EILEEN HEALEY DIARIES

© J A D Healey 2014

VOLUME 5: 1935

SECTION 1

1935, AUGUST 23-SEPTEMBER 8:

NENT HALL, ALSTON, CUMBERLAND

1.1 1935, August 23 (Friday)

The alarm went at 5 o'clock and we were ready to start at 6.00, but there was a thunderstorm and we waited until the worst was over before starting at 6.45. The weather was not much better when we did start for there was a northeast wind and much lightning, also it was very thick.

There was a large crowd round a stage coach which was in the road. A man who came from an old coaching family was celebrating his 90th birthday by taking his friends for a ride in an old coach.

We went in All Saints Church where we met the vicar. He is vicar or rector of half a dozen different parishes, but All Saints is the only church of these that remains, for all the others were destroyed by the Lancastrians when Stamford was a Yorkist town. The pillars on each side of the nave are different, for, when the church was built, the new style, Early English, was just coming in and some people did not like the idea, so one side was decorated (ornamented) and the other left plain.

The roof was destroyed by the Lancastrians in 1461, but it was repaired by the Browns (who also founded Browns Hospital). A year or two ago, some people came from America and gave £600 for a window to be restored and then £100 to repair a roof which was leaking – they were from the same family of Browns.

None of the corners of the church is at right angles, they are all slightly different.

We saw an old barn – it is now a tea shop.

We also went in St. Mary's Church – it has some very old tombs. After visiting St. George's Church we went down a twitten (Stamford had been a walled town and so space had been very valuable and the old houses had been built with only a very narrow twitten between them) to Browns Hospital – it is some alms houses.

We stayed for the night in the George Hotel.

1.2 1935, August 24 (Saturday)

We had a look round Selby and went in the Abbey where the same chap as last year showed us round in a hurry as there was going to be a wedding.

After we had packed and had tea, we went for a walk a little way down the Nent; afterwards we had songs in the common. The Sec. sang his woad song.

1.3 1935, August 25 (Sunday)

We went for a walk along the river a little way, then followed a track up to the east. We passed a coal mine which consisted of one gallery running into the hillside; we went along it until we got to some trucks, but did not go further in as we hadn't a light. We passed a small waterfall in a wood on our way back.

The Wednesday before, there should have been an excursion to Nunnery Walks but the Grasmere Sports were on, so the party had gone there instead. The Sec. arranged for the party to go to the Nunnery Walks in the afternoon. We went with them so that on the next Wednesday we would be able to go to Crossfell.

After lunch we rode through Alston Slaggyford, Lambley and Brampton. We stopped at Lanercost Priory, but did not have time to go in it. We then went on to Talkin Farm where we stopped and walked up to the lake. When we arrived at the Nunnery, we got out and walked down a stream (the Nunnery Walks) to the Eden. After Walking a little way down the river we went roughly northeast, until we reached the Nunnery again.

At the Nunnery, we had a real Cumberland tea (i.e. a bit of everything). On a stone outside the Nunnery there is written (in old lettering) "Thou veiled Benedictines are removed hence, think of their poverty, chastity, faith, obedience.

We rode to 'Long Meg and her Daughters'. It is a stone circle with a tall stone (long Meg) outside it. The stones are of various kinds of rock. Long Meg is of red sandstone and has several cup and ring marks on it. It is very tall and two-thirds of it are supposed to be underground.

On the way home we passed over Hartside for the first time.

1.4 1935, August 26 (Monday)

It was very dull first thing and there was mist on the hills.

We started off by going up the steps by the War Memorial and then along a track for some way. We then went on to Blackhill where we met the 'B's' who had followed the track all the way. We should have lunched here, but it was wet, so we went down to the tea place in Coalclough. After lunch Jackie played the organ – there was a song book there. She played part of all the songs we knew (while the rest sang). If it had been fine we should have had lunch on Blackhill and then walked onto Killhope Law (the roof of England) and then have gone to Coalcleugh for tea with the 'B's' who would have walked straight there, but, as it was wet, the Sec. suggested going to Mohope and having tea at Nent Hall instead, for there wouldn't be any view from the Killhope and also the 'B's' would have nothing to do.

We passed near Carshields and then across part of Middle RIgg to Mohope (our feet etc. got very wet). The last part of the way home was down a track.

In the evening we had games; the Sec. took: Come out the Whales etc., and after that there was not much time for anything else. Some sat on chairs and said 'Obadiah, Jeremiah' to each other, but they couldn't do it without laughing. First of all there was a beetle drive – I did not get a single beetle.

