Eppleby memories
Here are memories of Eppleby and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Eppleby or a Eppleby photo.
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... Read more
The McHugh Family, 1963-1965
Hello all, my name is Terry McHugh Junior, as I am apparently the first to hit this site I will share with you my early childhood memories of that lovely village in Yorkshire, Eppleby.
We moved into Eppleby in 1963, my Dad (Terry McHugh senior) was in the Army at the time, serving in Catterick, my Mum's name was Edna. We moved in to Archway cottages and lived in the furthest cottage away from Reeks shop and petrol station. Across from the archway dividing the cottages lived our friends Dot and Stan Tweddle. Dot and Stan had 2 children who we used to play with. Stan was the landlord of the Travellers Rest public house.
Mr Reeks used to run the village shop and petrol station, I remember he had a couple of large dogs (Alsations I seem to remember). I have 3 brothers and 1 sister, my name is Terry and I am 49, my twin is called Michael, Stephen is 47, Kevin is 43 and... Read more
Memories of North Yorkshire
Grandparents
The Blackburn family. Hi, my grandparents lived in Forcett all of their married life and brought up four children there. Milly was the oldest, she was my gran's daughter from her first marriage, the surname was Swann. Then she met and married my granddad and had three more children, David, Joan and Alexander who was my dad. He married my mum (Stella) from South Africa. l remember many happy hours playing in front of the cottages and tying the kissing gate up when the weddings were on. My granddad is buried in the churchyard along with my gran's first husband. My grandparents' names were George and Jane. My granddad was a lay preacher l think and my dad used to pump the organ on a Sunday. If you look on the back of the organ you can still see his initials (AB). LOVELY DAYS IN A LOVELY VILLAGE.
Living in Aldbrough St. John 1954-1972
My former name was Carol Innis and I lived in Aldbrough with my brother Les and parents Ken and Hilda. Les and I spent our childhood and teenage years walking and swimming in the beck, playing football on the huge village green and cricket on the cricket pitch which was maintained to a high standard by Jack Hollywell, then owner of The Stanwick Arms. We (that is John Pearson, Ian Ogden, James (Tig) Foster, Ali Foster, Jeff Auton, Audrey Gargett, Mary Robinson, Syd and Pat Appleby and many more) used to congregate in the village bus shelter, where we had many laughs and compared to some of today's teenagers our behaviour was quite harmless - although some of the elder community may not agree. My time in Aldbrough was mostly a happy one. I still visit my mum and dad's headstone set in St Paul's churchyard. I am hoping others may follow and write their memories of a beautiful peaceful North Yorkshire village.
1951 - 1979 Life in Aldbrough St John
Reading Carol's memories brings to mind a lot of happy times in the village, especially the bus shelter and phone box. We managed to make up a lot of our own entertainment, especially the 'village youth club', in a loft above Wilf Martin's butchery business. With a trap door, we could decide who could enter, once in there the music was provided by numerous transistor radios either tuned to Caroline or North Sea International and occasionally Luxembourg. The annual feast in early August was something we all looked forward to, with John Murphy's dodgems and all the side stalls where you could work for a bit of money, to be spent on the chip wagon or at the back door of the Stanwick Arms. At that time events would be put on to try and raise money, wrestling bouts, beat group contests! etc.
Swimming could take place, once we dammed the beck, but fishermen soon dismantled them, sledging on Mill Hill in winter.
The village was usually a quiet... Read more
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.
Too Short A Stay!
I lived in Kirby Hill for one year from 1965 to 66, I was a 13 year old boy. I absolutely loved my time there and have many happy memories. My Mother and Father bought the Shoulder of Mutton in 1965 taking myself and brother Frank ( then aged 7) to live in this fantastic area of North Yorkshire. My Father in fact was responsible for creating the restaurant area from what was then the beer store. I remember waiting on tables in the restaurant (at that time it was known as the Grill Room).
The Shoulder of Mutton was a favourite with the Army who used to call on their way back from the shooting range on the Moors, it was quite a regular occurance to see two or three green canvassed backed lorries in the pub car park having deposited their cargo into the pub for a couple of pints and pie and peas. I remember that two brothers from Whashton were regulars in the Bar, one of... Read more
Memorybank total
We're very pleased and excited by your response so far to our "Share your Memories" community.
You've shared 26,133 memories of 5,726 towns & villages across the UK - keep them coming!
Find Memories
Simply search for your favourite places to read others' memories and share your own.
Tips & Ideas
Not sure what to write?
It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:
How does it feature in your personal history?
What are your best memories of this place?
How has it changed over the years?
How does it feel, seeing these old photos of your favourite place?
Do you remember stories about the local community, its history and people?
Start now!
It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the orange "Add your Memory" icon to begin.
Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Kirkham Abbey, North Yorkshire
- South Merstham, Surrey
- Rotherwick, Hampshire
- Sale, Cheshire
- Reigate, Surrey
- Wishaw, Lanarkshire
- Perivale, Middlesex
- Thornley, County Durham
- Great Tew, Oxfordshire
- Kitts Green, West Midlands
- Greenock, Renfrewshire
- Broadstairs, Kent
- Walcott, Norfolk
- Pontardawe, West Glamorgan
- Riddings, Derbyshire
- Milton Abbot, Devon
- Brinsley, Nottinghamshire
- Braunton, Devon
- Aveley, Essex
- Mitcham, Surrey
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
Your memories
To jump straight to the memories you have added already to the Community, click here
I Remember When...
This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the
Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.
A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an
irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.
