Grantham, Grammar School 1890

Staying the night in Grantham's railway station

I shall always remember the night in 1968 when I rode my motorcycle - an old BSA Bantam - over the A1 and it blew out on me.
My parents used to live in Ickburgh in Norfolk (a little village between Brandon, Suffolk and Swaffham, Norfolk) and I was in the first year of a five year engineering apprenticeship to Rolls-Royce in Derby. This night in late autumn, about 8 o'clockish, I had just ridden through Grantham and crossed over the A1 motorway when my old Bantam gave up on me as I was going down the hill to the other side of the motorway.
This was my first motor vehicle, I was sixteen, I was on 9 a week, so I pushed it all the way back to Grantham (it had cost me 10 - or rather, my father!) and slept the night in the railway station (which was thankfully kept warm for me) before a train arrived to take me back to Derby in the morning of the following day.
Added by the Frith Memory Archivist from a letter received from Mr Richard Parish.

Gatehouse.

As a child I spent many happy holidays in Denton. My Grandparents lived in the right-hand side of the gatehouse; their names were James and Jane Howell. He was a gardener at the Hall. I remember at the age of about five years old, rushing out to open the big gates for horses or vehicles to come through on their way to the Hall. When my Grandfather retired, they went to live in one of the houses that were set back from the road, halfway down the village street. Later Gran and one of her daughters lived in the almshouses in the park. At that time I had to stay with them for some weeks, owing to illness at home. I went to the village school, I think the headmaster's name was Mr Geeson. Mostly I remember the wonderful walk back home to Gran's, up the lane through a spinney of trees and into the park. There were wild strawberries in the grass, and violets, sweet chestnuts and conkers of course; and the constant cooing of the wood pigeons. Some days I went with my Aunt 'sticking' or collecting firewood in a truck. We would go right across the park, some times going down to the Ponds and to the Well, other times we went up some steps and over the park wall, across the road and into the eight acre field, where we were allowed to collect mushrooms if we were lucky enough to find any. What an idyllic way of life, though my Gran and my Aunt were very poor we were very happy. There was one snag, not that I was worried by it then, it was just how things were; the 'privy' (or toilets today) were about 100 yards from the houses, underground near some trees. Just two wooden seats for all the six almshouses. I never had to queue!  It was a wonderful, gentle way of life, the memories stay with me through all these years.

John and Elizabeth Foottit

I visited Carlton Scroop with my grandmother, Elizaberth Foottit. Her sister was Rose Helena West, they were all born in Hough on the Hill. Harrold Footit, whose memorial is in the church, was my great cousin. Elizabeth was born in 1875, John in 1873. The West and Footit families all came from Hough. I have photos of Elizabeth and John in 1900.