Memories by Nora Green
Nora’s memories of life in Kirkby Underwood before and during the Queen’s rein.
I was born in Old Dalby near Melton Mowbray and moved to Kirkby when I was 10. I went to the village school until 12 years old and the teacher was a Miss Gerrard. After that I went to Rippingale Senior School and left at 14. Then I worked on the farm and in the house. We had no electric in the farm house but used Aladdin lamps.
There was a well in the Manor Field under the chestnut tree which was for anyone to use. In our house we had a water pump from which we pumped water into a tank in the roof so we had running cold water upstairs and down and a flush toilet. If you wanted a hot bath you put the copper on to heat the water and then had to bucket the hot water up to the bath. We had a bath once a week and all shared the water.
We had a compost toilet outside with a double seat and another one across the yard with a single seat.
My father had a pony (called Silver) and a trap and used to take me to Bourne on a Saturday evening. Father went into The Angel and I went dancing. Later years we used to go to the pictures.
I think father was the first to have a car an Alvis or it may have been Harry Burbank.
The Post Office was at the end of Rock’s cul- de- sac and a Miss Marshall was the Post Mistress.
The pub had a thatched roof until it caught fire. I stood in the field as a teenager and watched it burn and remember they found some tankards that had been hidden in the roof after the fire.