15 Years At Barclay House

A Memory of St Keverne.

I remember coming to live at Barclay House in the September with my sister Rachel and my Mum and Dad.  We moved from Sutton Coldfield because Dad no longer wanted to work as a garage mechanic for someone else, and he wanted to own his own garage.  Mum was not at all keen as she was leaving her friends behind, but as a dutiful wife, she agreed to the move and we settled into village life, albeit in part of the hub of St. Keverne Square.
After Jack Hocking died in 1963, Dad demolished the corner cottage and had a 4,000 gallon tank hoisted into place, then had the corner shop built over it that stands to this day.

We all used to take turns serving petrol, checking oil, blowing up tyres, or later on, sweets, to those socialising in the bus shelter opposite.  It was an idyllic life, Rachel and I had ponies, friends and loved to participate in the Annual Carnival, Ox Roast and Gymkhana.  That we were too far to travel to the nearest pony club did not deter us from spending hours riding on and making our own jumps from natural resources on Crousa Common before Paul Tyler acquired the land.  

For a time, I was a member of St. Keverne Church Choir, and living in Barclay House enabled me to feel at home in a short space of time after living in The Midlands with a not-so-nice accent until it wore off!

Dad integrated into the village life joining St Keverne Male Voice Choir with Hubert Hicks the Musical Director, my Mum joined the Red Cross and in 1976 with Derrick Johnston Musical Director of St. Keverne Band, I gave in to temptation, and learned to play a baritone as well as continue with my piano playing.

The village square has fond memories for me as I used to play tennis on it occasionally, and later, find myself doing square bashing for the next band contest.  

As he became terminally ill, Dad decided to sell Barclay House and the Garage, so we moved up Trelyn Lane into the bungalow he had built by Lory Cordell.  We stayed there until he died in 1981.  Marvin and his family continued to be of enormous help to us for the short time we lived there.

Living in that village with such lovely people will always be a memory I will treasure.  Anyone thinking of retiring to St. Keverne will never be disappointed.

Julie Little (nee Johnson), Swindon