Kibworth Harcourt

Fleckney

My uncle Alf and Auntie Mary lived in Main Street, Fleckney. Their son was Joe my cousin.

Just a Kibbuth Lad

For those who have never been to our village called Kibworth, it is worth noting locals call it "Kibbuth". You live in either "Top Kibbuth"- Kibworth Harcourt or "Bottom Kibbuth"- Kibworth Beauchamp. I myself personally, have lived in both and almost on the boundary of both parishes. For almost the past 40 years (man & boy), I have spent many a happy hour living, playing and working here. Some of my earliest reminiscences are of taking a pair of shoes to be repaired at Old Joe Nourish's cobblers shop on the Leicester Road (just at the end of the Rose & Crown (now Raitha's) car park.

On arrival at his shop, you would press the thumb catch on his wooden door and enter. Inside you would be welcomed by a mixture of heat and the aroma of leather. He had a small coke stove in one corner and Mr Nourish would be  sitting at his bench near the window. He had a slight hearing impairment and he'd be gently tapping small nails into a heel of a shoe that was resting on a last.  Around the walls would be cards displaying "Segs", shoelaces and other footwear artefacts. Mr Nourish was about 90ish when he retired. At the end of each working day, you would see him walking back to his home (round the corner in Main Street), pushing his "sit up & beg", cloth flat cap on his head and a small leather bag (with bike pump inside) over the handlebars. Aah! sweet memories.     

my street

I was born 1953 and lived in No 94 Main Street until 1966, which is one of the small cottages on the right of the photo.  The big house at the bottom of the road was known as "General Jack's", he being a veteran of the Boar and First World Wars.  This road was great in the winter of 62-63 when, because of lack of traffic, we could sledge all the way down.  As you can see there were not many cars, only a total of 5 car owners in the whole of Main Street.