This newsletter has been put together by Jean Rowland and member Dorothy Brawn (nee Ager). We have included a bit about our recent activities, what’s happening in the town and items from old newspapers- hoping you will find it all of interest.
We like the cellar of The Evening Telegraph Office in Rushden- it’s a really fascinating place. The staff have got to know us quite well- and know where we want to go as soon as they see us. All around the cellar are large yearly bound copies of old local newspapers, some dating back to the late 1890’s. What a wealth of local interest. We’re only searching for Irthlingborough items but there’s so much that catches our eye – we just have to read it – and a couple of hours passes like minutes. We’re collecting such lovely reports from these papers – we just find we need the strength of Samson sometimes to haul those heavy books down and then – lift them back into their original space, especially when the rest of the “heavies” on your shelf seem to have moved over.
One or two people have mentioned that they have photographs of youth groups or areas of Irthlingborough of a few years gone by and would we like a copy? YES PLEASE! Names, if you remember them will be helpful. Many thanks.
Some of our readers will remember this better as “THE VINE”, the red-bricked Public House in High Street West. When Ozzie Marriott bought the building he changed it to a car saleroom, it was painted cream and re-named Manton Garage Car Saleroom. The picture featured here is when the old pub was again “up for sale”.
Wellingborough News 1901
At their meeting on Nov 5th Members of the Irthlingborough Urban District Council voted to appoint “An Inspector of Nuisances” at an annual salary of £30.
(Today an Inspector of Nuisances would be call an Environment Health Officer and some years earlier, a Sanitary Inspector). The word “nuisance” used to have a more specific meaning that it has today. Refuse heaps, smells, drains, stagnant ponds, overcrowding, insanitary conditions and epidemics of smallpox were all classed as “nuisances”.
“The Battle” Ends in Marriage
If you have any connection with Irthlingborough you will surely know, and no doubt have a relative who took part in, the film “The Battle of Waterloo” which caused a great stir when it was filmed in the town. Some local factories had to close down for a few days due to lack of labour. This was brought about by many of the workers being tempted away from their machines to become “extras”. At 7/6 a day this was too good an opportunity to be ignored.
The director was Charles Weston, an American who, during the filming, stayed at the Horseshoe Inn. The landlord was Mr. Joseph John Inward, both his wife and his son Jack were to play small parts in the film, and his daughter Alice soon caught the eye of the film director. Romance blossomed and in April 1910 the following report of their marriage appeared in the local newspaper, the Wellingborough News.
A very pretty wedding, and one which attracted a large congregation in the Parish Church, was solemnised on Monday morning. The officiating clergy being the Rector (Rev. J.K. Taylor), contracting parties were Mr. C.H. Weston, second son of Mr. F.C. Weston of Jacksonville, Florida USA and Miss Alice Inward, the youngest daughter of Mr. J.J. Inward, landlord of the Horseshoe Inn and superintendent of the Fire Brigade. The bride was attired in a beautiful travelling costume of navy blue and was given away by her father. Mr. Tom Johns of The Retreat, Bloxome acted as best man, the bridesmaids were Miss Coombe of Finedon, who was dressed in wedgewood blue, Mrs Dunmore, sister of the bride and Miss White, cousin of the bride, were attired in wine coloured dresses with large black picture hats. The presents were numerous and valuable .The happy couple left the Midland Railway station at Wellingborough on the 3.16, en route to Paris where the honeymoon is to be spent.
Wellingborough News February 1895
Skating accident at Irthlingborough. An accident happened on Sunday afternoon affecting two men, H Massom and P Warren, two young men who were in a large number of persons skating on the river down the meadows. To avoid some of the people, the two men who were going in opposite directions accidentally collided most violently, with such force both received nasty gashes on the forehead. They were assisted to Doctor Robb’s surgery where their wounds were stitched up.
Votes For Women
Earlier this year we had a very interesting talk by Peter Barratt whose Great Grandmother Alice Hawkins was a suffragette.
She was born in 1863 in Leicester. She worked, as did many young girls at the time, as a shoe machinist. Working conditions and pay were far inferior to the men working alongside them in the factories. Later Alice was fortunate enough to work for Equity Shoes in Leicester and although workers were encouraged to join the trade unions Alice soon realised that women’s voices were seldom heard.
