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Kirkby Thore
Kirkby Thore photos
Displaying the first of 3 old photos of Kirkby Thore. View all Kirkby Thore photos
Kirkby Thore maps
Historic maps of Kirkby Thore and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Kirkby Thore maps
Kirkby Thore area books
Displaying 1 of 10 books about Kirkby Thore and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Kirkby Thore
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memories of Kirkby Thore.
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The Bridge Inn
My mother, Joyce Hogg, whose grandparents were Egglestone of Culgaith, used to tell us that her relatives, two aunts, used to run the Bridge Inn at Kirkby Thore in the 30's, 40's or 50's. Unfortunately I do not know their names or surnames. Can anyone help me with my family history? Other family names are Tallentyre and Jennings, so this may be useful to anyone with possible information.
Thank you.
Cumbria memories
Evacuation
I had lived with my family in Birmingham through part of the Blitz in the Second World War. In January 1941, the firm for which my dad worked moved their head office to Appleby and I well remember the snow was falling as we approached our new home in Bongate Hall where several families lived in the rooms above the offices. The times were both exciting and daunting. I was aged 11 and was starting at a new school, Appleby Grammar - an all boys school in those times. There were many boys from Birmingham and I well remember our First Year Form Master, Mr Boulton trying very hard to understand our 'Brummie' accent, just as we were having problems understanding the Westmerian accent of the local boys. As there were so many evacuees we were housed in almost every hall or room that had space in the town including, The Sands Methodist Hall, the Oddfellows Hall, as well as the Institute etc. We got to know the... Read more
Flakebridge
My mother died on 13 June 2011 aged 87 years old. Her name was Margaret Elfin Gunn (nee Simpson). Her date of birth was 03 October 1923 and she was born in Flakebridge, Dufton. She was the first of 15 children in the Simpson family, 10 girls and 5 boys. Her father was Thomas Frederick Simpson (Farm Laborer) and mother was Edith Annie Simpson (formerly Barker). I believe that she was in service. My mother's name Elfin was after a member of the family that she worked for. My Grandad eventually had his own farm, Sandford Hall at Sandford. If anyone has any further information or could point me in the right direction of the house that my mother may have been born in could you please let me know, my email is ycr62@aol.co.uk. I would love to go and see it if it is still there. Many thanks.
Temple Sowerby
My grandparents Lol (Lawrence) and Edith Johnston owned and operated the Black Swan Inn for many years. I would love to find out some family history, their son Tom emigrated to Australia in 1964, I was 2 and my sister 1 when we left. I am sure there are lots of people who may have some lovely old stories for us. I am also keen to know a little about my mother's family, my grandparents were Fred & Jean Martin of Appleby, my mother's brother David Martin was sadly killed in a road accident coming home from naval leave, I believe around 1970. Please email me Sally Munro (nee Johnston) anything at all to: magpiejim@bigpond.com.au
Langwathby Hall Farm
As a youngster of 12 I was evacuated from my home in Wallington near Croydon Surrey to Cumbria, where I attended Penrith Grammar School in 1940. I lived at Temple Sowerby at Riggside at the farm (Millrigg Farm) of my elderly cousin, Isaac Huntington. His elder brother was George Huntington a retired farmer of Langwathby Hall Farm. Those two brothers were sons of Joseph and Ann Huntington also of Langwathby Hall Farm. I spent many happy days in the company of both Isaac and George Huntington. My ancestry is from Cumbria dating back to the 12th century and in the 1990s I researched and published a book titled "The Solway Plainsmen" relating the history and quality of life for Cumbrians from the 12th to the 20th centuries. It will shortly be available to download free on the internet on www.huntingtondouglas.net Having lived there I could never understand why my great grandfather had migrated to London, but economic factors must have dictated his decision.
Mining at Hilton 1948 - 50
In 1948 I started my career as a Mining Engineer working as a miner at Bill Wharton's barytes mine on Long Fell and worked there for three months, living in lodgings at Rose Cottage in Hilton, before leaving to commence my studies at the Camborne School of Mines. Bill, who lived with his wife at Townhead Cottage, was quite a character and one of my first mentors; he employed about 10 of us, some from Hilton and others from Brough.
I don't think the mines could have been very profitable - I suspect his wife's hairdressing business in Kirkby Stephen paid our wages more than once. The mineral was hauled down from the mine and washed at a rudimentary plant just above the village using water from Scordale Beck. Afterwards the washed mineral was sent to Glasgow. Bill also had the license covering the old lead mines up Scordale. I surveyed these old workings starting in 1948 and continued this work in 1949 and 1950 after Bill sold his mineral... Read more
Lowther Castle
We moved in to the lodge at the main gate of the castle on 6th June 1953 till March 1965. Spent many happy hours playing in the castle gardens and summer houses and also in the castle itself, it was partly furnished then and I used to go up main staircase and onto the roof, great view across the parks and to Penrith, also down in the cellers where there was lots of stuffed animals and ex-army radios and ariels which we made into fishing rods. The lodge had large doors when we first moved in so people used to try to get in, some even tried their own keys, later they removed the doors and made another room. When they started to dismantle the castle the boss and his wife lived in a caravan next to the lodge, his name was Bob Garvy, rest of the men lived in the flats in the castle. I remember helping on the day they sold all the timber and furniture ... Happy... Read more
