SERVICES AND TRADES PEOPLE
SHOPS
There were three shops in the village in the first half of this century. One at number 8 map 2 was owned by Thomas Foxton and later from around 1912 to 1945 it was owned by John Baker and run by his wife. My memory of Mrs. Baker, who died in 1953, is of a tall, slim lady who was very peasant and obliging. She twisted squares of newspaper into cones for holding sweets which she sold and was always saying thank you, thank you, thank you very much. Jack Dunn and his wife were the last people to run the shop. At number 18 map 1 was a small shop which after 1948 or so had several owners but before that date Herbert Oxtoby owned the shop for around 20-25 years. This shop was well patronized and closed I believe in 1978. At number 22 map 3 there was a larger shop which until about 1946 was owned by Thompsons. After 1946 or 48 Hardy Dixon owned the shop and added the Post Office which became the main and later the only store in the village. In 1990 Mrs. Lazenby was the owner of the shop and Post Office and provided a valuable service. The shop sold not only Sweets, tobacco, groceries but also paraffin, camp glasses, Owbridges, lung tonic, Beechams pills, embrocation and camphorated oil.
TRAVELLERS
Representatives of grocers and drapers in Driffield visited the village usually fortnightly for customers orders (householders). These orders were packed and sent from Driffield with carriers from the village who went to the market at Driffield each Thursday. The Co-op of course delivered their own groceries etc. Spencers too delivered their own orders but they dealt mostly with the farm houses who boarded men. These “hind” houses as they were called bought things in bulk, say 4 stone or even 8 stone of flour, lard and sugar by the stonel
CARRIERS
Until 1935 Albert Barr went to Driffield each Thursday with a horse drawn, four wheeled covered wagon. Anthony Thompson too was a carrier. Perce Miller had a covered Ford truck which he built from several other trucks and he too went to Driffield as well as to Hull. These carriers usually took butter and eggs to the markets and sometimes passengers (these weren’t for sale of coursel). Besides bringing the groceries back with them Albert Barr, for instance, brought yeast and the “Driffield Times”. Perce Miller would buy anything at Driffield or Hull or Beverley for his customers. For instance he bought and brought for me things like paving stones, a pelmet and wood. The carriers also delivered and collected goods to and from other villages between North Dalton and the market towns. Albert Barr also had a “shop” where cottagers could buy pig and chicken feed such as “Sharps” and Indian Corn. Billy Noble also in the 1930’s had a covered Ford truck with which he did some carriering, but chiefly he used the truck as a passenger vehicle, mainly for taking football and cricket teams about. Some of these carriers were also coal merchants. м
MILK
Previous to about 1929 many people apart from farmers kept a cow so milk was fairly easily come by. Farm workers in some cases were supplied with milk from the places where they worked. In 1929 I had the job of delivering milk from a dairy farm at Middleton. I brought a churn (about 10 gallons) in a horse drawn milk float “cart”. I measured the milk from a two gallon bucket with a lid into customers jugs and I believe the price was three old pence a pint. Later the milk was delivered in bottles from a dairy farm at Middleton Hall and Geoff Dunn was one of the delivery men. During the last 30 years the milk has been delivered on contract from Northern Dairies.
PAPERS
Morning papers The morning papers used to be delivered daily from Middleton by David Firth who had been the morning paper man for 26 years. Before him Alan Cliff who was also from Middleton delivered them for many years. David Firth retired in May 1991 and John Shaw bought the paper round and the shop in Middleton. Evening papers For fourteen years the evening paper (The Hull Daily Mail) has been delivered by Jean, Denis and Sally Barr. The previous evening paper people were Mrs. J. Dunn, Mrs. Wood, Mrs. Gibbons, Mrs. E. Wilson and Wilf and Mrs. F. Cage. In 1996 Nathan Drew became the paperboy.
POSTMAN
The first postman I remember was Dick Wilson who lived at number 7 map 3. He walked to Middleton station every morning and collected the mail. He then delivered the letters round the village and afterwards he walked round the outlying farms taking letters. I also think he walked to Middleton at night to take letters for the mail train. He never rode a cycle Harrison Dixon was the postman for many years after Dick Wilson retired. Sometimes in Winter when there was too much snow and the roads were blocked he rode round the Wold farms on a horse. He also managed the Post Office.
