My Hazelbeach Memories

The things I remember about Hazelbeach, the place where I was born, a lovely little village by the sea. My mother gave birth to me in ‘Glanmore House’ Church Road, we lived there until I was eight months old, she became a widow when my father passed away and she was left with three children.

We moved to Ferry Row, where there was an empty cottage next to her parents, my grandparents. They helped nurse me and of course as I grew up it was my second home. Granfer was blind , due to an accident when he was twenty four years of age. It was my job to take him for walks and to Neyland for a haircut and shave. Granny and Granfer lived next door to the Ferry House, a pub run by Miss Edwards, the men who went there for a drink always called her Lizzie Jane, I never knew why.

Next door to my mother was Mrs Blewitt, she used to sell sweets we loved that, if we had a penny to spend. Then there was Mrs Hoad, Mrs Pugh came next, I used to like her Christmas hoop, it was covered in crepe paper with little chocolate mice, watches and many other things, she did not have a tree and after Christmas she would give us kids something off the hoop, we were delighted. If I remember there were nine cottages in Ferry Row, what a lovely place to live, everybody was so friendly.

The Taliesin and the Eden were ships that belonged to the Rouse family, they were brought on to the beach to be painted and the seaweed scraped off the bottom ready for work again. They would be tied to the railings down by the Ferry House, then at high tide the boys would scramble along the rope to get on the ships and dive off, that was exciting for us kids to watch, but we never dared to try that ourselves, oh no!! we enjoyed a paddle, brought up by the water I still can not swim, but could row a boat, what about that then.

I remember the chip van used to come round and stop at the bottom of Ferry Row, mother and gran would buy enough chips for supper, of course I would have some more at grannies, mm lovely! Sometimes in the summer a chap on a three wheeler bike would come, with what looked like a big box, it was where he kept the ice cream, we would be delighted to have a halfpenny cornet. We would have milk served in a jug from the milk cart and bread delivered to the door, those were the days. The rest of the village were the same, everybody knew one another and always helped when needed.

Their was a lady in Ferry Row who used to take me out in the pram to help my mother have some peace as I was always crying, her name was Dolly. I do not remember this myself, my mother said that I was always hungry, a good excuse for crying I suppose.

In the house behind the pub, lived Mr & Mrs Lamb, she was a dressmaker and made all our clothes, for me and my sister Joan, we had to go and be measured, I did not like having it done and ended up in trouble with my mother. Mr Lamb was a photographer, he had a camera on legs as I would call it, with a black cover , again I caused trouble, looking back at the photographs, not bad. Up at the Point House were Mr & Mrs Roderick and children, they used to sell fruit from their garden. We were able to have a treat now and again, when mother or gran could afford it. Up the road where Gloria and Victor now live were Mr & Mrs Clayton, they had a daughter Phyllis, she used to play the harp, us kids would sit and listen to her, there was always plenty going on to keep us amused. Further up there were four cottages, Mr & Mrs Lee lived in one, they sold apples, my mother would send me to buy some. Mr Chittlborough , the Richards family and Mr & Mrs Evans all lived there. Across the road lived Iris Jones the farm with her parents, below them was Mr & Mrs Lewis and family, they sold eggs, everybody was provided for when they could afford it.

We come then to the old Mill Houses, my aunty Edie lived in the first one, she had a few children, cousins of mine, we loved going down there to play, plenty of nooks and crannies to play hide and seek, great, and have picnics. Years later the Pugh family, Mrs Twigg and the Palmer family lived there. Coming now to Mr & Mrs Rees the Mill, Mr Rees bred Sealyham dogs, my friend Freda and I were honoured to take them for their first walk in to the pier, now Hazelbeach boatyard, it used to be our playing area and on the beach. Mrs Rees played the organ in the Mission Hall, we had to go there to practice for concerts, anniversaries etc. I would recite and my sister sang. There were Christmas parties when all of us would get a small present from Father Christmas, we were delighted, what more could you want.

Alongside Mr & Mrs Rees was a house with roses growing round the door, very pretty, my aunty Lily lived there, with her family, my cousins, next to them were Mr & Mrs Bowen, Tom’s photo was in the Mission Hall, Mr & Mrs Larkin were next, then Dolly Jones and her brother, we now come to Fielder’s shop, they had a son called Lionel. My gran used to send me there for granfer’s half ounce of baccy, for which I would earn one penny to buy sweets which I shared with my friend. In the two cottages after that lived two brothers, Arthur and Tom Edwards.

Auntie’s and cousins came down from Neyland to visit my mother during the school holidays, we would go down the weir, have a picnic and gather cockles, boil them in a tin we found on the beach they were tasty with our sandwiches, no health and safety taboo’s then. Us kids walked across the beach to the white lady, as we called it, the saying was to walk around it three times to make a wish, I do not remember what I wished for, you did not tell, but I think mine all came true. The white lady was a monument to keep ships away from the rocks, she is still there to this day, though I have not seen it now for many years. We had an uncle living down the weir, my sister Joan and I used to go there with mother, he had an orchard with apples, plums, pears you name it he had it, of course we would try the lot, next day we would be crying with pains in the belly, we had no sympathy from mother, not even my gran, that was not very nice, was it, there we are it passed over. We played on the cockle bank , called that because men used to gather cockles and put them in to a pile, then into sacks to be taken away by horse and cart and sold. A lorry of sweets went over the beach, there were no railings then, all the children had a handful , lucky for them.

Before going home my friend and I played on the kiln, that was a nice change for us, it was called the kiln because there was a lime kiln there, I do not remember where, the people to ask have sadly passed away, but it was an ideal place to play. It was fun in those days playing ball, skipping ,top, heckybed and hoop. We would go in the pier to watch the men play quoits and cricket, my uncle John was in the team.

At weekends we used to fetch can’s of water from the well, ready for our parents to do the washing and us kids to have a bath in front of the fire, my goodness how times have changed, the children today do not know they are born, I suppose it is called progress, to me my past is a wonderful memory. I grew up got married and have more lovely memories of my lovely husband and family, thankful to be still living in Hazelbeach.