Bertram Hollowell (pictured below courtesy of C&E) was born in September 1907 and died in the village in 1995. He was always active in village affairs and held a number of posts in the Baptist Church, Parish Council and School Governors as well as being treasurer of Denton Champion Club, a sickness benefit scheme for residents. He lived in the left hand of the pair of cottages (recently made into one dwelling) on the outskirts of the village – the very last building on the right when leaving along Whiston Road . 

 

He was also something of a chronicler and poet and the notes he has left behind are valuable insights into Denton’s past social history. Two of his articles cover a similar period but the information in them is only partially duplicated so it is well worth reproducing them both verbatim (with a few gaps where text is unclear) and in full as follows. From the content they would have been written around 1979 :

'Try to imagine Denton without a bypass, green fields and allotments where the council houses are now; the first part of Whiston Road as you go out of the village barely wide enough for two carts to pass; the only traffic coming into the village was horsedrawn. Three bakers, two from Yardley Hastings Mr Lawrence and Mr Wilmott the other being Mr Robinson from Cogenhoe, who on occasions baked the bread on a Friday night at Denton. He also came to bake the Sunday dinners when most of the parishioners took their dinners to him by 10.30 a.m and collected them again at 12 noon. It was quite interesting to watch him place their dinners into the oven as he had to fit quite a number into the oven and as you can imagine they were all shapes and sizes, the largest being about 3 feet by 2 feet and the smallest 1 foot by 1 foot. When they were ready to come out he would call the names of most of the people to whom they belonged. Although most had their marked skewers occasionally a mistake would be made and someone would have somebody else’s dinner, finding out when they got home and sometimes too late to change it before one or other had started to eat. Cakes were baked after the dinners came out and a Mr Hardwick was left in charge of them.

 

There was only one shop, the present Co-op, and if you wanted anything special a grocer by the name of Mr Munton came into the village once a month. To supplement this, we had two carriers who went to Northampton on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mr Alfred Knight and Mr Charles White. They were very happy days. A butcher by the name of Mr Hornsby used to come about once a week. I am not sure where from, but I remember that he used to yell ‘Whoop’ at the top of his voice to let people know he was in the village. Our coal was brought from Billing Station, the first one I believe was Bilson and Gray. Later on ,we had two coal merchants, Mr Wright from Billing and Mr Burge from Yardley Hastings. You will realise that we had not reached the motor stage - all farm traffic was horse drawn. There were carts, floats or traps, wagonettes and wagons and the majority of the menfolk worked on the farm.

Nearly all householders had a garden or allotment and quite a number had both . All the plots were taken and at times one had to wait until one became available. They either grew their own vegetables or went without, as none were sold in the shops. Some people had smallholdings and would change the crops – some growing hairy wheat to give the ground a change. They too would have the threshing contractors to thresh the corn for them, helping one another to carry out the work. Some would grow beans and would take them home to their barns, threshing them by hand with a flail which consisted of two pieces of round wood joined at the top with leather or the skin of an eel. They would hold one piece of wood in their hands and swing the other over hard onto the pods or ears of corn. After making sure that it were all threshed out, the straw was removed and the remainder put through a sieve, then they could blow the chaff away leaving the corn in the sieve. This at times took all day to complete. The carriers used to supplement their incomes with smallholdings and they were the only ones to grow spare vegetables, which they sold on their visits to Northampton.

Quite a few people had green-houses and would grow plants in pots, chiefly balsam, fuchsias, begonias and ferns. At August time they would be taken to the show at Castle Ashby. Everyone at Denton was a very keen gardener, as were others from Yardley Hastings, Grendon, Easton Maudit and Castle Ashby. This was another highlight of the years and quite a number of people would go to Castle Ashby from the villages in the vicinity for the show, which was held on the lawn in front of the Castle. This was an opportunity for we schoolboys to collect a few shillings, opening the gates on the Chadstone road. There were four gates and we would be up as early as 6.00 a.m. to get the best gate. We usually went in pairs, one stopping at each gate we came to, while the other would go to the next one to make sure of getting one. In this way we would get the nearest one to the Castle, where we would have the advantage of getting travellers from Yardley Hastings as well. It was quite an exciting day picking up the pennies as they were thrown from wagonettes and all the various other vehicles that were used. Of course all the gates have now been removed, but it was fun while it lasted.

