Yesterday I came across one of those news items that used to be in the category of "And finally ...." It was a small piece about the British Library publishing local newspapers on-line. Not all that many perhaps, but all from the 19th century.
The nearest to Winteringham was the series under the general title of the Hull Packet ... which I reckon is a pretty good play on words for a paper of Victorian times and earlier. Anyway, as a search was free, I had a quick gander to see if the word "Winteringham" might crop up, and sure enough it did, though folks have to remember that Winteringham can refer to people, other places, and both in the case of Grimsby. Plus of course a few still spelt Wintringham without the 'e', even for our village.
At £9.99 for up to 200 page views in seven days, the cost of a few researches wasn't bad, so I invested and searched. Naturally I drew a dud for a start! Looking up a page of adverts, up popped Winteringham the Sailmaker at Grimsby!
But it wasn't long before some real gems were found. A race between Winterton coal carts from the Bay Horse to Waterside, with a bit of skulduggery for good measure, and admonishment from the Bellman with threats of prosecution! Then on more or less the same stretch of road, a bit of an accident to one of the leading lights of the village! A few crimes, some youthful larking about, a 15 year old boy absconding from his master because he was overworked, and the apprehension of an escaped female prisoner from Kirton Lindsey gaol, all good stuff. So far though, I think my favourite is of the man who walked seven miles every day bar Sundays with his barrow for 30 years ... and all with the same barrow he started with. Now I make that the equivalent of pushing a barrow round the world 2½ times! Perhaps the story poses more questions than it answers, but what a story - eh?
I can't wait to get back to more of the same. Who knows what gems will turn up. Oh "turn up" ... that reminds me of turnips! We had a couple of enormous ones in the village in the 1860s you know!
Right - back to those papers!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Here we go round the Mulberry ...
Maybe as long as 55 years ago, a travelling salesman came to the back door of Elim House, and persuaded my parents that the encyclopedias he was offering were the key to knowledge, wealth, happiness, and all round success. OK, they were expensive, but they certainly provided hour upon hour of reading, and there was a wonderful pull out diagram of the inner workings of a steam engine, which I pored over for many an hour. Actually, I should use the word "was" as I still have the whole set, and still occasionally open a page or two!
Now one photo that fascinated me all those years ago was of the building of one of the "caissons" for the Mulberry Harbours" used immediately after D-Day. There seemed to be thousands of rods of steel pointing into the sky, and a base of concrete, totally beyond my comprehension.
Fast forward from the fifties to the nineties, and as we holidayed close by Arromanches the sight of many of the Caissons still in the same position they had been laid in 1944 seemed incredible. They are still there now - minus some that were taken off to become the foundations in the Dutch sea wall, or other major sea defence work in France. The French even tried to recover the steel from some of them in the early 1950s when there was a shortage but gave up and those particular caissons are still visible at low tide now.
Tomorrow, we'll be off again to Arromanches, where the Mulberry Harbour will provide a spectacular backdrop to the D-Day commemorations. But there are a couple of Winteringham related questions that remain unanswered....
Eastwood's Cement Factory was almost brand new at the time, and we know that it provided 75,000 tons of cement for the major building work at Rosyth. But did it ever provide material for the Mulberry Harbour? With Britain's economy so dedicated to the war effort, it seems more than likely that in those caissons still lying off Arromanches, there's a bit of Winteringham and South Ferriby standing as a sentinel to the greatest ever seaborne invasion.
Secondly, of course - is some of the steel in those from Scunthorpe, and perhaps produced with the help of Winteringham men and women in those dark days?
An early start in the morning may mean the websites are not updated as usual, but there'll be at least one person in France thinking of Winteringham when he looks out over the Mulberry Harbour, designed for ten weeks use, and still there 65 years on!
Now one photo that fascinated me all those years ago was of the building of one of the "caissons" for the Mulberry Harbours" used immediately after D-Day. There seemed to be thousands of rods of steel pointing into the sky, and a base of concrete, totally beyond my comprehension.
Fast forward from the fifties to the nineties, and as we holidayed close by Arromanches the sight of many of the Caissons still in the same position they had been laid in 1944 seemed incredible. They are still there now - minus some that were taken off to become the foundations in the Dutch sea wall, or other major sea defence work in France. The French even tried to recover the steel from some of them in the early 1950s when there was a shortage but gave up and those particular caissons are still visible at low tide now.
Tomorrow, we'll be off again to Arromanches, where the Mulberry Harbour will provide a spectacular backdrop to the D-Day commemorations. But there are a couple of Winteringham related questions that remain unanswered....
