My Grandfather

The Hall Mill c1955
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

I was born in 1953 and my Grandfather was already dead. His name was William Bowe and he was the last mill keeper at Hall Mill, although his son John, my uncle, ran a joinery business for a few years from there. Billy Bowe was the last official mill keeper. It was purely a saw mill, powered entirely by water. How green was that. Pre 1945 it was pretty self sufficient down there. There was a couple of pigs, a cow for milk and butter and hens for eggs and for the pot when they stopped laying. The whole family were involved in the vegetable garden and Grandma made all the butter and quite a bit of the dairy products. Bread and cakes were baked and there was always plenty of wood for the fire.

There was two sons and two daughters. In order of age the youngest was Leonard, then John, then there was Miriam (my mother) and the eldest was Mary. Sadly Leonard died a few years ago but the other siblings are all alive and in pretty good health and all living in the Workington area.