The old Club Room and Adjoining Cottages 188

The old Club Room and Adjoining Cottages

 

The third window going left of the doorway  where the roof is very low  is the store room for the club room. In the picture below is how it used to look, with a thatched roof, a very small house one up one down

The old club room is situated on the end of Smithy Lane, and was used mainly by the men of the village, to play cards and snooker, on a Monday and Wednesday nights.  On Friday nights it would be set up for the weekly whist drive, having up to eight tables.

The fire would be lit on a rota by one of the community a couple of hours before the event, and an old electric fire at the opposite end of the room.  this would warm the room almost hot but never got on top of the damp.

Next door, was a very thatched small house, the roof was rotting away, so it was converted into a store room for the club.  The door was bricked up and the roof was tiled and the front hedge pulled out, as was the old hedge round to Smithy Lane.

These two cottages are now amalgamated into one cottage, the front door to the thatched cottage is behind the pyramid bush on the right  in the picture

The middle house of the three was occupied by Norman and Flossie Brown. Norman worked at Green Farm for Reg Fairbanks and did all the hedge laying, and building the bays and stacks of hay and corn. Again when the Cumbers houses were built Norman and Flossie moved into number 2, and lived there throughout their retirement.

The third house away from the village hall was lived in by Mr Hill, who was cowman for Charlie Finnimore at Yews Farm.

The last two houses above were knocked into one, the front door into the third house was along the side , and that was the one that was bricked up, and with internal adjustments, it became one house.