CICELY ALLEN’S MEMORIES
I was born at ‘The Gardens’ in Woodnewton on 8th December 1935, at the home of my grandparents. My mother, Frances Vera Mould was born in Woodnewton to Jemima (nee Fitzjohn) and John Samuel Mould. She was one of two daughters; Kathleen her sister married Ernest Freshwater and lived three cottages further up the road at Hazel View. My father, Macdonald Allen came from Southwick. My parents were married at St Mary’s Church in 1921.
I had a very happy childhood living with my two brothers and six sisters. We had a very long and large garden that ran all the way down to the Willowbrook, so there was plenty of space for all of us to play in.
On Monday, 2nd September I started school at Woodnewton Primary with one other girl, Georgina (Ena) Britten. Then three weeks later 22 evacuees from London arrived. During the war, I remember the village being busy with army trucks driving through the village all the time. After the war, the children from the local villages all went to a party at Deene Hall.
As far as I can remember my mother always sold newspapers in the village. Early in the morning she would cycle to Kings Cliffe railway station to collect the newspapers off the train. Whilst I was at Woodnewton School I had the task of delivering the papers to the villagers before I went to school. On Saturday’s I would go and collect the money, so I got to know the people in the village very well. Evelyn Barfield, was a very good friend of my mother’s. I remember being very naughty one day – when delivering papers to Vera Pike’s house; I picked all the flowers off her red peony which was growing in her front garden.
On Sundays, I would go to church in the morning and evening and Sunday school in the afternoon. I was in the choir with my sisters Margaret and Hazel and our mother and Aunty Kathleen. After church and before lunch, I would walk with my siblings to Southwick to visit our paternal grandma.
I passed the scholarship and went to Stamford High School in 1947. My best friend from Apethorpe, Janet Birkett also passed, so we both used to cycle to Nassington to catch the bus together. The bus service was run by Harry Patch and we always sat at the front row of the single Decker bus the whole time we went to Stamford School. (Jane and I are still friends after all these years).
When cycling back from School one day in the late 1940’s, coming down the Woodnewton hill from Nassington I could see a glow in the sky over our village, and when I reached the outskirts, I could see that a building was on fire; it was Berry Cottage opposite ‘The Gardens’, the home of the Hewlett family. The thatch had caught fire because electricity wires had been rubbing across the wire netting, which covered the thatched roof. After that the lower part of the house was covered with a corrugated roof and chickens were kept there by Harry Spademan.
My other friends from Woodnewton were Nester Watkins from Orchard Lane, Ena Britten from Chapel Cottage, Jean Smith from St Mary’s Hill and Sheila Walker from Franey House. I loved sports and played tennis and hockey; went swimming and enjoyed athletics. I loved playing tennis at Apethorpe with Janet. We played with other children from Apethorpe and would spend a lot of time meeting up with them half way, just sitting on the grass beside the road and chatting.
On leaving school in 1953, I followed my father and siblings into the railway. I was employed in a clerical capacity for the British Rail School in Hadley Wood, at various stations including Oundle, Kingscliffe, Huntingdon and finally, Peterborough. For entertainment we used to walk to KingsCliffe to attend the dances that were held there.
Another friend from the village was Judy Whalley. Her father, Norman Whalley, was the local Police Constable, but when he retired in 1952, he went to work at the Approved School in Apethorpe. Because of his position there, we were allowed to go to the Country Dancing on Friday nights with the boys.
I married Harold Winterton in Oundle in 1961 and went to live in Peterborough. After a year, my husband and I came back to live with my parents. My father had taken over the Post Office from Mr Gilbert and he wanted me to run it for him. The room on the right hand side of the front door was made into the shop, from where we sold greeting cards, sweets, crisps and cigarettes.
Due to the Peterborough to Rugby railway line closing in 1966, my father retired from his position of signalman at Kings Cliffe Station, and he took over the running of the Post Office and Shop from me. So, my husband, son and I moved to live in Stamford.
Thursday, 5th October 1978, had been a usual day in the shop; Nobby Gynn was my father’s last customer of the day and after he served him, he shut up shop and went into the lounge, sat in the chair and died. Afterwards, I sold the property and mother came to live with us at Stamford for a while and then moved into a Nursing Home. She died in November 1984; they are both buried in St Mary’s Churchyard.