farms, his basic wage was no more than 35 shillings (£1.75). There were some seasonal extras - hay time and harvest time involved overtime working. During winter months, when horses were stabled over weekends, they needed feeding and watering morning and afternoon on Sundays. Sometimes he would "stand in" for the cow man and do a Sunday milking session. Father was essentially a "horse" man but could, and did, turn his hand to any work on the farm, and was always in demand at "lambing time", which would provide him with an extra bonus.
For the last 20 odd years of his life my father worked on a fairly large farm (LITTLE LONDON FARM) where he built up quite a reputation for himself, (and the farm) with his prowess at building and thatching corn stacks - also he was very good with a team of horses and a plough. Ploughing matches (horse drawn ploughs) sponsored by local agricultural organisations, and agricultural suppliers, were an annual event - taking place in the autumn of each year, following the clearance of the harvest from the fields. Contestants, with their ploughs and their horses - with coats shining from an extra special grooming mains and tails plaited and braided, and the brasses on their harness polished to sparkling brightness, would congregate in the large flat stubble field which had been chosen as the venue for the contest. Each contestant would be allocated a section to be ploughed, and they would set to work ploughing their allotted half acre or so - drawing their furrows as straight and true as they possibly could - their courage a little strengthened by refreshments from the tent where the local brewers entertained the judges, farmers and other personalities. After the judging and prize-giving - small (relatively) money prizes and certificates and rosettes for the first three winning teams, there would of course be long discussion and argument among spectators as to who should really have won of the prizes. The rick building and thatching competition was assessed by judges visiting each farm to inspect and assess the corn stacks in the stack yards - prize winners were usually announced on ploughing match day.
Rainwater provided the water supply - the run-off of rain from the roof being collected in a large underground tank situated outside the house - the tank was, I imagine, at least 8 feet deep and 6 feet in diameter - fully bricked and cement rendered - it was covered by a wooden lid. This one tank provided water for the two cottages. Water was scooped up in a bucket tied to the end of a rope. (Mains water supply didn't arrive until some years after the war (1935 – 45), and by this time Mum and Dad were at Kings Ash) there was of course no sink no drainage or sewage system as waste water was disposed of simply by pouring it back onto the earth.
Facilities for bathing were basic - heating water in pans & kettles and bathing in a zinc bath at some convenient time. The lavatory was the usual country seat - a wooden seat with bucket under. This was housed in a small outhouse. A small garden plot was attached to the cottage, this was given over exclusively to growing vegetables, though the yield was never sufficient to meet the needs of the family throughout the year. However there was always a supply of swedes, turnips, turnip tops & kale available from the farm fields. So under these somewhat grim conditions my parents struggled to raise a growing family.
During my early years my father worked on a small farm at the foot of the hill, about half a mile below our cottage (DURHAM FARM). Its fields extended close up to our cottage. I don't know what my father's weekly wage was at that time - probably 25 shillings (£1.25). During the whole of my life till I left school (1933), working on much larger farms, his basic wage was no more than 35 shillings (£1.75). There were some seasonal extras - hay time and harvest time involved overtime working. During winter months, when horses were stabled over weekends, they needed feeding and watering morning and afternoon on Sundays. Sometimes he would "stand in" for the cow man and do a Sunday milking session. Father was essentially a "horse" man but could, and did, turn his hand to any work on the farm, and was always in demand at "lambing time", which would provide him with an extra bonus.
For the last 20 odd years of his life my father worked on a fairly large farm (LITTLE LONDON FARM) where he built up quite a reputation for himself, (and the farm) with his prowess at building and thatching corn stacks - also he was very good with a team of horses and a plough. Ploughing matches (horse drawn ploughs) sponsored by local agricultural organisations, and agricultural suppliers, were an annual event - taking place in the autumn of each year, following the clearance of the harvest from the fields. Contestants, with their ploughs and their horses - with coats shining from an extra special grooming mains and tails plaited and braided, and the brasses on their harness polished to sparkling brightness, would congregate in the large flat stubble field which had been chosen as the venue for the contest. Each contestant would be allocated a section to be ploughed, and they would set to work ploughing their allotted half acre or so - drawing their furrows as straight and true as they possibly could - their courage a little strengthened by refreshments from the tent where the local brewers entertained the judges, farmers and other personalities. After the judging and prize-giving - small (relatively) money prizes and certificates and rosettes for the first three winning teams, there would of course be long discussion and argument among spectators as to who should really have won of the prizes. The rick building and thatching competition was assessed by judges visiting each farm to inspect and assess the corn stacks in the stack yards - prize winners were usually announced on ploughing match day.
