Although it was the main road from Llanharan it was a very quiet road. On the left hand side there was lovely countryside, and on the right a railway line. We reached a hill, and at the bottom was a wide gate leading into a field. At the top of the field we could see a farmhouse surrounded by a dry-stone wall, it looked quite grand to us. It was only when we were near to the house we realised it was semi-detached, and there was a family living next door.
Dad fitted the key into the front door, which opened on to a lovely, wood-panelled hall. This led to a large, square front room with a black fire place, and one window facing the front garden. The door led into a long kitchen with a large walk-in pantry at one end. The stairs leading to the bedrooms were situated at the other end of the kitchen, making the room narrow at that end. There was a cooking range which had a small oven, a hotplate on top and an open fire. At the side, underneath the stairs, was a coal cupboard, and resting against this was a settle (a wooden seat with a high back, common in Wales at that time) that the previous tenants must have left.
The window was placed quite high, and being small made the kitchen seem a bit gloomy. The floor had stone slabs that made them very cold to walk on, as we never had the luxury of wearing slippers. Upstairs there were three bedrooms. At the front of the house were the main bedroom which had a fireplace and a nice big window, and a small box room. The back bedroom was the same shape as the kitchen, long and narrow.
Outside, were a backyard and a scullery. The scullery had a large copper that had to be filled with water carried from the stream, and was heated from an open fire underneath the copper. Mum would use this for the weekly wash, and to heat the water for our baths. There was also a brick oven. This was heated by branches gathered from the wood, placed in the oven, and then burnt until the oven was white hot. Dad would then bake bread in it. To this day the smell of baking bread reminds me of our dear Dad.
At the side of the house was a small barn, and next to that a lavatory. This had to be flushed using a bucket of water from the stream. There was no running water anywhere in the house, and the only form of lighting was one oil lamp in the kitchen. As we never had any money for oil we always used candles.
We all liked the house, but it was the surroundings we fell in love with. Coming from London, we had never seen anything like it before. The front garden was full of different flowers, fruit bushes and fruit trees. It was a long time before I knew the names of them. Beyond the garden wall was the field we had walked up, and sometimes there were cows, or sheep grazing on it. At the back of the house there was a cultivated piece of ground that my Dad would, in time, use as an allotment. There was also a large disused dog kennel, I don’t know why but I found this building creepy, and I never went near it on my own. A path led to a small clear stream that was our only source of water, and from here it had to be carried to the house. The rest of the area was woodlands, which to my eyes seemed to go on and on. As the seasons changed we would see bluebells, hazelnuts, chestnuts and wild strawberries all growing in the woods.
As we walked about outside, the lady who lived next door came out and introduced herself. She said her name was Mrs Williams and that her husband worked for Lady Blandy-Jenkins. She asked Dad if we were the new tenants. Dad said we were and that we would be moving in soon. She replied that it would be nice to have neighbours again, as it would be company for her and her children. She had two children, a boy named Alwyn who was about 12 years old, and a girl called Anne who was six – my age. After saying our goodbyes to Mrs Williams we returned to the village. Dad had to go back to London to let Mum know about our new home, and to make the arrangements for moving to Wales.
A few weeks later Mum and Dad met us from school, with our two brothers. Mum told us to go and collect our belongings as we would not be going back to our billets any more. Mary and Kath ran to fetch their things, while Lil and I went to fetch our belongings and explain to Mrs Davies that we were leaving. Although Mrs Davies was quite surprised and looked a bit annoyed, she soon went back to reading her love stories, and left us to collect our things. The four of us were very excited and happy at the thought of our family being together, and not having to stay in any more strange houses.
Mum and Dad were waiting for us in the village square. Mum told us to put all our things in the pram, then she sat our young brother on top and we set off to walk to our new home. It was about one mile from the village, and on the way Dad stopped to show Mum the manor house where Lady Blandy-Jenkins lived. As we were walking along, Mum told us that she was sad to leave her neighbours and friends in Hackney Wick. However, she realised it would be safer for the family to leave London, and that she was happy for the family to be together again.
It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at the farmhouse. The removal men had left earlier in the afternoon. Mum and Dad had made the beds up, and sorted out the crockery and utensils ready to make a meal.
While Mum was preparing the food, we had to go and get the water needed for the tea and cooking. At first it was difficult to collect any water from the stream as it was so shallow. Dad then made a gully out of an old pipe he had found in the barn, which made it easier for the water to run into our pots. It seemed very hard work carrying the water from the stream to the house and by the time we handed Mum the pots there was only about half left. Dad had lit the fire some time ago to heat the hotplate for the kettle, but it seemed to take ages before the kettle boiled. At last we all sat down for the first meal in our new home.
Mum had put us four girls in the back bedroom. There were two double beds, a chest of drawers and a chair. My two brothers, George and Brian, shared the small bedroom, and my parents had the large front room. Downstairs in the front room, Mum had arranged the best furniture which had been in our parlour in Hackney Wick. Taking pride of place was Mum’s beloved piano. In the kitchen were a large table and six chairs.
Mum said she felt quite posh living in a farmhouse, but it must have been hard work for Mum and Dad bringing up a family in a house with no material comforts.
