Greystone Cottages

A Memory of High Harrington.

My earliest memories are living in no 6 Greystone Cottages. We had no inside loo and had to go to the end of the terrace for the loo. We moved to Hillary Close, Salterbeck for a while to allow modernisation to take place. First school was Harrington infants best memory was coming out of school in pairs and walking to the top of Mountain View to wait for the Queen coming past celebrating her coronation. When we returned to High Harrington to live, what a surprise, no more gas mantles and no more outside loo and the owners had converted no 5, giving us an extra front room downstairs and an extra bedroom, but best of all - a full bathroom upstairs. The room under the bathroom was given to next door to use as a kitchen and some of my best memories are Annie cooking bacon and the smell coming up through the floor. I remember the meter man coming to empty meter pennies and threepenny bits, sometimes we even had a rebate maybe even enough for threepence each to spend in corner shop. Went to school at Harrington, usually had to walk. My auntie Ethel lived on Scaw Road and we used to go to her house to watch telly (we didn't have one at the time). Where the Galloping Horse pub now stands, there was only a three cornered field were we played. One of the best Christmases we had was when mam went to bingo at operahouse in town, she came home with a teapot full of pound notes she had won. Happy days. Also remember the Thomases who lived in the first house. I remember Alan and Kath also faint memories of Benny (thanks to Geoff for this memory). We went up to Hunters farm for our veg etc, one of the daughters went to same school (Salterbeck Secondary). Just across from were we lived was a path between the bungalows; it took us into the fields, many are the times we would find fields of peas, turnips, carrots etc. Walking home eating these fresh was a memory itself. Some names I recall are Lovelles (builders I think), Dr Fitzgerald who lived in the last house going out of the village? On Sundays used to walk to Distington to have a proper Sunday dinner at my nannies house. After dinner table was cleared and out came the cards, majority of aunties and uncles turned up. All of us kids would go on the swings across from the house on Barfs Road. Hated the walk home over Barfs Quarry and the rubbish tip onto Lowca Road and home. One memory I have is going for a walk along Scaw Road looking for a gravestone built into the wall between entrance to Reid's farm and road end; anyone else know anything about the origin of this stone? Cannot remember what the name was. Getting back to Greystone Cottages the house on the end was called Yeowartviille or something similiar (vague memories of occupants). I think Arthur and Annie Steel lived next door with two sons Harold and William? They later moved to Brewery House into converted cottages.