You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone

The title for this piece is a quote from Joni Mitchell’s 1970 song, Big Yellow Taxi’. The song goes on, ‘They’ve paved paradise and put up a parking lot’.

Joni was probably singing about an area around Honolulu but she might almost be singing about what happened in Market Lavington in around 1960. It was then that some lovely looking Tudor houses were demolished in our Market Place and replaced with – you’ve guessed it – a parking lot.

On this blog we certainly wouldn’t criticise a decision made close on 60 years ago. Advantages stemmed from that decision, not least better employment prospects locally as the agricultural engineers were able to expand their much needed operations.

What Market Lavington had, before the changes was this.

Market Lavington Market Place – 1950s

This is a 1950s photo but by 1988 this was a similar, albeit more close up view

Similar view – 1988. The old Tudor buildings are now a derelict parking lot

By this stage the age of the local agricultural engineer had ended. The parking lot, in the foreground, where the bank and other buildings had stood had its lack of beauty enhanced by an old rusty van of some sort. Even the ‘parking lot’ with its displays of fine red tractors and combine harvesters might have seemed like paradise by this time.

Clocks can’t be turned back but situations change and this is the 21^st century view.

Market Lavington Market Place – 21st century

What looked so abjectly awful in 1988 has become the front area of Rochelle Court. A new building on the corner now houses a chemists shop and the other shop window, in the white building has a flourishing shop too. That’s a florist.

Obviously the buildings aren’t those old Tudor ones, but planners have done a pretty good job of bringing an area back to life, providing low cost housing and also a couple of retail outlets. Oh yes, part of it is still a parking lot as we can see

Sarum Heights

Sarum Heights is not a name we associate with Market Lavington these days, yet when one little housing area was under construction, it was the name used. This photo shows it.

Sarum Heights under construction in 1988

It was clearly glorious summer weather when this estate was under construction. In this photo we look towards Fiddington Hill. The new housing is clearly labelled, by the notice board, as Sarum Heights.

Clearly Sarum Heights then but now called The Paddock

This close is actually known as The Paddock and is in the Southcliffe area.

Inevitably, during construction it all looks a bit messy. These days the estate looks quite mature with trees along the street and well-tended gardens.

Miss Gladys Windo

Today we present an extract from the Easterton Echo for August/September 1988. This tribute to Miss Windo was written by Sheila Judge on her typewriter. We have scanned the page as text and hope we have spotted the errors which that generated. Of course, Sheila’s 1988 typewriter could not do photos so we’ll add a photo of Miss Windo.

Gladys Windo of Easterton in later life

IN MEM0RIAM

This is in the nature of a tribute, a tribute to a very brave lady, which I am both sad, and proud, to write. I am sure that the Village will endorse everything that follows and I can only hope that it reflects the feelings and views of the residents.

Sadly, Miss Gladys Windo died on Sunday, August 15th, in St, Martin’s Hospital, Bath. A funeral Service was held at St Barnabas Church, Easterton, on Friday afternoon, the 19th August. Not surprisingly, when one considers the length of time Miss Windo was living in the village, and the service she had undertaken for the people here, the Church was filled with local people who wished to say their final farewells.

There was a big Choir in attendance, and the singing reflected the general feelings of the congregation. The Reverend Harris, from Potterne, gave the sermon. The Reverend Harris did not know Miss Windo personally, but he had heard of her work as a teacher, and on this he based his address.

It is not just as the Village schoolmistress that Miss Windo is remembered, however. She came to the little School at Easterton in 1934, and remained there until it was unhappily closed in 1971. During that time she taught several generations of Easterton children. She not only taught them, she knew them all individually, the clever, the not so clever, the strong, and the weak. She helped all, as they needed it. It is for many of the little things she personally did to help that she will be remembered by many.

A read through the school records provides ample proof of this. In 1939, at the outbreak of War, she was faced with an influx of evacuees, some lonely, some intractable, some plain grubby, and she managed to find room, and time, for all. When many returned to their place of origin, as they did, there was still a nucleus billeted at the Vicarage, and these stayed “for the duration.” As well as teaching them, she helped care for them in their adopted home. That she carried out this task with care and understanding I can vouch for, from personal knowledge. Many evacuees who were in the Village in wartime returned to visit her in the years that followed.

After the school closed, Miss Windo gave her time, and service, to the welfare of the village. She took her place on the Church Parish Council, she played a big part in the building and running, of the Village Hall, and she was a member of the Parish Council. It is only in the past two years that she has resigned from these commitments.

For, during the last years of her life, she was the victim of a debilitating illness, which necessitated frequent visits to Hospital Despite this, she continued with all her Committees, which also included being an active member of the Womens Section of the British Legion. She was always delighted to see her friends, and never complained about, or discussed, her ailments.

At the Church, there were family floral tributes, and wreaths from the Church Parish Council, the Village Parish Council and the British Legion.

There is no two ways about it, her going will leave a big gap, and be a cause of sorrow to many people. Her life of service, and her bravery in the face of illness, will always be remembered, with both respect and affection.

She set on example that it would be very hard to follow. We are privileged to have known her, and the Village has benefited by her work and care.

Now I’m sure that many people will agree with the above, for I have only recorded some of the comments and remarks that I heard at the time.

It would not be out of keeping to end this month with a quotation, from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, a writer who had a great regard and respect for all teachers.

It goes like this:-

“Let us now praise famous men”–
Men of little showing–
For their work continueth,
And their work continueth,
Broad and deep continueth,
Greater than their knowing

That, I feel, is a fitting ending.

The Easterton Echo

The Easterton Echo is a small, monthly (ish) newssheet published by the Parish Council and distributed in the village. We are not quite sure when it was started but we have recently been given almost all issues from March 1987 to the present date. The March 1987 issue tells us it is the 139^th issue, so presumably it had started some twelve years previously. If anyone has those early issues we’d love to have copies.

The early issues we have were produced by Sheila Judge. They were typed using a good old typewriter which, we guess, was used to cut a stencil which could be used to produce copies on an ink duplicator. How technology changes!

From time to time we’ll take a look at articles in the ‘Echo’ which usually runs to just one or two sides of closely packed typing in those earlier days and rather more pages in the more spacious newer issues. Today, as autumn approaches (the weather men say it is already with us) we are looking at a Sheila Judge poem. It’s her ‘Ode to Autumn – Easterton Style’. It comes from the September/October 1988 issue.

There is an accompanying thought – all light hearted – by Sheila about how times have changed. That comes first.

A part of Easterton Echo for September/October 1988
Click the image to enlarge

Sheila Judge’s Ode to Easterton – a very light hearted poem

The mellow smell of muck
Permeates our hall;
We do not need to see leaves turn
To tell us that it’s Fall.

All day the muck carts trundle
A-spriddling and a-sprawling,
They let us know the time o’ year
More than do leaves a-falling

The ‘Good-lifers’ all twitter on
About country air so pure;
And yes! It’s rich and fragrant too –
Specially when they spread the manoo-er!

We suspect things have moved on again and that muck spreading hardly impinges on the village at all now.