1.5 1935, August 27 (Tuesday)

We rode to Warden Church (passing the Staward Valley and Haydon Bridge). The church has a Saxon Tower and the arch inside is supposed to have been removed (by the Saxons) from a Roman camp).

From Warden Church we went on to Chesters (Cilurnum) where we went into the museum. John Clayton collected things from nearby camps and built the museum. We then went to Chesters and saw the gateways – how they were built so that a chariot could just pass in – etc. We could not see the foundations of the bridge as the rain on Monday had made the river slightly muddy (for weeks the river had been clear enough for the bottom of the pillars to be seen.

The baths were to the east of the camp and Mr. Ingledew explained how the water for them was collected from all parts of the camp.

On the way to Borcovicus we stopped at the unsplit rock.

The fosse is here dug through solid rock and gigantic pieces of rock are strewn about. In the unsplit rock there are holes made for wedges to be put in to split the rock, but it has never been split.

The rocks which had been removed from the fosse had not been split up very much and no-one knows how they were removed – the unsplit rock is still in the fosse.

We rode on to Borcovicus (the village – vicus – made from the stone at Bardon – Borco) where had lunch.

On the top of some stone slabs there are deep semicircles made by the Romans sharpening their knives on them.

From Borcovicus we started walking along the wall – seeing the Northumberland lakes. Grindon Lough was to the southeast and Broomlee to the northeast of Borcovicus; further along there was a 90 ft. precipice down to Crag Lough.

We passed a mile castle, Rapishaw Gap, Cuddy's Crag, and went up the Cats Stairs etc. In places the stones of the wall are missing but the core remains

We had tea at the 'Twice Brewed' and rode home through Haltwhistle and along a narrow lane where the charas only just managed to cross the bridges to Slaggyford.

In the evening, there was a play reading – 'Dr. Abernethy', at the end the Sec. presented the actors with a beautiful silver cup (a jam jar covered with silver paper, and with a mauve bow round the neck).

1.6 1935, August 28 (Wednesday)

We rode over Hartside and through Melmerby, crossing the Eden to Penrith, and went on by the side of Ullswater to Glenridding. We then started going up and had lunch just before we got to Striding Edge.

After lunch we went along Striding Edge to the top of Helvellyn. We ran most of the way down the other side to Thirlspot, from where we rode to Brackenrigg for tea. After tea, we rode to Keswick, where we saw Derwentwater from Friar's Crag.

On the way to Penrith we saw several fortified farmhouses; we also passed Peel's village and Lord Lonsdale's house.

Over Hartside we all saw the Solway in the distance (the white streak over the brown above that yellow patch).

In the evening there was a dance and we each had to represent a book title.

1.7 1935, August 29 (Thursday)

We missed the train at 10.10 and the next one was at 1.40, so we walked along the road, meaning to go to Whitley Castle, but "W.S. 2617" stopped and offered us a lift. We got out at Lambley and walked northwards along the east side of the river a little way, then came back and walked along the railway line until we came to the bridge. We then met the party who had walked from Slaggyford and went to Featherstone Castle. Soon afterwards we had passed the castle and crossed the river; some people bathed. We went on to Lambley and had tea on the Village Green. We trained from Lambley to Alston from where we walked home by the river (of course I slipped in).

In the evening there were two play readings: 'In the house with the twisty windows' and 'The baths of Borcovicus'.

1.8 1935, August 30 (Friday)

We started over Middle Fell; it was very misty, but sometimes, when we looked back, the valley was in sunshine, while other times it could not be seen at all. We came to an old mine and walked through a tunnel for a little way. We then scrambled down the rocks, by the side of a stream and came to Garragill where we had lunch in the George and Dragon. It was the Sec.'s and Jessie's birthday – the Sec. received a parcel with 'Honi soit qui mal y pense' and inside there was a pair of beautiful red suspenders (he had previously said he had lost his).

By now it was raining, but we set off and got to Ashgill Force; we then went through a hole in the rock, crossed the road and continued up Ashgill.

It was raining so much that we sheltered for a little while in some trees.

At Nent Head we had tea at the 'Nent Head Hotel'. The mines at Nent Head have closed down, but the price of lead is rising and, if it becomes high enough, the mines will open again. We walked back along the road to Nent Hall.

