Willow Garth

My Grandparents Arthur and Gladys Gossop lived at Willow Garth, opposite the White Horse Pub.  Grandad bought it with his Army money.  He built a workshop, and began a business which included Wheelwright, Joiner and Contractor.  He made coffins and walked in funeral processions with his best top hat on.  He put piped water, WCs and a bathroom into the house, and did the same in Dad's house in York.  He had a bakelite telephone and always a car - first a little black one with orange indicators which stuck out to the side between the doors (one day the rain was coming through the roof when we went to the foundry and I saw the smith pour liquid metal into a sand mould to make a drain cover).  Later he had a very swell green Humber Hawk with red leather seats and I got to sit on the armrest (no seatbelts of course).  His brother Bristow also lived with them and was employed in the business.  Bristow had one holiday a year - a day at the races in York with a visit to our house included.  He did the gardening and grew lovely veg and flowers.  Grandma was crippled up with Arthritis and going deaf but her cooking was lovely.  My sister and I spent all our Summer holidays at Willow Garth - we never got bored, there were plenty of games to play.  We also had to fetch the eggs and clean them ready for sale.  There was an orchard which yielded plenty of fruit and honey.  My Mum Minnie was their only child.  She went to live in York when she married my Dad, but for years they went to Willow Garth at weekends to help with the gardening, fruit picking and honey extraction.
There were other Gossops in the village - Aunt Toppy lived at the White House, now demolished.