Arksey Underwater

'Arksey Landing', High Street 1932

The Story Of The Floods

Few things bring communities together more than a disastrous flood, and thankfully, here in Doncaster we've seen relatively few floods over the last half century or so.

That wasn't always the case though, the low-lying land to the north of Doncaster has always been prone to flooding, especially prior to the drainage works carried out in the seventeenth century. Since then, the two major floods of 1932 and 1941, and a further one in 1947, had devastating effects the villages of Arksey and Bentley.

For fifty years these floods were consigned to history, with many believing that it could never happen again. However, in 2007 history was repeated when Bentley and Toll Bar suffered at the hands of mother nature once again, then in 2019 parts of Bentley found itself underwater once again. 

In this updated post we take a look at some of the floods to affect Bentley, Arksey and the surrounding areas along with the hardship and community spirit that came with them.  

Contents

• The Deluge of 1932
• Bentley and Toll Bar
• Arksey
• A Child's Perspective
• When Arksey Really Did Need an Ark
• History Repeating... 
• Flooding in 2007
• November Rain in 2019

The Deluge of 1932

Bentley and Toll Bar

At the first signs of impending flood, people in Bentley and Toll Bar moved as many of their possessions to upstairs rooms as possible. Flood water reached a height of four feet in the houses, while the road outside stayed relatively free of water for some time. People were reluctant to leave their homes at first, but as the situation got more serious Bentley Council got together a number of carts to evacuate marooned people, those who refused or who could not leave their homes had provisions brought to them by the council at a cost to the council of £4 a day.

Bentley Road and the flood arches 1932

Rafts were used on Askern Road to rescue people, but were replaced with horse-drawn carts. Forty boats and a motor boat were in operation, rescuing people; the sick were carried on stretchers for half a mile on the shoulders of bearers who waded through the water.

The water was still rising on the 23^rd of May and people who chose to stay in their homes spent a night in terror as the levels reached six feet, in some houses the levels rose to ten feet high. 

A week after the rain began thousands were made homeless and over a thousand homes were seriously affected by the flooding. Five hundred people were sheltered in New Village School but they resented being treated in an institutional way and so the council were forced to give up arrangements for providing provisions.

A flood disaster fund was set up and £100 was given to it by the British Legion. The flooding was so serious in Toll Bar that a number of government officials toured the area to see the damage for themselves.

Flooded Toll Bar 1932.
Photo courtesy of Bob Lord

Arksey

In Arksey the floods arrived a little later than in the neighbouring villages. The streets of Arksey were still dry by early evening on the 23^rd of May. The authorities had been warning of the danger throughout the previous two days and farmers moved as much of their livestock as they could to higher ground at Cusworth and Warmsworth. The vicar of Arksey, Rev. John Pierce-Price, could see across to Barnby Dun from the top of the church tower and as the water approached from the breached banks of the River Don he went around the village warning everyone to move their possessions to rooms upstairs.

View from church tower with Brookhouse farm. Arksey Hall top left

A wave of water many feet deep soon hit Arksey and within a few hours houses were standing in eight to ten feet of water. The Almshouses were badly hit and had to be evacuated quickly. The last resident was removed at one thirty a.m. The water got into the church and the vicar had to remove all the valuables in the middle of the night. Arksey Hall, which had never flooded before stood in eighteen inches of water and garden frames were found floating hundreds of yards away.

Flooded Almshouses. Photo courtesy of Laura Hawkins

High Street was under six feet of water and while hundreds of rats sought refuge in houses, frogs were seen swimming around and large patches of frog spawn floated on the surface. Many poultry farmers lost flocks during the floods and dead hens were seen floating in the water. One resident who kept birds, released his entire stock of canaries into one of his upstairs bedrooms with plenty of food, before evacuating his house. When a newspaper reporter visited the area days later, the birds could be seen perched on the windowsills.


Trains between Doncaster and York were temporarily diverted on Tuesday 24th May, when ballast from the sides of the railway was washed away by the rushing water. The trains had to go via Stainforth and Applehurst Junction before rejoining the main line a few miles north of Doncaster.

High Street from the church tower, looking towards the railway.
Photo courtesy of Bob Lord

A number of heroic acts took place in Arksey during the floods. Rescuing people from the post office proved difficult as it was impossible to get them out via the ground floor. A twenty foot ladder was leaned up against a wall while the bottom end was balanced in a small boat. The occupants then climbed out of a window to make their escape down the ladder. A horse pulling a cart load of pigs refused to move in the water leaving the one-legged driver in a dilemma until someone nearby put on a swimming costume and dived in to lead the horse to safety. A brave milkman continued to make his rounds by cycling round with the milk can held in one hand while only the saddle and handlebars of his bicycle showed above the water.

