MY GRANDMOTHER
My grandmother was born in Tring in the late 1800s and was married in Tring Church on Christmas Day in 1909. Her grandfather was a very peculiar character and had to be taken to the village pump for his weekly wash and he used to sit on the wall to jeer at the churchgoers. He was known as Grampy Rodwell. Once a week free bread was given out and he always was the first in the queue and used to bag his loaf by poking the bread with his filthy hands. I loved hearing stories about him. My grandmother was in service and worked for The Roschilds as a cook. She was, apparently, the first woman in Tring to ride a bike. She came from a very large family and most of them married in Tring Church. I have recently read "Lark Rise to Candleford" and it takes me back to sitting round my Aunt Em's table and hearing her daughters call her "Our Mum" and listening to them proudly chanting a childhood rhyme. "Tring, Wing and Ivanhoe, saw three churches all in a row, take my shoes and stockings off, and jump over them."
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RE: RE: MY GRANDMOTHER
This really has nothing to do with the person's grandmother. My father-in-law's family are connected to Tring. An uncle was innkeeper of the Red Lion. His grandma also lived there and it is her I am trying to trace. His father's name was William James Cooke. I am not sure if that was the surname of his grandma, all I know from the writings he did was that TRING seemed to be where a good many of his family were from. I would be very grateful for any information at all. He passed away before he managed to finish his story, but I know he had very many happy times there. He was born in 1913, so it would be somewhere around 1917 onwards that he made his visits. He remembered collecting conkers from the trees on the walk from the station. His cousin at the inn had an air rifle which he said was a source of great amusement. Other members of the family lived in Radlett,The Cottage, Lethmore Heath, plus many of the surrounding villages. As I have said, ANY information would be a great help. Thank you. Barbara Cooke.
Comment from Barbara Cooke on Sunday, 8th November 2009.