 I have been asked to write down some of my father’s memories of growing up at the
Hall in Little Shelford, to coincide with the 90th anniversary of its destruction by fire in
February, 1929. My father, John Altham, (pictured on the left in the photo when he was Chairman of the Parish Council) was born in 1909 and lived first in Cowes, where his father
was a naval officer. His beloved sister Psyche was born in 1912. Unfortunately their
parents became estranged and with their mother, Fiorella, they came to live at the
Lodge midway through the First World War. They were invited by Isa Eaden, John
and Psyche’s great aunt,
who lived at the Hall with her husband Jack Eaden, a solicitor and partner of Eaden
Spearing and Raynes in Cambridge. Even before they moved to the Hall the grounds and garden delighted the
children. “We had the free run of the lovely garden surrounding the Hall where Aunt
Isa and Uncle Jack lived. The mysterious grandeur of the Hall with its servants, its
houses, the old mulberry tree, strawberry beds, peaches on the wall, the apple loft,
pigs in their pens, chickens running around the stable yard, the big dog kennel with
Bess, the shooting black retriever, always so excited to be talked to, the orchard
running down to the river - and THE RIVER - the greatest excitement of all!” There were horses kept in the stables, hunters for Jack Eaden and others for the
pony and trap (a duckboard). Harry Want was one of the grooms and became one of
my father’s oldest friends. William (Billy) Wisbey was another groom and gardener
and he and John would aim at the two bells on the roof of the Hall with their airguns - with only limited success!
“ The kitchen garden was a thrill too. Walled in, it had everything, including two
strange pits about four feet square and two feet deep, with wooden covers over
them, as a spare water supply for hand watering cans. These were inhabited by
enormous toads, quite frightening for children! The green houses, full of exotic plants
for the house, were heated by coke boilers and enormous iron pipes running under
the staging, and they smelled as only green houses fully furnished can smell - quite
delicious.” To come back to the river! John and Psyche were allowed to take the punt out on the
river on their own, sometimes going out all day, going up past the Manor House into
the open fields towards Hauxton, or up towards the Mill, where they would swim in
the Weir. Swimming and diving in the Weir was considered safe as the water was
clear - unlike the Perch Hole which was deep and murky. (Now marked “Deep
water”.) They would fish in the river “which abounded with wild life, with birds,
butterflies, rabbits, moorhens and very special - the kingfishers. (A word about the
punt. It was made by the local builder, Mr Walker, father of the Walker Brothers who
went on to build so much in Little Shelford.) In 1923 Jack Eaden died and Aunt Isa invited John, Psyche and Fiorella to live with
her in the Hall to keep her company. When Jack died, Isa enjoyed a busy social life (he had been rather austere). There
were tennis parties, an annual cricket match against the village XI, an annual
pageant, where one year my father and his sister were dressed as miniature green
flies! Psyche, a talented dancer, would dance for dinner guests on the lawn “in the
lights of Uncle Barry Willis’s car!” This idyllic life came to an end in 1929 when the Hall was tragically burnt down. Isa
and the family were in Cambridge at the time, living in Brookside where they spent
the winters - the Hall being too costly to keep warm. The Hall was rented to some
cousins. Legend has it that some sticks which had been left to dry in front of a stove
caught fire. Because of a thick fog the fire engines couldn’t arrive in time to save the
house. I believe that my father’s great affection for the village stemmed from the marvellous
years spent first at the Lodge and then at the Hall. In his mémoires he writes more
intimately and in more detail of his life there, but I hope that this account will offer a
glimpse of what it was like for a small boy and his beloved sister to grow up in such a
wonderful and privileged world - which he always appreciated as such, being
endlessly thankful to Aunt Isa for all she gave him and his family. Jane Lagesse February 2019 John Altham also wrote some memories of the Hall in 1982. "The war (World War One) is now over and my uncle died, so we are now living at the Hall with my aunt. We have our own nursery down a long passage which frightens us in the dark, especially when the candle blows out. "I have a big toy cupboard full of Meccano, trains, my butterfly boxes and books. "We go to the river often where we have a large punt t the perch hole." "Mr Albert Thorogood has also come back (from the War) and he is Chauffeur and gardener. Mr Wisbey is also gardener. Also in the stable yard are Mr Whitfield and Mr Harry Want who look after some hunters which belong to Mr and Mrs Pares Wilson who have come to live at the Manor House. "In the house we have cook and Lena and Celia living in and more help for the visitors in the summer. When the grown ups go out we often play hide and seek with the maids in the house or the garden. The house is very long and has lots of hiding places. Lena is young and loves playing - - she giggles all the time. Celia is older and very stern. When there is a dinner party she comes in and runs the men out of the dining room to stop them drinking too much port" Here is John Althams' account of the fire at the Hall in 1929. Here is John Altham's account of living at the Hall. Here is John Altham's account of the M11 coming to Little Shelford. |
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