Conkers And The Pram Race

A Memory of Barlborough.

Hello, my name is David Clarke. I lived in Barlborough from 1972 to 1978. We lived at 12 Westbridge Rd during that time frame. I went to Barlborough Primary School and so did my brother until my family moved to the U.S. in 1978. During that time frame, I was a choir boy at St. James' church. Rev. Graham Edwin Bence was the pastor for many years. If my memory serves me correctly, my school teachers were Mrs. Hayward was my first year teacher and she lived in a cottage there on the school grounds. Mrs. Ward was my 2nd year teacher, Mrs. Mountford the 3rd year, Mrs. Lewis the 4th year and Mr. McKie the final 5th year. Some of my very good friends were Adrian Taylor whose family live directly behind the school grounds behind the De Roads pub. Another was Johathan Bennet who lived on Chesterfield road in that time and I believe had moved to Westbridge Road the last I heard. A couple of memories that stick out were that each weekend, my dad used to go down to an allotment behind the Dusty Miller where he had a small vegetable garden. Another was that one year, I believe around 1974, the village had a "Pram Race" where adults dressed up in diapers (nappies), baby bonnets and teams of 2 people pushed each other in a race around the village. My mum and a good friend, Barbara Huntington, were the only 2 women in the race. It was hilarious watching adults dressed up like babies in a race around the village. A great many people lined the streets as the racers went by. My mum and Barbara finished dead last but I still have the photos of them laughing their heads off before during and after the race. Another is that my mum also took part in preparing the Well Dressing each year which was/is a beautiful biblical scene made of flower petals and clay. It was normally done at the church rectory. If anyone has any info about Johnathan Bennet or Adrian Taylor, I'd appreciate any info you can provide. I believe that Johnathan married Elizabeth Buckton, also of Westbridge Rd. One last memory is that of course, every English kid likes to play "Conkers" in Autumn. My brother and I used to go down towards Barlborough Hall as there were some "great conker trees" down there. Once we were down there, trying to get some conkers and the game warden saw us and came after us on his little moped/scooter. He carried a blunderbuss type of gun and used to fill it with rocks, dirt or anything that could be shot out of it in an effort to stop people causing any mischief. He got my brother a little and of course we had to find other conker trees after that. As I'm now grown, have kids of my own. I have taught my kids about playing conkers and we still play to this day. One last thought is that my eldest son is named Britten after all I knew in my childhood. We intentionally changed the spelling but of course, you can tell where the name came from. Look forward to hearing from anyone.

David Clarke

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