In 1907 she attended a meeting of the Women Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Hyde Park and this was to change her life. After the meeting the women marched to the House of Commons to demand the vote for women. Mounted police charged the march and Alice was arrested and imprisoned.
This did not deter her, she continued the fight and was to be arrested 13 more times and spend 5 terms in prison.
The WSPU began a tireless campaign, speaking at factory gates and village greens throughout Leicester and Northamptonshire. Local newspapers reported meetings in the area, some at the homes of various sympathisers, one of them being Mrs. Featherstonehaugh of Irthlingborough.
Not all were sympathetic to the cause although Alice was lucky to have a very supportive husband and family who often attended meetings.
Peter had many newspaper cuttings telling of the heckling and physical abuse suffered by the women. We were also able to view many lovely old photographs and postcards which had been received by Alice from prominent members of the movement, including Emily and Christobel Pankhurst.
Alice worked in a factory and brought up a family at a time when life was so much harder. To travel to meetings must have been difficult, no just hopping into the car as we do today. In addition to her work as a suffragette she did a great deal of work with the trade union movement, attending meetings at Rushden and Higham Ferrers, to improve conditions in factories, especially for women who had to fight hard for recognition in the movement. She must have been a remarkable woman and has left a wonderful legacy behind. Women like her helped to change and improve the way things were and we have a lot to thank them for.
Alice Hawkins died on 12th March 1946. Peter passes on this message from his Mother. “My grandmother(Alice) said to me when I was a teenager ‘ you must always use your vote, we suffered for it’ and I always have.”
Let that be a lesson to us all!!
Recently Peter attended the Antiques Roadshow in Pontefract and was given a 5 minute slot in the programme. Look out for this in the next series, WE KNOW you will find it fascinating
An insight into our activities
Were you in Irthlingborough on Wednesday morning, June 17th, you may have wondered what a washing line, adorned with old-fashioned bloomers, corsets and liberty-bodices, all blowing in the wind was doing tied up in the Methodist jitty. (You know the one that leads from the High Street, past the Schoolrooms and Chapel up towards the Working Men’s club in Victoria Street?)
Here’s the answer in a report from the Evening Telegraph a couple of days later…
“A 1930’s Washday in Vine Yard” was the title of a presentation given by Irthlingborough Historical Society Members Jackie Morton and Roy York to three Infant School classes.
The children were talked through a typical Monday washday from 4.30am when the fire under the copper was lit through to the washing using a dolly tub and stick, the rinsing and blue-bagging, hanging out and ironing with the heavy flat iron. They also discovered that residents of the yard had to fetch their own water from the communal well and that the main meal of that busy day was made up of left-overs from Sunday dinner.
Although Roy and Jackie were able to use many artefacts from the Society’s collection they would be really grateful if anyone could offer them a real dolly-stick to make future presentations even more authentic.
If anyone is able to help, give the Society a ring.
You don’t know where Vine Yard was? then why not purchase a copy of IRTHLINGBOROUGH – LIFE IN THE YARDS, which gives a glimpse of life in many of Irthlingborough’s yards prior to their demolition in the post-war period. Fifty-six pages full of information and interest for just £1. Plus p.p. (if appropriate)
You see, we work for all adult and children’s interest- this is the 2nd year we have been approached by the Infant School to have a class at a time to portray some part of “past people in Irthlingborough’s history”.
June 12th –One-day exhibition celebrating The Salvation Army in the town.
Almost 200 people signed our visitor’s book and it was wonderful to see so many former Sunday School scholars or members of the various Youth Organisations recognising each other, sometimes after 20, 30 or even 40 years.
We had been preparing the exhibition for 6 months since Cadet Officer Deborah Oughton (the present Officer in charge here) first suggested it.
People were eager to help- the Salvation Army has touched the lives of so many people- even if it was only remembering their lovely jacket potato and pea suppers in the old Salvation Army Hall in Lee St. (remember “Army Hill” with its iron bollards at the bottom?) or seeing the photographs which reminded us who had been a Sunbeam, a Lifesaving Guard, a Youth Legion Member, a Junior Band Boy or Singing Company member. The really old photos of the Senior Band with its hotchpotch of uniforms, the old large bonnets or basin-type hats of The Songster Brigade are so well preserved- typical of the good processing of the day. (Will our photographs look so well in 80 years time?)
