Gilling West, Village 1913

Pear Tree House Skeeby

After living in Richmond I bought and renovated Pear Tree House (on the right of this 1913 picture) in 1972.  The previous occupants had died when I found the house it was covered in ivy and I understand at one time Funeral directors operated from the property.  

It took eighteen months to renovate PTH into a double fronted Georgian Bay home.  PTH had no foundation at the rear of the property, built straight onto the ground it stood on, under pinning with new foundations was required.

Inside PTH was a cellar that was used as an apple store, the apples collected from the orchard at the rear of PTH. On stepping out of PTH at the front you step onto common land that any one can walk on or feed their cattle.  Also a wonderful beck runs through the village green and in my time local Chinese restauranteurs came to pick the watercress that grew in the running water.

The garden behind PTH, not bought by the writer, was developed with four single storey buildings erected and the outbuilding on the side also became a single storey house.

I have many happy memories of Skeeby, not only the friendship of the local people but the good pint of John Smiths Ale in the Travellers Rest pub just fifty yards up the village green. The egg farmer, the Hunt that came into the village over Christmas to participate in the Stirrup Cup and wonderful Anna and Bill Genty who lived opposite and Mark and Sally Scrafton who were wonderful people.  

After three happy years my business interests brought me down to Surrey in 1975 and I sold the house I always said I would never sell.

My two sons were born in Darlington and Catterick and we still have has many friends in Skeeby/Richmond as we do in Surrey.

Terry D King

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.

The View

In my youth I looked out on this view many times from the Castle Keep. We lived on Westfields Road which can just be seen over to the left of the picture.

The Cottage Hospital

I had my right knee stitched up here after being kicked by one of my Dad's racehorses
in July 1949