During the August holidays families would go into the cornfields to pick up the corn that was left by the farmers after they had finished. This was called gleaning and you would always know where you could do this, as it was a custom to leave one shock in the field until after it had been dragged and the draggings picked up Most farmers had a horse drag, which was on wheels and you would guide the horse across the field, then each time the drag was full you would pull a lever up and this would let the corn out of the drag, usually leaving it in rows and making it easy to pick up. Wheat was chiefly gleaned, but occasionally some would also glean barley. The farmers only grew potatoes for their own use. More roots were grown and most farmers would have quite an acreage of mangolds, swedes and turnips.. The roots were pulled and put into clamps which were covered with straw and finally with earth to keep the frost out. These were then used to feed the cattle during the winter months. When lifting the mangolds the tops used to be screwed off by hand, as they used to go bad if cut in any way, but a knife would be used to cut the tops and roots off the swedes and turnips.

Quite a number of games that used to played seem to have vanished. Hoops used to be played on the pavement, but today traffic would make it too dangerous for them. What happened to marbles and tic tac, the latter used to be comprised of a short bit of wood rounded at each end, which you laid on the ground and struck it with a longer piece and, as it rose in the air you would hit it to make it go as far as possible. The winner being the one who knocked it the length decided with as few strokes as possible. To decide who should start, the small piece would be laid across a hole scooped out ready and lifted away as far as possible, your opponent would aim at the longer stick which was laid across the hole, if he missed then you started. I suppose this game would be rather dangerous to play now, as we used to play this on the roads. The same applies to whips and tops, of which there were various sizes and colours.

Some of the womenfolk would spend their evenings making lace. For this they had special pillows, bobbins and pins and to get different patterns they used to use parchment with various patterns on, first the cotton would be wound on the bobbins, the pattern selected and placed on the pillow, the first pins stuck in with the end of the cotton from the bobbin attached to them. It was fascinating to see how the bobbins were twirled about, as they usually had quite a number in use at a time as this operation went on, at the same time sticking the pins in. If you know of anyone who still makes lace this way, go and see for yourself how it is done. I am sure you would be very interested in the procedure.

Denton still has historical buildings ;the houses on each side of the gatehouse were there in the coaching days and were part of a coaching station. The top one being an Inn of which I am not quite sure of the name, but I have been told it was called the George Inn and it has been proved quite recently that they are now over 300 years old. Most people know about the dovecote, but there may be other buildings worthy of note and it would be interesting to hear about them.

I mentioned that the majority worked on the farms. There were of course several tradesmen in the village, stonemasons, carpenters, shoemakers and thatchers. The stonemason used to work most of the time away from Denton and used to lodge away from home quite a bit. We had a carpenter’s shop belonging to Mr W. Robinson, who was also the local undertaker. Mr C. Fitzhugh was the thatcher and used to work for the Marquis of Northampton, repairing cottage roofs on the estate. Mr T. Brawn and Mr T. Smith were the shoemakers and worked at home usually in their barns. Mr Brawn also used to go about killing and cutting up pigs for anyone fortunate enough to be able to keep them, and there were quite a number. Very little milk left the village and was fetched from the farmer after milking time in jugs or cans. Most of the farmers made their own butter using the buttermilk for feeding the pigs and calves. Whenever they wanted to sell any of the stock, all except the pigs were driven into Northampton; the pigs were transported in a cart or float. Just imagine the trouble one had when taking cattle to the market, as you travelled along the road, farmers from other villages doing the same thing and when you reached Northampton it was quite a job to keep them from getting mixed up. After threshing, the corn used to be taken to Northampton in wagons, usually drawn by 3 or 4 horses, a skid being put on to one of the back wheels to act as a brake when going downhill. We used to see steam rollers and steam traction engines used for threshing the corn and ploughing the land. The trough was there to supply water taken to them in water carts. Talking about water reminds me of Mr W. Smart who used to travel all over the County to sink wells for industrial and home consumption. Denton had its own supply of water being pumped into the tanks by a windpump and all had to fetch it in buckets, from either a stand-pipe from that supply or from a well, some with pumps, others with a chain windlass, or by a long pole with a clip on the end.

