#100daysofbfotc Day 91: Florence Powell

Nov7 by thehistoryinterpreter

We never actually meet Florence Powell in Barefoot on the Cobbles, yet her short life, or more precisely her death, has ramifications that echo throughout the novel. Florence Lilian Powell was the second daughter of Thomas Folliott Powell and his wife Mary. She was born in Saltash, Cornwall in 1877 but shortly after her birth, the family relocated to Tavistock. By the time Florence was about eleven, the family had moved again, this time to Chudleigh Villas, East-the-Water, Bideford. On the 18 October 1890, Florence died at home from rheumatic fever. Receiving the copy of her death certificate was very exciting for me as there was already another character in the novel who died from the same cause. This gave me scope for drawing a number of parallels. Florence was the first person to be buried in the new East-the-Water cemetery. I searched through the undergrowth for a gravestone in vain. Perhaps there never was one; the family had financial worries. I hope that her place in the novel can be a memorial.

‘Her mother placed a bunch of rusty chrysanthemums on the long, wet grass in front of a forlorn gravestone. The name, Florence Louisa Powell, was deeply incised in the slate; a short life marked by the stark dates 1877-1890. The family was paying homage at this tangible reminder of a daughter, of a sister, who was forever frozen in time.’

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author. Kindle editions can be pre-ordered for the UK and also on Amazon.com.

#100daysofbfotc Day 90: Athaliah Prance

Nov6 by thehistoryinterpreter

Capture Athaliah Prance appears in the Bideford chapters of Barefoot on the Cobbles. She, like her cousin Polly, is one of several sisters but unlike Polly, she struggles to be heard amongst her more boisterous sisters. It is with Athaliah that Polly is given the opportunity to explore the town.

Athaliah Prance was born in Bideford on 14 April 1872, just two weeks after Polly. She was the daughter of Joseph and Susan Prance née Found; her father was a shopkeeper in Mill Street. As is recounted in the novel, she married Frank Holwill, the ironmonger’s assistant, in 1893. They lived in Lime Grove, Bideford and had five children. As an adult, Athalia called herself Hetty but unfortunately, I did not find this out in time to give her that name in the novel. Later the Holwills moved to Northam. Athaliah died in 1955.

“The young women had gazed in the shop windows, admiring hats and haberdashery and strolled along the quay, watching the ships unloading. Athaliah insisted that their walks took them past Hopson’s ironmongery. She even took Polly inside, pretending to take an interest in the array of brooms and brushes on display. In truth it was Mr Hopson’s young assistant who had caught Athaliah’s eye.”

#100daysofbfotc Day 89: Richard Ottley

Nov5 by thehistoryinterpreter

ottley Richard Ottley appears in the court scenes. The detailed accounts of the trial in the press must have been written by someone. There were no by-lines in the newspapers but I chose Richard to be my journalist. His purpose in Barefoot on the Cobbles is to suggest to the reader that the characters before them are multi-faceted and that incidents in their pasts have brought about the appalling situation in which they find themselves.

Needless to say, Richard Reginald Henry Ottley really existed. He was born in Buckingham in 1864 and he lived at Gorwell House Combe Martin. He died in Combe Martin in 1925, following injuries sustained when he fell off the pavement, whilst trying to cross the road. He left nearly £4000.

‘The prosecution had just called their key witness. Ottley was intrigued. What had motivated such a man, one who was clearly of the professional classes, to become embroiled in the goings on of an insignificant fisherman’s family? Ah but perhaps that was the point, Ottley began to mentally debate with himself, maybe the defendants were not so insignificant after all.’

#100daysofbfotc Day 88: Winnie Hamm

Nov4 by thehistoryinterpreter

Torquay Town Hospital

Winnie is a character where a little more imagination came into play. Barefoot on the Cobbles needed a VAD nurse, so I searched the Red Cross database to find someone of a suitable age who actually worked at Torquay Hospital. I also needed to include someone who was a little more street-wise, to introduce Daisy to life in the town and Winnie fulfilled that role. Although there is no evidence that Winnie and Daisy met in real life, they may have and Daisy would have needed a friend in her new home.