Gradually, tractor-power took over from horse-power on the farms, and though this meant a much easier life for my father, I'm sure he regretted the changes in some ways. He was now doubt happier as he grew older to be able to ride a tractor, (with some shelter against the weather,) than to walk at a steady 2 miles an hour behind a pair of plough horses for up to 8 hours a day, turning over a 9 inch wide strip of soil with a single plough share - but he preferred the softer natural sounds of horses, jingling harness, squeaks from the plough, bird cries, to the rattle, clatter and smell of the tractor. He would also observe his environment more closely - often he would spot the eggs of pheasants or Sky Larks in the path of plough or grass cutter and move them to a place of safety - near enough to be found and accepted by the birds.
Mother's upbringing and her period of life "in service" with the "gentry" had introduced her to a way of life far removed from that into which she had been born and also from that to which she returned after her marriage, and it is to her great credit that she did her best to apply the higher standards of behaviour and procedure to the management of her own household and rearing of her children. As a result of this, I feel that we had as children, a fairly strict upbringing - we were never physically beaten, but we were expected to do as we were told without question and without delay.
My remembrance of events starts from about the time of my 4th birthday. Dec 1919 – Father, who during the first years of the Great War had been exempt from service in the army on account of his work as a food producer, had finally been “called up” and was away with the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine as a private soldier in the Gloucestershire Regiment. Mother, with three young children, must have been in pretty straitened circumstances at this time, but she managed somehow, and when Father was finally demobilized in 1919 – and he was back – working on the local farm for about 25/- a week, things were very much easier.
Having reached the age of 4 years, I had to join my two brothers in going to school – school was at Lee Common, a distance by footpath and road of about 2 miles, or by road all the way – some 3 miles – We always went the footpath way, which for nearly half the journey took us round the edges of fields – mostly ploughed, and as I recall, often very muddy and wet, with long grass over hanging the narrow paths. We took packed lunches, since school dinners hadn’t at that time been dreamed of. We three boys, and two children (boy & girl) from the cottage next door left home at about 8.0 am to walk to school each day and at the end of the school day – 4.0 pm – we made the return journey. If we weren’t home by 5.0 pm we were in for a good telling off – we always came home to a full cooked meal – Father used to come in about 5.30 pm and dinner would be about ready on the table waiting for him. – Often the meal consisted of beef steak pudding, with whatever vegetables were available, and as far as I can remember, we always had a sweet course to follow. Rabbit was a fairly frequent alternative to meat pudding – they were very numerous and Father had a variety of ways of trapping them – mostly, I regret to say, by snaring them with wire snares set in their easily recognisable runs. At week-ends we always had a roast joint mostly beef but occasionally, as a special treat, it would be pork.
How Mother managed the domestic side of life is one of those mysteries which only those who have done it can explain – we were frightfully poor in terms of money and three growing boys must have eaten a lot of food and needed lots of clothing – but we were never hungry or without clothes, and always had “Sunday best” clothes and shoes – or rather “ankle boots”.
I know that from about when I was seven years of age, Mother worked as a ‘char’ for various ”well-off” people who lived locally – never less than 1 mile distant – doing 2 or 3 mornings a week. One couple she “did for” – the husband was a flying officer at Halton and often used to fly his aeroplane (Bristol Bulldog probably) in all sorts of aerobatics over his bungalow much to her excitement. He also had a real live bulldog, and several times when the family went away, we had the bulldog to stay with us. Another household she did for was that of two gentlemen friends – one was an actor – (I was too young to know that they were a ‘gay couple’) Meantime, in addition to going to work at other households Mother also had to do a certain amount of work for Grandfather at Kings Ash, since he was living on his own following the death of Grandmother in 1921, and the marriage of his youngest son, who had been living with him after leaving the army. In addition to cleaning and preparing some of his food she did all of his laundry.
