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Portrait of
a Parish - Page 8
50 Years Ago
Pantomimes were enacted every year in the Village Hall by The
Monkton Combe Barnstormers, bringing great pleasure to all the
surrounding villages, and many of the village people took part.
The annual fete was held on the Mill field and attracted a big
crown, lots of side shows, and a skittle game for a pig. A fancy
dress competition took place with wonderful costumes of great
ingenuity - one taken from a Guinness advertisement depicting a
man with a girder on his head, topped by a toucan and the words
"Guinness gives you strength". Needless to say that won first
prize! Shooting was a part of country life and on Sunday morning
it was the done thing to go out and shoot a few rabbits then
back to the Wheelwrights for a pint.
There were two Church services on Sunday, a morning and
evening one, and a Sunday school in the afternoons for the
children who were expected to attend all three. Many of them
sang in the choir, and all had to take turns pumping the organ
or ringing the bells. The lady organist came from Widcombe on
the bus for both services. Such dedication!
Many interesting characters lived in the village. The
Reverend Percy Warrington was one such person.
With his great presence, he managed to found schools and
nursing homes and owned property in the village. He also dabbled
in farming and he is buried in the churchyard. Miss Freeman
lived in the Mill House and appeared to have been stuck in a
time warp. Wearing long dresses with large puffed sleeves, she
would go daily to a spring near a gate onto the Monkton Combe
playing fields, where she would collect her water for the day
from a cast iron tank, where the old pump ran for 24 hours a day
and continued for years. Another interesting man was Tom Hamlen,
a large loveable character who loved to dress up for the fetes.
He was the one who wore the Guinness costume. Another time he
wore a fairy outfit with tu-tu skirt and want. He once lifted an
Austin Seven off the ground whilst the wheel was changed. In his
latter years you often saw him sitting outside his cottage
watching the world go by. Freddie Mayo the landlord of the
Wheelwrights in his youth was a jockey - he ran the pub for
years.
Houses were very cold in winter and Jack Frost would weave a
lovely pattern on the windows to be revealed in all its glory
when the curtains were pulled back in the mornings. Household
conveniences were rare. Washing machines and refrigerators were
just coming into being, women toiled with the washing by hand
and wringer. By 1947 material was easier to obtain so women were
able to make their own clothes which made them feel and look
more exciting.
Life was great and everyone had a wonderful euphoric feeling
of relief after experiencing five years of horrific war.
50 years ago:
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