Entertainment in the village was very limited, except for an occasional concert or whist drive and the school treat. There used to be a room where teenagers could go called the reading room. Once a year all the school children above the age of seven used to go to Castle Ashby in horse drawn wagons for sports and tea, with other villages belonging to the estate. I think the greatest thrill went to the village who won the tug-of-war and became the proud possessors of the Union Jack for 12 months. Denton Feast was the highlight of the year, when the village greens were absolutely filled with stalls and roundabouts. The fair people were not allowed to come into the village until after the evening service at church on  Sunday and a brass band from Hackleton or Earls Barton used to play just outside the Red Lion. Occasionally a circus would come through the village; the elephants and camels walking and the other equipment being drawn by horses. Sometimes a man would visit the village with a dancing bear and there were occasional street singers. A few people owned gramophones and I remember being invited to Mr B. White’s house to listen to one play. It had cylinder type records and a large horn where the sound came from. One record I shall always remember; the words were –

 

                         I remember the day I was born,

                         Twas on a cold and frosty winter’s morn,

                         The doctor said I was a bonny chap,

                         As for Ma, she took me on her lap,

                         And after washing me all over,

                         And powdering and puffing me, you see,

                         She laid me in a cradle by the fender,

                         In the little shirt me mother made for me.

 

This will no doubt bring back memories to some of the older generation.

I have been informed by Mr E. Smart, who incidentally was the first person to own a gramophone in Denton, that in those days it was called a talking machine. He carried the machine from Piddington Station, the nearest delivery place at that time. After he had invited Rev T. Amys to listen to it, arrangements were made for it to be taken to a social evening. What an experience it must have been for those attending that evening!

Farming in the early part of the century was much different to the present time, as I have mentioned before. They used to start work at 6.30 a.m in the morning until 5.30 p.m at night and those in charge of the horses started very much earlier to get the horses fed, groomed and harnessed ready to start work by the time the other men and boys arrived. Of course even longer hours were put in at hay and harvest time.

Most farmers for ploughing had a single furrow plough ; using two or three horses according to the nature of the land. It was quite a regular occurrence to see anything from six to twenty men hoeing in the corn and root crops (numbers varied according to the size of the farm) in the spring and early summer months. When it came to harvest time, all the fields used to be mown all the way round by a scythe and tied up by hand before the binder started. This again was drawn by three or four horses. Some farmers had a machine called a reaper, which had four or five sails according to the crop. As the corn was being cut these used to turn round pushing the corn into heaps, which in turn were tied up by hand into sheaves and then into shocks to dry and finish ripening. They had thistles in amongst them in those days and we used to find that out when it came to putting the sheaves into shocks. Nearly all the farmers had crops of wheat, barley, oats and beans, the last two being used chiefly for feeding the horses and cattle. The corn used to be brought from the fields on carts and wagons.

In the field the loading consisted of 3 men, one on each side, pitching sheaves to one on the vehicle, who used to  place the sheaves in the bottom first, then round the outside, finally binding them all together in the centre. Some of the men could do the work so well that the load could be taken to the rickyard without ropes. In the rickyard they were put into stacks and I can assure you that this was not a job to be done by an amateur. Some of the work carried out was skilfully done and when finished was something to be proud of. Farmer Mr T. Robinson was one of the best rick builders I knew.

The corn used to be kept in the stacks for about six months or sometimes longer. Then the farmer would engage a contractor to come along with his steam engine, threshing box and straw jack. The box would be driven by a belt from the engine and likewise the straw jack coupled from the threshing box. There were usually two men on the stack to put the sheaves on the box, two more on top of the box – one cutting the string and the other feeding the corn into the rollers, which theshed it out of the ears or pods. This came out of the back of the box. About 4 bags used to catch the best corn, with one more catching what was called tail. The latter being used to feed the fowls. One man used to look after this part, weighing the corn and changing the bags over as they filled up. Another one had a very dusty job looking after the chaff and chavings. They also were taken away and stored for feeding the horses and cattle during the winter months. The straw came through the box into the straw jack, where more men dealt with it and made it into ricks. Wheat straw was usually used for bedding down the animals and most other straw was used for feeding them.

