Some of Mr T Burbidge's memories recalled for George Freeston c. 1970.

[After enquiring what the radio was doing in George's lap and learning that it was a tape recorder, "it's a tape recorder, well I never guessed!", he began to go through a book of prints of which, regrettably, only a few have survived]

"I was born in 1884 on the 1st June at 'The Squirrel' Inn in Gayton and I was 2 years old when we came to Blisworth.  The Squirrel has now been renamed 'The Eykin Arms'.

Whilst showing a photo of the 16th century 'Old Manor House' [see note 1] he said " My father in 1893 bought this off the Duke of Grafton, and the field behind, and in 1897 he took it down.  The Duke came round and said it should be put back up again.  The Duke's agent, Paterson, stored all the doors and timbers, the oak windows and the frames - Sturgess would pay the price so the materials were stored, the wood doors etc. were sold.  Well the tarpaulin let the water in and all was spoiled.  The house we are sitting in [brick built - 'Manor House', 46 High Street] was built over the old manor house and that was where Mrs Gibbs lived.  The old manor had a fine cellar and it had a stream running through it.  There was a brick trough through which the water ran day and night.  My brother had it filled in which was a pity - lovely clear water.  There was a similar stream in the baker's house.  It reminds me the baker was a chorister and a very good living man.  Sometimes he had a day of booze (see choir suppers!) and before that day he baked a double batch of loaves - one for the boozy day and one for the day before.  He used his cellar to store the loaves.  He knew when he was due for a booze up at the Royal Oak and he used to sing a song there - and he used to sing:

So in all your transactions let this be your plan.
For the welfare of .... as well as you can.
Do your duty, have mercy, be united together
and .... through all like the birds of a feather!!

He would have another pint then, I suppose.

"These people [another photo] came from Kidlington near Islip in 1899 they came to see this binder [see note 2] work in the top field next to Longlands.  They saw it working.  A farmer came from Shutlanger and said he would set fire to it at night if it was left in the field - he would have done so too.  We had eight binders at work at one time - before any farmers had got them.

"I know my father had the first grass mower in Northamptonshire.  And he had the first traction engine - a 1877 Allchin, the first one made by them.  And he had a Fowler - on three wheels.  You steered it from the front and then they were in the ditch before you knew what to do.  My father sent it back and they agreed to give him the order for a new engine but that had to go back after the first threshing.

"This is Ern - his milk round, the photo taken in 1894"

After a while, Mr Burbidge began to talk about his and his son's timber business.  The saw mill was located behind the site of the old Manor House and is visible on some aerial photographs.

"We cut trees down for the Master of Kinloss at Stow.  We cut £75000 - cut down wonderful trees.  Queen Mary and Princess Mary, when they came down they asked for the cedar to be cut down.  We took it down and sawed it up into coffin boards for the Jews - they went to Dockham Bros., City Road - I think today it's Dottridge Bros.

"There were oak trees which went to the Midland Railway - some for the carriages.  The timber had to be 17 feet long, twelve by five [inches], cut solid with no knots.  There were ash trees felled - went for aeroplanes to Howard Bros. - struts and bodies.  The sawing was done with a steam engine.  All the men were on piece work for 12 years (at Stow) . . . .

"Much timber was sent to Weedon Wharf to go by canal.  Some sawn and some trees in the round.  And we lowered the trunks down by ropes into the boats.  One boatman said he didn't want to use ropes but just let them go on their own.  I said it'll knock the bottom out but he said "Not my boats it won't!"  So we let a trunk go and it went straight through the bottom of the boat.  He cried like a child.  [laughter . .]  It knocked the bottom right out.

"We used to supply the Mentmore Estate with 50 gates per year - very strong gates.  The agent sent for me one day and I went with the motor to Kettering, up the drive to the mansion.  There was a compressor standing across the drive and each side of the drive was kept like a lawn.  The forester, well at least I thought he was, was spraying the Elm trees.  So I got out of the motor and said do you think the old Duke would mind if I ran on the grass?  I don't think so, came the reply.  So then I said what do you think your doing.  "Can't you see?"  So I said  "you're wasting the poor old Duke's money, wasting spray and time".  He said "what do you know about elm trees"  Well I said "I think I know everything about elms - you come along and listen to the bees - there must be a million"  "Yes", he said, "of course I can hear them"  "Well elm disease comes with the plum white blossom and there's no cure.  They say starlings bring it from France and the bees spread it from tree to tree"  Then he just said "you're correct - I'll be up at the office in a minute".  When he came I realised then I had been talking to the Duke, "I do apologise your Grace"  He said "don't be sorry, you have told me more than any of the others - I have been trying to find out what to do"

What happened was we cut down all the diseased elms and cut a million coffin boards - there were miles and miles of Elm avenue . . .

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[1]  The site of this Manor House is shown clearly on the 1838 Grafton Survey map - note it has plot 92 behind it.  Ordnance Survey maps of up to approx. 1970 show the area as the site of a Manor of some antiquity, implying the Seat of the Wake family (13th to 15th century).  A response from the curate in 1718 to canvassed questions for Bridge's county history indicate however that the Seat was then thought to be in the grounds of 'Blisworth House' ie. to the south-east of the church.  This is not to deny the existence of a significant 'Manor Farm' in the conventional relationship with the church - ie. to its north but it is to suggest strongly that the Ordnance Survey team in about 1830 had got it wrong.

[2]  A binder is essentially a grass mower able to cut corn crops which has been adapted to bind up with string a quantity of storks into a stook.  The stooks are then set up to dry before being carted to a thresher.