And now I think it would be appropriate to talk of “washing day”, our pair of cottages shared a "wash house" - this was a small annex at the house end in which was a brick built boiler, i.e. a large copper boiler with a fire place underneath. The wash house also housed an old mangled (with big wooden rollers) and sundry galvanised washing trays, and a work table. Mrs Payne - next-door neighbour - used the wash house on Mondays, so Mother did the washing on Tuesdays. Therefore, first thing on Tuesday morning buckets of water were hauled up from the water tank and carried along to fill the copper. Kindling and coal followed - and often a shovel full of hot coals from the living room fire to get things going. Items for boiling were put in the copper - "non-boilers" were steeped in hot water in trays. All had to be scrubbed and rubbed by hand, rinsed, some "blued", some "starched", and finally pegged out to dry - weather permitting. On a good day drying was no problem, but on bad days, wet washing hung around indoors for most of the week. Then, when dry, it had to be ironed - using "flat irons" heated by standing them close up to the living room fire, and guessing when they were just hot enough to be effective.
Shopping for food was not easy. There was a small village shop In Lee Common - also a Bakery, but apart from these the nearest shops were in Wendover (2 miles by country tracks) and Great Missenden (3 miles) and all these distances had to be walked - there were no buses yet. Bread supplies didn't pose much of a problem. The Bakery in Lee Common made deliveries around the district twice each week, and though he didn't call at our cottage - the lane was not really suitable for any wheeled vehicles less robust than a farm cart - he left a regular ordered supply at Grandfather's cottage for us to collect later.
The local butcher, based near Wendover, also made local home deliveries, and though again our cottage was 'off 'the delivery round Mother used always to arrange her visit to Grandfather's cottage on "Butchers Day" so that she was on the spot to get what she needed when the Butcher’s van arrived.
For groceries we were supplied by a grocer - George Watts - who had a shop in Chesham, some 6 miles distant. He used to call once a week - Thursday afternoon - arriving in a horse and trap - bringing with him the goods Mother had ordered the previous week. He would set all the items on the kitchen table, ticking them off against the actual order in his book, then up-ending the wooden box which had contained the items he would sit on it and take down at Mother's dictation the list of supplies she needed for next week. I don't know how many other houses he visited on his round, but there must have been several to make his journey worth-while since Mother's order rarely exceeded 15/- (75p) in value.
Mr Watts eventually stopped calling - perhaps he just grew too old to face the journeys in all weathers, or perhaps his pony died, but after Mr Watts, we were supplied with goods from a small shop at Lee Common - (Mr Lewington) He had moved with the times and delivered his goods by motor car - using a very early TROJAN, with solid tyres and chain drive - which somehow managed to cope with our lane and its pot-holes.
Supplies of paraffin for lighting and supplementary heating were brought round on a weekly basis by a rather old character from Wendover. He came with a horse drawn cart, a tank of paraffin fixed to the back from which he would dispense oil into whatever containers we provided. He also had other household items, candles, soap, starch, pot-mender and so on - and he would always accept rabbit skins, for which, in good times he would give as much as 1/- (5p) each so occasionally our supply of oil, matches, blue-bags etc would be bartered for rabbit skins.
There was one other regular caller - who came only twice each year - the "pack-man" dealing with haberdashery. He came on foot of course. He would come into the house, unrole his pack, and Mother would replenish her supplies of needles pins cotton darning wool etc. Like the oil man he would also take rabbit skins. Coal supplies came from Great Missenden - delivery being made by motor lorry. I think our 5 cwt delivery cost about 15/- (75p) and would be made to last about 2 months. Coal stocks would be augmented by wood to a certain extent. It was common practice to roam through the woods and collect fallen branches, and on occasions when trees had been felled in the woods and the trunks hauled away the upper branches were a great bonus. I remember trailing bundles of wood for what seemed miles from the woods on the other side of the valley.
