Growing Up In Newnham/ Happy Childhood Memories :)

A Memory of Newnham.

My name is Lisa Rebecca Haynes. I was born on the 13th May 1972 and I lived and grew up in Newnham until I moved to Daventry and left My Family Home. I am the youngest of 5. I have 3 Brothers and a Sister.., Stephen the Eldest, then Mark, Graham, Juliette and then Myself. Our Parents are Philip Stanley Haynes and Berenice Christine Haynes (nee Robinson). My Dad was born in Newnham on the 8th October 1934 in a Cottage called 'Sunny side' which is located in Mounts Lane, Newnham. My Dad' Parents were Raymond Stanley Haynes and Doris Mabel Haynes (nee Cox). My Pap, Raymond came from Stowe-nine-churches, and my Nan, Doris was also born in Newnham on the 15th May 1908. My Pap and Nan had 5 boys..., John, Peter, Philip (My Dad), Cliff and Nelson. They all lived in a big house together in Mounts lane Newnham where the 5 boys grew up. I can't remember what the house is called now, but I know when I was a child, Bob and Maureen Vale lived there. My Pap Raymond was a Bricklayer by trade and it was building the houses in Coronation road that brought him to Newnham and that is how He met My Nan. I know My Nans parents were Thomas And Fanny Cox. They lived in a Cottage on School Hill Newnham. My Greatgrandad, Thomas Cox was born and lived in Badby until he and My Greatgrandmother Fanny Maria were married. They lived with Thomas's brother Ephiram and his wife in Badby for a short time after they were married and had their first Child, a Daughter..., Edith. My Great Grandmother Fanny Maria was also born in Newnham in1869. I cannot find out what my Greatgrandmother's Maiden name was though and have been unable to find out what her Mother and Father' names were. If anybody could help me with that I would be so grateful. My Great grandparents then moved back to Newnham, where they went on to have..,Edith (born in Badby in 1889) Merab-1892, Frederick-1893, Lily-1895, May-1896, Thomas-1897, Annie-1897,Twin girls Ada & Amy-1898 and then My Nan Doris 1908. So that is the history of My Family and their connections to Newnham, now let me share some of my Memories with you..., As I said before, I was born in 1972 To Philip and Berenice Haynes. We lived at 5 Badby Road Newnham. This is the home that my Mum And Dad had brought together when they had married in 1959. At that time the property they brought was 5 cottages, so My Dad also being a bricklayer had a lot of demolishion work and rebuilding to do. 3 of the cottages were knocked down, and there other 2 were left standing which became our Family home. I have so many memories of my time as a child in Newnham, that it's hard to know where to start ;).., but here goes... The people I remember... Mrs Ruth Box who owned Newnham Stores on the Green at Newnham ( I worked for her when I was a Teenager) Mr Peter Box, her Husband (always swearing) but before they had the Shop I vaguely remember Mr and Mrs Smith. I can remember him being a lovely man and he would always sing 'Mona- Lisa' to me when I went into the shop. Then Before the Smiths' were the Kirk-Patricks. I can barely remember them, but I do remember that Mrs Kirk-Patrick had a little Red Sports Car, a Truimph I think?.. Is'nt it funny, the things that you remember, I must've only been about 2 years old. I attended Newnham County Primary School from the age of 4 years which meant I started the school in September of 1976. Mrs Eileen Baum was the Head Mistress and was a very stern little Lady who rarely smiled and looked abit odd to me when she did. She was married to Mr Baum who was of German decendance and they lived in Daventry. Mrs Eileen Clarke was the Teacher I had first. She taught the Younger Children, then there was Mrs Jackie Thompson, who came from Staverton. (She was a lovely Teacher) Then we had Mrs Baum. Mrs Judy Grundy was the School secretary and I believe still lives in Newnham today. The Dinner ladies were, Mrs Margaret Ashwell, Mrs Eileen Bateman and Mrs Dawkins. ( I think Mrs Ward and Mrs Groves were also dinner ladies too at some point) like most Children I had my off days at school but on the whole it was a very enjoyable part of my life. I had many freinds there, Sharon Dunkley, Sarah and Julie Burgess, Zena Masters, Justine Halliwell, Catherine Barrett and Nicola Scott are just to name but a few. I also experienced my first ever love at that School, ;), His name was Adrian Barker but unfortunately he never felt the same way about me (haha). I loved the smell of dinner time at Newnham School. About half an hour before Lunch was served these big metal 'churn-like' containers would arrive ( I think they came from a School catering company located somewhere in Daventry) there would usually be about 3 or 4 of them. 1 contained Lunch, 1 contained Pudding, 1 had the multi-coloured plates and bowls in, so you had to be careful because the plates were boiling hot. The whole School would fill up with the aroma of dinner and it mostly smelt delicious! The Worst thing about Newnham School was having to go outside to the toilets (especially on a wet day or in Winter- the thought of that still chills me to the bone) l loved playtime, either playing on the apparatus ( I think they would be rather dangerous by today's standards). Playing