Boating on Station Road at the junction with Ings Lane

People whose homes were not affected by the flooding found themselves unable to get to Doncaster as Arksey lane became flooded to a depth of several feet and could only be used by carts supplied by the council. Arksey was virtually cut off from the rest of Doncaster.

Arksey Lane

The people of Arksey seemed to show tremendous resilience in the face of adversity. People who had not been evacuated but had moved to their upper floors, filled the upstairs windows and passed jokes about the rowing styles of the boatmen in the flooded streets below. There was a great deal of hilarity when a milkman stepped into a boat making it rock wildly, he then lost his balance and fell into two feet of water. 

People stood out on top of bay windows in Marsh Lane.
Photo courtesy of Jill Lowe

Despite the camaraderie and hilarity that went on the floods caused tremendous damage and hardship for those affected and their lives were disrupted for quite some considerable time. However, the clean-up got underway and normality eventually returned to the area. 

After the floods - a resident of the Almshouses with a piece of water damaged furniture.
Photo courtesy of Laura Hawkins

A Child's Perspective

Without a doubt the flooding in Arksey must have been a terrible time for all those affected, especially the adults who had to drag heavy furniture upstairs, and clear the floors of all the muck and debris left behind. A child though sees things differently; the sense of excitement and adventure can be remembered for a lifetime.

One such 'child of Arksey' Pat Thorp, remembers how the flooding of 1932 brought misery to her parents, but excitement to her young self.

Born in 1922, Pat was encouraged to write down her memories by her niece Rosalind Fielding. Pat died in 2008 but her memories of the 1932 flood were published in the February 2013 edition of Down Your Way magazine.

Below is an account of those memories re-written from the article. 

When Arksey Really Did Need an Ark

Pat remembers the time in 1932 when the floods were coming and how, in her excitement she rushed to welcome them. This was a magical thing to happen, in that selfish, unconcerned way children think. She tells how the children met the advancing water, which crept in scallop shaped waves up each side of the street, and how they would help each scallop wave to meet in the middle using their feet, the water creeping too slowly for them.

Flooded High Street

Of course it was a different story for Pat's parents, as they dragged all possible furniture up the narrow stairs of their cottage. The cottage was one foot lower than ground level, meaning that as soon as the water reached the door it would immediately pour in to the kitchen, bringing with it dead chickens, rotten fruit, and even snakes. The ceilings in the cottages were also low, meaning that a flood of more than seven feet high would reach upstairs too! The water in Pat's cottage rose as high as six feet, so it was close. Their kitchen table, which wouldn't go upstairs, had to withstand three floods, and Pat remembers how its ends curled up like a pagoda roof.

Children rafting near cottages on High Street, 1932.

Pat enjoyed living upstairs during the flood, waking up beside the bedroom fire while her mother fried breakfast and boiled the kettle on it. Then sitting on the edge of the bed eating from a table between the beds, it was better than a luxury hotel to Pat.

After getting dressed they would sit on the window sill and wait for the rowing boat, sometimes with the vicar at the oars, to take them shopping. Pat loved being lowered on to the boat from the window. This was her 'gondola' which took her past all the buildings completely surrounded by water, except the church and the school, which stood on higher ground.

Rev. Pierce Price assisting neighbour, Mrs Lilley at her cottage.

After the flood water had subsided Pat's father had the terrible job of shovelling and bucketing the muck and water over the doorstep. He was left to clean up single handed as Pat, her mother, and brother had fled down the raised bank of the railway line to take refuge with her grandfather on his farm eight miles away. Pat wasn't happy at being taken to the farm, not only was she leaving the village she loved, but she would also have to attend a nearby school, while her friends in Arksey enjoyed an extra holiday, the school being forced to close.

Pat and her brother, who she describes as a 'pain in the neck', even though they were good friends, were stranded on the farm, miles from any shops, so they had to wait until Saturday when the travelling shop came. The small lorry was weighed down with all manner of goods, candles, pegs, paraffin, crockery, carbide for lamps, which made a hissing sound on the bicycles. Pat was always drawn to the sweets though, and soon her money was spent and the sweets eaten. Her brother on the other hand thought about his poor mother, who had returned to the cottage to help clean up. He bought her a box of 'Imps', tiny black cough type sweets in a red and black tin box with little devil-like creatures on it. But after spending the morning in their granddad's fields, they had to cross a small wooden bridge over a drain (a kind of stream). Leaning over the rail to look for minnows or eels, the box of Imps fell into the water below, never to be seen again.