Somehow, in spite of our relative isolation we never ran out completely of any vital necessities - there must be an instinct for survival inbred in those people who habitually live at the end of a limb. Once only, can I remember, we were almost without supplies. The winter of 1926/27 gave us one of the heaviest snowfalls in living memory, accompanied by severe North East Gales, which resulted in drifting of such magnitude that all roads and even the railway line were impassable on the morning of Boxing Day 1926. Our cottage had a snow wall 10 feet high in front of it, and our lane was not open to wheeled traffic before late March. The road up the hill from Wendover to Kings Ash and beyond was blocked for some weeks, but, luckily, by entering the fields adjacent to the road, horse drawn vehicles were enabled to make the journey. So, after an initial hiatus, our delivery men managed, with some difficulty, to continue supplies to their customers. Since our lane was not opened up for weeks all our supplies including a delivery of coal, were left at Grandfather's cottage, for us to collect and carry home.
Several years more had to elapse before any work was carried out to improve the condition of our lane, which apart from foot path was our only access to the world outside, and by the time the lane had been made reasonably passable for vehicles of all types my parents had, following Grandfather's death in 1938, taken over his cottage at Kings Ash, where they lived out the remainder of their lives.
As children, our lives were very restricted - our isolated situation and lack of transport made it difficult to get to any place other than the village, and even then there was little social activity for children. Bus services to such places as Chesham, Wendover, Great Missenden and Aylesbury were not established until well into the 1920’s, and even then there was still quite a walk to arrive at a pick-up point. Bicycles were, of course, in common use, but we, as schoolchildren, did not have them available to us, and usually trips to Wendover or Gt. Missenden were made on foot.
Our early days were spent mostly either at school, or on Sundays at Sunday School - twice each day, and we were, from about the age of eight, introduced to the Church Choir, where we sang, usually only at morning services.
At the age of 12 years, it was legally permitted for children to work a limited number of hours each week, and my eldest brother Fred, having attained this age found himself work at the Manor Farm in The Lee - he went off early each morning, before school, to help with the milking - going on to school when he was finished. After school he milked the cows again before coming home. On Saturdays he put in a full day at the farm. What he was paid for this work I have no idea but the normal starting pay for a 14 year old school lever was 10/- (50p) per week. However Fred saved up enough quite quickly to buy himself a bicycle. At 14 years of age he left school to work in the gardens of The Manor and brother David took on his job at the Manor Farm.
Mother's upbringing and her period of life "in service" with the "gentry" had introduced her to a way of life far removed from that into which she had been born and also from that to which she returned after her marriage, and it is to her great credit that she did her best to apply the higher standards of behaviour and procedure to the management of her own household and rearing of her children. As a result of this, I feel that we had as children, a fairly strict upbringing - we were never physically beaten, but we were expected to do as we were told without question and without delay.
My remembrance of events starts from about the time of my 4th birthday. Dec 1919 – Father, who during the first years of the Great War had been exempt from service in the army on account of his work as a food producer, had finally been “called up” and was away with the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine as a private soldier in the Gloucestershire Regiment. Mother, with three young children, must have been in pretty straitened circumstances at this time, but she managed somehow, and when Father was finally demobilized in 1919 – and he was back – working on the local farm for about 25/- a week, things were very much easier.
Having reached the age of 4 years, I had to join my two brothers in going to school – school was at Lee Common, a distance by footpath and road of about 2 miles, or by road all the way – some 3 miles – We always went the footpath way, which for nearly half the journey took us round the edges of fields – mostly ploughed, and as I recall, often very muddy and wet, with long grass over hanging the narrow paths. We took packed lunches, since school dinners hadn’t at that time been dreamed of. We three boys, and two children (boy & girl) from the cottage next door left home at about 8.0 am to walk to school each day and at the end of the school day – 4.0 pm – we made the return journey. If we weren’t home by 5.0 pm we were in for a good telling off – we always came home to a full cooked meal – Father used to come in about 5.30 pm and dinner would be about ready on the table waiting for him. – Often the meal consisted of beef steak pudding, with whatever vegetables were available, and as far as I can remember, we always had a sweet course to follow. Rabbit was a fairly frequent alternative to meat pudding – they were very numerous and Father had a variety of ways of trapping them – mostly, I regret to say, by snaring them with wire snares set in their easily recognisable runs. At week-ends we always had a roast joint mostly beef but occasionally, as a special treat, it would be pork.
