Aldbrough St John, North Yorkshire

Childhood memories.

I have many happy memories of Melsonby as I visited regularly until the 1980's. My father's family (Healey) were from Melsonby and my aunt was a teacher at the C of E school for many years. My father and most of his family are buried in the churchyard in the picture. The right-hand cottage belonged to the Rennison family and as a child no visit to Melsonby was complete without a visit to them.
Although only 22 miles from Middlesbrough where I lived it took 2 and a half hours to get to Melsonby and 3 different buses.

Shop and Post Office

My parents, Fred and Marjorie Reeks bought the shop and Post Office from Mrs Britton in 1947 and they owned the business till about 1985. In the mid sixties Fred got about 100,000 daffodil bulbs from a market garden in Darlington and spent many hours getting a single furrow dug around the perimeter of each of the pieces of the green and creating the words "Cross Keys" in front of the pub and "Post Office Eppleby" around the turning bay in front of the shop in letters about 3 feet tall. He then spent many more hours planting the bulbs in the furrows. He put the big stones, which he painted white near the daffodils to stop people from driving over the flowers.
Marjorie kept the business going on her own after Fred died in 1983. She moved to Canada in 1986 to join me there.The house next-door was owned by Mr Lax. His farm workers lived there.Sylvia lived there for a while.I remember Melvyn Jones living there. Len Bowsher and his mother next to them and Brittons owned Archway Cottage for many years and their grown children Joan, Noel and Hilma (Larsen) lived there at various times. I am not sure how the McLarens ended up there, I believe Mr McLaren was with the military, they had 2 sons Rory ( Roderick John) and Norman Angus. The Kelly-Wiseham family lived there at one time. He had been in the military in Germany and that is where they got their dog, Kurt.
Across the green Harry Hutchinson lived in number 1 Victoria Row and after them "Topper" Bracewell and his Mom. The Glaspers lived at number 2, Edna Thompson lived at number 4, Fred Stevens ( the postman) and his sister Rose lived at number 5. Tommy Sutheran owned the cow byre across the green from the shop even though their farm (Glebe farm) was in the corner hidden from our view by the blacksmith's shop owned by the Twedalls. The stop for buses going to Darlington was in front of the blacksmith's shop. Stan Twedall's wife Topsy used to be the bus conductress. Stan used to be the publican at the Traveller's Rest, (see picture) the pub frquented by the locals. The folks from town went to the Cross Keys which was run by Mr and Mrs Hughes. I remember Mr Hughes getting the sign on his pub changed from 2 crossed keys to 2 keys fighting each other with boxing gloves on! Bill and Alice Smith, Cliff ,Roger and Mildred Britton lived on The Curtain as did Mrs Waller who used to live next to the Corner House. Nell Clarkson (the cat & dog lady) lived in the small cottage attached to the Corner House next to the blacksmith's shop (photo on this page).Nurse Elanor and her family lived near there too. Bert & Rene Bellwood lived In Jubilee Cottages, nextdoor to George Pacey who was employed by the County Council as a Roadman, he did hedge slashig. The Dowsons lived in High House at the top of the village. Mrs Crooks used to supply milk for people in the village. I walked there every day for 1 1/2 pints of milk and carried it home in cans. Harry Sharpe, who only left Eppleby 1 day a year to go to Darlington on Michaelmas Day, lived in Chapel Row, he had a Gallowa (Yorkshire for a horse) and to prevent this animal from hurting its hooves walking on the cobblestones behind Chapel Row to get from the garden to the Village Green, led it through his house every day. Mr and Mrs Richardson lived in this row too.Picture of these houses on this page. The Blackburn family lived in one of the Coronation Cottages. Their daughter, Jean, and I were recruited to chase the geese across the green so they would be in the photos on this site! On that side of the village were the Whitfields, with their son Trevor. Ray Stenson, Daisy and Sybill Thompson lived in New Row.
About a mile away was where Sir Mortimer Wheeler and his crew excavated part of the Stanwick Fortifications. (picture on this page) As a child I spent many hours there watching their work progressing. He was knighted at about this time.
There was an underground stream which ran down the village and through the cellar of the Post Office untill Fred put in the petrol tanks in front of the shop, that diverted the stream. I remember Marjorie telling me that the first spring we lived there she was startled to get her feet wet as she descended the stone steps into the cellar. Behind the P O was Mill Farm owned at the time by Mr Stevenson. He was quite old all the time I knew him. In a corner of one of his fields there was a fresh water spring where we had to go to get water when the town water supply failed. Fred (who ran a threshing machine) and Norah Whappat lived across the road from this farm as did Dennis and Joyce Player.
Eppleby Gala was my favourite time. The people who came with the roundabouts and stalls were all friends of mine and I kept in touch with them long after leaving the country. The Shipleys were the main family, then there were the Jefferies, Barwicks and Cowries. Mrs Deer, the fortune teller, and her grandson Johnny always put her caravan near the blacksmith's shop.
I have heard that Eppleby has finally started to grow. While we lived there there were not many new homes built. I remember the police house being built, prior to that the village police man used to live in Corner House, where Margaret Tweddal lives now. The only P C I remember was Mr Williamson, and his wife. They had the first TV I ever saw! C W Watson the councillor lived just outside the village on a farm.Colonel Waller and family lived at Forcett hall.