This reminded Pat of the first time she ate eel. They used to catch them in the drain, and her granddad liked to eat them. They wriggled even after the heads were cut off, or so Pat's aunts and uncles told them. The eels were cut into two inch pieces and cooked. Her granddad made her try a piece, which she reluctantly did, but swears that the eel wriggled down her throat, putting her off eating them ever again!

Many thanks to Barry Morgan for bringing this article to my attention.

__________

To watch a video containing cine footage of the Bentley, Arksey and Doncaster  floods in the 1930's and 1947, use the link below.

The Deluge in Doncaster

History Repeating... 

After the area was once again hit by flooding in 1941 and 1947 better flood defences were built, which meant the threat of devastating flooding had been lifted. Everyone thought 'it could never happen again', but it did happen again, more than fifty years later in June 2007 and then again in November 2019. 

Flooding in 2007

At a time when climate change was beginning to be talked about seriously, the British weather suddenly left us in no doubt that things were indeed changing and 2007 should be taken as a warning...

Swirling waters invade the streets of Sheffield

Rain began to fall on South Yorkshire on Sunday the 24^th of June; it rained heavily all night and all the next day. Sheffield and Leeds were the first to suffer, large parts of both cities were flooded, but Doncaster only had some localised flooding at first when streets in Intake began to flood due to overwhelmed drains. 

Ulley Dam, Rotherham, near to collapse

It wasn’t until Tuesday the 26^th of June that Doncaster became the main focus of concern. The Ulley Reservoir Dam near Rotherham was near to collapse and the fear was that if it went, a tidal wave would surge down the river Don and flood large parts of Doncaster and the lower Don Valley. Residents of Scawthorpe, Bentley and Arksey were advised to evacuate but efforts to reinforce the dam worked and the threat was lifted. Despite this, enormous volumes of water draining from the upper Don Valley were now finding their way into rivers, becks and drains at lower levels. 

During the night of the 26^th and 27^th the Ea Beck which runs through Bentley to Toll Bar had burst its banks and people had to be evacuated from Toll Bar and Thorpe-in-Balne.

Flooded car sales premises in Toll Bar

During Wednesday the 27^th the situation became steadily worse, Toll Bar was under five feet of water and Bentley was starting to be affected too. Many of Toll Bar’s residents were taken to Adwick where a well organised relief centre had been set up at the leisure centre. In Arksey, people were warned to evacuate as a precaution. Those who could make their own way out went to Adwick Leisure Centre, while the elderly were taken there by other means.  

Flooded Toll Bar from the air

Unfortunately, to add to people’s misery, stories of looting in Toll Bar began to emerge, as properties were left abandoned thieves started to move in and the police had to patrol in boats to protect the empty houses and shops.

Bentley High Street

Bentley High Street with pumps in place

By Thursday the 28^th of June Bentley High Street was under three feet of water and the whole of Bentley Road, from the Town End roundabout to the end of Arksey Lane was closed. Land around the old Thorpe Marsh Power Station was also flooded, and although the power station was now disused, the electricity sub station was still operational and there was a real danger of water getting in and cutting supplies of electricity to a large part of north east Doncaster. 

Flood water surrounding Thorpe Marsh Power Station, apologies for the poor quality picture

The army, fire services and council worked tirelessly to prevent further disasters, sand bags were flown in to reinforce the river banks. The fire service, including many extra teams from around the country used hundreds of hoses to pump water away from key areas. 

An Army Chinook flying in extra sand

By Friday the 29^th of June Toll Bar and Bentley were headline news nationally, the situation was equally as serious as in 1932 and just like that event, government officials visited. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who had just taken over from Tony Blair, visited Toll Bar, and a few days later HRH Prince Charles also took the boat trip through the flooded streets of Toll Bar.

Prince Charles visits flooded Toll Bar

While all this was going on Arksey remained dry, the village was surrounded by water but, apart from a little localised flooding on Marsh Lane, all properties were spared. By Sunday the 1^st of July the residents of Arksey had all moved back home. People in Toll Bar and Bentley were not so lucky though. By the Sunday all the water had been pumped out of Bentley High Street but lots of businesses had to start the process of drying out and repairing the damage. In Toll Bar the situation was much worse, the water, which was eight feet deep at its highest stayed for a whole week before the pumps started to make a difference. Many hundreds of people were homeless so the council built and provided a temporary caravan site so that residents could live nearby while their houses were renovated.

