Gold Watch Anyone?
At one time it was common practice to reward any employees who had worked for a company for 50 years and Wearra Shoes was no exception. They would be presented with a gold watch by the owner, Mr. Hugh Shortland as a Thank you for their long service
In 1967 there was an additional presentation of a radio to each of three employees who were about to retire and had clocked up 165 years between them.
Namely, Mr. Ernest Shelton 57 years service, Mr. Percy King 52 years and Mr. Horace Allen 56 years. All three had already received a gold watch when they had reached the 50 year milestone. What an achievement !
Sadly it is doubtful if there will be many employees who will stay with the same company for this number of years in these days of short term contracts and redundancies.
Carnival Prize Draw
Thanks to the Committee, Irthlingborough there will be a Carnival again in September
Below is a list taken from the Carnival programme of the prizes that were generously donated by local businesses in 1962.
None of them are still in business here today, how many can you remember?
| M. B Brightwell and Mr A. Bilson | A pig! |
| The Railway Inn | 4 gallons of petrol |
| E.J.Wright | Decorating materials to the value of 10/- (50p) |
| E.H. Ingyon | 1 score of eggs,1lb Diary butter, and St Ivel Cheese |
| W Russell | 3lb Pork Pie |
| C.W. Thomas Gents Hairdresser | Fishing Voucher |
| M.P. Pack | Nylon underset |
| Ron Garrod | Long playing record |
| G. Burton | 50 Cigarettes |
| Bob Warner | 4 vouchers value 10/- each |
| Nippy Taxis | Parcel of groceries |
| Parsons Corn | Shop Voucher |
| L.A.Wills | Box of Christmas lights |
| Harry Bailey | Candelabra |
| East Midlands Gas | Gas Kettle |
| Favells | 1x Pipe |
| John Longstaff | A prize |
| Irthlingborough & Finedon Darts League | £1. 1s. |
Battle of Waterloo Centenary
Sunday June 9th [2013] Irthlingborough was invaded by the soldiers of the Essex regiment 44th of foots as part of the event organised by the Society to celebrate the centenary of the filming of the Battle of Waterloo in the town
The Town Crier announced the event in the rest gardens where the Waterloo Drummers formed up and marched along the High Street to Parson Green near to the Cross, where they gave a short display,
The 44th Essex Regiment, dressed in the scarlet uniforms as worn by the soldiers at the time of the famous battle, then did a re- enactment. Loading and firing their guns!! Some of the younger spectators were then invited to assist the soldiers in loading the guns and to do a bayonet charge!!!
One of the soldiers then showed us a number of items from his kit bag and proceeded to use his tinder box to produce a spark to start a fire. The whole thing was very impressive—a bloodless battle and no call to the fire brigade was needed!!!
Luckily the weather stayed fine although cool
Tea and cakes were sold in the Church where there was an exhibition of photos showing the town as it was 100 years ago
Earlier in the week the Society chairman and the Town Crier/Mayor had appeared on “Look East “to publicise the event.
The brochure produced by the Society was very well received and only a few copies are left for sale at £30.00 each
Laundry Chimney
At the end of May, a number of residents of the town were on hand with their cameras to watch the demise of the well known landmark, the Laundry Chimney.
It had been on the cards for some time but was quite a sad day when it finally happened. It was quite a sight to see it gradually being demolished.
The laundry ceased trading in 2006 and the chimney was the last remaining piece of what was once a thriving business. Thanks to the invention of the great labour saving device—the washing machine such places were no longer needed
There are plans to build a number of houses on the site
Many of us have fond memories of the laundry, especially of the sight of the Chimney standing tall in the distance when returning to Irthlingborough , knowing we were nearly home..
The DVD produced by the Society of the history of the laundry is still available and cost £5.00
The Daily Washing Up
Taken from a Woman’s magazine in 1913.
The housewife can save such an amount of time and trouble if she is methodical in her work.
When washing up, two bowls of water are required—one for the washing and the other for the rinsing. The kettle should always be kept boiling has either to be changed or made warmer
All the dirty crocks should be collected at the side of the sink, plates in one pile, the saucers in another and the cups glasses and jugs all in a row.
Dirty knives should be placed in an empty jam pot or jug placed conveniently near to the water bowl, whilst the forks and spoon should temporarily rest on a dish.
First the glasses should be washed in nice warm water to which a little soap has been dissolved. After this process they should be rinsed in clear cold water.
It is a good idea to have special cloths for drying only the glasses as they require a good polish.
Next the spoons and forks and for them the water should be a little hotter and a little more soapy. It is useful to have a bowl of earth in the scullery and all knives and forks used for fish will soon loose their unpleasant smell if rubbed with some of this soil.
They should then be rinsed in hot water. The handles of the knives which are the next items to be cleansed should never be put in water. Instead they should be wiped with a damp dishcloth.
If there are any stains on the knives, a raw potato or a little brick dust will remove marks. After this they should then be immersed in cold water.
The water in which the china is to be washed should be warm and soapy and if the articles are greasy a little soda should be added, but not of the china has any gilt on it.
When the plates are clean set them to drain but the other articles should be dried with a teacloth.
Saucepans and tins come last should be well scoured. If they are enamelled no soda should be used as this may crack the enamel. Fill the saucepans which have been used to cook porridge or milk sauces immediately after use, with cold water; whilst those utensils used for gravy and greasy foods should be filled with hot soda water and left to stand on the hob for a while.
When all the saucepans are clean place them on a rack, or some other warm place, to dry thoroughly.
The washing up bowl should then be scrubbed inside and out and the dishcloth or mop should be rinsed well and hung up to dry the sink tidy should be emptied and the sink well washed down with hot water.
The brass taps too will always look bright if they are polished over once the washing up is finished.
How ever did the housewife of the day find time to do anything else? Thank goodness for Fairy liquid etc and the dishwasher— or maybe a take away, putting the “dishes” in the recycle bin when finished!!!
Thank you for reading our latest Newsletter, we hope you found it of interest and look forward to your comments.
Compiled by Dorothy Brawn for Irthlingborough Historical Society
July 2013