Lime Tree Cottage

Walcote

Local History

1927

with Minnie Price and her daughter Beryl. 1927.

Also living in the house was her husband Archie

and an older daughter, also called Minnie.

The house was situated between Dingle View and Manor Farm and demolished in the 1970's

The picture was found after Beryl had died, by her son. He also found an exercise book that Beryl had used to write on what she had remembered, when living in Walcote.

I (JF) have had to edited a lot of what Beryl has written to reproduce it here. Minnie in the Beryl story is her sister, who is quite a bit older than her. The washhouse which is mentioned, is still there to this day.

The Journal 

I was born at Lime Tree Cottage in Walcote, which is a small hamlet near Haselor, on June 28^th 1924.

Mum, Dad and my sister Minnie came here to live around 1918, they had previously lived in Birmingham.

We had quite a large garden. Dad grew lots of vegetables and herbs and soft fruits. We also kept hens and chickens, sometimes Dad used to breed his own and sometimes he sent away for day old chicks then he would keep them in a incubator for a time until they were strong. Mum used to look after them all when Dad was at work. Mum used to sell a large basket of eggs each week to the gentleman who kept the Crown Pub.

Opposite our cottage we had a small orchard with Pershore plums, Magnums and damson trees. If we had a good year Dad would get some crates and we all helped to pick the fruit and it was sent to market. The money we made used to come in handy to buy seeds for the following year.

We had a well for our water. Dad had to lower a bucket on a chain and pull the water up. This was our only means of water except for the rainwater tubs. This water was used for washing clothes. The washhouse was outside and in it was a large boiler with a fireplace underneath. Mum had to get a good fire going to heat the water and then rub the clothes on a wooden board to get them clean. The whites were then boiled, then rinsed in water that had a bit of blue in it. Some garments then had to be starched then put through the wringer, which had very large rollers. The clothes were eventually hung out to dry. The ironing was a long job. Mum heated the old fashioned flat irons in front of the fire. She would iron a few garments then the irons had to be put back to be reheated.

Mum made most of our summer dresses and curtains and chair covers and she made pretty aprons for Minnie to wear at the Crown. They were all decorated with lace.

Mum also made all her own jam, all different kinds even marrow jam with ginger. It was delicious. For many years when I was very young she did all the cooking on a very small range, which had to be black-leaded and it only had a very small oven. She did save up and eventually bought an oil stove, which was a big improvement. We also had a cooking range in the front room but I don't think the oven could have been much good because I can remember Dad used to put the sticks, which we gathered out of the fields nearby, in the oven to dry and sometimes when I came downstairs in the morning our old smoky grey cat would be sitting right in the oven, of course then it was only just warm.

Dad built a small workshop out of old pieces of wood and he spent many hours there. He made small chests of drawers and quite a lot of rustic garden furniture, a bench, table, archways and a container for flowers. He also mended his boots and all our shoes. He bought large pieces of leather then cut out the soles and heels and nailed them on. He had a special iron stand to place the shoe on he was repairing. I believe it had about three different sizes.

I started school when I was five years old. At Haselor there were only about fifteen pupils. Miss Rachel Smith was our teacher. When we had our religious lesson she used to have a sort of scroll and she unravelled it and it depicted a picture of a bible story, for instance the good Samaritan, and she would explain all about the parable. Another thing I can remember, she had a large hand bell she rang each day when it was time to start lessons and when playtime was ended.

Sometimes when I was at Haselor School I walked home to dinner but more often I used to go to the Crown Inn to see Minnie. She was the barmaid there. She lived in so we did not see her very often at home - she did not have much time off.

I liked Christmas time because we always acted in a play and all girls wore tinsel in their hair, then we had a tea party and Father Christmas was there to give each of us a present. All the children who attended Sunday school at the chapel also had a party and prizes, we usually had a book, one year we had a Bible. 

