Do you mind if I tell this story in my
own words, as I am no author but just an ordinary
village resident. Well, I begin my life with the
church in my boyhood, having been made a member
of the junior choir. That was in the late Rev.
Harvey's time when we used to have choir practice
in the parish rooms. When the first Christmas
came round, we (the choirboys) were invited round
to the rectory to a Christmas party. I shall
never forget the game - I think it was called
'charades'. A man called Billy Teovil who used
to live down at Throstle Nest Farm, got hold of
Miss Harvey and said to her, "Make a noise like a
turnip". "Mak' a noise like a turrop" was his
expression.
As I got more used to mixing with people
and when I was reaching the age of 11, a new
rector was to be instituted. That was to be my
first thrill in church life for being a member of
the choir was a great honour. When we got to
know the late Rev. Herbert Lovell Clarke, he
became a great friend of ours. One day in early
June of the year 1934, he took me for a ride out
in his car, as he was going to an institution
service in a little village called Selside, which
is six miles from Kendal in Westmorland. That
was a day I thoroughly enjoyed.
During the next winter I became very ill
and was poorly for some weeks but it was then
that I found out that people in the church really
cared for me. I had a good friend in the rector
and he did restore me back to fitness as good as
any man could do. He came to my home and told me
that I was to go into a Church of England
convalescent home at Blackpool for a fortnight to
recuperate after my illness, at which I was very
thrilled. When I came out of the home I was full
of life. From that day on I have done something
practical in the way of raising money for the
church.
At that time there used to be a certain
group of men in the village; I will name them -
Mr Leighton Smith, Mr William Markham and Mr Tom
Robshaw, all of whom have passed on. Well, they
used to form a committee for the garden parties
which used to be held in the summer of each year
in a small field opposite my home and it was
great fun for us as there used to be no such
thing as television. If you went into the field
somebody would shout "Eh, you! Fetch that hammer
here" or "Fetch the nails" or even a piece of
wood - a job which I loved to do. Then there was
the job of fetching forms and chairs - we used
to love to fetch them.
While we are on the subject of garden parties,
they used to be a money spinner for the church.
All the monies used to go towards the upkeep of
the church, because it is only just recently that
the Free Will Offering has been circulated.
There was one garden party at which I thoroughly
enjoyed helping and that was the one in 1936. I
was asked to stand at the back of a
curtained petition with just the top of my head
showing wearing a big tall hat and people used to
come up, pay sixpence and take seven tennis balls
and try to knock the hat off. It was seldom that
they did because I kept moving.
As the next five to eight years rolled on
I decided to join His Majesty's Armed Forces and
when I came home on leave I used to be proud to
be in the choir. Then the time came for service
abroad, which included India, Burma, South Africa
and Ceylon. Any things in those countries
concerning the religions of the people are quite
different to those at home and you have to be
very careful what you do.
Having been invalided out of the army in
1942, I shall never forget the first Sunday I
came home. I was welcomed by the rector from the
pulpit. After a few months I found that the late
rector, Rev. H Lovell Clarke had to retire from
this parish having been promoted to Archdeacon of
Leeds.
For the next 17 years we were to have a
priest inducted who we cannot have enough praise
for. The gentleman I am referring to is the Rev.
Canon James Gray. He was also a very dear friend
to me and still is (in 1966. Ed.). He knew that
if ever he wanted anything doing he always knew
which way to look.
During the war things were not too good
for the church and making money to keep it going
was hard to come by, so I did my best to help. I
had been on the electoral roll for some time so I
was asked if I would become a member of the
Barwick Church Council, an invitation which I
gladly accepted.
Keeping the churchyard tidy was a very big
job and a man called Mr Mein used to have the job
of mowing down the grass from in between the
graves and I always used to like to go and take
it off for him. We used to go two afternoons a
week.
