History
Recollections
MR. TONY CHANNINGS died recently at the age of 90. He left us some of his ‘memories of bygone days’. He wrote the notes, a fascinating window into earlier times here, during Covid and gave them to Jo and Andrew Butcher. They are reproduced verbatim.
PROMINENT FAMILIES IN THE VILLAGE
Hoskings, Braunds, Cloakes, Richards (Cyril JP), Marks, Du Plessis, Barretts
FARMERS IN THE PARISH
Mr. William Barrett – village
Mr. William Braund – Penyoke
Mr. Harold Braund – Penyoke
Mr. Kellock Roberts – Landulph
Mr. Dan Du Plessis – Lower Marsh Farm
Mr. George Snell – Park Farm
Mr. Leonard Cradick – St. Ann’s (milk round in village)
Mr. Samuel Avery – North Wayton
Mr. Fred Willcocks – Haye Farm
Mr. Jack Dawe – Tinnel Farm (milk round in village)
Mr. Percy Carter – Clifton Farm
Mr. Charlie Cox – Stockadon Farm
Mr. Jack Channon – Higher Marsh Farm
Mr. Bill Crago – Clampit Farm, Collogett
Mr. Bill Evans – Clampit Farm
Mr. Charlie Congdon – Kingsmill Farm
Mr. Leslie Nanscawen – Ellbridge
Mr. Arthur Willcocks – Bittleford
Milk collected daily from farms. Local postmaster in ten-gallon churns. By lorry to Dawes creamery, Old Ferry Road, Saltash for processing.
TWO SHOPS
Post Office and shop – local postmaster Mr. Bill Hannaford,
c/o Mr. Harry Goodman and wife Gwendoline.
Lower shop – Supply Stores: Mr. Nelson Braund and wife Freda
PUBLIC HOUSE
‘The Royal Oak’ Free House. Simonds Brewery.
The pub used to be crowded with locals and also the village, with people from Plymouth on the two steamers of the Millbrook Steamboat Company, the ‘Swift’ and the ‘Rapid’. Also the ‘Western Belle’.
J.G. Hosking, the local coal merchant, owned the quays. With two delivery lorries for coal and farm deliveries.
PLACES OF WORSHIP
We had three: the Parish Church – vicar parson Adams, later Canon Adams; the Baptist Chapel and the Methodist Chapel.
THE SCHOOL
Two teachers: infants and seniors, approximately 50-60 local pupils. But during the Second World War, each family was allocated an evacuee, which doubled the number attending. Gas masks and steel shelters in classrooms.
MORE AMENITIES
During the war our butcher was Butcher Edwards from Callington.
Doctor’s surgery on Fridays in Mr. Clarke’s house, opposite the pub: Dr. Robinson and Dr. Harry.
TRANSPORT
Bus services by Western National: Tuesday 12pm and return, plus Saturday 12 pm and return 10.30 pm from Saltash, which we could catch after coming out of the Regal Cinema at Saltash.
Taxis: Mr. Ernest Talbot, ‘Southwark’, in village and Mr. Victor Prideaux at Grove.
ENTERTAINMENT
There was no tv, only radio. 12-volt dry winner battery, grid bias and accumulator gramophone.
There were monthly dances too in the Rectory Room, concerts and weekly whist drives.
The Liberal Club with daily newspapers ‘News Chronicle’ and ‘Western Morning News’, plus ¾-size billiard table and a dartboard.
We had two football teams playing league football, two cricket teams P&D and Cornwall League, and three table-tennis teams playing in P&D leagues.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
Cooking and heating was by coal fire. Washdays, one had to: light the copper, put washing in, knob of blue, keep stirring, hang clothes out to dry after they were put through the mangle.
In the summer, boil a kettle on the primus. No electricity, light was by Aladdin lamp.
Toilet was top of the garden, wooden structure and bucket. Later, Elsan chemical toilet.
WARTIME
We had our own Home Guard.
Before D-day, the river from the Quays to Neal Point was a double row of moorings full of US Navy landing craft and crews. The sailors made good use of the pub and the village, playing baseball in the village field.
We had three ARP Wardens and there was a fire decoy crew stationed at Clifton Farm, to light tanks full of oil to lure bombers away from Plymouth.
We had to queue at the Baptist chapel for Lord Woolton’s pasties, delivered from Saltash.
Six bren-gun carriers parked adjacent to the Baptist Chapel.
We had G.I.s visiting the pub in jeeps.
One day, a large company of troops came down to cross the River and swam across, with only a long inflated canvas tube with strap about three feet long d/a two inches for buoyancy, to Bere ferrers Railway Station. After the War, the two rows of moorings were occupied by Air/Sea Rescue vessels from RAF Mountbatten, with two resident minders.
The Council houses were built to house servicemen returning from the War.
FUNERALS
Our undertaker was a villager: Mr. Bill Blatchford and Mr. Henry Searle was the gravedigger. The funeral bier was housed close by the Church Hall. When there was a funeral, the bearers would load the coffin and pull it to the Church for burial.
THE SEA WALL
The wall down at the playing field was built with rubble from the Plymouth blitz.
THE QUAYS
All the quays were full of whalers and varnished dinghies covered in tarpaulins also moored between the quays. The Dockyard Police would visit weekly to inspect.
CARNIVAL
Once a year, we held Carnival Week, with local Queen and activities, plus for the Festival of Britain a very large bonfire was built in Butts Field, opposite the Methodist Chapel.
RURAL LIFE
Most of the farmland in the Parish was owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and by Pentillie Estate, early days owner Captain J.T. Coryton. Two gamekeepers. The local blacksmith, Mr. Deacon, was at Paynters Cross.
ROYAL VISIT
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, prince Philip, visited the Church in about 1962, because one of his ancestors is buried there.
SALMON-FISHING
Herbert Braund’s family fished for salmon for many years on the Tamar and on the Tavy at Maristow. The fish were sent by rail to Billingsgate fish market in London.
HORTICULTURE
The Parish also had a very good horticulture industry, mainly fruit and flowers, which were sent from Saltash railway station all over England and Scotland, and to Plymouth market.
TRAVEL
One could catch the ferry at Saltash. On reaching the St. Budeaux side, Devon, catch a tram to the city centre for shopping and so on.
The bones from the Royal victualling yard (the Royal William Yard), Devonport, were brought to the Quays to be burnt for fertilizer for the market gardens.
HARD TIMES
In February 1947,we had a blizzard here with a foot of snow for six weeks. No traffic moved. Bitter East wind.
MODERNISATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
The water supply entered the village in about 1938 and electricity some time later. Before mains water, the village relied on six wells with pumps and standpipe taps. Towards the end of the War, an army lorry would arrive at Penyoke with a large number of Italian P.O.W.s, an armed officer in charge. They were put to work laying water pipes to Duchy farms in Landulph. They would clean their teeth with the wood-ash from the previous day’s fire.
Three Land Army girls married and settled here.
In later years, the GWR lorry driver, Mr. Arthur Sara would deliver parcels from Saltash station. Co-op Coal used to visit weekly, as did the Co-op Shop, a converted coach. Paxton hardware from Gunnislake would visit monthly. The postmen from Saltash now deliver direct to the Village and Parish.
Mr. Jack Dawe of Tinnel was the first to introduce the combine harvester to the Parish.
The Du Plessis family were well-known for their expertise in growing daffodils.
Latterly the Baptist Chapel has closed, as have the Methodist chapel and pub. But we have gained the Yacht Club which is very popular.
And lastly, we now have a Memorial Hall, which is widely used by all parishioners.
© Anthony N Channings, July 2020, All rights reserved
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