First Years Of My Life In Bowness

A Memory of Bowness-on-Solway.

I was born in Bowness in Homestead Cottage which was next to the post office. The cottage had been the village shop, and was bought by my parents Harold and Marian Brown and converted into a home. Ada Stafford ran the post office. She was a lovely lady and I kept in touch with her until the end of her life in her 90's. My grandparents farmed at North Plain. Electricity had not made it to them nor to many in the village itself. Some of my mother's friends used to bring their ironing to our house so they could use her iron. Our toilet was outside in the yard, and house consisted of only three rooms. I remember starting school at five, it was very overcrowded with kids from the base at Anthorn. I hated it there and walked home on my first day. My mother walked me right back again. Our teacher was Miss Farringtpn. Picton and Mrs Warlow ran the village shop, a great place to spend your pocket money. Mr Warlow was also a conductor on the Ribble bus. Dick Walby was one of the drivers and married my father's cousin, Mary Pattinson. They lived at the "bottom end" of the village. My great uncle Alfred Potts was also a bus conductor. Farmers brought their cows through the village for milking and plenty of mess was left behind. No one thought of cleaning it up and we just seemed to tolerate it. When I was seven we moved to Kirkandrews and in my 20's I moved to the USA. In my heart I still have a fondness for Bowness and always make a visit there , especially to the churchyard, when I come to visit my mother who is now in Carlisle. It is my intention that at the end of the day, my ashes will be scattered at Bowness.

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