As time went by we were getting a very
good choir together. As the children grow up
their voices change, and tenors and basses are
very hard to find. Well we had a few good men
and boys, so the organist Mr H Walker decided to
have a go at 'The Crucifixon' which I think went
down as a success and the boys and girls did very
well. I will mention no names. After a while
we formed a choral society in which there were
quite a few people interested but after a while
it fell through.
A few more years roll on and after a while
pigeons which had nested round the church tower
had to be caught owing to the government seeking
information about various things, so we were
informed by the local police sergeant that we had to have them all caught.
All those with rings on their legs had to be sent
to the federation and all the others had to be
killed. So we had the task of going up the big
ladder which is kept in the bell tower and, as
the pigeons were only in at night, that was the
time we had to go. As they were perched on the
beams at the top they were very difficult to get
at.
Herbert Lovell Clarke Rector of Barwick (1933-42)
After they were
all caught we had to
clean out the belfrey
and sixteen bags of
manure had to be
scraped from the
gutters at the top of
the tower and belfrey.
I and the boys got to
work getting the bags
down the steps. We had
them all to drag after
getting them down and
we let Mr Burke have
them for his garden.
When the tower
had been cleaned out
people in the church
were finding how dirty
the interior was
looking. A meeting
was held on 30
September 1953 and
a committee of 17
was elected. Four
people were co-opted,
two were
deleted due to
removals and all the
others saw the job
finished.
First of all an appeal letter was sent
to every house in the parish and
on a large notice board in the
churchyard. The main thing that
was wanted was money.
£2000 was needed so collecting boxes were
distributed to every household. After two
collections by September 1954, £400 was in the
bank. Grants of £100 from the Diocesan Advisory
Committee and £500 from the Historic Churches
Preservation Trust followed and a legacy and
covenanted gifts yielded another £240. That was
£1240 raised. Mr Guy Channon of Malton made an
inspection of the church and so the work went on
until eventually it was finished and a concluding
meeting was held on Friday 11 July 1958.
In 1954 we had a new organ installed and
the old one dismantled. All the parts had to be
sent to Mr Cotteley who was an organ builder and
all the pipes were painted by Mr Brett who lives in the
village. I kept going in to see how they were
getting on with it. Altogether it took six
weeks; a very nice piece of work too.
While I have been writing my story I have
missed out my confirmation. I must tell you that
I was confirmed in 1934 at the age of 14.
So coming back to my story, it was about a
few months after the restoration that I found out
that Canon Gray was leaving the parish and going
to retire and live at Scarborough, but I think
that he helps with the ministry yet at times and
is still as busy as ever. It was on the 21 March
1959 that we were to have inducted the Rev.
Norman Butcher, the man who practically put the
church on its feet having introduced the Free
Will Offering. From £12 a month, the church has
nearly £100. There is a vast difference you
know.
It was decided by the church council that
we were to have a peal of six bells; that meant
that three smaller bells were to go into the
belfrey. It had to have a new frame and the
three older bells had to be re-cast. The cost of
this was estimated to be £1750, to be paid over a
period of five years.
Well, two men came from the bell factory
at Loughborough to do the job. The problem was
how they would get them down, the villagers were
wondering, but they made it look quite simple.
Of course there is an art in it.
Another thing which was introduced was a
Church of England Men's Society, of which I was a
member, and we have had some very good lectures
dinners and outings, all of which I have
thoroughly enjoyed. Church life in these days
seems to be more enjoyable than it did in the
past but one cannot forget the memories.
The jobs which have to be done before
service take up quite a bit of time so I go
every Sunday morning at 10.30am to put the books
out for the choir, put the hymns on the board,
light the altar candles and put out hymn sheets
for the choir. It is surprising how time goes
when you are doing jobs like these at both
morning and evening services.
Not very long ago a curate was appointed.
We have not had a curate in this parish since the
time of Mr Cave, who I regret to say died after
being a prisoner of war.
Well, I cannot conclude my little story
without thanking my many good friends in the
church who have enabled me to do it. So after
serving 38 years at Whitsuntide in the choir, I
shall look forward to many more in the future.
