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Published: August 1st 2019
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Leaving Sileby we had a great run up north; luckily there were no traffic problems. Our first stop was North Cowton which is 140 miles from Sileby and where we went to meet up with our cousin Valerie and her husband Keith. The last time Kev and I saw them was when they stayed with us for a few days in Sydney so there was plenty to talk about. Val and Keith were not that long back from a visit to see one of their sons who now lives in Brisbane. Norfth Cowton, where Val and Keith live, is a lovely Yorkshire village which, like Rearsby, is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. It was where, in August 1138, the English armies defeated the Scottish at nearby Cowton Moor so it's definitely somewhere you could spent time exploring. We however only had time to partake of a lovely lunch with Val and Keith before bidding each other farewell as we took off for our Airbnb in York.
With only three nights in York, the following day we set off; first stop the Mowthorpe Garden of Rest, Southwood Farm which is in the village of Terrington and where mum is
buried and Stuart's ashes were deposited about three months ago. Terrington is another quant Yorkshire village of Anglo Saxon origins in what's called the Howardian Hills and with strong connections to the Castle Howard estate. Mowthorpe advertises itself as a woodland burial as trees or shrubs are planted over where the coffins are buried. Part of the Green Funeral movement, the trees which are planted become a valuable habitat for wildlife. Mum had an oak tree planted over her coffin and having visited The Garden of Rest a few years ago her tree has certainly grown and many more trees have been planted since then. Stuart's ashes were buried where mum is and this was done in April this year. Since then Bill has made a wooden memorial which has been put at the bottom of the tree and includes both mum and Stuart's name plus an image of a truck. We stayed there for a while and then headed off to do some 'rellie' hunting.
Following Andrea's work on our family tree, having discovered that Grandma Fordon had seven half sisters - which we're not sure mum even knew about - we had the task of
contacting some of their family members and arranging to meet up with them which we did. So our first port of call was at a village near Malton to check out the son and daughter of Grandma's youngest half sister. That was very interesting and Charlotte and I were pleased to receive a favourable welcome. Unfortunately no family photos were forthcoming - which we'd hoped to be able to see - but were advised that they would search them out and I promised to send some photos of a couple of our joint relatives when I got back to Australia. As our relative Fred was in his eighties and his sister was not much younger and they did not use the Internet it will all have to be by snail mail. Then it was off to another farm at West Ayton to talk to another son of one of Grandma's half sisters whose daughter Jill was also there. Thankfully Jill was on the internet so emails were exchanged and they are checking for photos and, to date, we've had a couple of emails back and forth. So that's looking quite promising and we're hoping to glean more information to unlock
some of the secrets of the past! There was one last person to call on before we called it a day and that contact too looks to be a very good possibility although we've still to work out what part of the family he's connected to.
Our last full day in York saw us heading off towards Scarborough again - where I was born - and calling in to see Auntie Barbara who's in her ninties. Still living at the home she shared with Uncle George before he died, she is quite frail. Nevertheless Auntie Barbara was very glad to see Charlotte and I and was able to fill us in on more family stories. The rest of the day was spent checking out some of York, mainly the Minster on what was a beautiful warm summer's day. The seat of the Archbishop of York, the Minster was completed in 1472 however the site has a history stretching back nearly 2000 years. It was first used in 627 when a wooden church was erected for the baptism of Edwin, King of Northumbria. There was a fascinating exhibition in the Minster in what was called the Undercroft which
covered connections to the Vikings and the Romans. Such a short time to do everything however we did have a look in the church next to the Minster, St Michael le Belfrey where Guy Fawkes - who tried to blow up London's Houses of Parliament - was baptised in April 1570 and the house in which he lived which was opposite the church. York is a history buff's paradise where, inbetween visits to places of historical interest we did find time to eat lunch and check out the markets. Finally we visited the small village of Hutton-Buscel where mum was born. The church where mum was probably baptised was built in the 12th century and the population had increased to 506 by 1848 so no doubt everybody knew everybody else in the village. Finally we called it a day.
Following our last night in York it was off to Hereford; again we had a great run despite a detour as we were almost there. Thanks Charlotte for all your sterling driving!
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Charlotte
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York Minster
Watched a fasinating programme about the Medieval East Wing floor to ceiling window in York Minster. The biggest survival of Medieval coloured mosaic glass. It has been removed to be cleaned and renivated and should take eight years to complete. I believe they've replaced it with a replica panel.