How Mother managed the domestic side of life is one of those mysteries which only those who have done it can explain – we were frightfully poor in terms of money and three growing boys must have eaten a lot of food and needed lots of clothing – but we were never hungry or without clothes, and always had “Sunday best” clothes and shoes – or rather “ankle boots”.
I know that from about when I was seven years of age, Mother worked as a ‘char’ for various ”well-off” people who lived locally – never less than 1 mile distant – doing 2 or 3 mornings a week. One couple she “did for” – the husband was a flying officer at Halton and often used to fly his aeroplane (Bristol Bulldog probably) in all sorts of aerobatics over his bungalow much to her excitement. He also had a real live bulldog, and several times when the family went away, we had the bulldog to stay with us. Another household she did for was that of two gentlemen friends – one was an actor – (I was too young to know that they were a ‘gay couple’) Meantime, in addition to going to work at other households Mother also had to do a certain amount of work for Grandfather at Kings Ash, since he was living on his own following the death of Grandmother in 1921, and the marriage of his youngest son, who had been living with him after leaving the army. In addition to cleaning and preparing some of his food she did all of his laundry.
And now I think it would be appropriate to talk of “washing day”, our pair of cottages shared a "wash house" - this was a small annex at the house end in which was a brick built boiler, i.e. a large copper boiler with a fire place underneath. The wash house also housed an old mangled (with big wooden rollers) and sundry galvanised washing trays, and a work table. Mrs Payne - next-door neighbour - used the wash house on Mondays, so Mother did the washing on Tuesdays. Therefore, first thing on Tuesday morning buckets of water were hauled up from the water tank and carried along to fill the copper. Kindling and coal followed - and often a shovel full of hot coals from the living room fire to get things going. Items for boiling were put in the copper - "non-boilers" were steeped in hot water in trays. All had to be scrubbed and rubbed by hand, rinsed, some "blued", some "starched", and finally pegged out to dry - weather permitting. On a good day drying was no problem, but on bad days, wet washing hung around indoors for most of the week. Then, when dry, it had to be ironed - using "flat irons" heated by standing them close up to the living room fire, and guessing when they were just hot enough to be effective.
Shopping for food was not easy. There was a small village shop In Lee Common - also a Bakery, but apart from these the nearest shops were in Wendover (2 miles by country tracks) and Great Missenden (3 miles) and all these distances had to be walked - there were no buses yet. Bread supplies didn't pose much of a problem. The Bakery in Lee Common made deliveries around the district twice each week, and though he didn't call at our cottage - the lane was not really suitable for any wheeled vehicles less robust than a farm cart - he left a regular ordered supply at Grandfather's cottage for us to collect later.
The local butcher, based near Wendover, also made local home deliveries, and though again our cottage was 'off 'the delivery round Mother used always to arrange her visit to Grandfather's cottage on "Butchers Day" so that she was on the spot to get what she needed when the Butcher’s van arrived.
For groceries we were supplied by a grocer - George Watts - who had a shop in Chesham, some 6 miles distant. He used to call once a week - Thursday afternoon - arriving in a horse and trap - bringing with him the goods Mother had ordered the previous week. He would set all the items on the kitchen table, ticking them off against the actual order in his book, then up-ending the wooden box which had contained the items he would sit on it and take down at Mother's dictation the list of supplies she needed for next week. I don't know how many other houses he visited on his round, but there must have been several to make his journey worth-while since Mother's order rarely exceeded 15/- (75p) in value.
Mr Watts eventually stopped calling - perhaps he just grew too old to face the journeys in all weathers, or perhaps his pony died, but after Mr Watts, we were supplied with goods from a small shop at Lee Common - (Mr Lewington) He had moved with the times and delivered his goods by motor car - using a very early TROJAN, with solid tyres and chain drive - which somehow managed to cope with our lane and its pot-holes.
