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Chelveston of 1945 had a population of about 230 and was a close knit, interbred, suspicious and superstitious community whose inhabitants did not welcome or encourage "outsiders". Having said that it had an innocence of a bygone era that is gone for ever, never to return. It took mum and dad nearly three years before the villagers started to accept them, even then I think it was mainly the bakery and grocery that broke down the barriers, although there were other factors too which will come to light as I progress through the years.
One thing that has stayed in my mind from our first contact with the village was the absence of fit and healthy men between the ages of 18 and 50. The only adult males I can remember were Joseph (Joe) Britten who employed a shepherd (can't remember his name), George Britten who employed a man called Art (I think his proper name was Bert) See, who lived in the one of the Pretoria cottages on the Raunds Road. He was what we call today intellectually disabled but had a marvelous way with horses. Alf Carr of Poplars Farm in Caldecott, Bert Saddington of the Star and Garter, the Rev C Ayton-Williams and Mr H. Watts (the Sunday School teacher).
Alms Houses The Alms houses consisted of one room and a scullery/toilet attached to the back. The occupants cooked, ate, slept, dried their washing, did their ironing and entertained in this one room. There were only three of the alms houses occupied by widows during 1945/51. Mrs Parker lived in the one closest to Water Lane, she had been a Nanny in Oxford during her working life. Mrs Smith, who we knew nothing about, lived in the next one. I can't remember the name of the lady in the third one, she didn't mix at all with the other two widows and didn't want to be involved with cards or anything else, so we left her alone.
The fourth one closest to the Raunds Road contained an emergency food supply for the village which was drawn on once to my knowledge and that was during the Blizzards of 1947 when the village was isolated for about ten days. Dad had the task of checking the contents about every three months to make sure none of the tins had started to go rusty, nor any of the packaged food such as powdered egg and milk had been attacked by rats or mice. I don't recall it being used as an emergency food source after 1947.
Douglas Saddington and I used to play cards in the evenings during the winter months with both Mrs Parker and Mrs Smith. We would alternate the nights; one night with Mrs Parker who loved to play Cribbage. The next night with Mrs Smith who liked Gin Rummy. Both had Hurricane lamps or candles to see by and we used to huddle close to the range to keep warm, it was difficult to see the cards but at least we entertained them in the long, cold, winter evenings.
Red Row Red Row was a block of four cottages just past the Working Men's Club that were separated from the Club and the Bakery garden by the brook. They fronted directly onto the laneway and had a small garden at the back that went down to the edge of the brook. Can't remember who lived in the first one, but the second one was occupied by the Felce family, can't remember the third, but the last one was occupied by a Mrs Smith.
At the end of Red Row, facing up the lane to the Working Men's club, were two stone cottages. One was occupied by Betty Odell and her daughter Penny; the other by Ben and Elaine Webster. |
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Around the Village (part 1) |