Eastwood's Cement Factory was almost brand new at the time, and we know that it provided 75,000 tons of cement for the major building work at Rosyth. But did it ever provide material for the Mulberry Harbour? With Britain's economy so dedicated to the war effort, it seems more than likely that in those caissons still lying off Arromanches, there's a bit of Winteringham and South Ferriby standing as a sentinel to the greatest ever seaborne invasion.
Secondly, of course - is some of the steel in those from Scunthorpe, and perhaps produced with the help of Winteringham men and women in those dark days?
An early start in the morning may mean the websites are not updated as usual, but there'll be at least one person in France thinking of Winteringham when he looks out over the Mulberry Harbour, designed for ten weeks use, and still there 65 years on!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Treated like a King
Keep fit with Katy
Katy Wilkinson is running two one-hour-long keep fit sessions a week in the Village Hall. She describes the classes as "Fun classes for everyone" including different levels of impact, toning and relaxation.
You can check out the details here.
Lindsey Cottages
Having commented on the fascinating "sampler" yesterday that recently sold on Ebay for over £140, there's now a copy of a postcard on the same site today. The post card is entitled "Lindsey Cottages, Winteringham" and very neat the cottages look too with roses round the doors, and a neat fence in front. The windows in most of the cottages are open, suggesting that it's a lovely summer's day, but breaking the rural tranquility of the scene is a steam engine crossing the road towards Scunthorpe, pulling some passenger coaches, and making a delightful scene.
Only once did I ever see a train on the line, and it was in exactly this position. The line had been closed for years before we moved to the village, but the tracks were still down, and wagons were stored on the line towards Whitton. I reckon I was probably about 6 at the time, and suddenly heard the whistle of a steam engine from our house next to the Chapel in West End. Running as fast as I could to watch the locomotive in action I had just about reached Spring House when the engine raced across the unguarded level crossing of Marsh Lane, and disappeared in the direction of Scunthorpe. And that was that! I never did see any action on the line again before the rails were lifted.
But I am also reminded that before the line closed to passengers, special trains were known to travel from Winteringham - to such places as Wembley. Alan Frost told me about these when I regularly spoke to him in the seventies. Whether the "specials" simply took the passengers to join the train at Scunthorpe, or were through trains, I never found out.
If you wish to check out the auction, the photograph is Ebay number 370209668595.
Corrie
No! Not that one! The real one!
As it's the anniversary of the Coronation 56 years ago (it was also a Tuesday), I wonder if anyone can remember the details of what went on in the village? My sister and I were treated to a front seat at Elaine Ogg's house, where the TV showed the scenes in London. We didn't have a TV then, so the invitation from Elaine's parents was very kind, and especially the cakes and drinks we were plied with at regular intervals. There were also sports and games in Seeds Field, when we all were given a box of Cadbury's Chocolates, and at some time - I think on the day of the Coronation - we were also given a commemorative teaspoon from the school, which I kept for years and years, but which has done the same disappearing act that all spoons seem to do in our house.
Maybe others with better memories than I have could put some flesh on the bones?
Katy Wilkinson is running two one-hour-long keep fit sessions a week in the Village Hall. She describes the classes as "Fun classes for everyone" including different levels of impact, toning and relaxation.
You can check out the details here.
Lindsey Cottages
Having commented on the fascinating "sampler" yesterday that recently sold on Ebay for over £140, there's now a copy of a postcard on the same site today. The post card is entitled "Lindsey Cottages, Winteringham" and very neat the cottages look too with roses round the doors, and a neat fence in front. The windows in most of the cottages are open, suggesting that it's a lovely summer's day, but breaking the rural tranquility of the scene is a steam engine crossing the road towards Scunthorpe, pulling some passenger coaches, and making a delightful scene.
Only once did I ever see a train on the line, and it was in exactly this position. The line had been closed for years before we moved to the village, but the tracks were still down, and wagons were stored on the line towards Whitton. I reckon I was probably about 6 at the time, and suddenly heard the whistle of a steam engine from our house next to the Chapel in West End. Running as fast as I could to watch the locomotive in action I had just about reached Spring House when the engine raced across the unguarded level crossing of Marsh Lane, and disappeared in the direction of Scunthorpe. And that was that! I never did see any action on the line again before the rails were lifted.
But I am also reminded that before the line closed to passengers, special trains were known to travel from Winteringham - to such places as Wembley. Alan Frost told me about these when I regularly spoke to him in the seventies. Whether the "specials" simply took the passengers to join the train at Scunthorpe, or were through trains, I never found out.
