Preface
“ A fair town Aescewell, now Ashwell. The River Rhee issues from a source of springs shaded on every side with tall ashes.” So wrote Sir Henry Chauncy in his Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire published in 1700. The water is so clear and cold “that it gripes horses not used to drink it,” Salmon, another historian, remarks.

But this is not a History of Ashwell. Albert Sheldrick is not a professional historian:
he is an eye witness. The main thrust of this book is the Ashwell of the 1920s and 30s.

But he has an eye for the past, and he leads us into the twentieth century with
strands from the past which had such a vital influence on the Ashwell in which he grew up and which he is uniquely equipped to write about.

It is local history with a difference, full of humour and humanity, much of it observed through the eyes of the schoolboy, later bricklayer cum honorary museum curator, who would probably have gone to university nowadays. There are many delightful snippets.

The war to end all wars was over. It was the dawn of a new era. The first motor car, the doctor’s, appeared in the village and the first farm tractor. A versatile Cockney hat manufacturer came and, amid much speculation and gossip, built the first bus - “Ye Olde Tin Can”.

Tucked away in a corner of North Hertfordshire, Ashwell was in many ways any large village at this time: richer perhaps in history, more full of character than most, and certainly with its fair share of “characters”. Also it was endowed with an amazing range of crafts and skills, and shops that supplied almost every need. If you couldn’t buy it, somebody else could make it.

Every Monday morning Mr Hibbert, the sweep, trudged six miles over the fields from Arlesey, brush and brass-capped rods on his shoulder, to sweep Ashwell chimneys at sixpence a time. Black as the ace of spades. he would trudge back again at the end of the day.

In summer, beneath the skylarks’ canopy of song, the rolling expanse of cornfields were scarlet with poppies and golden with charlock (“carlocks” everybody called them), brighter than the more subdued red and yellow of sainfoin and trefoil of the hayfields. In winter, when snow lay crisp and even, farm workers set snares, baited with raisins soaked in brandy or whisky, to tempt these tiny larks to end up as an expensive luxury served in the best London hotels. For themselves, men netted sparrows roosting under thatched eaves for next day’s sparrow pie. And Joe Man served up to his friends a special line in snail suppers.

From his perch beside a chimneystack, or with his ear to the ground on an inside job, or gawping as a boy in the shops - and what shops, and what service - Albert missed little. For many, life was hard and unyielding and working hours were long. But looking back benignly with Albert, we can see there was fun.

Robert Christy

ALBERT SHELDRICK

Born in Ashwell’s High Street on February 2nd 1911, Albert William Sheldrick attended the village Infants’ School from 1915-17, and the Merchant Taylors’ School between 1917 and 1925. Leaving at the age of 14, he worked in the building trade for two Ashwell building companies for all his working life, except for service in the Second World War, with Anti Aircraft Command and the 21st Army Group. He retired in 1976

With fellow schoolboy, the late John Bray, he was co-founder of Ashwell Museum in 1927, the first of its kind in the country. He has an unrivalled knowledge of Ashwell and its people, and he has written many articles on the subject.

He is the authof of “Fourpenny Phyllis”, a booklet published in 1987 by The Friends of the Museum, which deals with the life and work of Phyllis Fordham, who lived at Ashwell Bury and was responsible for the restoration of much of the village from 1903 until her death in 1958.

Happily married since their Christmas Day wedding in 1938, Albert and his wife Win have two daughters and three grandchildren. Although they have lived in Letchworth since 1983, they retain their links with Ashwell through relatives and friends and Albert is a Trustee of Ashwell Museum.