Arksey Lane was a near as the flooding got to Arksey itself

It would be close to eighteen months before everyone got back in their homes, many were not insured and faced hardship. The story of Toll Bar was not forgotten by the news teams who visited during the floods, BBC Look North produced a DVD telling the story of the floods and the proceeds of sales went to the flood relief fund. In another TV programme, DIY SOS, the team visited Toll Bar to renovate the home of a local foster carer and they also renovated Toll Bar Club clubhouse as a gift to the whole community. 

The BBC's DIY SOS programme

Finished interior of Toll Bar Rugby Club

Since the 2007 floods action was taken to prevent a repeat performance, and it has been successful up to point, however, it seems that any excesses of rain can still cause problems in certain areas, as was the case in late 2019.

November Rain in 2019

On Thursday the 7th of November 2019 it rained heavily in Doncaster all day. The rain fell on already saturated ground as it had been one of the wettest autumn's for decades. 

By Friday the 8th of November the river Don was bursting its banks at Marsh Gate. Also affected were Willow Bridge caravan park, Yarborough Terrace and Hunt Lane in Bentley. Further afield there were problems in Stainforth, and a severe threat to Barnby Dun. Worst affected of all was the village of Fishlake, just over six miles north east of Arksey.

Fishlake

Although the rain had stopped falling by the end of Friday, the river continued to fill as water drained into it from higher up. 

On Monday the 11th of November Chinook helicopters were used to drop aggregate on the banks of the river at Bentley to shore up the drainage channels.

A Chinook shoring up banks at Bentley

Once again Doncaster was national news, the focus of coverage centering on Bentley and Fishlake. Once again politicians visited to pledge their support, and once again fundraising efforts got underway.

At the height of the flooding thirty nine roads in the Doncaster area were closed. Evacuations were carried out in a number of places north of Doncaster and the severe flood warnings stayed in place for some considerable time.

Evacuations by boat

Almost as soon as the flooding hit, relief efforts swung into action. Donations of household goods and cleaning equipment were collected at various centres and the generosity of the public was welcomed as communities worked together to get some normality restored to people's homes.

Collections for the relief efforts

By the 15th of November the situation had eased in Bentley but it would take much longer for the flood water in Fishlake to disperse. Around one hundred homes were damaged in the village and many people were forced into temporary accommodation.

The clean-up in one house

While this flooding event was probably less severe than 2007, it affected areas not previously hit. Fishlake hadn't seen flooding like that for a century, but Bentley and Toll Bar, places impacted badly in the past got off relatively lightly. 

It all goes to show you can never be too complacent as you never know which areas might be impacted next time. Sadly there will be a next time - with climate change happening right now, it is inevitable.

For more old photos of the Arksey floods go to Old Photo Gallery.

For more old photos of Bentley floods go to Flood Images on sister site Bentley Village, A History.

Alison Vainlo

First written 2012, updated 2016, further updated 2020

The Memories of Edith Colman

The Booklet

Many years ago a teacher at school gave me a rather battered copy of a book called ‘Memories of Old Arksey’ by Edith Colman. It was falling apart and some pages were missing but I found the content fascinating and so kept it. 

In the early 1990's I was able to obtain a more complete copy from the ‘Bentley with Arksey Heritage Society’ (see photo above). I have no idea how many copies of the book were printed, but it is no longer in print today. 

Here I present a retelling of the book in my own words, with some photographs of my own choosing which do not appear in the book, but add interest to the narrative.

Contents

• Edith Colman
• Memories of Old Arksey
• Girlhood in Old Arksey
• Peggy Legs and Killing the Pig
• A Rebel in Our Midst
• Vicar was a Genial Man
• Woolies for Soldiers
• The Golden Age Could Not Last

Edith Colman

Edith Colman was born in Norfolk on the 30th of June 1901. It is unclear when she moved to Doncaster, but it was certainly during her early childhood. The 1911 census tells us that nine year old Edith was living with her mother Annie Colman, at the home of Annie's two brothers, Fred and Francis Garner. Fred and Francis both worked for the Railways at the Plant, and all three siblings were born in Arksey. 

Nothing more is known about Edith until we get to 1961, when I found her in an old telephone directory. We can presume she never married, as her name hadn't changed. Her address is the other interesting information given here, and that is 38 Station road, Arksey. The very first of the terraced row on the north side of the road.

