Irthlingborough Historical Society - News Page
Chairman: Roy York Secretary: Jean Rowland Treasurer: Jenny Lee
Archivist: Jackie Morton
November/December 2008
ANDERSON YORK TYLER - A BLACKSMITH’S LIFE
Anderson York Tyler was born in Little Addington on 1st November 1870 to Isaac and Sophia Tyler, he was the eldest of 10 sons. He was known to everyone as Andy, and was named after his uncle whose own son was called Anderson, both of whom were also Blacksmith’s by trade. At 13 years of age he was apprenticed to a blacksmith in Earls Barton. It is believed this could have been his Grandfather but this is yet to be proved. To date, my sister’s research has found 7 blacksmiths in our family.
In 1893 he married Elizabeth Hefford at St Peter’s Church, Irthlingborough. Their family were Margaret Ellen (Nell) born December 1893. Elizabeth Hannah born March 1895, Kate born December 1897 and John born 1900. They lived in the house at the top of Meeting Lane, which is now 18 Station Road.
Andy worked for Mr E P Allin, Blacksmith and Funeral Director; he had also worked for Mr Ingyon, his predecessor (Mr Allin’s Father-in-law). He was sometimes called on to be a pall bearer if they were a man short. He worked there for fifty years until he retired at Christmas 1956 aged 86 after a slight accident which prevented him from continuing working. Jim Horner recalls in his diary, “What an entertaining sight it was to see Andy shoeing the horses with sparks flying and hooves burning.” Andy was a small man only 5 feet tall and how he admired the way he could handle the large cart horses. If they were restless he would bring his hammer up into the animals under belly just to let him know who was the boss.
For more than 60 years Andy rang the bells at St Peters’ church and every Saturday afternoon he climbed the tower to oil the bells. There are eight altogether. He also had a set of hand bells he played which he bequeathed to Mr Bigley, who was also a bell ringer. After Mr Bigley died, his wife sold the bells and spent the proceeds on the memorial Boards which hang in the tower to commemorate various peals performed by Andy and his fellow bell ringers.
Andy and the other bell ringers would travel to other towns and villages in the area for marathon bell ringing sessions. His mode of transportation was a “Penny Farthing” bicycle. These outings would invariably end at the village pub and he would rest by a pile of stones by the wayside on his way home. Andy was one of the bell ringers who rang the first peal after the church tower had been re-built and the new bells installed ready for Christmas 1893.
Andy was member of the John Pyel Lodge Ancient Order of Buffalos and it was said that he never missed a meeting in his thirty year membership. When it was his turn to entertain he would always sing “Maggie”. The Buffs were present at his funeral. Towards the end of his life he could be found every evening in the “Sow and Pigs” for a nightcap.
His only Grand-daughter Margaret recalls that they had a special relationship. “Every Sunday morning before he went to church and before we went to Sunday School he would visit us. He would save all his threepenny bits he collected all week and put them into a brass savings bank on our mantelpiece which held 10/- worth then I would bank them”. When his grand daughter was little he would take her into the belfry and she would watch the procedure of the bell ringing at Evening Service. Andy was the foreman and called all the changes. At one time there was a rector who stuttered quite badly, consequently the sermons were somewhat tedious so sitting at the back he was able to sneak out (after his sidemen duties were done) to the “Drum and Monkey” have a quick drink and then go back to the service. No-one be any the wiser. He was a fun loving man and he had a great charm, he was also a wonderful Grandfather, but the saddest day of his life was when he tolled the bell in May 1953 for his youngest grandson, 20 year old William Horne who was killed in an accident while serving in the RAF.
Andy’s wife died 1st January 1935, she was 68 years old, 3 years his senior. She was a kind and loving Grandmother. Nell and her husband, Edgar Hackney moved into 30 Jubilee Street to take care of him. For the rest of his life he was well cared for. After a short illness he passed peacefully away on 16th April 1958 and is interred beside his wife in the graveyard at St Peters Church. He was 88 years old when he died, just three weeks after attending the wedding of his grandson, Ted Horne to Mollie Bailey.
Andy’s descendants, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren reside in Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Irthlingborough!
Written by
Sally Tebbutt nee Horne Great Great Granddaughter of Mr Anderson York Tyler
Fire ! Fire!
Sitting at my computer, if I look to the left, I can see on the bookshelf, Two cigarette lighters. One is a chrome-plated Ronson with the initials “H F” engraved on it. It belonged to my uncle Henry Fowler of Wollaston. This was his gift to me as I was preparing to go to University in Sheffield. The other is made from a one inch brass nut with the wheel and the wick sticking out at the top and a screw near the bottom to allow fuel to be inserted. There is a third lighter on my right, but more of that at a later date.
