‘Although many read this chilmarkvillage site – About 800/1000 a week – Not enough of us send in details about local happenings and events to come. The Parish Council – The Reading Room – The Gardening Gangs – The School – The Church – The Pub – Cricket Club – Clubs – Groups – Fitness Classes etc. should be letting us all know what is going on in our own village.
The Parish News is not read by everybody, so our own site can keep even more of us in touch.‘
Many have asked me to keep this site running, so please keep sending in your information and data!
The site helps people like André wanting to trace his steps:
“My parents moved to Chilmark in the 1950′s. Dad (Des Winterton) was agricultural engineer and worked for a local family firm, called Spiller & Wilkins. On contacting Paul Wilkins, it became obvious that his father was, in fact, my dad’s employer and that dad had a glowing reference written by Paul’s dad, when my dad left the firm. Being a young man and newly married, he lived in rentedaccommodation and in those days it was hard to find, so he, my mum and my sister, who was born in Shaftesbury, moved away.
For whatever reason, when I was born, the family moved back to Chilmark and in the early 1960′s dad worked at Savils just outside of Salisbury. We lived in Hops Close, which, then, was a new development. As a very young boy I was taken to many of the farms that dad regularly visited as an agricultural engineer and I grew up with the animals, the amazing machinery and the warmth of the local farming folk. On many of our journeys to the farms and their villages, we would, of course, criss-cross the tank tracks and pass the MOD dump. Dad was also keen on motorbikes and was a speedway mechanic in his spare time. We used to regularly, on Saturdays, visit Poole to see the Poole Pirates racing.
I attended Chilmark School as an infant. Miss Palmer was the infant teacher and I remember her well. Mr Penny was the Head Master. Whilst my memory, being so young at the time, is not that clear, I do remember the coal fire, contained in a metal enclosure, with chimney running upwards out of the roof. I remember the loos were outside and the girls and boys were at different ends of the playground. We may have had separate playground areas and entrances, too. I think the main hall was large, open and was where we had assembly and I have a distant memory of Country Dancing, as an extra curricular event in the hall!
We lived next door to Mr & Mrs Stevens. The Post Office was run by a lady called Olive. It was reached by a little walk way over the stream or brook, that ran down the right hand side of the village, as one walked towards the school. Just opposite Hop’s Close was a disused pigs-sty, which, to my small eyes, seemed like a huge building. Beyond and above were woods and countryside where we children would spend many happy, carefree hours playing freely. At the bottom of Hop’s Close was a traditional wooden road sign and opposite was a paddock, where two horses, owned by Miss Forbes, roamed. I believe the horses were called Battle & Surprise. Miss Forbes, I think, lived in, what we children called, the ‘Big House’. Was that the house on the way up the hill, towards a pub at the top, which then led onto the main Salisbury Road? For some reason I remember the word ‘kennels’ used; perhaps there were dogs there?
My other memories include Sunday School at the church, the sweet shop (of course!) which I seem to remember was at the end of the village, near where the brook became larger; was their a bridge there? My mum was a member of the WI and I think they met at the Meeting Hall. My sister was was a Brownie, with Miss Palmer as the Brownie Leader. I also, vaguely, remember the Doctor, but he visited, for some reason; perhaps, being a small village, he had his practise in another village? I remember the red telephone box, near the post office, with the A &B button device, which I didn’t understand, because, of course, we didn’t have a phone ourselves, as many didn’t! I still had fun pressing the buttons and wondering who the people were in the telephone directories.
My parents moved after a few years, so I was not in Chilmark that long, but it stayed with me as a lovely village. I returned to Chilmark in in the mid 80′s, when I, myself, worked in Salisbury for a short time. The village had, sadly, changed and become bigger and of course I was bigger, too, so the old school looked quite small to me!
I would love to know if there are any school records, including photos, with its intake during my time in the village and also if anyone remembers my dad from the agricultural side”.
