Judy Cairns

50 Years in Helmdon – an article by Judy Cairns

2020 is the 50th anniversary of my family moving into Helmdon. On 1st June,1970, my husband Joe and I and our two week old twins, Duncan and Rebecca, moved into the old police house at 6 Station Road. We had hardly any furniture having previously rented a furnished house. The neighbours must have wondered what was going on when an army lorry drew up at the end of the drive and several soldiers jumped out and carried a three piece suite and two beds up to the house. My father-in-law ran a TA unit in Glasgow. They were on their way to take part in some manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain and he took the opportunity to deliver the furniture en route.

The house needed a great deal of work as it was old and had no damp course. I found out that it had once, like several other houses in the village, belonged to Magdalen College, Oxford. I was able to go to their archives and look it up. It had been let by the college in the 1750’s to John Adkyns and was easy to trace in their huge tomes of records as it was let together with the close, now the council allotments, as Green Close and Green Close Cottage. Rental payments were in corn not money. I also found reference to other houses like the one rented and subsequently bought in 1897 by Miss Marriott, now called Marriotts, and Stone Gables. Our cottage was sold in 1901 to Thomas Bird and the police rented it from him early in the 1900’s but eventually bought it at an auction of houses in the village when he died in 1934.

My children went to the excellent village school, which was enlarged while they were there. I remember one of the pantomimes which they presented and Duncan was playing the saucy Dame. He wanted to push two balloons up the front of his jumper and was very disappointed when Mrs Nicholas, the Headteacher, wouldn’t let him.

Over the years the Reading Room has become like my second home, I have spent so much time there as a member of the various organisations. The first time I went there was when my twins were tiny and I took them to a baby clinic. That was the last clinic to be held.

But in October 1970 Liz Humphrey (Douglas’s wife) held a meeting to discuss starting up a Young Wives Club. This was met with great enthusiasm and through being on the committee I got to know many people of my own age. We were given a grant of £25 by Northants County Council, on the proviso that we called it Young Wives and Mothers Club. We thought it was going to be an annual grant but it was a one off. Nevertheless, the money was a great help for our funds. As the years went by we decided we needed to change the name of the Club as we were no longer young. After a great deal of discussion we opted for Women’s Club. We hope to be able to hold our 50 Year Anniversary in October, Corvin 19 virus permitting.

Young Wives, along with other village organisations, always took part in Helmdon Carnival, which was held on August Bank Holiday Monday from 1983 and ran for more than 20 years. A theme was decided on and a procession of floats paraded through the village up to the Sports Field. The HyHOs float always had a double entendre subject and they awarded themselves a potty (I think painted gold). Unfortunately after several years the procession was no longer held due to insurance difficulties. At the Sports Field there were stalls, a Flower and Produce tent, entertainment and refreshments.

In 1998 Sue Lidgley’s husband, Pete, and my husband Joe, died within 4 months of each other and were buried side by side. Sue and I felt the Churchyard had got rather overgrown and she and I with Conrad Woolley started The Friends of Helmdon Churchyard with the aim of caring for it. There was an initial big clean up and since then it has been looked after by our much appreciated volunteers, mowing and strimming and gardening.

Last autumn we were able to arrange for a community service group called Community Payback under the aegis of Northampton Probation Office to come three times a month to take over the maintenance. During the winter they did work in the Church and had just carried out their first outside mowing and strimming when Corvid 19 came on the scene and they could no longer drive here in close proximity in the van. We hope they will be able to return eventually but will need to ask our volunteers from the village to help with maintenance until then.

In 2010 my son Duncan and his family came back from abroad and bought my house in Station Road and I moved to a smaller house in Church Street, conveniently near to the Reading Room.

The warmth and kindness of Helmdon villagers has made it a wonderful place to live and this has been doubly true during the lock in period due to the virus, with people helping us older people with shopping and fetching prescriptions. I would never want live anywhere else. Thank you, Helmdon, for 50 wonderful years.

Judy Cairns
2020