Some farmers had their own portable steam engine and threshing machinery that was horse drawn. Before selling the corn they used to put it through a winering machine, which used to blow all the chaff and tail out, leaving only the top grade. You will see that it was a much longer job than harvesting these days and today two things are missing – no harvest suppers in the barns to celebrate and no beer taken out into the fields and rickyards as in the old days.

During the hay season the grass and clover was cut and made into hay very much the same way as today but it was always loose and had to be turned into rows to make it easier to pick up. Men loading in into carts and wagons used pitch forks which had long handles and tines, the one on the load had a shorter fork. The carts and wagons used to have raves fitted on the front and the carts would also have one on the back; this gave them a kind of extension and gave them double the area to load. Care had to taken in loading the carts to make the load balance, otherwise it would either be too heavy on the horses back, or too tight round its girth. The farmers always carefully examined the hay before it was picked up to make sure it would not overheat, and in some cases burst into fire.

When required for feeding they would use the hay knife and cut down the rick about a yard square or just over at a time, leaving the thatch on the remainder of the rick until it was required. In case some of the readers do not know the difference between a cart and a wagon the cart had two wheels and the wagon four, the two front wheels of the wagon being connected to the shafts. Some wagons had two sets of shafts and would have two horses side by side. Care had to be taken when turning this vehicle as the wheels had a very short lock and could, if turned too short, tip over. This did happen on quite a number of occasions with a load.

Long hours were spent in the hayfields, sometimes until dark, and always as early as possible in the mornings according to the weather.

For ploughing most farmers had single furrow plough. These were usually pulled by three horses, the first being called the lead, the second the body and the third, filler. The lead horse, if trained properly, would lead the team just where you wanted them to go. When ploughing up to a ridge and reaching the end of the field you would say ‘get over’ and the horse would turn right going far enough for the other two to pull the plough as near the end as far as possible and to turn into the next furrow as soon as possible. When ploughing to an open furrow it would be the same only you say ‘come over’ and they would all turn left. The skill at ploughing came at the start in setting a straight furrow for each land as they were called. These varied in width. After waiting for the ploughing to weather and dry, the harrows would be used and the land prepared for sowing. Four horses were generally used for this and the lad used to walk in between the two front horses to lead them. The wheels on the front of the drill were partly locked except when turning at each end of the field. This enabled one man to keep the drill fairly straight, following the wheel marks and changing from one side to the other at each end of the field.

Not many rides working on the farm those days but many aching feet. One enjoyed working with all the animals who were more intelligent than given credit for, especially if treated with kindness. There were, of course, a few awkward ones who would bite and kick and one had to be careful handling them.

During late May and June each year farmers used to bring their sheep to be washed in the washbrook prior to shearing. This is now filled in but it used to be fed from the fishpond with a 4” diameter pipe, and after the sheep had been put into the pool they were guided up to the pipe to be washed by one of the men who used to stand opposite the pipe in a place provided by a kind of metal box let partly into the water. It would take two to three weeks to get them all washed. Two or three men used to do this work provided by each farmer, and to make sure the sheep were safe from drowning they had long poles with a piece of wood across one end which they put underneath the sheep’s neck to keep them afloat. I can assure you there were not many casualties.

 

IF

 

If I could live my life again

What difference would there be?

Would I do more for other folks,

Would you if you were me?

Or would I do more for myself,

Give less and less away?

Or try to bring more happiness

To folk along the way?

The past is gone

The present is here

The Future is yet to be …..

What happens to the time that is left,

Is up to you and me.

 

 

‘Notes on Rural Life by B. Hollowell

 

It was after the first world war that motor transport slowly started to appear,  the first to come was a draper by the name of Mr Loveland, soon a few motorcycles appeared, the first belt driven with no gearbox, one used to push and run alongside, jumping on as soon as it started.