If you wish to check out the auction, the photograph is Ebay number 370209668595.
Corrie
No! Not that one! The real one!
As it's the anniversary of the Coronation 56 years ago (it was also a Tuesday), I wonder if anyone can remember the details of what went on in the village? My sister and I were treated to a front seat at Elaine Ogg's house, where the TV showed the scenes in London. We didn't have a TV then, so the invitation from Elaine's parents was very kind, and especially the cakes and drinks we were plied with at regular intervals. There were also sports and games in Seeds Field, when we all were given a box of Cadbury's Chocolates, and at some time - I think on the day of the Coronation - we were also given a commemorative teaspoon from the school, which I kept for years and years, but which has done the same disappearing act that all spoons seem to do in our house.
Maybe others with better memories than I have could put some flesh on the bones?
Creases and Creaseys
Welcome to the first web blog for the Winteringham family of websites.
One of the most fascinating Winteringham-related Ebay auctions ended on Sunday. It was of a “sampler” - one of those pieces of needlework that was so in vogue for young girls in the nineteenth century and probably well before that. This one though was by eleven year old Winteringham girl, Evalina Evratt, who included her age (11), the date of the sampler (May 14th 1878) and crucially the fact that she was at Winteringham National School. We can find her in the parish registers for both her baptism in December 1866, and her marriage to Charles Altoft when both she and the groom were 24.
I have no idea what price one might expect for a sampler, though this auction rapidly reached into the mid £40 mark, and then gradually worked its way up to £97. And there it stayed until seven seconds before the close when the price suddenly shot up to £141.07, and then £143.07!
I couldn’t help musing what young Evalina would have thought had she known the sampler she crafted so carefully would fetch a price roughly equivalent to what an agricultural labourer of her day would earn in THREE years!
We received an interesting email from Australia this week. It was from a descendant of one of Winteringham’s bobbies - PC 124 Jack Creasey, who apparently was the first policeman to live in Elim House, and who had five children - Joyce, Miriam, Jack, Betty and Geoff. Having lived in the house in the 1950s, I was able to send a few old photos of the gardens as they had been then, because I doubt that they had changed much from the late 1920s to the early 50s. By today’s standards it was a large gardens, some of it very productive, but the Hewde Lane end decidedly stony (giving me an excellent mental picture for Miss Brown’s telling of “the seed that fell on stony ground”!
If anyone has any information at all on Jack Creasey, his wife, or their five children, then it would be most welcome!
Finally today, a reminder that tomorrow (Tuesday 2nd June) sees the June Council Meeting in the freshly revamped Village Hall. Members of the public are always welcome. The meeting starts at 7:30pm.
One of the most fascinating Winteringham-related Ebay auctions ended on Sunday. It was of a “sampler” - one of those pieces of needlework that was so in vogue for young girls in the nineteenth century and probably well before that. This one though was by eleven year old Winteringham girl, Evalina Evratt, who included her age (11), the date of the sampler (May 14th 1878) and crucially the fact that she was at Winteringham National School. We can find her in the parish registers for both her baptism in December 1866, and her marriage to Charles Altoft when both she and the groom were 24.
I have no idea what price one might expect for a sampler, though this auction rapidly reached into the mid £40 mark, and then gradually worked its way up to £97. And there it stayed until seven seconds before the close when the price suddenly shot up to £141.07, and then £143.07!
I couldn’t help musing what young Evalina would have thought had she known the sampler she crafted so carefully would fetch a price roughly equivalent to what an agricultural labourer of her day would earn in THREE years!
We received an interesting email from Australia this week. It was from a descendant of one of Winteringham’s bobbies - PC 124 Jack Creasey, who apparently was the first policeman to live in Elim House, and who had five children - Joyce, Miriam, Jack, Betty and Geoff. Having lived in the house in the 1950s, I was able to send a few old photos of the gardens as they had been then, because I doubt that they had changed much from the late 1920s to the early 50s. By today’s standards it was a large gardens, some of it very productive, but the Hewde Lane end decidedly stony (giving me an excellent mental picture for Miss Brown’s telling of “the seed that fell on stony ground”!
If anyone has any information at all on Jack Creasey, his wife, or their five children, then it would be most welcome!
Finally today, a reminder that tomorrow (Tuesday 2nd June) sees the June Council Meeting in the freshly revamped Village Hall. Members of the public are always welcome. The meeting starts at 7:30pm.
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