Tenants at No 49
THE TENANTS OF No. 49 now Charity House
DANIEL AND ANN WOODWARD
Daniel and Ann Woodward lived in this small cottage,, having originally come from Weston-on-Avon with their 9 children (3 boys and 6 girls). First, they lived at Milcote working for a Mr. Edkins who then owned the farm now owned by Mr. Stanley.
They were regular attenders at our Church, and each Sunday morning, all 11 of them would be seen walking to Church along what was known then as the Milcote Road (but now known as the bridle path to the Greenway!) It was not cemented over as it is now, but was just a hard dirt lane – in the Summer! Winter was a different affair, but even the worst weather never kept them away from Church.
Ann wore pattens on her shoes around the farm. These lifted her shoes, and feet, high enough over the puddles, but, on a Sunday, walking to Clifford Church,she would whip off her pattens as she approached the village, tuck them under a hedge, and walk the rest of the way in her shoes. The road in Clifford was muddy too, but fortunately so well planned that there was a decent footpath running alongside the road. No way was she going to enter the Church in pattens!
On dark afternoons and evenings, when they attended the evening services, the oldest lad was made to walk in front with a lantern, so Ann and her daughters could avoid the worse puddles.
The 9 children attended the village school which, in those days stood where the War Memorial is; the two teachers being a Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. Children living out of the Parish had to pay for their education – only a few pennies, but enough to make a vast hole in the weekly wage packet, as Daniel and Ann found out!
Neither she or Daniel could read or write when they first married, but throughout their life together – perhaps with the help of their children learning their letters – they struggled to learn to read. Ann eventually managed to read print. Daniel also learnt to write, and his reading was so good, he could manage to read a portion of the Bible each day. After years of just listening to the Scriptures being read at Sunday services, it must have been a great joy to him to actually read the great words of truth, life and hope, himself.
Their grandchildren could only remember them living at this pretty cottage. Daniel was a tall, quiet, bearded and adorable Grandfather, who always kept a tin of sweets at his side ready to give his grandchildren when they called.
Ann was the one who kept order in the house. She expected prompt obedience from her children – and grandchildren – and expected everything and everybody to be neat and tidy. In fact, everything about her and her house was neat and tidy, and she not only involved herself in its cleanliness, but her grandchildren too! May, her little granddaughter, was often required to wash the stairs at Granny Woodward’s house. One day, the little mite lost her footing, and fell from the top to the bottom of the stairs, with the bucket of water following her. Granny Woodward wasn’t at all concerned over the battered and bruised condition of her granddaughter. She was far more upset over all the soapy water covering her hall floor!
She did allow her grandchildren a biscuit each when they came to visit her – but only on condition they ate it outdoors! No crumbs were allowed in the house. Her granddaughters, May Huckvale and Margery Tustain, can remember her in a black chenille cap with a black satin apron..