I haven’t smoked for over thirty years, but those lighters got me thinking just how much fire was an everyday fact of life growing up in the 40’s and 50’s. Every room in our house had a fireplace, except the bathroom and the smallest bedroom. But even this had a gas-tap to which a portable gas-fire could be attached when needed. However, I remember a fire being lit only once in a bedroom. It was when I fell ill with some childhood complaint, probably measles. I was transferred to my parents’ bed. What their sleeping arrangements were I do not recall.
Every room also had its gas-lamp. A tap or a chain fixed to a lever released the gas, and a lighted match or a spill was held near the gas-mantle.
Unfortunately no light was available in the stairwell, nor the lavatory. To go to the toilet at night necessitated lighting a candle, or going in the dark (not recommended). My brother and I each had a differently coloured (red and blue) candlestick for when we went to bed. To us “Here comes a candle to light you to bed” was not just a line from a nursery rhyme.
The front room fire was lit when the season and occasion required it. The living room, which also served as a kitchen and dining room, had a range. This meant that it had to be cleaned out, set and lit and on an almost daily basis. The hot ashes were left on the shovel to cool, or if there were no wind, carried outside to cool before being placed in the ashbin. The range was eventually swapped for a gas cooker and a ‘modern’ tile surround and Redfire. This change was effected by Ted Peck on the evening that Wilfred Pickles brought his show “Have a Go” to the Express Canteen. We tried to listen to the radio broadcast against a background of knocks and bumps. The only thing I can remember of that show was Margaret Bonner’s very distinctive laugh.
Monday was washday, which was done outside the house in a brick built ‘washhouse’ (it would now be called a utility room). This was arduous, and women’s, work. This meant that the boiler had to be set and lit early in the morning to heat up the copper. (Why was it called that when it was made of cast iron?) A feature of our washdays was the duetting of the two Alices, my mother and Alice Woods who lived two doors up. Their songs could be heard right across the allotment field and into Allen Road. As a result of this familiarity, children growing up in those times were comfortable with and around fire. It formed part of our play.
It is now the beginning of November, and fireworks are still a feature of this time of the year. But then children could readily buy them, and not just sparklers and coloured-flame matches, but also our favourites – bangers and jumping jack fire crackers. We would have battles and throw lighted bangers at each other; it was not unknown for a lighted jumping-jack to be put in a friend’s coat pocket, or in a milk bottle. On one occasion we improvised a hand grenade by emptying out a battery, filing the metal case in a diamond pattern, putting two or three bangers inside, lighting them to see what would happen.
At other times we would light a small bonfire and bake potatoes in the embers (now there’s a word you don’t often hear these days and what does ‘slack’ mean to most people now?). Returning to the fag lighters, the fuel or petrol as we called it was sold in small gelatine ampoules. One of our games was to pierce the nozzle with a pin and squirt the contents through the flame of a lighted match to see who could create the longest flame. Once my squeezing was inept, and the burning fuel fell onto the back of my left hand. Although the hairs on my hand were singed, the skin suffered no damage; a relief as I would not have to explain the damage to mum.
Once during the school holidays I went with my brother and Terry Bonner down to the town tip at the back of Tannery Cottages. It was something of a treasure trove for us children. On the way Terry sang repeatedly a ditty that went:
When Hannibal crossed the Alps
When Hannibal crossed the Alps
One poor elephant stumbled and died
When Hannibal crossed the Alps
When we reached the top of the tip we decided to light a bonfire in front of a clump of bushes which formed a sort of cave. Unseen by us the ashmen were working below, saw the flames, gave a yell and came running up the slope. I retreated into the cave; the other two tore off towards Hayway and home. The men stamped on the fire and put it out. They turned to go down and spotted me in the cave. I think it was Tom Seckington who threw a kick at me saying, “Bugger off, and don’t light any more fires!” I ran.
When I started writing I meant to refer to some ‘public’ conflagrations such as the Balfour Fire which put my mother out of work, and was a topic of conversation years after the event. But I am running out of space. So I’ll end with four fire related questions.
Does anyone remember the cast iron plates fixed to houses saying “FIREMAN”?
When was the last time the firemen were called to duty by the siren?
Do you remember the torchlight processions on Carnival Day?
Perhaps life is safer these days, but is there as much fun and adventure?
Written By David Lee
“Put that light out!” ______
“Goodnight children…………everywhere.” ______
“Can I do you now sir?” ______
Lady Astor, “If you were my husband I would flavour your coffee with poison.”
“Madam, if I were your husband I would drink it,” replied _________
“The Princesses would never leave without me,
and I would not leave without the King,
and the King will never leave.” ______
Choose your answers; Queen Elizabeth; Winston Churchill; Uncle ‘Mac’; ITMA; & Your local, friendly Air Raid Warden.
Remember those Mental Arithmetic tests first thing every morning. Now try these;
Early 1950s Price List
Loaf of bread 4d
1lb of bacon 4s 6d
Pint of milk 1½d
Pint of beer 1s 8d
Potatoes 1s 1d per lb.