Supplies of paraffin for lighting and supplementary heating were brought round on a weekly basis by a rather old character from Wendover. He came with a horse drawn cart, a tank of paraffin fixed to the back from which he would dispense oil into whatever containers we provided. He also had other household items, candles, soap, starch, pot-mender and so on - and he would always accept rabbit skins, for which, in good times he would give as much as 1/- (5p) each so occasionally our supply of oil, matches, blue-bags etc would be bartered for rabbit skins.
There was one other regular caller - who came only twice each year - the "pack-man" dealing with haberdashery. He came on foot of course. He would come into the house, unrole his pack, and Mother would replenish her supplies of needles pins cotton darning wool etc. Like the oil man he would also take rabbit skins. Coal supplies came from Great Missenden - delivery being made by motor lorry. I think our 5 cwt delivery cost about 15/- (75p) and would be made to last about 2 months. Coal stocks would be augmented by wood to a certain extent. It was common practice to roam through the woods and collect fallen branches, and on occasions when trees had been felled in the woods and the trunks hauled away the upper branches were a great bonus. I remember trailing bundles of wood for what seemed miles from the woods on the other side of the valley.
Somehow, in spite of our relative isolation we never ran out completely of any vital necessities - there must be an instinct for survival inbred in those people who habitually live at the end of a limb. Once only, can I remember, we were almost without supplies. The winter of 1926/27 gave us one of the heaviest snowfalls in living memory, accompanied by severe North East Gales, which resulted in drifting of such magnitude that all roads and even the railway line were impassable on the morning of Boxing Day 1926. Our cottage had a snow wall 10 feet high in front of it, and our lane was not open to wheeled traffic before late March. The road up the hill from Wendover to Kings Ash and beyond was blocked for some weeks, but, luckily, by entering the fields adjacent to the road, horse drawn vehicles were enabled to make the journey. So, after an initial hiatus, our delivery men managed, with some difficulty, to continue supplies to their customers. Since our lane was not opened up for weeks all our supplies including a delivery of coal, were left at Grandfather's cottage, for us to collect and carry home.
Several years more had to elapse before any work was carried out to improve the condition of our lane, which apart from foot path was our only access to the world outside, and by the time the lane had been made reasonably passable for vehicles of all types my parents had, following Grandfather's death in 1938, taken over his cottage at Kings Ash, where they lived out the remainder of their lives.
As children, our lives were very restricted - our isolated situation and lack of transport made it difficult to get to any place other than the village, and even then there was little social activity for children. Bus services to such places as Chesham, Wendover, Great Missenden and Aylesbury were not established until well into the 1920’s, and even then there was still quite a walk to arrive at a pick-up point. Bicycles were, of course, in common use, but we, as schoolchildren, did not have them available to us, and usually trips to Wendover or Gt. Missenden were made on foot.
Our early days were spent mostly either at school, or on Sundays at Sunday School - twice each day, and we were, from about the age of eight, introduced to the Church Choir, where we sang, usually only at morning services.
At the age of 12 years, it was legally permitted for children to work a limited number of hours each week, and my eldest brother Fred, having attained this age found himself work at the Manor Farm in The Lee - he went off early each morning, before school, to help with the milking - going on to school when he was finished. After school he milked the cows again before coming home. On Saturdays he put in a full day at the farm. What he was paid for this work I have no idea but the normal starting pay for a 14 year old school lever was 10/- (50p) per week. However Fred saved up enough quite quickly to buy himself a bicycle. At 14 years of age he left school to work in the gardens of The Manor and brother David took on his job at the Manor Farm.
Another source of pocket money for some boys was the "game shoots" which Liberty’s staged on most Saturdays during the "Shooting Season" (Sept & Feb) Liberty’s, in the commonly practised manner of the period as large land owners, bred many hundreds of pheasants, which were destined to be frightened into the air by men and boys beating the coverts where they crouched, only to be shot down by invited guests. The head gamekeeper would wait at the school gate on Friday afternoon to recruit boys as beaters for the next day’s shoot - Payment was 2/6 or 3/- (12½ or 15p) for the day.