Edith Colman's former home

Sometime in the latter years of her life, probably the 1960's, she decided to publish an account of her childhood memories in Arksey, so that even after her death in 1975, her legacy to the history of the village she obviously loved, can still be enjoyed by all those similarly interested.

Memories of Old Arksey

 

Girlhood in Old Arksey

Edith's book starts out by portraying Arksey as an idyllic country village in the early years of the twentieth century, free from the grip of industry. She describes a peaceful village with green meadows, yellow corn, no cars and no crime. The people of Arksey were content with their lot and asked for nothing.

Idyllic Arksey

She goes on to describe the village in more detail; from the station, where a train ride to Doncaster cost 3d return, to the church and vicarage which occupied the centre of the village. There were twelve almshouses arranged in a quadrangle with a lawn in the centre, and there was a small vegetable garden for each dwelling. The schoolmaster and his wife, who both taught at the school, lived in the schoolhouse opposite. The bachelor Squire lived at the hall and employed a number of village people. She also mentions the village farms and old stone cottages which looked very picturesque. Mention is also made of the chapel and two shops, one of which was a combined post office and general store, while the other was a butchers and grocers shop.

She paints a picture of a tight knit community, where most families were related, by blood or by marriage, and the pride they had in the village they called home.

The Old School

When describing school life, Edith remembers how the youngest children (admitted at the age of three and half) were taught by a kind and patient young lady in a small classroom. She remembers three classrooms at the old school, the second of which was run by the headmistress and had a very different atmosphere from the first classroom, describing the headmistress as clever, but lacking patience with slow pupils. The 'cane' was very much in evidence to keep discipline.

Girls were taught to sew and knit, requiring them to take in something to be mended, patched or darned. The girls wore long frocks with white pinafores, black stockings and buttoned boots. The headmistress wore a skirt and blouse and kept a gold watch on a chain tucked into a small pocket inside the top of her skirt. The children found it a fascinating procedure whenever the watch was taken out and the time checked.

Arksey School in 1906,
Edith Colman could be in this photo as she would have been five years old

Edith remembers the winters being very severe with deep snow making the roads virtually impassable. In this chivalrous age boys escorted the girls to school, making sure they didn't slip on the icy roads. Inside the school, the classrooms were heated by large coke stoves. This required the girls to take it in turns to sweep up the ashes and tidy the hearth before going home for dinner at noon, a task no-one liked but had to be carried out properly with the headmistress looking on.

Moving into the headmaster's classroom brought even stricter discipline and harder lessons.The headmaster was keen on using the 'cane' for poor work, unruly behaviour or talking in class, and kept an eagle eye on the class from his position with his back to the stove. 

Edith describes how the headmaster would trust the class to carry on working in silence whenever he had to leave the room. On his return one of the boys would report someone for talking, and this usually led to a fight. Notes would be passed around announcing the time of the fight, and the whole school would turn up to watch until the best boy won, or someone came along and broke it up.

In the photo above, taken in 1906 in front of Arksey school. The headmaster was Henry Woodhouse, his wife Sarah was also a teacher and stands to the right of the photo. These are the teachers to whom Edith refers.

Peggy Legs and Killing the Pig

Edith Colman remembers a time when men laboured all day on the land and women slaved at home. There was so much work to do that even the children were expected to help out with certain chores.

Monday was wash day, and girls would help their mothers with this task after school. All the washing was done by hand, with rubbing boards and peggy legs. A common washing aid in the north of England, peggy legs, (or dolly), was basically a stool with a long handle which was turned back and forth in a large tub of rainwater and soap. Once the washing was dry, the clothes were carefully folded and put through a mangle which smoothed them and did away with the need to iron sheets and towels. Other items were ironed using a flat iron heated on an open fire.

The wash-tub and peggy legs

Monday was also the day of the blacksmith's visit. Boys would crowd into the small blacksmith's shop to watch as farmers brought their horses in to be shod.

One of the baking days was Tuesday and everyone baked their own bread. Dough was worked in a large earthenware bowl called a 'pansion', and girls were taught to knead bread at an early age. The bread oven was at one side of the coal fire while the other side had a water boiler with a tap, this is where the domestic water was heated. Water was drawn from the pump in the yard and was very pure. Water for washing and cleaning was rainwater collected in large barrels outside.

Edith remembers an old lady who brewed her own beer in a large copper, filling the village with the reek of it. She would often offer a glass to the men who lived nearby, although it was common to keep a barrel of beer in the house at that time.