in the Coal bunker, behind the Porter-cabin ( we wasn't really aloud round there) On the big playground or on a dry day on the Grass. There was a dip that lead down to a big gate at the bottom( we wasn't aloud down there either..,, but we still did ;) I remember the Post Lady Millie Dodd ( My Mum was relief post Lady when Millie had her holidays) Mrs Basely who had the Petrol Pumps. ( We would stop their every Saturday Morning so My Dad could 'fill up' his car after visiting My Nan ( who still lived in Mounts Lane in a Bungalow 'The Elms' that My Pap had built for her before he passed away in 1976. It was supposed to be their retirement home but sadly he never got to live there very long. My Nan went on living there until she reluctantly had to live in an Old People's home in 1992. The coal man Mr Coles who came round in his big truck fortnightly to fill our coal shed. Other people I Knew or encountered thoughout my Childhood were, Mrs Dibly from Coronation road ( me and my best friend Sharon Dunkley would pick her flowers and she would give us sweets. Mrs Hall who would welcome Me and Sharon into her home and help us bake cakes :) Mrs Quarterly, Mrs Jelly and Miss Hossford who would often be seen zipping through the Village on their Pony n traps. The Coronel who lived in Newnham hall who I never actually saw but did hear a lot about as My Nan used to talk about My Pap going to the Hall and doing odd jobs for The Coronel. Mr and Mrs Shoesmith. Mrs Emery who had the ' Top Shop and Post office ( Mrs Shoesmith worked there too), Mrs Punch, Mr and Mrs Flemming ( a lovely couple. Mrs Flemming was related to my Dad) Mr and Mrs James ( Doreen James used to run Newnham Merry Comrades and would take us on Coach trips out for the day. She had the most infectious laugh and is one of the kindest ladies I have ever met in my life. Mr and Mrs James live in Daventry now and are still good friends with My Mum) Mr James 'Jesse' was a mobile painter and decorator and somehow would manage to pack all the equipment he needed into his little beige coloured 3 wheeler Ryliant Robin. Rev Dooley was the Vicar. He lived in Badby and sadly ended up taking his own life. Mr ans Mrs Lacey. Mr Johnson played the Church Organ as did another little old Man whose face I can see now in my head but his name escapes me. Mrs Ambrose ran Sunday School, another lovely kindhearted Lady. Nearly all of My Childhood was shared with My Best Friend Sharon Dunkley. We would spend many hours sitting on the Green painted metal horseshoe shaped bench on the Green. Just chatting about this n that or meeting other friends we had there. We would sit in the bus shelter or stand on the Red Phone Box if it rained, so we were sorted really ;). We would often wander around the Village, sometimes walking up through the spooky Churchyard to go and see My Nan, stopping on the way to sit in the big Family Grave at the bottom. Or we would walk down Poets Way through wet lane at the bottom, maybe stop and have a little play in our Den in Wet Lane ( stopping for a drink from the Spring) then on to Mounts Lane that way. We would play in the brook down 'The Mill' going under the tunnel there sometimes seeing Rats that would frighten the lives out of us. (we even made up a game called 'The Rats are coming' where we would stand in the brook, ' someone would shout 'the rats are coming'! Then the last person to get their feet out of the water by whatever means possible was 'out' :) We would go on Bike rides to Fawsely or Everdon or Badby. We play in the playing field sometimes, but there wasn't a lot to do in there, so we'd walk up through the allotments, to Coronation Road then through the alley at the top up towards the monument then up to the Church where usually when it was raining we would sit for hours on end under the big Archway ( we used to play a game there too, using the big criss-cross pattern on the ground there but I cannot remember how we used to play the game now) We would sometimes sit under the Porch ( that leads to the entrance of the Church now) or sometimes we would even go and sit in the church. We would sit on the big chairs down by the Alter and pretend we were Queens, we would sneak up the small spiral staircase into the thing that the Vicar used to stand in to read his Serman to the congregation. But mostly we just sat in a box pew, chatting some more. I remember the village hall having an old piano in the main part of the hall then there was a door off the main hall where you went down a step and into the toilets. It was very cold and dark down there. That was before it was converted into how it is today. It always smelt musty and damp in there. It was scary! We would sometimes go 'What we called it 'Going up the Steps' once up there we would walk along a little path sometimes stopping to sit on the way, and then onwards to My Uncle Pete's and Auntie Doreen House. (My Uncle Pete still lives there's but sadly My Auntie Doreen has past away now :( so we may stop and pop in to see them or carry on past which led on to the cross roads on Newnham Hill then we carried on back down into the village. I will have to carry on with this another day.., but what fun it has been remembering :)

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