My Grandparents The Lock Keepers, Mr And Mrs Denyer

A Memory of New Haw.

I have very happy memories of my grandparents. My grandad had an enormous beard, and grandma always wore a long flowered apron. Grandad used to sit me on the handle of the lock gate while he slowly opened it to let the water level rise or drop so the water level in the lock was the same as the river and then the barge could go on its way. My mother left New Haw to live in Grimsby, the only time I saw my grandparents then was when we came on holiday. As I got older the barge people would let me sail through the locks into the river and my grandma would get me of the other side. I remember on one visit one of my little sisters had somehow got to the water's edge, nobody dared call her for fear of her falling in, it was a case of creep up and grab.
At the back of the cottage was a waterfall with a footbridge going over it, which lead to the outside toilet - no inside one in them days! I remember on our visits, 3 girls that used to walk alongside the river and sometimes go somewhere where there were beehives. Were these girls cousins of mine? I have a cousin Pam in the area, lost? Also Wilf, Pam's brother, who has passed away. My uncle Ernie, their dad worked at the animal research place and lived in Amis Avenue. Iit would be wonderful if anybody could add any stories of when my lovely grandparents were the lock keepers.