We used to go to Stratford on rare occasions. We walked to Great Alne station to get the train to Bearley then changed trains to eventually arrive in Stratford. The shops were very small compared with today. Smith's the drapery shop, where Debenhams is now, was the largest. 

At Christmas time a group of us used to go carol singing around the village, some kind people would invite us in for a mince pie or a warm drink, others perhaps would not answer the door. We got to know our "good customers". We usually ended up at our house then we counted all the money and shared it out. Those were really happy days. 

We had celebrations for the Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary in 1935. I was dressed as a wasp complete with wings in the fancy dress parade. We had games in one of Mr Goulbourne's fields. The sack race, egg and spoon race and three-legged race were the ones I liked. Afterwards we had tea in the school, parents included.

Our first wireless was quite a novelty. I believe Dad bought it off a friend, and then later on we had a pushbutton model that had a very good sound. It had a large battery and an accumulator, which had to be recharged every few weeks.

The oil lamps had to be filled every day. It was a very poor light although we did not realise it at the time. In the evening we used to play board games, and quite often Dad used to make rugs and I helped him. We cut up any old materials like coats or skirts into strips and then into small pieces then we pegged them, onto "canvas" which was a clean sack bag cut down the side to make into the size of a rug.

The service from the shops in Alcester and surrounding area was very good. The Co-Op sold most things. A van came all round the villages from the butchery department, another with bread and orders were taken for all our grocery, then delivered the following week. We paid into a clothing club and another one to pay for coal. There was also a van which came round with groceries and hardware and paraffin. One was Fosters from Studley, Harman's from Henley Street, Alcester was another, and Crows from Studley. On Saturday evenings a large van called selling fish and chips. The driver used to ring a bell to let us know he had arrived. I used to rush out to get in the queue. Mr Eric Bunting also used to take orders for grocery. 

When I was about eleven years old Mum gave me her bicycle. Minnie used to take me out in the evening, when she had time off, to teach me to ride. I believe it took me quite a time to get my balance but anyway I did learn in time to start school at Aston Cantlow. Miss Lacy was the head teacher and Miss Joan Smith was the infant teacher. I was very happy at this school and we all tried very hard for our exams, I always wanted to be top of the class, although there were only approximately 10 in my class but one boy named Philip always won the top prize, which was usually a book. However, I did manage to win the top prize when Philip left school, I also won a book for champion girl in sport.

Sometimes while cycling to school I used to see Dad at work. He worked for the Warwickshire Council and his job was to cut the grass along the roadside, which was known as a "length". He cut all around Aston Cantlow, part of Wilmcote and Billesley. He did all this work with a scythe. 

I left school when I was 14 years old. There were not many jobs around at that time, but our teacher knew of a lady in the village who wanted help in the house, so Mum went with me to discuss exactly what I had to do and decide on wages. It was agreed that I would be paid seven shillings a week, starting at 8 o'clock each morning until 6 o'clock on five days but finishing a little earlier on Wednesdays and Sundays. It was quite a large house and also there was a smaller house next door, eleven rooms in all plus the bathroom. I had to do all the cleaning and polishing and washing up for the five people in the families but I did have good times when the lady had visitors for tea. She used to give me some of the goodies, including lovely Kunzle cakes. The second world war started in September 1939. At that time my employer let the cottage to another family so I was then paid more money, eleven shillings in all. 

I left this job when I was sixteen, quite a few of my friends told me about the jobs they had in a factory at Studley. I was very interested so off I went to the labour exchange in Alcester to see if there was a vacancy at Needle Industries at Studley. I was informed there was not, so I cycled to Studley and called at the factory to enquire and I was offered a job at once. My hours were 8 o'clock until 7 o'clock with one hour for dinner and I finished at 12 o'clock on Saturday. Very often during the summer I used to cycle all the way to work which was about 7 miles, but usually in the bad weather I rode into Alcester, left my bicycle at a friends house and caught the 7.30 bus into Studley. Although the work was repetitive I enjoyed being with all the girls in the inspection shop.