A number of events took place in the village during the year, which to school children were real highlights - red letter days. One of these occasions took place on Good Friday morning. All the school children - we numbered about 100 - assembled, as normal, at school in Lee Common, then we marched in a long crocodile to the parish church at The Lee, where a non-denominational service was held. After this we were again all assembled in marching order and as a fairly organised procession, moved off from the church, round the village green and into the grounds of the Manor House, where, in the gardens the Squire (Stewart-Liberty) and his family presiding over several large bakers baskets of hot-cross buns, gave one bun to each child as we walked by. We completed a tour of the Manor Gardens and were dismissed for the rest of the day.
Another annual event which was of great interest and importance to the children of the village and surrounding hamlets was associated with the annual flower and vegetable show, during which the Sunday School Sports were held. Each of the local hamlets - Swan Bottom, Lee Common, & Ballinger had its non- Conformist chapel and it’s Sunday School - and of course there was a flourishing Sunday School associated with the Parish Church. So the Sunday School Sports were held in an atmosphere or some rivalry, with feelings running quite high at times especially among parents.
The venue for the Flower Show and Sports was the village cricket ground - the "square" having been marked out with a running track. Two large marquees were erected alongside - one to house the Flower Show exhibits and the other set out with tables and benches as a refreshment tent. The Chesham Silver Prize Band was also in attendance.
On the appointed day, children all met at the Lee Common School, where each was given a ticket - it's colour denoting which Sunday School the wearer attended - then grouped according to ticket colour, we were formed into a procession, given a wide variety of banners and flags to carry - the band struck up and off we started, marching to tunes such as Onward Christian Soldiers, and proceeded to the Parish Church, where a short service was held - after this, we resumed our march behind the band, round the village green, back to the Cricket ground, where the racing programme was carried out. When this was completed & prizes handed out to the winners (usually by the Liberty’s), we were all rounded up into our groups and taken to the refreshment tent where tea had been laid out for us, and at the end of the day we all felt we had had a jolly good time. This event was always very well attended by the adult population - practically everyone who could walk as far as the cricket ground putting in an appearance.
As school holidays were not quite as extended as is the case today - we had only four clear weeks in the summer. In spite of the fact that we had no near neighbours, I don't recall the holiday periods as being boring. Snowfall in winter led us to make toboggans which we would ride down the hilly meadows. In Spring we spent some time hunting for birds’ nests. In Summer time we would spend days on the farm where Dad worked, either in the hayfields or cornfields. I remember one summer holiday - I was 10 years old, when I spent many days leading the horses drawing the heavy wagons loads of sheaves from the corn field towards the farm stack yard, some mile or so distant. We ran a shuttle service between field and farm. I operated from the field end handing over my loaded wagon to the leader of the empty wagon and returning to the harvest field for another load. This went on all day, the tempo being just about right to keep the work of stacking the corn at the farm stack yard, or in the barns, going on steadily. How I managed to lead the heavy horses through narrow gateways without hitting gate posts I don't know - maybe the horses had more control than I, they were certainly much bigger! I also had to lead my wagon along quite a stretch of main road, but traffic was lighter then, and we had no problems. When harvesting was in full swing and work going on late into the evening the farmhouse provided tea for all the workers, sending out sandwiches, cakes and cans of tea to those in the fields.
During the summer school holidays, we three boys were usually taken to visit Mother’s parents who lived at Slapton, near Leighton Buzzard. In our early days, this was quite an adventure, involving travel by train! We walked from home to Wendover station, took a train to Aylesbury - walked through the town to the LMS station (now long gone!) to get a train to Cheddington, whence we walked to Slapton - It seemed to take all day.
Apart from the embarrassment of meeting relatives one had never seen before Slapton was interesting because it was near the Canal with its locks and barges, and the Ousel Brooks, where, under strict supervision, we were allowed to fish for such things as minnows & sticklebacks. There were roach and perch in the Canal.
Whilst staying in Slapton we would be taken to Leighton Buzzard, when it was Market Day, and I remember being thrilled to see a "strong man" performing his escape act from chains straight-jacket etc -He also did some "fire eating" and sword swallowing for good measure. It was here, in Leighton Buzzard that I saw for the first time, a black man - I would have been then some 6 or 7 years of age.