Many of the cottage dwellers kept one or two pigs, and the killing of a pig often drew a crowd of school children. It was the local butcher who slaughtered the pig and then later cut up the meat for salting. Households that didn't keep a pig made up 'swill' for their neighbours' pigs, this consisted of washing up water (without any soap in it) and table scraps, this was used for feed.

The farm men worked the hardest during harvest time. School children helped by gathering in a large barn in the centre of the village, to make straw bands for tying up the corn sheaves. The harvest was taken from the fields by heavy farm horses to the stack yards, where it would wait for the threshing machine which would travel from farm to farm. Once the harvest was gathered in there would be a harvest festival held at the church with everyone contributing such items as corn, fruit, vegetables, homemade jams, honey and bread.

A Rebel in our Midst

Edith Colman remembers a time, before World War 1, when etiquette was all important, and how you were seen as a rebel if you didn't conform. Girls were taught to curtsy to the squire, the vicar's wife and people of importance in the village, while the boys touched their caps. However, Edith recalls an incident with a village newcomer who wasn't prepared to follow this particular village custom.

The curtsy

On the day in question, Edith and one of the newcomers were leaving school when they met a lady deserving of a curtsy. Edith recalls how the new girl looked on in amazement as she curtsied to the lady, and recounts the following conversation:

“Why did you bob down?”

I replied: “That was a curtsy”.
Again came a question: “Why did you do that?”                  
I  replied: “Because she is a lady and lives in a big house and keeps maids”. 
“Is she married?”

“No”.

“Then why do you call her Ma’am?” (We had answered her ‘Good afternoon’ with ‘Good afternoon Ma’am).

After some thought my friend added: “Well, I shan’t curtsy to her, and I shan’t call her ‘Ma’am’ but I might call her ‘Miss’”.

This she did, and as the lady in question was a Sunday school teacher, they got on very well together, 'Miss' being accepted without comment.

Arksey Hall, home of Squire Chadwick

Edith recalls how the squire would often be seen walking around the village with his white terrier dog, and how he would stop to watch the children playing, giving them each a silver three-penny piece. She recalls that the squire was a kind man who treated his employees well, and was much respected by everyone. Edith remembers watching for the squire while playing in a farmer's field, but ended up being chased off by the farmer brandishing a large stick.

Arksey Station in 1905

Holiday times are fondly recalled, with a day at the seaside, travelling by train from Arksey station. Christmas in Arksey was much anticipated by the children. 

Christmas day started with the early ringing of the church bells, after which the bell ringers would breakfast with the local undertaker and carpenter. Having hung up their stockings the night before, the children would receive an apple, an orange, sweets and sometimes new clothing. 

The New Year was 'let in' by the local butcher, who brought a piece of coal into the house. He would stay for a glass of beer or whisky and a slice of cake. 

On Shrove Tuesday the church bell rang at noon, this was known as the 'pancake bell'. An old lady would arrive at the school in a horse and trap at this time, and her groom would unload cases of oranges. Each child was then sent home with two oranges for their pancakes.

Vicar was a Genial Man

All Saints Church is at the centre of Arksey, and Edith Colman remembers a time when the church was at the heart of the community, and the vicar was regarded as a friend as well as a leader. A genial Welshman, he was known to enjoy a glass of beer with the men of the village. Edith doesn't name the vicar, but historical records show this vicar to be the Rev. Edward William Jones, who served the church from 1907 to 1910.

Arksey Church in 1912

Edith recalls a typical Sunday in Arksey; starting with mothers attending Holy Communion at eight a.m. After which, the children would attend Sunday school at ten a.m. Sunday school was held in the day school before the church hall was built. The children attended Matins in the church at eleven a.m. And then Sunday school would recommence at two thirty p.m. Sometimes this was followed by a walk before going home for tea, and Evensong at six thirty p.m.

The headmaster was the organist and choirmaster, which meant that many of the school pupils were admitted to the choir.

Edith recalls how the church bells were rung for every service, with often more ringers than bells. The Bishop was a regular visitor to the village and often stayed at the vicarage.

Edith remembers when the time came to be Confirmed. The Commandments, Catechism and Creed were all learned by heart, and the girls all had new white dresses. They would go to the vicarage before the service where the vicar's wife would arrange their veils.

First Communion dress

The year was punctuated by the church festivals and seasons, and Edith explains how these customs were observed in the village. For instance, during Lent, the children would give up eating sweets and save their pennies to buy an Easter egg. Extra money could be earned by scrubbing doorsteps and cleaning all the boots in the house.

Easter was much anticipated, it was the end of the fast and the children had their Easter eggs. Girls would often have a new dress to wear on Easter Sunday, and it was often the case that more attention was paid to the clothes rather than the church service.

