Thorganby in 1908.

A personal recollection by R. Howden, later resident in Heslington.

I was born at Thorganby on Friday, December 6^th, 1909. My father was the village blacksmith.

Thorganby is situated on the western side of the River Derwent; to the north lies Wheldrake and to the south North Duffield.

The village of West Cottingwith is now incorporated with the village of Thorganby. The church stands between the two villages. At that time there were two services, one in the morning and one in the evening.

Thorganby Hall is opposite the church and the Methodist Chapel which, built in 1909, is in the village in a very convenient position.

Many preachers had to walk whilst others cycled. Some had horses and traps. The farmers provided food and shelter for the horse.

Near the chapel stood the general store, which provided most of the items needed for the daily routine of life. The shop window was at the south end of the property and the entrance was close by.

Further along the main road was the joiner’s shop. This property was a continuation of houses. The property stood end to the road. It was the custom in those days to make up your own paint from powder and red and white lead.

Unlike the joiner’s shop, the blacksmith’s shop had a good road frontage which provided accommodation for implements awaiting repair. This frontage also provided a space for the “hoping ring” (the large metal tyre that ran on the outside of wooden cart wheels.) Hooping was carried out quite frequently and extra help was needed. The hoops were heated by forming a circle with segments, which could be made to the size required. These segments were so designed to hold the fire needed. The wheel was placed on the hooping ring which had a centre large bolt, which went through the centre of the wheel and a block of wood across and then an iron plate on top of the wood and a large screw device was turned onto the centre bolt and tightened up. This made the wheel very firm. The heated hoop was lifted as required and placed on the wheel. I can still see the flames and smoke coming from around the rim of the wheel. A barrel of water was at hand as soon as the hoop had been forced down to the hooping ring by hammer. It was a case of rushing to put water on the hot hoop. As the hoop contracted you could hear the wheel joints being brought closer together.

The blacksmith’s was run by my father and brother with one apprentice, and later a cycle business was added. Cycles were only just becoming available. To the ordinary working folk of the day it was no mean effort to save up for a cycle as wages were very low, and the condition of the roads were no encouragement. With the advent of the cycle came the usual accessories: bag of spanners, cycle clips, lamps and carbide for the acetylene lamps. The oil lamp had a very special oil, very refined for the purpose. Rear lamps were not required at that time; it was not until around 1914 – 1918 that rear lights were introduced. There were also candle lamps used as cycle lights of which I had one.

We had two well known characters who visited the village. One was Bill Rowley the travelling chimney sweep with a top hat. He always made his home on the hearth of the blacksmith’s shop. He would cook bacon and egg on the dying embers of the forge fire. It was impossible to see his mouth; his face was a mass of whiskers. He would sometimes stay a few days depending on the weather. The shop door was never locked when Billy was around. He was very honest and accepted as part of the rural way of life.

The Blacksmith's Shop.

Snowden Sleights, a well known local wildfowler, was the other character to visit the village. He would call to have lunch over the warm forge fire. We would watch him manoeuvre his boat, shaped like a floating log. He used trees as a cover, and when the ducks were within range he would fire his large gun. He had a dog with him and immediately the gun was fired it would jump out of the boat and retrieve the birds. There were many birds on the flood waters at the time.

On August 1^st, 1848 the Selby/Market Weighton railway was opened. Before this all goods in and out of the village were conveyed by boat. Even when the railway at Cliff Common (DVLR) opened there would still have been a considerable amount of carting.

When the railway came it was much easier to transport belongings. One lad leaving the farm at Martinmas to go home carried his box from Common Farm along by West Grange, over the fields to Skipwith Common and along the road to Cliff Common station, six mile in all. I think he would have been pleased when he got there.

Martinmas Monday was the day when the farmers and workers, including the married women, made their way to Selby market. The farmers stood near the Abbey, whilst the lads and lasses stood at the other end of the market near the banks. Usually most of them, farmers and workers, found someone suitable to both sides before the day finished. After the market and the hiring the rest of the evening was spent at the fair held in Wide Street.

Another highlight of our schooldays was the village agricultural show. This was held on the Friday and Saturday of the August Bank Holiday weekend, later to become a one day event, on the barn field near the buildings of Thorganby Hall farm. The stock was tied to the railings along the Ings side of the field and the show ring was central, to the advantage of those preparing their stock.