Winnie’s employment at Aylwood is another invention. On the other hand, Winnie’s description of her time at the hospital, far-fetched though it may sound, is taken from genuine memories of a VAD who worked at the Town Hospital at the time. In reality, Winnie Hamm worked in the pantry at the hospital from 3 November 1917, earning 9d a day.

Although I have implied, in the novel, that Winnie grew up in Torquay, the real Winifred Muriel Hamm was born on 24 Feb 1899 in Tooting, London to Sydney and Alice Hamm. When she was working at Torquay Town Hospital, Winnie’s address was Ruthven, Meadowfoot Lane, Torquay. At some point after the war, Winnie moved to Bathavon and in 1930, she was fined at Corsham Petty Sessions Court for failing to display a motor registration license. In 1939, Winnie was living with the mother at Laurel Cottages, High Street, Bathavon. Winnie was obviously keen on public service. She was a manager of Bathford Primary School and stood for the Parish Council in Bathavon in 1949. She died at the age of 96, on 20 June 1995 and is buried at St Swithun’s Bathford.

‘Daisy judged that Winnie was the younger by several years, probably not much older than Violet. Although not a hair was out of place, there was a light dusting of freckles across Winnie’s pert nose, which somehow made her seem more approachable.’

Of Kindles, Witches and Poppies: or how to buy books

Nov3 by thehistoryinterpreter

Amidst all the #100daysofbfotc blogs, it has been a while since I wrote of other things. Life has been busy; what‘s new? There have been visits to and with descendants, articles to write, courses to run and presentations to give. With All Hallows Eve in mind, my talk about Seventeenth Century Witchcraft has been requested a couple of times, always one that leads to fascinating audience discussion. Also with a seasonal flavour, my colleagues have been out and about recreating life at the time of the Great Fire of London; although I am never quite sure why schools think it is appropriate to book these sessions to coincide with Guy Fawkes Day!

On the subject of anniversaries, preparations for our parish commemoration of the centenary of Armistice day have reached fever pitch. Our village green is bedecked with knitted poppies, we have recruited volunteers to represent almost all of the 90 service personnel from the parish (and have hopes of getting the full complement before next week). Songs of the era are being sung, communal food is being prepared. Every service person has a mini-biography hidden on our history group website, ready to go live at 11am on 11 November (I hope!). I have been in to the local school to chat about Remembrance and the children have produced some wonderful art and written work. It has been four years in the making and next week, all that hard work, by many people, will come to fruition. Someone was heard to mention that next year is the 75th anniversary of D-day and should we be celebrating that? I did turn a deaf ear; someone else can organise that one!

Now to my own personal excitement. Although I finished writing Barefoot in the Cobbles in March, in the few weeks I have been at home since then, the time has been spent editing and marketing. This week, I conquered the learning curve that was necessary to convert Barefoot into Kindle format. I do hope I have got it right. It looks ok to me. So, you can now pre-order copies for your electronic device here. Having said that, I am really hoping that potential readers will opt for paper copies too. There are 54 boxes of books in my very small house. I do need to sell some – please. If you are thinking of buying this book I have been harping on about for forever, please do read a bit more about it first. It won’t be to everyone’s taste and I don’t want people to be disappointed.

If you still think you might enjoy my creation, can I make a plea that you purchase a copy directly from me, either at one of my many events or other talks, or by emailing me. Alternatively, I would encourage you to order online from my lovely publisher, Blue Poppy Publishing and for the next 13 days, you get £1 off and free postage to the UK. These options deplete my stock, as would ordering from your local independent bookshop. When buying my book, or indeed any other, please make the convenient ‘buy it now’ Amazon button your last resort. It is the easiest option and if you qualify for free postage, it has great appeal. In the past, I have been as guilty as anyone of taking advantage of this immediacy. In my case and that of many other authors who are not working with major publishing houses, it means that you will get a print-on-demand, slightly inferior quality, version and that the stock pile in my house remains the same. You don’t need me to tell you where almost all of the, already very meagre, profits go in this case. The position is obviously different for overseas readers, who will need to use the links on their own versions of Amazon to avoid the horrendous postage costs. Actually, at the moment, I am still struggling to upload a version for Amazon orders of the printed copy but hopefully I will get there by launch day, another learning curve. Two weeks to go!

