Joe Howes (son of Olive Howes nee Hales)
Aunt Lizzie (Polly) was the Wistow School Teacher for many years.
Polly lived on land opposite Juggins Farm in a bungalow no longer there.
Harry Woolley ran the school from 1913 onwards, which was church run.
The Howes family ran the Three Horseshoes pub from 1912.
The Three Horseshoes landlords were as follows;-
Howes family
Closed as a pub but occupied by a man called Adams
Reopened by Frank Harding (nicknamed ‘Pop’)
Bomber Wells
Mrs Rose
Mr Lilley (ex policeman)
Reg Stanton
Rolph Turner
John and Eileen Cooper
now Julia and Gerry
Joe Howes was born at 10 Oaklands Avenue in 1928, then lived at Upwood for a short while.
The Wistow Feast was on the weekend of 20th June for about 3 days.
They had a Wistow Cricket Match all week as well then, playing a different team every day.
There was an Open Air Prom dance on Miss De La Pryme’s lawn.
Ramsey Town Band played on these occasions as well.
The Church was full every Sunday back then.
There used to be a walk from Moss Lawn to Blackhurst Farm.
Joe went to the school in the village. Children could then either go to the Grammar School or Warboys.
The Assistant Teacher was Alice Whitehead.
There was a cobblers business run outside the Three Horseshoes pub.
A name from the village that Joe remembers was Mr James Swiffen who died on 20/7/1917.
There were May Pole dances on Miss De La Pryme’s lawn as well.
The Aggar family sold milk from a three wheeled trolley in the village.
Olive Howes helped to deliver the bread from the bakers in Mill Road. She even went to Kings Ripton on foot.
She found the Reverend Noble in the ditch one night, drunk, on the way back from Kings Ripton.
There were twelve Hales children, all survived, four children went to live in New Zealand.
Bert and Fred Hales lived in Manor Street.
The family had an unexploded bomb they used as a doorstop for many years - they weren’t aware it was unexploded!!
Names from the village were the Fosters (farmers), Dorringtons (farmers- lived in Ted Benson’s house, Mill Road), Miss Saunders and her dog, Mr Cook (lived in the Juggins house - he was the old miller, and had a big dovehouse in the front garden.)
The Brook used to be a lot deeper than it is now and could take small boats.
___________________________________________________________________
David Titmarsh
Interview 2009
Stephen Howes says
There are a couple of comments on the interview with Joe Howes (my Father)
Joe has never lived in Upwood, he moved from Wistow to Ramsey when he got married. (the confusion may have been caused because I live there)
The Aunt Lizzie referred to at the beginning is the schoolteacher in the school photo in the photos section.
The unexploded bomb referred to was a shell that her brother brought back from the first world war, it was about the size and shape of a thermos flask and we used it to prop open the barn door…. it was regularly kicked up against the door!
A number of Wistow men joined the Hunts Cyclist Batallion in the first world war (including my grandmothers brothers Burrus and Jack) there is info about them and other wistow soldiers here https://www.huntscycles.co.uk/Soldiers%20H.htm
For clarity, the Grammar school referred to is the Abbey school in Ramsey
elizabeth raynes says
James Swiffen was my great grandfather and my maternal grandfather was David Burton who was killed in August 1916.