NOTES OF LIFE IN WOODNEWTON FROM 1919

Mary Bellairs was born in Leeds.  Her mother, Florence, was in the army, so brought her to Woodnewton to live with a relative.   Granny Smith could not have any children, and Florence wanted to continue her life in the Army, so it was convenient to both families.  Granny Smith, alias Sara Jane Wise was born in 1867 in Woodnewton.  She first married Matthew Wadsworth in 1900.  Her second husband was John W Pilkington (married 1913) and her third husband, Thomas Smith (married 1924) who died in 1928.  Mary always referred to Sara Jane as her mother.  Marian Bellairs was Mary’s real grandmother, and she was married to a farmer at Crowland, but returned to Woodnewton to live with her mother.

Mary’s Great Grandmother, Jane Wise, who died in 1933, also lived in the village and was a certified midwife.  She was well known within the village for bringing Woodnewton children into the world.

One of the houses that Mary lived in when she first came to this village was the cottage on the left of this picture.   Mary said that she then lived in ‘The Yard’.  She said that there were two other houses behind theirs and also three hovels, a communal wash house and toilet.

The cottage to the left of Granny Smith’s house was split into two and Mary can remember that Nobby Gynn lived in the far left side (left of tree) and a lady by the name of Mary Jane, who was bedridden, lived next door.

Mary went to Woodnewton School in 1923 and her first teacher was Mrs Rose who lived in the School House.  The other teacher was Miss Black who lived at Nassington.

Mary married Joseph Hollowell from Nassington in April 1940 at St Mary’s Parish Church, Woodnewton.  The west end one in the row of three was their first house in Woodnewton, which was opposite Granny Smith’s house.    The three houses were raised up and you had to go up some steps to get to the front door.  There was a stone wall and a picket fence which surrounded the houses.  The low part of the cottage was the wash house.  Between the wash house and the stone barn was a garden and in this garden was the well, which supplied the water.  (Later, it was pulled down and replaced with the house now named Willowbrook House, No 3 Main Street).

Behind the cottages was ‘Hinds Field’; this was named after the publican of the Horse and Jockey, which was just up the road on the same side of the street.  Between the old barn and the cottage, where Mr Quincey lived, was a stone style and this was used to enter the field and get across into back lane.  The thatched cottage, which is known as Dairy Cottage, on the north of the street with steps up to the front door is where Jane and Ena Hull lived.  Mary remembers that they had lots of children.

Next to Mr Quincey (senior) was the Blacksmith’s forge (the actual blacksmith lived on the other side of the road).

During Mary’s life in the village, she saw the Post Office move around to several different buildings.  On the north side of the road was ‘The Gardens’, this house was owned by Mr John Samuel Mould (died 1947).  Mac Allen, John Mould’s son in law ran the post office at that address.  Later on the building was known as “the Old Post Office”.

The post office returned to St Mary’s Hill in 1978 under the control of Lesley Fuller.  After Lesley it last went lastly to the White Swan when Dick and BobbieTurton were the landlords of the pub.

When the new houses on Nassington Road, between the Main Street and Back Lane, were completed in 1951/52, Mary and Joseph (Jerry) were given No 8 as they had a family and it was one of the larger houses.  Although, the road that the houses stood on was originally known as Nassington Road, it was changed to Sycamore Close after a ballot was taken by the Parish Council.

Upon completion of the small bungalows in Orchard Crescent, Mary and Jerry moved to them where Mary has lived ever since.  She and Len Reed were the only two residents who had lived there since they were built.

2013