#100daysofbfotc Day 87: Clovelly Reading Rooms

Nov3 by thehistoryinterpreter

Clovelly’s Reading Rooms feature in Barefoot on the Cobbles as the location for the initial coroner’s inquest. Although we have no evidence for where the actual inquest took place, several inquests were held in the Reading Rooms at this time.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as compulsory education increased literacy rates, many parishes established Reading Rooms. There were often sponsored or supported by local landowners and the Hamlyns of Clovelly Court were benefactors of Clovelly’s Reading Rooms. The rooms were certainly open by 1884, when a traveller recorded their existence. They gave those who might find the cost of newspapers and books prohibitively expensive an opportunity for self-improvement. The rooms also provided a quiet respite in which to read; a notable contrast to many of the crowded homes of the time. Newspaper reports suggest that various fund-raising events, in aid of the maintenance of the Reading Rooms, were held. The rooms were later used as a bank and doctor’s surgery. They are now a private dwelling.

‘Hesitantly, she walked down the wide, mossy steps to the door of the Reading Rooms. The last of the year’s reddened leaves still clung to the Virginia Creeper that crawled round the windows of the long, low building.’

#100daysofbfotc Day 86: Elsie Howey

Nov2 by thehistoryinterpreter

Image from Wikimedia – Used under Creative Commons

Now it is time to meet the third of the suffragettes who appears in Barefoot on the Cobbles, Elsie Howie. Elsie’s full name was Rose Elsie Neville Howie and she was born on 1 December 1884 in Finningley, Nottinghamshire. She was the daughter of Thomas and Emily Gertrude Howey née Oldfield. Her father, the parish rector, died when Elsie was a toddler and the family moved to Malvern. She studied languages at the University of St Andrew and joined the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1907. The following year, along with her sister Mary, she was arrested for the first time. She was renowned as one of the most militant activists and targeted the Prime Minister, Asquith, on several occasions. The incident in the novel was not the only time that Elsie worked with Vera Wentworth and Jessie Kenney to promote the cause of women’s suffrage. She gained notoriety by dressing as Joan of Arc and leading a WSPU rally on horseback, wearing armour. She reprised the role of Joan of Arc at the funeral of Emily Wilding Davison.

Elsie frequently went on hunger strike during her spells in prison and force feeding damaged her health. She worked for the cause in Plymouth and Torquay but never resumed her militant activities after they were suspended during World War One. She spent the rest of her life in retirement in Malvern, dying there in 1963.

‘ ‘Elsie Howey, now,’ muttered another. ‘Baint she the one that was in all the papers last month? Dressed as Joan of Arc on some great white ’orse outside a prison up London way she was.’ ’

#100daysofbfotc Day 85: Mariners’ Union

Nov1 by thehistoryinterpreter

Mariners' Union The Mariners’ Union was a Friendly Society, formed in Clovelly on 19 November 1792. Initially, they met once a month in the New Inn but later their club room was at the Red Lion, on the quay. A copy of the original articles of the society, together with the names of the first members, are held at the North Devon Record Office and have been transcribed here. Many of the surnames on the list are also found in Barefoot on the Cobbles. Whereas many members of the Rechabites were Methodists, the Mariners’ Union tended to attract the Anglicans, as they were not adverse to alcohol.

‘At that point, The Mariners’ Union parade, coming up from the quay, reached the New Inn. Billy hoisted the flag aloft and the Rechabites fell in behind, swelling the procession to nearly one hundred men.’

The History Interpreter – Janet Few

Presenting and Preserving the Past

Monthly Archives: November 2018