L.F.Milner (1958/59)
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Kirklington in the Past
A SMALL SLICE OF VILLAGE HISTORY
MISS L. F. MILNER
EOITOR'S Note - Miss L. F. Milner, the contributor of this article and the photograph
of Kirklington village, has spent all her life in this village. She has compiled a Village
Scrapbook which was judged to be so good as to be entered in the finals of a country-wide
competition organised by the National Federation of Women's Institutes. Miss Milner's
Scrapbook was selected from the whole of Nottinghamshire for entry in the competition,
and although it was not the National winning entry, is a most valuable local record,
well illustrated with photographs and much written matter, of which the following
is a seasonable part.
KIRKLINGTON FEAST was originally
kept in July, as near St. Swithin's
day as was possible, St. Swithin
being the Patron Saint of the
Parish Church.
When looking through some old
Parish Records, I came across the
fo!lowing:-
"Agreed at the Court held at
Kirtlington in the year 1774, that
the Feast anualy held in July
shall for the futur be held on the
first Sundav in October".
(The speling is theirs - not mine!)
This Feast was still observed when
I was a child. All sons and daughters
away from home, married, or in
service, went home, if possible for
Feast Sunday. Two stalls were set
up in front of what used to be the
village inn, on the Saturday evening,
previous to Feast Sunday, and did a
good trade in sweets, oranges,
brandy-snap and gingerbread. Bulls'
eyes, acid drops, barley sugar sticks,
peppermints and coils of black
licorice were the chief sweets of those
days.
For Sunday morning breakfast it
was proper to eat Frumenty. Here
is the Kirklington Recipe:-
"Take new wheat and cree in
milk for three or four hours. Add
cinnamon to flavour, and equal
quantities of sugar and currants
to taste. Boil for fifteen minutes
more, then take off fire and stir
[-- column break --]
in beaten yolks of three eggs, and
if liked, a glass of brandy".
Serve in porridge bowls. Cost - about
l/-!
It was delicious. No porridge or
breakfast cereals have ever come up
to my childish recollections of
Frumenty.
Lane Letting;
The Parish roads were let for
grazing every year from the 1st of
May to the end of September.
There is a continuous record of
Lane Letting from at least 1626.
From some of the Overseers'
accounts, they made quite a night
of the meeting, which was held at
the village inn; 3/- was paid for a
room and about 4/- was spent on
"Ale for the Renters of Lanes".
In some of the accounts each lane
was let separately, i.e., Lee Lane to
Bracknell Gate, Eakring Road to
Wellow Bridge Gate, East Town
End to Corkhill, Broad Wong Lane
to Inger Wong Lane.
The early records show rents of
about 30/- to £2 for the grazing,
but the Lanes brought in £6 a year
fifty years ago. Usually two or three
men joined together, shared the cost
and took it in turn to find a "Tenter"
It lapsed during the first world
war became of the impossibility of
getting tenters.
This grazing kept the grass verges
close and fine, almost like lawns.
[-- end of page 18 --]
Now, our verges are fast disappearing
under the "Road Widening"
schemes. The money went to the
upkeep of footpaths, stiles and
bridges.
Blackberry Day
Onc day a year the villagers were
allowed free run of the Whipridding
Woods to pick blackberries. It was
a great day. The village school was
closed for the day, and families, with
picnic meals, buckets, baskets, cans
and babies in perambulators, set off
in good time, while the September
dew was still heavy on the grass,
for the early ones got the best
blackberrics - and what blackberries
they were! The size and shape of
thimbles and luscious with juice.
What jam and blackberry vinegar,
wine, puddings and pies resulted!
Now oil pumps occupy the ground,
and what few blackberry bushes still
survive are poor and dwindling in
size.
Plough Monday
In common with many villages in
those times, Plough Mondav was
always kept on the second Monday
in January. The farm men of the
village went the round of the village
and acted a play in every house
where thcy were invited in. They
were given mince pies and ale, or
else money.
We, as children, were allowed to
sit up that one night in the year to
see the plough boys. These were
the exit lines:-
[-- column break --]
"We're not the London Actors
That act upon the Stage,
We are the country Plough Lads
That plough for little Wage.
We're not the London Actors
We've told you that before,
We are the country Plough Lads
That go from door to door.
Good Master and good Mistress
As you sit by your fire,
Remember us poor Plough Lads
That work through mud and
mire.
So bring us out a good pork pie
And a jug of your best beer.
We wish you all good night
And another happy year".
Christmas Beef
A fat beast, given by the Squire,
was slaughtered and cut up at the
estate slaughter house. The villagers
came with large baskets, prams or
wheel barrows, and to each was
given according to the size of his
family.
It was distributed on the afternoon
of the shortest day of the year, after
the rent had been paid to the estate
agent in the morning.
Like many other good old cust-
oms, the first world war killed it.
We have no lord of the manor, no
Christmas beef, no blackberry day,
no plough Monday, no lane letting,
no Kirklington feast; instead we
have bathrooms, television and
'buses, but to many of us the old
days were good old days all the same.
[-- end of article --] |
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