"Bumpmill Pond"

A Memory of Clowne.

My name is Keith Webster and I was born and brought up in Clowne. I was born on King Street before moving to Rose Avenue, then to Hickinwood Crescent, where we lived next door to Bill and Jean Ashley and their family. I was great friends with Bill Ashley, and together we would work for the Sibberings, who owned Harlesthorpe Dam, or "Bumpmill Pond" as it was affectionately known to the locals. Personally, I took care of the bungalow garden for Mrs Sibbering, who paid me quite generously. Together, Bill Ashley and I helped maintain the pond, taking out the rowing boat with a moon-shaped cutter on the back. Bill would row the boat whilst I stood at the back, rotating the cutter from side to side to cut the pond weed. As the cut weed drifted toward the edge of the water, I would rake it into piles on the edge of the pond. Local gardeners would then come and collect the weed to use as compost. Together, Bill and I would row out fishermen who wanted to go onto the central island, then pick them up again at the end of the day, or whenever they wanted to come back again. Often, Bill and I would stay overnight in the old tram at the pond, with a primus stove to make ourselves a pot of tea, or warm up a tin of soup.
Bill's dad, known as "Grandad Ashley" would also help out doing odd jobs around the pond.

Sibbering's son, Derek, built a bungalow on the opposite side of the pond to his parents, and had a small fishing tackle shop where fishermen could buy accessories such as hooks, lines, sinkers, rods, floats, nets etc., and kids could purchase fishing nets on canes for catching minnows, sticklebacks or tadpoles to take home in a jam-jar! Old Mr and Mrs Sibbering had a grandson, Michael, who lived with his parents in Skegness, but who came to spend the 6-week summer school holidays with his grandparents. His Uncle Derek would go around the pond issuing fishing permits and collecting money from the fishermen. Derek also had a couple of large greenhouses in which he grew tomatoes. Michael Sibbering and I would weigh these up into 1 lb bags and take them around the pond, selling them to the fishermen, or their wives, whoever wanted to buy them. There's nothing like the smell of home-grown greenhouse tomatoes!

On the opposite side of Rotherham Road was a little pond, where some of the fishermen preferred to fish. Both ponds were stocked with carp, although there were also some pike in there, being the only edible fish. At the end of the day, all the fish that had been caught were returned to the water.
Nature-wise, there were lots of bulrushes around the edge of the little pond, which attracted different types of dragon flies, may-flies and frogs. Tadpoles were plentiful, for kids to catch with their nets, as were minnows. At the end of the day, I would go home happy, knowing I'd done good jobs at the pond, and with generous recompense in my pocket!!

Should anybody who knows me wish to get in touch, my e-mail address is: edbear4856@aol.com