TENDING COWS
As mentioned before in the 1920’s and much earlier many small holders had a cow. Each year the herbage on the roadsides was let by the Parish Council to people for grazing their cows. In practice a farmer, usually Mr. F. Foxton, would take the grazing and engage a cow “tenter”. This was usually a boy who between May and September would collect the cows after they had been milked in the morning, take them up the road sides and bring them back in the late afternoon.
HAWKER GEORGE
Hawker George lived at Middleton. He and his wife were Irish and in the 1920’s he trudged round villages and farms carrying a large Square leather covered basket on his back. The basket contained an assortment of Haberdashery such as ribbons, elastic, buttons, needles, thread, beeswax, combs and song sheets. Until about 5 years ago, gypsies too came round selling the same sort of wares plus pegs
JACK ARNELL
Jack Arnell was a well known visitor coming round the villages each week with a pony and a flat two wheeled cart selling fruit and fish. His cry of “ripe bananas, ripe tomatoes” could easily be heard even indoors by anyone with defective hearing. Jack Arnell bought dried rabbit skins for about 12 old pence each. There were a lot of them then Jack Foster was also another fruit man in the 1930s
BLACKSMITHS
John Scott was an elderly man when I first remembered him who spent most of his time working in the BlackSmiths shop, number 10 map l, (on West End), doing mostly tinkering jobs such as making pans, steamers, boiler tins and fireside shovels. Customers took their pans and tins to be repaired and if they were past repairing he would take the handle off, make a new pan and rivet or solder the old handle on to it. The same applied to fireside shovels, he could always repair them if the handle was alright! Jack and David Scott were two sons of John who worked in the Blacksmiths shop in the Main Street number 19 map 1. The work in this shop was mostly shoeing horses and hooping wheels for farm wagons and carts. They also repaired and fitted new teeth in harrows and made hand tools for use on the farms. Many of us who lived in the 20’s well remember the blacksmiths “walking” wagon wheels down the footpath, across the road and up the “walk” to the joiners shop to be repaired. This was a skilled routine because the wheels were heavy and they could well have got out of control coming down the hill Reedal Scott I must mention Reed Scott as he was known. He was the brother of Jack and David and had a hut behind the BlackSmiths shop number 19a map l, where he repaired cycles. He had been crippled with arthritis from the age of 14. The disease had twisted his hands, wrist and fingers and deformed his back. Although he had great difficulty in walking he still managed to repair cycles. Handicapped as he was he never complained or gave the impression that he was sorry for himself. Proof of this was the number of friends who popped into his shop for a chat with him. Almost everyone relied on their cycles for getting to work or to visit neighbouring villages and towns. There was usually enough work to provide him with pocket money. Strangely he owned a cornet and in the 1920’s I often heard him playing it, yet I haven’t heard of there being a band in North Dalton.
TAILORS
There were two tailors shops in the village, one owned by Thomas Ransom at Number 35 Map 2, and the other owned by Jack Stonehouse at Number 7 Map 2. Bell Ransom – father of Thomas – had their first tailor shop on West End near Number 8 Map 1 Thomas Ransom and his son Tommy were well known tailors. Thomas often rode a horse to take orders to and from his customers over a wide area. They also used to make waterproof clothing using calico and treating it with linseed oil. Their name board bearing their names, Thomas Ransom and son, Tailor and breeches maker, remained on the wall of their house for 30 years after they died. Jack Stonehouse and his son Bob were also well known tailors and breeches makers. I have often been in their tailor’s shop and watched them as they sat on a stage affair about three feet high, facing each other, legs crossed, feet tucked under them, like Japanese taking tea. Jack Stonehouse’s specialty was making breeches which many young farm men wore when they were “dressed up”. These were worn with “fustin” leggings and looked very smart. Also Jack Stonehouse was noted for the navy blue Serge suits he made – these were considered to be the very best in men’s wear during the 20s and 30s. These cost five pounds including a waistcoat.