Arthur Thomas Dorrell
1915 - 1997
A number of events took place in the village during the year, which to school children were real highlights - red letter days. One of these occasions took place on Good Friday morning. All the school children - we numbered about 100 - assembled, as normal, at school in Lee Common, then we marched in a long crocodile to the parish church at The Lee, where a non-denominational service was held. After this we were again all assembled in marching order and as a fairly organised procession, moved off from the church, round the village green and into the grounds of the Manor House, where, in the gardens the Squire (Stewart-Liberty) and his family presiding over several large bakers baskets of hot-cross buns, gave one bun to each child as we walked by. We completed a tour of the Manor Gardens and were dismissed for the rest of the day.
Another annual event which was of great interest and importance to the children of the village and surrounding hamlets was associated with the annual flower and vegetable show, during which the Sunday School Sports were held. Each of the local hamlets - Swan Bottom, Lee Common, & Ballinger had its non- Conformist chapel and it’s Sunday School - and of course there was a flourishing Sunday School associated with the Parish Church. So the Sunday School Sports were held in an atmosphere or some rivalry, with feelings running quite high at times especially among parents.
The venue for the Flower Show and Sports was the village cricket ground - the "square" having been marked out with a running track. Two large marquees were erected alongside - one to house the Flower Show exhibits and the other set out with tables and benches as a refreshment tent. The Chesham Silver Prize Band was also in attendance.
On the appointed day, children all met at the Lee Common School, where each was given a ticket - it's colour denoting which Sunday School the wearer attended - then grouped according to ticket colour, we were formed into a procession, given a wide variety of banners and flags to carry - the band struck up and off we started, marching to tunes such as Onward Christian Soldiers, and proceeded to the Parish Church, where a short service was held - after this, we resumed our march behind the band, round the village green, back to the Cricket ground, where the racing programme was carried out. When this was completed & prizes handed out to the winners (usually by the Liberty’s), we were all rounded up into our groups and taken to the refreshment tent where tea had been laid out for us, and at the end of the day we all felt we had had a jolly good time. This event was always very well attended by the adult population - practically everyone who could walk as far as the cricket ground putting in an appearance.
As school holidays were not quite as extended as is the case today - we had only four clear weeks in the summer. In spite of the fact that we had no near neighbours, I don't recall the holiday periods as being boring. Snowfall in winter led us to make toboggans which we would ride down the hilly meadows. In Spring we spent some time hunting for birds’ nests. In Summer time we would spend days on the farm where Dad worked, either in the hayfields or cornfields. I remember one summer holiday - I was 10 years old, when I spent many days leading the horses drawing the heavy wagons loads of sheaves from the corn field towards the farm stack yard, some mile or so distant. We ran a shuttle service between field and farm. I operated from the field end handing over my loaded wagon to the leader of the empty wagon and returning to the harvest field for another load. This went on all day, the tempo being just about right to keep the work of stacking the corn at the farm stack yard, or in the barns, going on steadily. How I managed to lead the heavy horses through narrow gateways without hitting gate posts I don't know - maybe the horses had more control than I, they were certainly much bigger! I also had to lead my wagon along quite a stretch of main road, but traffic was lighter then, and we had no problems. When harvesting was in full swing and work going on late into the evening the farmhouse provided tea for all the workers, sending out sandwiches, cakes and cans of tea to those in the fields.
During the summer school holidays, we three boys were usually taken to visit Mother’s parents who lived at Slapton, near Leighton Buzzard. In our early days, this was quite an adventure, involving travel by train! We walked from home to Wendover station, took a train to Aylesbury - walked through the town to the LMS station (now long gone!) to get a train to Cheddington, whence we walked to Slapton - It seemed to take all day.
Apart from the embarrassment of meeting relatives one had never seen before Slapton was interesting because it was near the Canal with its locks and barges, and the Ousel Brooks, where, under strict supervision, we were allowed to fish for such things as minnows & sticklebacks. There were roach and perch in the Canal.
Whilst staying in Slapton we would be taken to Leighton Buzzard, when it was Market Day, and I remember being thrilled to see a "strong man" performing his escape act from chains straight-jacket etc -He also did some "fire eating" and sword swallowing for good measure. It was here, in Leighton Buzzard that I saw for the first time, a black man - I would have been then some 6 or 7 years of age.
Arthur Thomas Dorrell
1915 - 1997