 

Most of the men folk used to work on the farms, some had trades such as shoe makers and repairers, stone masons, thatchers, some combined these with keeping pigs which at that time used to be despatched by cutting their throats with a very sharp knife, they would then cover them with straw and burn most of the bristle off. After this they would wash and scrape what remained off, clean them and then hang them up to cool off, another day they would cut them up and put the pieces in salt. The sides for bacon, the shoulder, the hind legs were dressed with saltpetre to dry the blood out and used for ham.

 

Toward the end of the war we saw our first aeroplanes flying towards Bedford, they were very low when they passed over Bridge Meadow and seemed to be following the lines of the PO wires, twin winged ones and a very interesting sight.

 

During the war some of the women folk worked on the farm and the clothes they wore seemed strange at the time, corduroy breeches with a short smooth and round felt hat and as quite a number of the men folk had to join the army they were a real help on the farm, some took charge of the horses and done all sorts of work even ploughing, sowing and repairing. Some were even strong enough to move corn sacks at threshing time, sacks would hold 18,16,14 stones, according to the variety of corn which was heaviest. Threshing was chiefly done by steam engine, the threshing box driven by a belt from the engine and another belt from the box to the straw pack the latter being about the only part of ….. use on a few farms. Most of the straw and hay are now baled up but quite a few of the straws is burnt. In the  old days most of the straw was used to feed the live stock and used for litter on  ….. down.

 

Quite a number of farms had milking cows and one used to go to them with a can or a jug to collect your needs, also some would make butter which to most homes seemed to be something very special. The cream for that purpose was skimmed from the top of the milk after it had been standing for some 12 hours and placed in a container, some farmers had separators which used to separate the cream going through one pipe and the milk minus the fat another. You could buy the skimmed milk from him, after the container became full the cream would be put on a barrel shaped churn with strips of wood inside and built parallel on a tripod with a handle to turn over, one …. hole and opening, rubber …. Clamp which was screwed up tight with a screw and then the operation started. Sometimes in hot weather it would take longer to make, there would be a glass to look through to see the changes taking place and as the butter became large enough the buttermilk was let out into a pail with a straining cloth over the top of the pail to stop any small pieces of butter going into the pail with the milk, cold water then went in together required amount of salt. You then started to churn up again until the butter collected together in very large …. To enable you to put up in lbs and half pound blocks, a final pressed mask on top of finished product.

 

 

Social life: young ones used to make theiw own with various games being played on the roads without having to watch for traffic, at night they played in the dark (no street lights until after the 2^nd world war) other entertainment, whist drives and dances with an occasional concert. The highlight of the year held the last week in July was the village feast, when the green was covered in stalls, roundabouts, swings and caravans of the fair people and steam engine used to power most of the equipment and supply the electric lighting, this was the highlight of the year. Occasionally a dancing bear would come to the village and perform outside the red Lion its reward was a drink of beer.

 

At harvest time quite a number of people would go to catch rabbits, they would keep in the corn until it was nearly finished, stones would be thrown at them as they would sit in the corn and they would be shot when they  ran away, there would be quite a lot of them at the time.

 

Quite a number of the old houses have been modernised, sometimes two and more have been made into one and more are privately owned. The Compton Estate have sold quite a number they used to own and it seems that this will happen to more as they become vacant.

 

In the old days all allotment plots used to be cultivated, now as far as church laws is concerned these are only who have plots, the remainder is farmed and some used for building contractors storage, only about 100 plots used by householders which is less than one tenth of the field, this seems to me a local pity because it was bought in the first place so that there would always be a field where any parishioners of Denton could have a plot for their own cultivation, this was expressed by the benefactor.I sincerely hope this gift will always be available for the parishioners for many years to come as it was meant to be.

 

One good thing for Denton was the buying of the land hostel built during the Second World War for the land army use, and is now used as the village hall soon to be replaced with a new modern building, the old one has served a very useful purpose to the village. It is nice to remember that a number of the girls that came to work on the farms married some of the local lads and are still living in Denton and have raised families here. It was during and soon after the war that the changes in the life at Denton started. First with building council house buildings, these were bungalows, followed a year later with the new estates, these alterations took in five fields and one allotment, also part of another making at least eight more roads and covering approximately 40 acres of land area so that some of the wild open spaces have disappeared.