JOINERS (CARPENTERS)
There were two joiners shops in North Dalton previous to about 1925. One of these shops was at Number 31 Map 1 and the joiners – two brothers Harry and Billy Fleetham lived at Number 29 Map 1. The other joiners shop was at Number 25 Map 3 owned by Alf Fleetham. Willie Arthur Oxtoby served his apprenticeship with Alf who was his uncle. He then carried on the business for maybe 20 years after his uncle died in the 1920s. Much of the joiners work was connected with agriculture – like making or repairing farm carts and wagons, making and repairing cattle troughs, repairing farm buildings i.e. doors etc. As mentioned under “Blacksmiths” the joiners repaired wagon wheels, replacing worn spokes and “fellows” prior to the blacksmiths sweating the iron hoops on, which they did by heating the hoops, laying the wooden wheel on a large round plate and hammering the hot hoops on the “Pig” hammers, then cooling the hoops by throwing cold water over them.
FISH AND CHIP SHOPS
There have been seven owners of fish and chip shops in North Dalton since 1920. The first one that I can remember was at Wynthorpe House Number 31 Map 2. Henry Serginson was the owner. When this one closed, David Hara the son of Charley Hara the cobbler, opened one at Pit Cottage (between the cottage and the pit) Number 30 Map 6. David’s sisters, Ruth and Rene, did the frying. Harry Flecher at Number 26 Map 3 opened one when Haras closed theirs. David Thompson and his wife opened one at Number 22 Map 3 in the yard near the shop. The next and final site for a fish and chip shop was in the yard near number 22 map 2. This one was owned and run by Sissy Dunn, a spinster, who lived at Number 12 Map 2. Miss Dunn owned and fried in the fish shop for a lot of years. Ernest Kennington from near Hull bought the fish shop and ran it for a few years. To complete the circle Rene Hara (Mrs. Line) took it over for a short while after Mr. Kennington.
POTATOES
Another food, not as hygienic as fish and chips, was Uncle Jack’s “Pig Taties”. These were small potatoes which he boiled in an old coal fired copper outside in his yard. The potatoes were dumped in the copper straight out of the sacks, bits of soil, straw etc. going in with them. They were boiled for pig food. It so happened that as we children sat in the school we could see when the copper chimney was smoking. This was a signal for us when we left school to rush home for Some salt and maybe a dish or a basin, and then go to Uncle Jack’s and gorge ourselves with the tasty little potatoes. In restaurants they are called jacket potatoes and of course are washed before they are cooked, but they do not taste as good as Uncle Jack’s “pigtaties” used to do
CATTLE DEALERS
Extract from Albert Barr’s diary. “Feb. 1st 1890 – Thomas Foxton, a cattle dealer, drove his horse and trap from Huggate and into the water of the pond quite depressed with XXXX? and went to bed and was found lifeless in the morning. Feb. 2nd 1890 – William Hill, cattle dealer out at Middleton Wold called at Dr. Wood’s in coming through this village and ordered to bed and died next day through influenza”
DROVERS
Cattle dealers usually employed their own drovers. These were men who, with their dog, moved cattle and sheep along roads and lanes all over the district. One such drover employed by Mr. F. Foxton was Dick Londsborough. Dick helped by his dog and with his pony and trap, must have driven cattle and sheep hundreds of miles all over the East Riding. He was recognized as a “character” by his brusque manner, not only with the people he met but with his dog and his employer. It is unbelievable but true that he was a master baker in York before becoming a drover. CATTLE DEALERS did a useful service for farmers until about 1960. They travelled to various markets and large cattle and sheep sales, especially in the West Riding at Otley, Skipton and similar places. They also went to large sheep sales North of the Border in Scotland. They also went to Hexham, Alnwick and Morpeth where they bought sheep for the Wold farmers. They also bought Irish cattle which were very popular on farms pre 1940. These were bought by the dealers and brought to this area by rail to Middleton and Driffield stations. The cattle dealers had contacts over a very large area, and no matter what type of bullocks or sheep a farmer might require the dealers could always supply him. Honesty, fair trading and confidence were the rules understood by everyone. The dealer, of course, took his commission. Most buying and selling was done by word of mouth and or a slapping of hands, hence the saying “knock his hand off”. When times were exceptionally hard for farmers in the late 20’s and into the 30’s, especially for the Smaller farmers, the dealers recognized that cash flow problems at the time and often did not press for payments until the farmers could afford to settle their accounts – say after selling SO1162 COTTì Fred Foxton who lived in North Dalton was a well known and respected cattle dealer. His son Tommy Foxton carried on the business for many years after his father could no longer do it.