20 cigarettes around 4/-
A flight from London to Paris cost just £10
BUT
A skilled worker earned approx. £11 per week.
THE DODGERS
I wonder if many local people went to support Irthlingborough Town FC, or the ‘Dodgers’ as they were known, on 12th January, 1907 when they travelled to the Potteries to face Port Vale in the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. I suppose that everyone travelled by rail in those pre-WW1 days when cars and omnibuses were very few and far between. It really must have been quite a day out for all of those involved. Unfortunately the ‘Dodgers’ lost 1 – 7, and that score still remains as Port Vale’s record score in the FA Cup!
The ‘Dodgers’ also competed in the Hinchingbrooke Cup, a competition set up as an alternative to the Hunts Senior Cup after several senior clubs had fallen out with the Hunts Football Association in 1893.
The Earl of Sandwich was approached to provide a trophy. His Lordship donated 25 guineas and public subscriptions increased that to almost £48. Such an amount was quite sufficient to allow a hand-crafted, silver cup to be purchased. When one Competition Secretary took up office in 1979 he decided to have the trophy valued for insurance purchases – he was rather taken aback when told that the value was £41,000 and that it could only be insured for just one tenth of its value as it could not possibly be replaced!
Some pre-WW1 results involving the ‘Dodgers’ which may be of interest;
1898 beat Wisbech 5 – 0 after a 1 – 1 draw.
1899 lost to Hitchin Blue Cross 1 – 2.
1901 beat Stamford 2 – 1 after a goalless draw.
1902 beat Peterborough Town 2 – 1.
1903 Beat Stamford 4 – 1 after goalless draw.
Do you have any memories of the ‘Dodgers’ or their ground in George Street? - if so we’d love to hear them so please do get in touch.
Adapted by Eric Jenkins from Northampton Mercury 18th Sept. 1858
Merry Christmas Irthlingborough – 1873
At the Wellingborough Petty Sessions on 16th January, 1874 W.J.Cuthbert, John Smith, Francis Pinnock, Joseph Keech, Nathaniel Goosey and Richard Streeton, all youths from Irthlingborough, were charged with an assault on Samuel Waters, the Irthlingborough river-keeper, on Christmas Day 1873.
Mr Waters told the court that his son had been assaulted and that he had gone to his assistance when he was set upon by the defendants. “They were like a lot of puppies, a-heggin’ one another on, and so seein’ as how I should ‘ave to fight afore I got out of it, I thought I might as well begin, and so I laid about me with a will, and me and Streeton fit. The others surrounded me. One of ‘em put in a hot ‘un with a stick and another lent me one from behind. Another gave me one for me nob. I had more Christmas boxes than I knew what to do with. I also lost a new fishing net, and my wrist was so injured I couldn’t use it for several days.”
Mr Waters was then asked by the Chairman of the Magistrates if he could particularise what each defendant had actually done, to which he replied, “Oh, jist the same as the rest on ‘em!”
Five of the defendants pleaded ‘not guilty’ but Streeton told the court, “I admit that I had seven rounds with him because he warmed me up, and then I gave over.” Each was fined five shillings with eight and four pence costs.
As recorded by Eric Jenkins from the Northampton Mercury, 24th January, 1874.
IN MEMORIAM
On Nov 8th the Society held an exhibition depicting the village as it was when hundreds of young volunteers left to fight for their country in the Great War.
Many visitors attended, some from “just up the road” and quite a number from further a field.. All were asked to “enlist” by signing the visitors’ book.
Artefacts and photos were on display, (including a dish of Ock and Dough!) The Tower room became a cinema for the day and Phil Watts gave a short film show, at 15 minute intervals, which captured the era of old Irthlingborough,
One special visitor was Steve Johns who was dressed as a soldier of the Great War and brought along many interesting items from his vast collection of memorabilia.
On Sunday 9th November during the remembrance service at St. Peters Church the Rector, Canon John Westwood, dedicated the “In Memoriam” book which had been produced by the Society. The book will be kept at the church in a beautiful oak cabinet specially made by Ken Ward. A new page will be turned each week.
On 17th January 2009, members of the Society will be visiting the Imperial War Museum to present them with a copy. A further copy will be available on request at the Irthlingborough Library
We were privileged to have in attendance at the service Mrs. Hilda Surridge, the daughter of Samuel Jackson. Sam is one of those who never returned and Hilda, who is now 102 years old, remembers waving him off at the Cross as he went to war in 1914. During the service the choir sang “Keep the Home Fires Burning” and she sang along with tears in her eyes. A very moving moment. Later she joined us at the cenotaph and STOOD whilst all the wreaths were laid. A remarkable lady.
We hope that this Newsletter finds you well and we send you all good wishes for Christmas and the New Year
Dorothy Brawn (Ager)