Edith recalls how the Easter holidays would be spent playing in the streets with whips and tops, hoops and skipping ropes (made from an old clothes line), and games such as hop-scotch, marbles and cricket would also feature.

Hoop Rolling

One event which Edith fondly remembers is the 'Sunday School Treat', held at Arksey Hall. She remembers large tables covered in white cloths and lovely cakes and food. The children's mothers would help out and ensure good behaviour. Following the tea, the grounds were opened to friends and relations, some coming by train from town. The squire knew all the children by name and enjoyed the day along with everyone else.

Edith also remembers another festival called 'All Saints', when the church was beautifully decorated for Evensong

Another event which Edith recalls was the 'Feast'. It was held on the first Sunday in August, but started on the Monday before. Gypsies parked their caravans in the small lane near the church and small roundabouts and sweet stalls were erected. Stalls were also put up around the church wall, loaded with trinkets. Games such as, skittles and quoits were played in the evenings and the stalls were all lit by paraffin lamps. The Feast drew in relatives from other villages and ex residents. 

Recalling the customs surrounding a death in the village, Edith recalls how the 'passing bell' was rung by the verger to inform the village of the death. This mournful bell would ring for quite a while followed by three ones for a child, three two's for a woman, and three three's for a man. On the day of the funeral everyone would draw their curtains or blinds in their houses, and all the villagers would follow a hand-drawn hearse. The bereaved wore mourning clothes for a year and didn't attend any social functions during this time.

Woollies for Soldiers

In this chapter, Edith Colman describes a darker side of Arksey life. As the industrial era brought change to the village, war also brought death.

Edith explains how rumours of land being sold for the sinking of a pit nearby, cast a 'vague shadow' over the rural tranquility of the village. The year was 1908 and news of a pit at neighbouring Bentley brought mixed feelings. Yes, the pit would bring jobs and better wages for the men, but at the cost of the countryside becoming spoiled and dirty. Edith remembers that the area chosen for the mine was a place where she went for walks over the fields, and was very pretty.

Bentley Pit in 1911

Edith remembers how the new pit affected the population of Arksey. New houses were built for the miners and their families who came from other parts of the country. She describes that it was the first time that any 'foreigners' had appeared among them. However, they were soon accepted into the village, and they participated in village life, by joining the church, singing in the choir, and the children making new friends. Life went on in peace until 1914 when war was declared with Germany.

Edith recalls, that while most of the young men were keen to 'join up' as soon as they could, the war brought extra work for the school children. In the evenings, the girls would gather at the school house, where they would knit 'body belts' and socks for the soldiers, under the critical eye of the headmistress. Edith says they were rewarded with a certificate saying they had helped to knit garments for the soldiers in the 'Great War'. 

WW1 soldier.

While the girls were busy with their knitting, the boys would work in the schoolhouse gardens, helping to keep the weeds down under the guise of 'gardening lessons'. As most of the men folk were in the Army, the boys would also work in the gardens of the almshouses.

Edith's memories of war time are of the food being very scarce, but she remembers nothing of the Zeppelin raids, sleeping soundly through them all.

When news came through of the deaths of a few young men from the village who had been fighting in France, people turned to the vicar and his wife for support. The kind vicar from Edith's early childhood had left the village in 1910. He was replaced by another Welshman, Rev. Arthur Rhys James and his wife. Edith recalls how the church was open all day for private prayer, and sometimes it was never left empty. Services during the week were held, with litanies and prayers said for the soldiers serving abroad.

Edith remembers how the sadness and tragedy of war drew the people of Arksey closer together. News of a young man's death being like a bereavement in one large family. She also recalls how the ladies from the almshouses dressed in sombre attire when attending the church services. They wore long skirts of deep black which trailed on the ground, being pinned up at the back with a large skirt pin. They wore black capes, and black bonnets, tied at the chin with long ribbons, and looked like figures from a bygone age.

Mourning Dress

Edith recalls how life went back to normal after the war ended, with some going out into the world to earn a living after leaving school, while others found employment nearer home, later marrying and settling down.

The Golden Age Could Not Last

Edith remembers, with some sadness, how village life changed in the gathering pace of the twentieth century. She describes how the lustre of the old rustic way of life began to fade. The vicar and his wife left the parish in 1924, to the sorrow of the villagers. He had been vicar, counsellor, and advisor to the people of Arksey. However, a new vicar and his family arrived, and took up the reigns of his predecessor. Edith remembers his kinds words on opening the door to someone in need,

“Come along in. Money and gold have I none, but such as I have I will give you – my time and advice”.