All in all, a wonderful day. We quite forgot the hours spent collecting, copying, returning, laminating, numbering (for return to our archive). Our Tuesday evening meeting following any of our exhibitions is spent going over the event- can it be bettered next time etc? and we all agreed- the work we did over the months was more than amply repaid just seeing the faces of those who came, the memories shared with us- and those reunions…….
Now we look forward to doing it all over again- To coincide with The Crouch Road Allotments Association who will hold their Horticultural Fruit and Flower Display in The Harmonic Hall, we plan to hold a “Forties Exhibition” when everyone was urged to “Dig for Victory”. We found that holding two exhibitions of differing tastes together brought more people into both halls- after all; they are almost next door to each other. We hope for a fine day on August 14th 2004.
This report appeared in The Herald and Post. W/ending June 19th.
Photo show celebrates 120th year
A group with a passion for the past is unearthing the history of a town.
The latest offering from Irthlingborough Historical Society was a photographic exhibition celebrating the 120th anniversary of The Salvation Army in Irthlingborough.
It was held last Saturday at the Methodist Schoolroom in Victoria St, Irthlingborough.
Group members collated more than 250 photos and memorabilia charting the history of the organisation.
Chairman, Roy York said; “A lot of these photographs go back to the late 1880’s. The Salvation Army was almost a social thing as much as a church group.
We have a massive archive but we also had a really good response from the public in lending photographs for this exhibition”
Mr York said the shared interest of all members is finding out about Irthlingborough’s history. He said: “There are a lot of stories behind this town. All our investigations are concerned with Irthlingborough and we hold a three-day exhibition every two years. We are very much a research group and always have ongoing projects”
And an appeal…. (Do you know of any help you can give?)
Our members have been chipping away at the history of one of Irthlingborough’s big mysteries- the Rockleigh Children’s Home. We recognise that as time passes, more and more people say they remember talk of there being a home here, but they don’t really know anything about it. (It was in Wellingborough Road).
We are now appealing (through the local press and free papers) for anyone who knows anything at all about the Home to get in touch with us- we have set out to discover its history.
We want to know if you worked there, lived there as a child, or simply know anyone connected with it. This subject has been on our back-burner for some months and we are making little headway.
Roy York told the reporter, “Everyone of my generation knows of the Home, they can remember talk of it, some remember children from the Home who attended the local schools and were in their class, but it’s one of those things, if we don’t soon find something out about it, it will disappear entirely”
The Society has accounts from people who met children from the home at some point, we have copies of newspaper research which says the children from the Children’s Home were treated to a tea and cinema show by the Chairman of Wellingborough Council.
We also know that the home was part of The Cottage Homes Group but other than a Cottage Home being in a house, we are no closer to finding out what “Cottage Homes” group was.
We are relying on help from our readers…….and if you remember anything…from you.
Our book “Clicking to Closing” brought some lovely shoe factory tools to our Society so we all spent a Tuesday evening giving them some “elbow grease”- rubbing, sanding, greasing and polishing. We enjoyed it so much we then set about planning another evening to give our farming implements the same treatment.
“Where are these” photos answers
Vine Court
If you have not visited Irthlingborough for some time you could be forgiven for not knowing that this block of flats replaced THE OLD VINE PUBLIC HOUSE.
During demolition the outbuildings to the rear were found to be extremely interesting for nothing had been changed for many years. A tall hand-pump in an equally tall, purpose-built narrow shed, some quaint stones and an old well were uncovered but a digger was quickly brought in to remove those years of history. Nothing must hinder building work!
A residents’ car park has been made at the back with a very steep incline from the road. Indeed, a recent incident of a not too firm handbrake could have resulted in far worse than a bump into a low brick wall.
Foster Abbott’s old shop in “backway”
When Foster Abbott (a former grocery errand boy) opened his shop here in Victoria St, he was so delighted with his progress he advertised, posting a leaflet through every door in Irthlingborough.
How many children, we wonder, popped into Foster’s on their way to or from school to sample those “bullseyes” (you just had to keep taking them out of your mouth to see how the colours and eyes changed) or that lovely yellow fizzy “Cay-lie” that Foster weighed into his home-made cone bags.
That purchase usually resulted in a bright yellow forefinger and a sore tongue. Do you remember the liquorice “dip”?
Foster was always eager to please his customers, be they adult or child. He would be horrified to see his old shop all breeze-blocked with the plastic sheeting, meant to keep out the rain, just flapping in the wind!