St Neots, Paper Mill at Little Paxton 1897

I attended here in the late 50s and early 60s

I remember St Marys when Mr Naylor if im right was the headmaster when i left to go to Longsands in 1962. At easter and Christmas we use to go to St Marys church opposite for services. There was some prefab classrooms at the back and you still had ink and milk monitors, i cannot remember the name of the teachers so if any one can please add them to this memory. Many thanks David Matzk age 56.

My great-grandfather the papermill manager

My great-grandfather Ogilvie Bricknall was the manager of this mill at the turn of the century. He was a great papermaker and had moved to St Neots with his family from Longforgan in Perthshire. His son James was assistant manager in 1911 and the mill employed his two daughters as clerks.

When l was Little

Hello, I was born at Paxton Park in 1948. My mum was Sheila Shepherd, daughter of Lilian and Percy. Mum married Horace Hermitage who was stationed there, they married and went off to live in Kent but she came back to St Neots to have my sister Carole. I remember so well the train journey from Kent to go and stay with Nan 'n Grandad, they lived in Ferreres Avenue, as did Aunty Ursula and her husband Gorden Jackson. Nan did cleaning for Joe and Doris Wiles who ran the greengrocers in St Mary's Street. Aunt Ursula worked for years at Kayser Bondor, Carole and I always had the most beautiful undies as presents from aunty. We had lots of playmates, Margaret Jacobs, Nigel and his sister Bobby Ball, Jonny Barry and Rosie Chamberlain. I still have a photo of us all sitting on a coal bunker. I thought St Neots was the best place in the world. Sadly Nan, Grandad, and Aunt Ursula Gordon have all passed away now. Myself and my husband still travel that way to see friends in Peterborough. Ursula's daughter Karen also lives there, so I catch up with her. My dear mum always pined for St Neots so Carole and I took some of her ashes back in 2008 and sprinkled them at the Coneygere where she played as a child. My mum's brother Brian still lives at Southoe so l still have links. I would love to know what happend to the friends we played with. There will always be a place in my heart that is St Neots.

Eynesbury House

My first husband, David Beames, and I, moved into Eynesbury House in July, 1968, and our first son, Andrew, was born at Mill Road Hospital, Cambridge, a few weeks later. William was born in 1971, also at Mill Road. Both boys went to St. Mary's Primary School, Eynesbury. (They are now both married and living in America. I have two lovely grand-daughters, Mary and Catherine (Andy's children). Will married a nice girl called Janna two years ago, but so far no sign of children.) I joined the St. Neots Musicmakers a short time after Andrew's birth. We all found St. Neots a very friendly place, and were happy there. Unfortunately my husband had to move North when his office closed, and we went to live in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 1976. I still remember the people who were so kind to us when we moved in: Mr. and Mrs. Jack Cambers, John and Joyce Chapman, and Jill and Roger Henthorne to name but a few. We also became friendly with Reg Bygrave from the garage in St. Mary's Street, and of course his wife Brenda, and I as a new Mum and housewife got to know Edith Jones and "Mrs. Lowe", who came and did some cleaning for me. (Eynesbury House was a big place in those days!) I also became friendly with Fiona Ellis, who worked in an Estate Agents' in town, but we lost touch. I have very happy memories of my years in Eynesbury, and David and I are hoping to come down in the summer and see how much everything has changed! I am now retired, having been a teacher of French for nearly twenty years. David and I divorced in 1989 and in 1990 I married someone I had known since we were in college together (studying French) in the 1950s. He sadly died four years ago. David and I have remained good friends, and we see each other quite often, which is lovely. I have not re-married. I now live in Barnoldswick, not far from Skipton, and I can get to Macclesfield, where he lives, fairly easily by bus. I sold my car two years ago, as I hardly ever used it!
I do hope that Eynesbury will not have changed too much!