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Living at Strickley in the 1930's were four young Robinsons, Henry Wilson  (born 1916), William Arthur (born 1920),

Abigail Isabella (born 1922) and Margaret Frances (born 1924)

They probably all kept diaries, and William Arthur's from 1940 gives an insight to the daily work on the farm,

as well as a record of the weather for the whole year.

 

Click here for a month by month account of life at Strickley during the early days of the war.

 

The elder son, Henry Wilson Robinson was a prolific diarist, and these extracts are taken from diaries beginning written in 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939

Wilson was married in 1938, and from then on the diaries also refer to his life at Over Bleaze. The fields at Over Bleaze are now (2006) part of Strickley.

Grateful thanks to Wilson for allowing me to publish these extracts

and apologies to those who don't know the farm or family and may be puzzled by some of the references

Click here to see all the field names.

1937
JANUARY
1st Willie in bed
4th 3 children in bed

 

FEBRUARY
4th Went to Farleton hedging and ploughing competition
7th  Sunday. Rev S Swidenbank
8th  Sold Old Dick to Blackpool Tower Co. Ltd. Zoo Department
9th  Chopping straw and hay for horses
16th  Sold horse. Dolly 17.1 hands high. First prize £56
19th Sawing wood. Belt gave way.
28th Sunday. Very very stormy. Lifted slates of cow shippon. Heavy fall of snow and large drifts.

 

MARCH
2nd Scaling muck at home and for R Gibson, Over Bleaze
3rd Still snow showers. Masons here slating. To Borrans and Ghyll Mill for slates.
10th  Father at Penrith Horse Sale. Too dear.
12th Singed Fanny
17th  Father at Carlisle and bought horse, Jess.
24th  Uncle Willie Brown passed away.
27th Father at uncle Willie Brown's funeral. Set off 8.00 am, not back till 11.45 pm.
28th  SSA at Homescales. Preacher S Wood

 

APRIL

3rd Jess at Smithy

7th Threw cart over with runaway horse, Jess
9th Father and Willie spent all morning trying to get a lamb and then failed. Ewe died. Let foal mare (Nora) out to grass for a few hours.
26th Yoked foal mare to harrow
27th Nora foaled bay filly. Vet took cleansing away

 

MAY
8th Uncle Willie and Auntie Maggie here for weekend
10th Father and Willie at auction mart with 2 fat heifers
12th Coronation. Great doings. Went to Gibsons (Over Bleaze). Heard wireless. Ferret to Benthams, Bleaze Hall
15th Willie to Elm Tree
16th Sunday. Thunder. Turnips looking well considering condition they were put in, but are sorely in need of rain.
18th Dad away ay Kirkby auction and show meeting
20th Wilson at Ulverston
25th Uncle Len, Auntie Kate and Mr & Mrs Brown here
29th. Saturday. Wilson, Willie and Abbie at Morecambe at night

 

JUNE
1st Dad and Mother at Low Woodhouse
4th Took R Gibson's heifer out of Ormrods field back home by road. (A bad un). Nora to Proctors to be covered
14th New Bamfords mowing machine came
15th Clipped rough sheep
16th Started hay
18th Dad helping Holmescales thinning
23rd Ferret had young
30th Wet morning. Cutting meadow, mending rakes, forking hay back, cleaning sheep, sawing wood, heltering foal and Jess to smithy.

 

JULY
2nd Dad to Kendal to see a separator
3rd Sowing nitre on mangolds and running them up. Scaling and turning in Meadow. Got 1/2 first piece into foot cock
5th Amongst hay afternoon. Cutting a bit - piked out
17th Finished hay. Mowing for Over Bleaze
19th Cut hay for Over Bleaze (2 lumps)
20th Helping Gibsons. Got 10 carts for them
21st Heavy rain. Laid much corn
24th Wilson to Kirkby Thore. Turning for R Gibson
26th Wilson back from Kirkby Thore
27th Tuesday. E. Burton married to E. Pearson. Finished hay for R Gibson
29th Wilson at the Lakes. Stitch harrowing at night
30th Wilson at Whitcham
31st Saturday. Wilson & Willie at Royal Lancs Show

 

AUGUST
5th Cleaning Meadow beck out all three of us. Corn ripening fast. Sparrow doing damage
7th Wilson & Willie to Newton Rigg
9th Mr Brown here
10th Finished cleaning beck out of New Hutton Field. 30 carts in all
11th Opened rigging up corn out and part of ley
14th Wet day. Forking hay back.
21st Finished cutting
23rd Dad at Lunesdale Farmers Dinner
27th Final arrangements to be made for Over Bleaze. (which Wilson was to rent)
31st Helping Holmescales with harvest

 

SEPTEMBER
8th Dad at Low Sizergh
16th All at Kendal Show. Two firsts and two seconds YFC class
17th Dad and Wilson at Hallbank sale. Bought 42 pullets at 6/- each.
20th Thrashing at Strickley
23rd Getting potatoes up for Gibsons
24th Moss End sale
26th Milnthorpe, Stricklandgate and Old Hutton Harvest Festival services
30th Holme Park sale. Woodhouse thrashing.

 

OCTOBER
3rd Challon Hall and New Hutton Harvest Festival service
4th Kendal auction with fat heifer and 20 rough sheep, back 20 for Bob Gibson, Over Bleaze
5th Frosty. J Dixon new cake merchant here for orders. Dad to Penrith Sales
8th Dad back from Penrith Sales. Sold 2 bulls, Willie's club calf 26 gns, my club calf 27 gns
9th Willie and Dad at tup sale. Sold 3 at 15½, 9 and 8½ gns and bought one for 9 gns.
11th - 15th Threshing at 5 different farms
18th Mowing and carting bracken off Holmescales Lots
21st Rabbitting - 17
22nd Crushing oats. Belt broke
25th Wilson to town to have photograph taken
26th Laid cows in
27th Rabbitting. Got 6. Killed a whether hogg which had gone off it's legs for eating

 

NOVEMBER
2nd All at Horse Sale
6th Holmescales had ferrets and got 65 rabbits.
7th Aunt Edith from Hagg passed away.
9th At Hagg to buy W. W. hens etc
10th Wilson's 21st Birthday party. Aunt Edith buried at Parkside, Kendal
11th Willie to Elm Tree. 17 hens and hen house from Hagg and other bits of things. Put hen house up in Brant Strickley.
12th - 15th Very hard frost
22nd Rent Day. Carting muck at Over Bleaze
26th Friday F.M.M. 60 - 70 here. 10 cars

 

DECEMBER
4th Snowed al day. 1 inch
5th Snowed another inch, but thawed slightly at night
18th A lot more snow since 5th. Also very hard frosts since 5th
25th All at Bridge House

Extracts taken from diaries written in 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939