 

During the last 10 years the feast as we knew it has gone, no fair on the village green, in fact no celebration seems to take place at all, it used to be held on the Sunday nearest to 21^st July, that is one of the good times that seems to be past history, one wonders what the future holds for Denton, an airport on our doorstep? I rather doubt it, I hope that very little more building takes place as we are now quite big enough according to the present facilities. A larger school is needed and one wonders what will happen to church and chapel life as religion seems to be going into the background as more and more entertainment takes place on Sundays.

 

There have been a great many changes since the war and one wonders what the future holds, that is in the hands of the young generations of today. Denton has always been a very happy village to live in and I hope it will be for many years to come. There have been residents who have worked very hard for a mere pittance  for the benefit of this village, one such was Daniel Mawby, who for a number of years used to mow the churchyard and also the cemetery,  he spent many hours doing this work and had great pride in doing this. He also used to dig the graves and that was very hard work as toward the half way mark he had tombstones to cut out and cart away. Anyone wanting a helping hand, Dan was the man to ask.

 

The school teacher when I was at school was Mr Jones, Mrs Jones was the other and taught the younger ones, and Mr Jones was also the registrar of death and births, he also carried out first aid when required, he was a strict disciplinarian and used the cane very often but years after no one had any respect. I wonder what parent would think of the treatment now. Whether in school or outside one learned to behave when he was about or pay for it. Other types of punishment, one could be given sums to do and you could finish standing up with six or more slates in your arms writing out the answers on the top one, also stay on after school  ……….that was what was called control over classes and making sure you did your best, otherwise punishment was around the corner.

 

September 1979

 

A great deal of change has taken place to Denton as in most other places during the later years. At the time the first part was written the population averaged between 250 -300 and dwellings or houses approximately 100 compared with the present which is between 500 -600 population and 300 houses and bungalows. The new estates and council houses have brought quite a number of people from all parts of the country and most have fitted into the village life and have been a great help in the various activities. A number of the lodge farms have been taken in to larger ones in some cases making them three times their original size. Gone are the horses wagon carts and all horse drawn implements, they are now museum pieces.

 

Not many of the farmers in Denton have milking cows, this has also changed from hand work to machine. Gone are the threshing engine and their boxes but the straw jacks are still used by some farms who do not burn their straw and use it as in the old days for the cattle as fodder and bedding and then back on to the land as manure.

 

All farm work in now carried out by tractor, combines for harvest, ploughs vary from three to five and more furrows and the corn stored on driers which will hold up to 4 to 5 hundred tons. A farm used to keep it dry in the store where farmers employed a number of men, two or three with modern methods do the work ten or twelve used to do. No hoes usually now, weeds are dealt with weed killer, and farm manure is substituted with artificial of various sorts according to the crop.

 

 

 

CHANGING SCENES

 

As one sits and dreams of days gone by,

Of a changing world, or a special joy,

Problems come then disappear,

Always solved by the passing years.

Thoughts of days long ago

When you walked the fields in the sunset glow

Or in the early morn with the dew on the ground

Watching the wildlife scamper around

Buttercups and daisies in profusion grew

Various grasses were plentiful too

Changes have taken place since those early days

All because of the farmers different ways

Grassland turned over by the plough

Where cereal and corn crops grow now

Most of the elm trees gone for good

Some trees have been planted where they stood

The beauty we knew of those days long ago

The youth of these days will never know.

 

Bertram Hollowell 1985

 

 

FRIENDSHIP

As you go through life you will always find

Your path will be hard and easy at times

When trouble comes along and your need is great

True friends come along, others too late

That is the time when true friends meet

And help you at their mercy seat

When fortune smiles and comes your way

More will gather round you in everyway.

 

Take good heart as you travel life’s way

And look forward to a better day

Live your life in an honest way,

That is the way if you hope to succeed

To get through life and all you need.

 

 

Bertram Hollowell January 1985