In the evening the chief thing was a Mannequin Parade, in which all the men joined. Frank was a summer girl. Daddy had on a coat and skirt which fitted him perfectly. Afterwards we had several one act plays etc. In the middle of the evening we had a birthday party – the Sec. and Jessie were little children and Jackie was their mother (the Sec. was 6 and Jessie 4) ensuring that each had a piece of their cake (paying 3d to the good will).

1.9 1935, August 31 (Saturday)

Rode through Alston and Brampton to Carlisle where we went in the castle. It is now a military museum. We then went through Carlisle to Dalston where there is a forge, the hammer of which was worked by water power.

It was last used 18 years ago (the last one used in England), when it made shovels. After lunch we went to Gretna Green. Everywhere there were advertisements saying that this is the original place.

We returned to Carlisle via Longtown, passing to the south of Solway Moss. We had tea in Carlisle and then went into the Cathedral and museum (they are both very small).

In the evening we had songs and 'Blackpool' entertained us.

1.10 1935, September 1 (Sunday)

In the morning we went for a walk towards Mohope.

We rode through Alston to Whitley Castle and a Roman camp, where there are supposed to be seven ditches on one side, but they did not show up very clearly. We then went on through Slaggyford and up the road to Haltwhistle, but we could not go very far as we had not much petrol.

In the evening we had a different kind of discussion – there was a lifeboat with room for seven people and there were eight left on a burning liner. These were: a doctor, a farmer, a business man, a bishop, a teacher, a politician, the Head of the War Office, and an engineer. They each told us why they should be rescued and answered any questions they were asked. We voted in the end as to who would not have a seat in the lifeboat and the bishop was the unlucky one (the Head of the War Office and the politician were next to the bishop).

1.11 1935, September 2 (Monday)

It was wet so we had to stay indoors all the morning. We played: Knockout Whist, Tipit (with a bit of the Roman wall), Sevens etc. After lunch we set out and went over Middle Rigg to Coalclough for tea. After tea we walked home by field paths. It had been very windy on Middle Rigg and on the way back it poured with rain.

In the evening John organised some games – the usual kind.

In the afternoon (when he was last), our farmer of the night before did not shut the gates.

1.12 1935, September 3 (Tuesday)

The weather had cleared up during the night and it was sunny in the morning. We rode to Staward Bridge where we left the 'chara' and walked along the Allen. Part of the woods are private, but the H.F. has permission (from the uncle of the Duchess of York) to walk through them.

Some way along, we ascended to the top of the Peel Tower – it was built to keep watch on the raiders from the north; on the skyline to the north the Roman wall can be seen.

After running down the north side of the hill on which the Peel was situated, we continued northwards along the Allen. A little before lunch it came on to rain, so we had lunch in a cart shed (once where the carts of corn were taken for the corn to be hauled up into the watermill). We had milk to drink (we bought it for 1½d a gill - that is a northern gill – half a pint). The rain had stopped by the time we had finished lunch so we went on, having to cross the Allen by a suspension bridge which swung very much when stepped on.

The last part of the walk was through the grounds of Ridley Hall. We should not actually have seen more than the chimneys of the Hall, but the Sec. accidentally (???) took the wrong path (as this was the last time he would come here) and we had a glimpse of the hall before he realised we were wrong. We picked up the coach when we reached the road and rode on to Hexham where we went in the Abbey and also had tea.

After tea, we rode home via Allandale town.

In the evening we had a beetle drive (I got two beetles), followed by a play reading – our farmer of Sunday night was a shepherd in this.

1.13 1935, September 4 (Wednesday)

As a good many wanted to go to Cross Fell, Arthur agreed to take a party. We were supposed to have gone to Garragill the same way as we did on Friday, but we seemed to zigzag about a bit before reaching the river where we turned right. After we had gone some way, Frank pointed out to me the familiar monument and church spire of – Alston – we went on and stopped on the bridge, where we admired the river, and some people even took photos of 'Garragill' Bridge. When it was realised that we were in Alston, they decided it would be quicker to go along the road for about three and a half miles and then follow the Maiden Way. We descended for about half a mile after leaving the road and had lunch just the other side of Rowgill Burn.

We continued along the Maiden Way – losing it once and so passing near a shooting box – to Meg's Cairn, where we left it and went straight to Brown Hill, where we descended from the Pennines to the Penrith Plain.

Walked through some fields until we found a lane leading to Melmerby. Just as we were coming out of the field the Sec. passed in a car, with Mr. Lindsey and Miss Holland – he held up his nose as he passed us.