Edith describes him as a talented man, a good priest, who worked far too hard and literally 'gave his life for others', dying while still a comparatively young man. She describes how he helped people when the floods returned to the village. Arksey had been prone to flooding for many years, but after forty years, the village was struck by severe flooding once again. Edith remembers it as a frightening experience when the water gushed from the river banks, down the lanes, and five feet of water flooded the village. The people had to move their furniture and belongings upstairs, and many went to stay with relatives or friends until the water subsided. Those who insisted on staying in their homes lived upstairs, and the vicar helped them by taking milk, food and newspapers to them by boat. The church and vicarage were spared from flooding as they appeared to stand on their own little island. 

The vicar Edith remembers from the floods was Rev. John Pierce Price (1894 - 1953) who was vicar from 1929 up to his death at the age of 59. 

Flooding on High Street in 1932

Edith was away from Arksey during World War II, but remembers how it was an anxious time for everyone. Food shortages, strict black out rules, terrifying air raids and the worry of parents whose sons were fighting, was a time to be endured.

After the war, village life settled down again. Edith remembers how the people, saddened by the war, were drawn together and maybe even a little kinder to each other.

Edith describes the great changes which the village underwent following the war. Land previously used for grazing cattle was used to build new estates. New families moved into the village, and the roads were busy with cars, lorries and motorcycles all the time. Farm horses were replaced with machinery, and the Hall was divided into two houses, with the stabling block used as business premises. Unchanged were the almshouses, school and the ever constant church, towering over the village and protecting everyone.

Cottages on High Street being demolished in the mid 20th century.

Modern buildings stood alongside ancient ones, and Edith remarks that the ancient ones had much more character and dignity, "as if the old craftsmen had put something of themselves into them." Edith also recalls how a new vicar and his family had moved into the vicarage, and she describes seeing a happy little boy playing on the vicarage law, and a pram standing outside. She describes how the role of the vicar had changed from the days spent ministering to the needs of the parishioners. The parish was now much larger and the vicar was often required to serve as chaplain in the hospital, give religious instruction in school or as an industrial chaplain. She describes the very different role of the vicar's wife too. Very much the housewife, caring for her family, she would have had less time for parish work. They would have found it impossible to know all their parishioners as they did in the old days.

As Edith ends her book and her look back at her own life she recalls a poem:

I cannot see the course my ship must take,

But looking backward I behold its shining wake,

Illuminated with God’s light of love,

And so I onward go,

In perfect trust that he who holds the helm the

Course must know.

I cannot see the plan, on which he builds my life,

And oft the hammer blows confuse me,

Until, I see in all details, with his good plan

My life agrees.

Edith Colman

__________

Alison Vainlo

First written 2012, updated 2020

The Ice Cream Horse

David Broome on Mister Softee at the 1968 Mexico Olympics

  

Ice Cream and Horses

How many of us I wonder, ran from our houses yelling "Can I have one Mum?" whenever we heard the distinctive chimes of the Mister Softee ice cream van. With its blue and white livery, the van was always a welcome sight on a hot day.

Although American by origin, Mister Softee ice cream came to have a strong connection to Bentley, and one local catering firm that many of us know well, that of Massarella. An Italian family who settled in South Yorkshire and prospered in the catering and distribution business.

What might not be so well remembered is the link the Massarella family had with international show jumping. Their aptly named horse, Mister Softee brought the family as much success as the ice cream did. Here is a brief look at their equestrian story.

A Horse Named Mister Softee

David Broome on Mister Softee

In the 1960's John Massarella bought a young horse at the Dublin Horse Show. Named after their ice cream franchise, Mister Softee had a glittering career in the world of championship show-jumping.

He won a Gold at the European Championships in 1962 with David Barker, but it was his partnership with David Broome that amassed the most successes. Winning the King George V Gold Cup and the British Jumping Derby in 1966, they also won consecutive Dublin Grand Prix titles in 1967 and 1968. They also won Individual Gold at the 1967 and 1969 European Championships.

Undoubtedly their greatest moment came when they won Olympic Bronze in Mexico in 1968, just two fences short of Gold.

Mister Softee was stabled at John Massarellas' farm in Almholme where he shared a paddock with his best friend, a donkey, who accompanied Mister Softee whenever he travelled.

David Broome on Mister Softee

  

For the story of the Massarella catering business go to The Godfathers of Ice Cream on sister site Bentley Village, A History.

Alison Vainlo 2012