Mrs. Gladys Minton, Twynings House

I was born on Dec. 21st 1905 at the above address. This is a black and white cottage, now 400 years old. The cottage had a thatched roof but this was soon removed and slates put on. The living room ceiling had been tarred but that too had to be changed to a white calico ceiling, the tar evidently hung in drops in warm weather. I still live in the cottage with my husband.

Twynings House

My father bought the cottage before I was born. He was the local tailor. He worked at home sitting on the table cross-legged. He got lots of work from the adjoining villages and some from abroad, people having lived in Mathon and had now gone abroad. My father was a cripple, he could not walk without two walking sticks. His boots had to be made and the soles built up. He was a very happy man and was very fond of his family life with his two sons and myself. He loved to walk with me and told me all the names of the flowers and footpaths He died at the age of 58 years in a flu epidemic.

I attended Mathon School from the age of 5 years and left at 14 years Mathon School was built in 1861 by public subscription and closed in the early 1950s owing to a shortage of children in the parish. During school holidays my mother and I would go hop-picking near the church for the farmer who kept Church Farm It was like a holiday especially on nice days but usually at that time of the year the mornings are frosty.

During my last years at school I learnt to play the piano and also the organ in the Mathon Church Mathon Church is 800 years old.

After leaving school I worked for West Malvern Post Office, delivering telegrams to the Wyche, Mathon and West Malvern. For this I was paid 5 shillings (25p) per week. While I waited for telegrams I did housework and mending for the Post Mistress. As I got older, I was able to learn the work of the Post Office, including the weekly accounts., which was very interesting as I was then allowed to go to another office as relief when required. After about 4 years, I was offered another Post Office to go to. That was at Sawbridgeworth and I went to find out all the details but decided it was not for me. A factory seemed to be the next best thing. Schweppes Colwall Springs. I worked there for 16 years before getting married.

In 1923 Mathon Parish Hall was built and used for meetings, dancing and men’s’ clubs. Mathon WI were allowed to have their meetings there, this was formed in 1924 I joined in June 1924 and have been a member ever since. I was also Clerk of Mathon Parish Council for several years and a member of that council for 40 years.

Monday was washing day, but before you could start the water had to be pumped up from the well in buckets to fill the copper, then a fire had to be lit to heat the water, the same procedure was done on Saturdays for the weekly bath. The toilet was at the end of the garden path usually hidden from view by a huge laurel or some other evergreen bush. It had a wooden seat with holes in, and a bucket into which was put some chemical which dissolved the contents which had to be emptied into a hole dug in the garden.

Winter evenings round the open fire, playing games of cards, draughts, ludo etc. Sometimes my brothers and I Would spend hours cutting strips of material from worn –out garments. These our parents would peg on to pieces of hessian to make warm rugs for the hearth.

In summer everyone had to help in the fields. Hay-making time the men would start to mow at 4.30 a.m., first the horses had to be fed and watered before being harnessed to the mower.

Hay-making and harvest time was a community effort, neighbour helping neighbour, lending each other machinery and labour, even the children had to do their share after school. My brothers would help to shake up the hay and rake it into “wallies” ready to be loaded on the wagons and taken to the farm to be made into ricks which were then thatched to keep the rain out. My job was to carry huge baskets of food; bread, cheese and huge lumps of fruit cake; cans of tea and home-made ginger beer to feed the workers. Harvest followed much the same pattern except that a road had to be cut round the edge of the binder so that no corn was wasted. This was done by hand with a wooden crook which gathered the stems together and then cut with a hook, these were then tied into sheaves with string, they were then stacked in groups of 5 or 6 wig-wam shape, the left in the field to dry before being carted to the barns ready for threshing time.

After harvest came hop-picking, families would arrive in the village from Dudley and other places in the Birmingham area. They would arrive loaded down with pots and pans. They stayed in the barns which were cleaned out ready to receive them. Hop-picking was a jolly time with much fun and laughter, although it was hard work. I think we were paid about 1 shilling (5p.) per bushel. The farmer would pay you at the end of the picking. This money went to buy winter clothes and fuel.