We had tea in the Shepherds Inn at Melmerby and caught the 5.20 home.

In the evening there was an election for a member. The candidates were: George – 'Orace' 'Arris'; Bishop – Bill Hickenbottom; Lady Wilthewin. Hoppy was 'Orace's agent, Lesley Bill's; Lady W. did not have one and when it came to voting the Sec. agreed to be her agent, and the Sec. announced the result as 'Orace 2, Bill 1, Lady W 30. I counted them afterwards and it was 'Orace 12, Lady W. 12, Bill 7.

1.14 1935, September 5 (Thursday)

We rode in the 'chara' (a 32-seater) towards Alston, but taking the road about a mile from it (there was a notice that vehicles with seats for over 15 people were prohibited). We rode down towards Middleton (the same way as we had come). At Harwood we got out and walked by field paths and over a stream to a disused lead mine from where we went across Widdy Bank Fell and over the Tees from Durham into Westmoreland for lunch by Cauldron Snout. During lunch Frank ran back to the bridge across the Tees and then down the other side to take a photo of us.

After lunch we had to wade? Maize Beck; there was hardly any water but we took off our socks and put on our boots again and paddled through it. I cannot imagine it ever having very much water, but the on first excursion this year it came up to the Sec.'s waist.

We continued on in Yorkshire along a Roman road over Cronkley Fell – it was heather covered moorland.

We continued along the Tees Valley, past a quarry where in a field there were some pieces of rock which had come from the quarry ¼ mile away.

Just as we arrived at High Force, we saw the 'B's' coming down the other side – they had paid threepence to see the falls on that side. We had tea at the High Force Hotel (A.A. and R.A.C.) – just as we got inside, it poured with rain, but cleared up again before we rode home the same way as we came.

In the evening there was a dance – the most popular thing was – the Alston Ballet. We were also supposed to represent a nursery rhyme; we did not, but mummy had 'sing-a-song of sixpence'. Of course everyone guessed it, but she said she had done it to encourage them.

1.15 1935, September 6 (Friday)

We set off along the river, and then following a road (the same way as we had come home the first Sunday morning), through Blagill to the Alston golf links where we picked up the 'B's' who had ridden here. On the way we had stopped while some of them played rounders. We crossed Ayle Burn and then through Ayle and passed a school, which has seven pupils, to a cottage where we had lunch

After lunch we went on for some way and then went along the river (up it); we were on the rocks which must often by covered with water (the Sec. said that the water was higher than it had been before the rain which we had had.

We went in Kirkhaugh Church, where Mr. Lang played the organ.

Continuing along the river we came to St. Patrick's Well; some water comes out of the middle of a vertical piece of rock and eventually reaches the Tyne.

At Alston we had tea with the 'B's' and also with Mummy and Daddy who had not come on the excursion. They had brought Miss Chester and some of the helpers with them. We walked along the Nent to Nent Hall.

In the evening half the party had to entertain the rest of the party and then they had to entertain the others. It was arranged that the Sec.'s and the table we were at should be together and the Hostess's and the other table combine. After dinner there were meetings of the two lots. The Hostess's group had a play about a King and Princess etc., but they all had local names (Mr. Mellor had been B all day, so that he could write it).

Arthur was supposed to be a ventriloquist and Em. was his doll – at the end she had permissions to ask him a question; it was 'Which is the way to Cross Fell?'

1.16 1935, September 7 (Saturday)

We very sadly said goodbye to everyone and set off at 19.50.

1.17 1935, September 8 (Sunday)

One of our wheels was flat but they pumped it us and we left Buxton at 9.30.

1.1 1935, August 23 (Friday)

1.2 1935, August 24 (Saturday)

1.3 1935, August 25 (Sunday)

1.4 1935, August 26 (Monday)

1.5 1935, August 27 (Tuesday)

1.6 1935, August 28 (Wednesday)

1.7 1935, August 29 (Thursday)

1.8 1935, August 30 (Friday)

1.9 1935, August 31 (Saturday)

1.10 1935, September 1 (Sunday)

1.11 1935, September 2 (Monday)

1.12 1935, September 3 (Tuesday)

1.13 1935, September 4 (Wednesday)

1.14 1935, September 5 (Thursday)

1.15 1935, September 6 (Friday)

1.16 1935, September 7 (Saturday)

1.17 1935, September 8 (Sunday)