There was always good produce on display in the horticultural tent which also included agricultural produce and entries of various handiwork, children’s’ wild flowers etc. Little did I think as I went round the tents as a child with my parents that I would later in life judge the horticultural exhibits. I judged at many shows around East Yorkshire, yet I found no better produce than at Thorganby Show.

A very smart horse drawn wagon would bring the band that was in attendance throughout the period of the show.

The day before the show any lads coming from West Cottingwith would bring the news of any fair people who had arrived. The roundabouts were the main attraction. I remember when riding round, one could hear the hiss of the steam as one passed the organ. The steam and the oil together provided a smell one does not readily forget, and many times in my life I have come across oil and steam together which never failed to bring back memories.

The lighting for the amusements was provided by pear shaped lamps hung from the stalls. They had a long stem from the container to the burner, very much like a small gas ring with long bright flames. They even managed to stay alight in strong winds, swinging backwards and forwards.

There was something about the village feast that will always bring back memories for those who were able to partake in the events. One could hear the steam organ and the laughter of young people echoing through the village until a late hour.

The only means of transport before the railway was by carrier, horse and trap or cycle. The local carrier, usually two horses and a four wheeled cart, made the journey to Selby on Mondays and to York on Saturdays. Relatives who came to visit stayed for a week at least, arriving at York or Selby by train, thence by carrier to the villages.

I should mention here that poultry and produce was put on the pavement at Selby, outside the Midland Bank. I have seen the pavement crowded with buyers, sellers and produce. Hens would sell for four shillings a pair (20p). Eggs were sold for a shilling a dozen but prices varied according to season, in winter they were very scarce. Deep litter and battery cages were unknown in those days.

We suffered very severe winters, which in turn made the ings a sea of ice. Nearly every house in the village had a pair or pairs of skates. The ladies had wooden ones whilst the men had much heavier metal ones. All were fastened to the boots by a screw attachment. Most of the younger generation took advantage of the facility to skate. Those who could not skate or who had no skates were brought onto the ice and pushed around in chairs.

News became more available because the DVLR had arrived. It made it possible to have an evening newspaper, which gave information about the development of the war (1914 – 1918). In the school was a large map, and flags of all nations were supplied to pin on the amp. Also in nearly every house the same map and pins were supplied.

Air raid warnings were sent to West Cottingwith and someone came round with the information.

I was standing on the north side of the chapel with my sister and we heard a droning sound coming from the east. As it got nearer and overhead we saw the zeppelin, which looked like a large cigar in the sky. It made off in the direction of Escrick and then turned towards York and bombs were dropped on the city.

Whilst on the subject of airships, we were not many miles away from Howden Airship station and it was not an uncommon sight to see airships around when the weather was suitable.

I note in my diary of February 14^th, 1917 I have an entry which gives the information that I saw four airships, a Fish and two Cubords, two basket ones (these would be large ones R100 class) and a blue pig. These were names we gave to various types of airship and has no resemblance.

Also during the war we saw our first aeroplane, it came down behind the church which was grassland.

I let school in 1914; I was thirteen years old. At that time many of the young men were called up into the forces; this in turn created a shortage of farm labour. Wages were very low: a man would earn about 90p per week for a nine hour day six days a week, and how the workers brought up large families as they did, always remained a mystery to me. Most cottages had two pigs each a year. Both were fattened up for around Christmas time. One would be killed for own use and the other to buy necessities, such as clothes and boots. The main stay for a hot meal was the meat and potato pie, followed by apple pie and a pot of tea.

On some of the large wold farms in the kitchen stood a large table with a wooden top. Along the sides hollows were cut out the size of a dinner plate and fairly deep, also at both ends one was cut out. The foreman had to sit at one end and the youngest lad at the other. Broth was then poured in at the foreman’s end and ran via a channel to each of the other places. The table was level and by the time each was full, it was back to the foreman who gave the order to start eating. The main meal was also placed in the hollows and after that a large piece of pie was placed on the table with a pint of hot tea. The maid then had to scrub down the table after each meal.

Many young folk will not understand what life was like. It was life in the full, the smell of the hay and may blossom. The roads were not full of motor cars. The stillness at night that could be felt.

This was my life and I enjoyed every minute to the full, and now it fills me with admiration that I had been borne into an environment of this kind.