Melkridge, Northumberland

My first visit

It was a warm bright sunny day in May when my husband and I came to look at a house in Thorngrafton. What a lovely quiet atmosphere it had, apart from the mooing of the cows on the farm and the sound of the house martins singing in the background there was silence and peace. We sat on the grass lawn at the front of the house and just looked at the view - in front of us the unspoilt Tyne Valley. We could see the River South Tyne meandering through the valley. Willmonswick Hall is in the panoramic view that is there when we wake in the morning. As you have probably guessed, we still live here 9 years on.  We plan to retire here. We feel like this is our and always has been our home.

WARTIME MEMORIES

Evacuated to Langley on Tyne in 1940 as an 11 year old, my memories relating to this peroid remain undimmed. It was a strange world to me, coming as I did with many other children escaping the war.  I was taken into care by a farming family.
I missed having children to play with and found it lonely and was unhappy attending the local school placed approximately 2 miles away (no school buses then). The elderly male  teacher, Mr Heslop, was an absolute horror to me at least. His favourite was an older boy, the school bully, who hailed from Gosport.
I returned to my parents before the end of the war.  My best friend throughout my stay was Miss Chrissie the farmer's daughter. Often I think of her now.

School Dinners

You see the wooden building in the background? This is where we went for our school dinners when I attended Allendale Junior school. We walked in pairs along the road and down the path. Earlier on we might see the cooks leaving the kitchen which was next door to Jo Bells and wheel the dinners down on a trolley. Sadly the building is no longer there, nor is the tennis court, which we played on while attending the secondary school, but the area has been re-vamped and is looking good. It is so good to see the old dinner hut again.

Home

I lived in Allendale for the first five years of my life, unfortunately due to my parents  work situation, we had to leave the village to find work in the town; things were never the same!  We still returned to Allendale frequently to visit our relatives the Nixon's & Hutchinson's.  I still remember my childhood with fond memories & the very close friendship I had with all my cousins in Allendale at the time.  My mother Iris used to work for Tommy at the Heatherlea in the early sixties & I think my father George Garry used to work at the Dixon's Garage in Allendale as a motor mechanic & later Hexham.

Before the old brewery was redeveloped, my Nana used to live in an annex of the brewery before moving to new bungalows on Allenfields; as a child I found it to be quite an adventure trecking from our home - Allen House, down the Peth, across the field, then over the old bridge that crossed the River Allen & past the Riding Hotel to the brewery, my Mother hated the journey; my Grandmother was a lovely lady.

I also remember going out with my cousins - John Nixon & David Kirkwood with Howard & Dockray on the back of their lorry, some days delivering coal & other days collecting the village rubbish - 'ah sweet memories'!

I attended Allendale infants school for a year (1964/5) & I think my teacher was Miss Bell, does anyone remember her?  That was another quality of village life, the schooling.  It was the only schooling I ever enjoyed!

Now 48, I still return to Allendale to reflect on life & how things have changed over the years, not necessarily for the better.  The village is still the same, apart from a few shops/businesses closing over the years i.e. Charlton's - I loved that shop!  The people are still as friendly as ever.