Well summer is officially here and we are now in the holiday season so that is the theme of this issue. Although Rowell Fair has been and gone there is an article on it this month along with photographs of the Proclamation and Frank York, the new Bailiff. Thank you to Geoff Davis for submitting those. Also thank you to two of our regular contributors Helen Brown and David York for their articles. If you have any articles for submission or photographs to share, please get in touch. Contact details below. Please note that whilst every care is taken to be accurate, no liability will be accepted should any of the contents of this magazine be incorrect. Rowell Fair and the Proclamation 2017 by Geoff Davis On Trinity Sunday, 11th June, the traditional Blessing of the Fair took place and the service was conducted on Market Hill by Canon John Westwood. This followed the Civic Service which had been held in the Methodist Church and celebrated the many years of dedication to the Town Council by Clive Cross, the new Mayor of Rothwell. On Monday 12th June, the Proclamation of the Fair began with the first reading of the Charter at 06:00 outside the parish church. The procession then made its way down Squires Hill and paused at the War Memorial where the Band played the 23rd Psalm. There was a minute’s silence in remembrance of the victims of the recent atrocities in Manchester and London. Members of the Rowell Fair Society who had died since the last Proclamation were also remembered, especially the previous bailiff, Alan Mills. The new bailiff, Frank York, admitted to being a little nervous at first but said that he felt very proud and privileged to hold the role and the first recorded bailiff had actually been one of his ancestors. The procession was led by Mark Spendlove and Lloyd Mills (Deputy Bailiff). Lloyd commented that he felt it was a great honour and that his dad would have been very proud since he loved Rowell Fair. The carriage was occupied by (L-R): Zandra Powell, Clive Cross, Robert Denton & Karen Mills. The Factory Fortnight and Wakes Week by Valerie Panter The school holidays are upon us and for many families that also means time off work, days out and often the annual holiday. Many of you may remember the ‘factory fortnight’ when the factories had their annual shutdown. In this area it was usually the last week of July and the first week of August. In other parts of England and Scotland that annual holiday was referred to as ‘Wakes Week’. Many associate it with the Industrial Revolution, cotton mills and collieries but actually the origin dates back much further. Every church at its consecration was given the name of a patron saint, and either the day of its consecration or the saint's feast day became the church's festival. Church services began at sunset on Saturday and the night of prayer was called a vigil or due to the late hour a "wake". The name 'wake' is the same as the one applied to funerals where for mourners kept watch or vigil over their dead until they were buried. The main custom of the festival was the 'rushbearing', when all the old rushes that were strewn on the church's packed-earth floor were swept out and fresh ones were ceremoniously carried in. The rest of the day was then a holiday with sports, games, dancing and drinking. The custom of rushbearing thrived in many areas and also gave rise to the custom of Morris dancing, when dancers became a part of the procession that followed the rushes to the church. It is still practised in some local churches today in other areas of the country such as Derbyshire. Photo: http://www.cloggin.co.uk/content/littleborough-rush-bearing-rush-bearing-rushbearing-what-it-all-about In time the more boisterous entertainments were moved from the Sabbath to Saturday and Monday was reserved for public entertainments such as bands, games and funfairs. With the coming of the industrial revolution the wakes survived because many workers simply didn't turn up when the traditional holiday came. So mill owners decided that they might as well close their factories down for a few days at this time to allow them to clean and overhaul the machinery. It was mainly but not exclusively the North of England and industrialised areas of the Midlands. For instance, each town in Lancashire took the holiday on a different week in the summer so that from June to September one town was on holiday each week. The expansion of the railway network led Blackpool to become a seaside resort along with Southport and Morecombe. The railway link from the mill town of Oldham to Blackpool was completed in 1846 and during wakes week in 1860 more than 23,000 holidaymakers travelled on special trains to the resort from that town alone. In the last quarter of the 19th century, trips increased from day trips to full weeks away and 'Wakes Saving' or 'Going-Off' clubs became popular. The saving clubs were a feature of the industrial north until paid holidays became a reality in the 1940s and '50s. The tradition has now disappeared in much of the UK. This is due to the decline of traditional manufacturing industries, schools objecting to the holidays at crucial exam times and businesses staying open all year with employees taking staggered holidays. Back in Northamptonshire the ‘Factory Fortnight’ saw the days out and trips to the seaside. In those days fewer families had cars and many took advantage of the local buses and coaches. In Rothwell, Buckbys and Coopers were two very well-known names. The local bus service was run by United Counties and was also very popular. Each year my family would go to Southsea for our holiday and even though we had a car, with mum, dad, three children and two grandparents there wasn’t enough room for us all. Luckily Coopers Coaches ran a trip to Southsea too so my brother and a friend used to catch the bus from the Market Hill and the rest of us would go by car. Dad (pictured right on Market Hill) drove us and granddad and Janet sat alongside him on the bench seat in the front. Mum, grandma and I sat in the back. Once the coach had set off then we could too. In those days it often took us about six hours and the coach even longer. The journey seemed endless and we played games to pass the time. One of our favourites was to count the ‘red barrel’ signs outside the Watney’s pubs. For years dad had a miniature one on his key ring. We would have several ‘comfort’ breaks en route. Janet and I often felt car sick which wasn’t surprising given that granddad used to smoke his cigarettes in the car. The first stop was always at Brackley where dad also bought his daily newspaper. He has never been allowed to forget the year when I discovered, at the first stop, that I’d forgotten my teddy bear. We were too far into the journey to go back for him. If only we had, dad would have seen his shoes that he had left behind! Once we had arrived, we checked into our B&B. Like many other families we returned to the same one year after year. If Mrs Veitch (the owner) moved house then we simply followed. It was like going to visit family. The next job would be to go and meet the coach and pick up Keith and his friend. At the end of the holiday it was the same routine. Take the boys to the coach, drive home and wait the other end for them. Every year, after mum and dad retired they continued to go on holiday but instead of driving went with a group of friends on Cooper’s coach trips. The photo below shows them all in the early 1980’s with Howard Cooper the driver, second from left. Above: Buckby’s charabanc all set for a day trip maybe. Do you recognise anyone? Maybe you can help us put names to faces. Below right: Barry’s family had a different mode of transport,a Below left: the company is still going strong in 1985. BSA 650 Golden Flash. What was yours? Barry is seated in the front with his sister, brothers in the back and mum and dad on the motorbike. Luggage went on top. On one trip his dad braked hard and Barry ended up stuck in the nose section. No seatbelts in those days. THE UNITED COUNTIES BUSES by Helen Brown (nee Chapman) The United Counties Buses were a lifeline for Rowell people, in the fifties and sixties, enabling them to travel further afield. The bus which served Desborough Rowell and Kettering was number 259 and mostly double- deckers were used. The buses from Rowell to Market Harborough were less frequent. The United Counties Bus depot in Northampton Road, Kettering was a busy hub all those years ago, with the green buses departing and arriving frequently. From here you could travel to Northampton, Corby and even to Peterborough. The world was our oyster!! The busiest bus stop in Rowell still exists today and is on the Kettering Road, opposite the chip shop, at the bottom of Squires Hill. Years ago it was such a busy bus stop that often the queue would go right round into Squires Hill – especially on a Saturday afternoon when it was market day in Kettering.