My Great Granny Barker

A Memory of Heighington.

At the far end of photo number H183005a - on the right - is a white wall. Mr and Mrs Barker lived in a one room plus a tiny kitchen downstairs, two tiny rooms up, from the 1930s until my great-grandmother died in the 1950s at the age of 93 - buried in the local graveyard. I have never been able to visit her tombstone - MARY BARKER - since I have lived overseas for 40 odd years.
My memories are: I was the eldest great-grandchild and given special privileges because my mother had been brought up by her grandparents. Mr great-grandfather was a train driver TOM EDWARD BARKER - but had retired and was bed-ridden from the 1940s. He died in the late 40s.
I spent many happy days there. The back yard, which was cobbled, had a shed with the boiler [wood fired] and a big mangle. Then - up a cobbled set of steps -to a tiny garden and an earth midden -this was emptied every few months by the specialist. My great-granny used it till the day she died, through ice, snow etc.
I was there a lot during the Second World War, especially after my father was killed in 1941. The milkman delivered a gill a day - from the churn. Directly opposite and thus next to the church wall was a hand pump for the water. After the war the council tried lots of locks to trying to get people to use the mains water and eventually had to fill the pump with concrete.
I wandered the area. Italian POW's were used by some of the farmers - they paid me [aged 7/8] to 'assist' - with token paper notes having ink stamps on the back to limit use - so I received 2d tokens of no worth. One farmer's wife [roughly due right of the photographer's position] gave me several glass containers with stuffed birds and animals in them mounted on branches [NOT well received at home - but only because it was small].
I spent many happy hours with other kids playing on the Green - life was totally safe for us and only the loudest scream from family could get us home some summer evenings.
My great-granny was Primitive Methodist and I remember that she had made for her for her a hassock - beautifully embroidered. She asked my mother what she was supposed to do with it -  "I've knelt on the bare slabs all my life - I'll not stop now!".
The fireplace had to operate during all waking hours because there was no other hot water. ANYONE who knocked on the front door was asked if they wanted a cup of tea. My great-granny still used 'THEE and THOU'. She had even been (because of the LNER) to London for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee -"But it were too noisy!".
I have lived in Spain for the last 20 years and will never be able to visit the UK - but if anyone cares to send photos of that end of the village it would bring back more memories.
I lived most of the time with my grandparents at Cockerton, Darlington - an easy bus ride by oneself to Heighington.
I read 'The Green Villages of County Durham' sometime in the  1960s and always remember the author suggesting that Heighington was a perfect 14th century village layout with the farmers services - such as blacksmith, farrier, haywain mender etc being grouped together, as were all other 'services' and the farms all behind the houses - again grouped socially as well as in 'trade ' groups.