THRASHING CORN
During the 1920’s and 30’s North Dalton was well equipped with machinery for thrashing corn. John Wilson, who lived at what is now known as The Groves Number 24 Map 1, owned two thrashing sets i.e. steam engine, thrashing machine and straw elevator. John Wilson’s son Stewart and Perce Hornsby were engine drivers. The days for these men were long. Their job involved taking the thrashing set to the farm where the thrashing was to take place on the day, or sometimes the evening before the day the farmer wanted his corn thrashing. After arriving at the farm, the machine was “set” near the stack which was to be thrashed and made level by placing pieces of thick wood under the wheels and hammering chocks of wood under each side of the wheels to secure it. The steam engine and elevator were then aligned and secure in place. This routine completed, everything was ready for an early start the following day. – The Stacks were usually made to a size which, with an early start, could be thrashed in approximately eight hours. This arrangement was so that the farmer only engaged the extra staff needed for one day or days depending on the number of stacks to be thrashed. The driver of the engine and his mate had to arrive at the farm at maybe 6.20 in the morning to get the fire in the engine stoked and so get the “steam up” ready for a 7.30 or 8.00 o’clock start. Some of the larger farms, like Tithe Farm, employed enough workers during the 20’s and 30’s to thrash their corn without engaging extra casual labour. In fact some farms had their own thrashing machines, more so during the 30’s and 40’s, when tractors replaced steam engines. Bus the Smaller farms and smallholders, especially during the 20’s and 30’s when unemployment was high, relied on casual labour to help thrash their corn. At least nine men plus the two with the thrashing set were needed. In the late 30’s and 40’s the small farmers helped each other on thrashing days.”Looances” – that is drinks and something to eat – were provided for the workers, usually at 9.30 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. by the farmer’s wife or the foremen’s Hinds” wife. The average output of corn from a day’s thrash was about 80 quarters (a quarter of barley being 2×16 stones sacks, a quarter of wheat was 2×18 stone sacks and a quarter of oats was 2×12 stone sacks) During the 30’s a day’s wage for a casual worker would be about 8-10 shillings (10 shillings = 50 new pence). A good crop of barley would yield about one ton per acre at twenty pound a ton. BLANCH HATFIELD also owned a thrashing set. His steam engine was a “Clayton and Shuttleworth” compound. It was originally a fairground engine. Dick Lyon was his mate. Eventually Barrets from Bainton became the nearest owners of thrashing sets in this area. Steam engines were replaced by tractors in the late 30’s and 40’s. Later of course, combine harvesters took over from the old methods of harvesting. Blanch Hatfield’s thrashing machine and elevator were burnt in a farm fire at Bainton Heights and his steam engine suffered a similar fate at Wold Newton. John Wilson’s steam engines were cut up for scrap, maybe to help the war effort. With the demise of these engines went the nostalgic smell of Smoke and steam, oily rags and greasy engine driver’s hats
STEAM ROLLERS
Steam rollers survived the old thrashing engines by many years. A steam roller belonging to the County Council was at least an annual visitor. The driver brought his engine, caravan, water cart and coal and parked them near the farm buildings just past the Village Hall Number 36 Map 1. He sometimes stayed for a week or so to help with re-surfacing roads. Previous to the roads being tarmac’d (1920’s) they were repaired by using the steam roller to loosen the surface of the road with strong Steel Spikes attached to the rear of the engine. Ironstone was then spread on the road, the whole lot sprayed with water and then well rolled down again.
The ironstone to repair the roads was brought from either Middleton station or Driffield County Council depot by horse and cart and tipped in long heaps at the verges along the road sides. The ironstones were in large pieces and the County Council engaged casual workers to break the pieces down into lumps the size of an egg or slightly larger. The Stone Breakers used special hammers of different sizes to do this job.
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