It is with very great regret that we report the death on
31 August of Bert Howlett, whose recollections of life in
Barwick in the first quarter of the century have graced this
publication over the past two years. He had suffered a fall
and a week or two later was taken to hospital, where he died
of pneumonia at the age of 84. 'vie extend to Dorathea and
all their family our most sincere condolences.
Readers of 'The Barwicker' need not be reminded of what
we owe to Bert and Dorathea in our task of recording the
history of the village, culminating in the three articles in
Edition No.14. It was a hard physical task for Bert, with
severe arthritis in the hands, to write at all, but
fortunately. for us his letters were beautifully transcribed
by Dorathea. The result of their partnership has been a
series of accurately observed and remembered pictures of
Barwick life.
Before he left for Australia in 1926, he worked for a
short time as a gardener for Mr and Mrs Miers-Gray at
Morwick Hall on the Leeds to York Road and he has left us
with this re-creation of the house and the life there, at a
time when domestic service was more common than at present.
'Commencing at the front entrance, on the York to Leeds
road, the lovely drive-way was lined on both sides with a border
of grass lawn, then between that and a hedge on either side were
shrubs of laurel etc. The drive-way was always maintained in
good order, with layers of red cinders. That made a nice
picture with a red and green colour effect. In front of the
Hall was a garden plot of flowers and shrubs. The cars went
around one side to get in and the other way to get out. '
'The entrance was the usual porch type, with concrete steps.
I cannot recall how many rooms there were. The Hall ran
parallel to the highway, so that the outbuildings, garage, tool-
sheds etc. were on the end of the Barwick side. On the opposite
side of the front entrance was a very big flower garden and
lawn. It was always kept very neat and tidy.'
'Mr Miers-Gray was more interested in the garden than were
the womenfolk ; Mrs Miers-Gray was the only child of her parents
and, in their will, all the property was left to her on one
condition, that she retained the name Gray. Mr and Mrs Miers-
Gray had one daughter, Miss Poppy. I suppose the same condition
would apply to Miss Poppy as it did to her mother.'
Morwick Hall in the late 19th. century.
'Mrs Miers-Gray was a country lady with a Yorkshire accent,
and when young would ride a horse bare-back, quite fast. Mr
Miers-Gray had a leather business in Leicester. Now and then he
would go with a truck with a tank on to the dog kennels at
Bramham Park to pick up the dog droppings, which were used to
stain the leather for ladies shoes. (Top secret! Don't tell
anyone!)
'On the other end of the Hall was the orchard, with apple
trees etc. and in between the orchard and the Hall was a green-
house. In winter time it was heated by steam. At the back of
the house was the kitchen garden. They also kept a Jersey cow.
The staff was as follows: a cook, a kitchen maid and a house
maid with outside help for the laundry work, plus a chauffeur.
Two gardeners were also employed. The head gardener and the
chauffeur lived in houses on the property. The family car was a
Buick and Miss Poppy's car was a Morris.'
'Having been used to ordinary working people, I thought all
the gentry were snobs. I really got a shock when I first met Mr
and Mrs Miers-Gray walking in the garden. He said to me, 'If I
don't say good morning to you, don't say good morning to me!';
in other words no bowing and scraping. To me he did not speak
the Yorkshire language; he was a typical English gentleman,
snowy hair, rotund with pink cheeks. His favourite flowers were
roses. They were carefully pruned each year, with the result
that he always had perfect roses. One Friday, I asked him if he
would give me a bunch. He said, 'You really would like some
roses?' I replied that I would. He seemed very pleased and he
then gave me a lovely bunch of the pick of his roses. On my way
home people stopped me and asked about them.'
'Each Christmas the staff would receive a hamper. When I
left he gave me all his good wishes. After four years, I went
back ·to Barwick with my wife Dorathea. Mrs Albert Collet, the
washer woman for Morwick Hall, told Mr Miers-Gray I had returned
from Australia. In the meantime, my family had left Barwick and
gone' to Rawdon. My father and two brothers had got work at
Woodhouse Boys School. So Mr Miers-Gray asked Mrs Collet to get
our address and he wrote us a letter to say he would be pleased
if we would pay them a visit.
We accepted his invitation and on arrival went to the
servants' entrance, then into the drawing-room and we were
treated like Royalty. When we had finished afternoon tea, Mr
Miers-Gray asked us if we'd like to see the garden. He then
took my wife's arm and I did likewise with Miss Poppy. I was
hoping we would see the head gardener, so I could give him a
smirk - no-one liked him - but he had been sacked. On our
leaving, Mr Miers-Gray asked us to call again, but not go to the
servants' entrance, but to come to the main entrance. He was a
true 100% Britisher.'
'Between Morwick Hall and the road from the station to the
York to Leeds road was the property of Mr Tommy Horner. He grew
rhubarb and was always struggling till the 1914-18 war. Then he
made a fortune. The only jam you could get was rhubarb and
lemon, or rhubarb and melon and ginger. Later he got himself a
Ford tin-lizzie car or truck. He had some land on the left side
of the path to the station. On this land, he wanted to grow
cabbages. We were getting one shilling a day, at the coal mine,
but we could make three shillings at Tommy's planting cabbage
plants, at one shilling a row, after knocking off at the mine.'
'Most of the gentry took shooting licences and each one, say
Morwick Hall, Potterton Hall and others, would arrange a shoot.
They would each have a chauffeur and one servant. We, the
servants, would go ahead bush-beating and the chauffeurs would
pick up any game that was shot, put the birds in different
places and then pick them up later. Then they would have dinner
and we would have the same food in the kitchen. They had a
large cellar in which the game was hung until it was green.
There is no accounting for taste!'
