The Strange Family at Yorke's Hill: Attlebridge, Norfolk, Seventy Years Ago

The Larks Press, Dereham, Norfolk, 1998. First Edition. Softcover. As New. Illustrator: Katherine Yorke. This book is about Attlebridge, Norfolk, in the 1920s and 30s, with some excursions to the neighbouring villages of Alderford, Swannington, Morton and Felthorpe. But it is more than just another book of nostalgia for the old days, for the author was burdened with 'problem parents', a father who was too proud to take orders from another and a mother for whom 'houseproudness' was the eighth deadly sin. They lived, therefore, in primitive conditions in a shack in the woods where Harry Yorke's many eccentricities could be freely exercised. These ranged from reciting poetry in the gravel-pit to building the 'Wayfarers' Hostel', a wooden chapel of which he was both architect and priest. This is a fascinating story of triumph over adversity, for Katherine, despite her sufferings, grew up with a deep love for the village where she spent her childhood and an astonishing memory for detail which has enabled her to record for us the history of 'The Strange Family at Yorke's Hill'. She was born in Woolwich, but soon moved to Attlebridge, Norfolk, where her parents settled in a railway-carriage in the woods. Her childhood and schooldays are described in this book At fifteen she became a shorthand typist (12s per 46-hour week with unpaid overtime). During the second world war she typed lists of submarine-motor components, classified as 'work of National Importance', and to escape this she married and started a family. In 1964, left with a son of nine to bring up, she bought a car for £25, hand-painted it and moved to Guernsey, where the only way she could obtain accommodation was by living and working 'en famille' in a lodging-house full of wild Irish seasonal workers. After twelve years she returned to Norfolk and settled down to enjoy gardening, reading and foreign holidays. Size: Octavo (standard book size). 172 pages. no Dust Jacket as published.. Black titles spine. illustrated by b/w. drawings & photo's.. Illustrator: Katherine Yorke. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 500 grams. Category: Genealogy & Local History; History; East Anglia; Norfolk; England; 1930s; Biography & Autobiography. ISBN: 0948400730. ISBN/EAN: 9780948400735. Inventory No: 2800. . 9780948400735