My Memories of Hindringham

I was born in Hindringham to Eva and John (Jack) Smith and attended the village school (the one at the foot of Church Hill). The principal was Miss Flood and the infant teacher Miss McDonald. My mother ran the village shop (this is now a B & B and prior to this the Post Office - run and owned by my eldest sister Florence). Dad had a smallholding near Field House. The shop was often a meeting place for young and not so young.  Mum would open up at seven'ish in the mornings for the newspapers and supplied paper rounds to Binham and Thursford. Hardware, oil, paraffin, cigarettes, confectionary and soft drinks were also sold and Mum owned two petrol pumps for the sale of petrol which used to be pumped by hand. The village had its own bakery (Mr Gaskin) postman ('Sausage' Martin), Vicar (Mr Kewely and then Mr Tugwell), coal supplier (Howard Bros), grocery shop (Mr Temple) and Mr Guymer would sell groceries from his horse and cart. The Post Office was in Wells Road and run by Miss Benstead, the blacksmith shop where horse-shoes were made and horses shod was in Blacksmith Road run by 'Little Billy' and a bit further on down the road from there, near a pond, was a beautiful large tree from which we used to get our conkers for conker fights.

My father donated a large silver cup known as the John Smith Cricket Cup for surrounding villages to compete at 20-over cricket on Hindringham Playing Field during the summer, culminating with the final at the end of the season. Billiards used to be played in the Church Institute with the table being stored under the stage when not in use. Whit Sunday weekend the Methodist Chapel would have a special Sunday School Anniversary Service on the Sunday and on the Monday there would be a Fancy Dress Parade starting at Knoll Corner and parading through the village to enter the playing field through the gates on Wells Road; judging would take place for the various categories of entrants, prizes awarded and photos taken. This would then be followed by the Sporting Day events with races for various age groups (distance, egg, sack, three legged, obstacle races.) There was a pillow fight competition sitting on a slippery pole, and also the tug-of-war.

St Martin's Church has a beautiful glass stained window above the alter; I married my husband in this church in August 1959 and moved from the village; in 1968 we left the UK for Western Australia. My husband and self visited Hindringham during a visit to the UK in 1994 and found the village changed - it had lost its 'characters' and to me its soul, but then I suppose that is what is called progress. This year (2009) we celebrate our golden wedding anniversary, 50 years of marriage which began in the village of Hindringham.