Church Farm

A Memory of Longparish.

I lived at Church Farm, Longparish in the late fifties & early sixties. The farm was then a working farm and my father was dairyman. I went to the primary school just after it was rebuilt, the teachers were Miss Munday & Miss Tari. The school playing field was rough grass, it was then relaid with no fence by the river yet we never came to any harm. At Church Farm there was a big old barn next to the granary. In the barn was an old covered wagon like Wagon Train. I played for hours in there. The granary had owls in, we used to spend hours looking out of our bedroom windows watching the owls come and go. The farm foreman was Mr Reg Ball, he used to ride a bike and deliver all the wage packets on a Friday to the workers who were scattered far and wide, you would not do that today!  The dinner ladies were Mrs Plummer, Mrs Dobson, & Mrs Smart  - she used to make chocolate crunch, lovely! The railway line was not used but the track was still laid with old trucks stored on it. One day they took them away and the army blew up the bridge over the A303 at midnight one saturday. When I lived at Longparish it had two coalmen, two shops, a cafe, a post office, a taxi, two pubs & an off licence. We used to have jumble sales in the village hall opened by Muriel Young who lived at Forton. I remember when Cliff Richard opened the fete, I payed 6d for his autograph. My mother used to make butter for Mr Wills at Middleton House, wish I had some now. Sadly when Mr Wills died the milking cows were sold and we moved on, I don't think I have lived anywhere so nice since.