Newham History Society: "Up the Hammers" and East London Floods

On Tuesday evening I went to my first meeting of Newham History Society. It took place at the Didsbury Centre in East Ham and the speaker was  Mark Watson from the Vallence House Museum in Barking.

Before he spoke, members of the society gave a short "plug" on historical books for our area.  "Up the Hammers" which is about the West Ham Pals battalion in the First World War & "Borough over the Boarder" a history of West Ham.

Mark spoke very well about the history of flooding in Newham, Barking and Dagenham marshland from the Iron age to present.  I did tweet during his talk which you can see here on my twitter account for 13 November.

I was not aware that it was possible in Tudor times for King Henry VIII to sail his fleet right into the centre of Barking.

That during Victorian times "busting up" was a favourite children's game during the summer, when they would look for the dead and decomposing bodies of dogs and pigs floating in the marsh and throw pointed stones at them to try and "blow 'em up".

Nor that Welsh drovers use to herd thousands of cattle to the marshlands to fatten them up for sale and that Dagenham use to be regarded as a healthy place to live and visit since it was so windy! It was also an area where rich families use to have rural summer cottage retreats. Just like nowadays!

The meeting was well attended with about 30 residents present. There was tea, coffee and a raffle.  The  Society normally holds its meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Well worth a visit. 

Lovely Historic Steyning and …the Welsh Drovers

Slightly off message and continuing on my hobby horse about 19th Century Welsh Cowboys! See previous posts here and here. Just back from a few days R&R in lovely historic Steyning, West Sussex. We hired Holly cottage (which is a 200 year old former stables). Steyning is an ideal holiday location not only for some simply glorious walks in the South Downs.

The owners of the cottage had left some local history booklets which described how in the 18th and 19th Century Steyning use to hold Cattle Fair’s in the High Street.  Up to 3000 Welsh black cattle use to be there up for sale. These cattle had been herded hundreds of miles all the way from Wales usually on foot by drovers.

So instead of feeling very pleased with myself about being completely knackered after a local 11 mile hike on Tuesday around Crissbury Ring and 8 miles over the Seven Sisters coastal path today, I should have thanked my lucky stars that I hadn’t walked all the way from Wales only to then face the prospect of walking all the way back again. Regardless of the weather!

Solely in the interests of objective market research we tried all of Steyning four pubs a number of times and would recommend all of them but in particular the “Norfolk Arms” in Church Street. A completely proper traditional English pub. Full stop.

I’ll post totally “on message” another time about the Steyning riots and the Great Reform Act.

The Art and Mystery of the early Welsh Cowboys - “Heiptro Ho!”

Mostly off message - just back from a glorious holiday in Wales. Hired a cottage near Barmouth and spent last week hill walking and site seeing alternating with reading, listening to music and generally slobbing out. I don’t really know this part of Wales very well although as kids we used to go camping every summer in nearby Shell Island.

In February I posted here on my astonishment at finding an old Welsh drovers pub deep in the heart of southern England. For centuries Welsh drovers would take large herds of Welsh black cattle across the mountains into English livestock markets. The herds could be as long as half a mile in length and the journey 250 miles each way. Unlike their more glamorous American cowboy cousins the drovers usually walked rather than rode horses.

They were also unofficial bankers and postmen. It was pretty dangerous since they were known to have large amounts of money on them so they were liable to be attacked by robbers. To be a drover you had to apply for a licence, aged at least 30 and married. Also according to this excellent site when they applied for a licence they referred to their trade as being about “Art and Mystery”.

Last week I tried to pick walks that made reference to drovers. The centre photo is of an old pack horse bridge used by drovers in the Afon Ysgethin Valley. This is in the middle of nowhere and it was incredible to think that this bridge was also used according to the guide book by mail coaches travelling between London and Harlech. It was also knackering enough just to walk up the 8 miles to the bridge from the coast and back - never mind cross the numerous mountain ranges and hills beyond into Shropshire.

If staying at Barmouth I recommend the Bistro Bermo for great value and delicious local grub - of course I had to have the Welsh Black Chargrilled Glasfryn Estate rump steak.

(The drovers would call out “Heiptro Ho” warning local farmers “Get your animals in, we are coming through’)

'Seasoned hay, tasty pastures, good beer, comfortable beds'.

Slightly off message. I’m just back after a walking weekend in the village of Stockbridge, Hampshire. The weather was excellent and on Saturday, Mrs Grayee and I walked alongside the glorious River Test and across country to the Hill Fort at Danebury (also very impressive) and then back to the village.

As we walked back to the hotel in Stockbridge we come across an old Drovers inn (see photo - now a private house with a traditional thatched roof). I was astonished to see in bold large letters right across the front of the building words in Welsh “GWAIR TYMHERUS - PORVA-FLASUSCWRW - CWRW DAA - GWAL CYSURUS”. These words were an early form of advertising dating back to when the inn catered for Welsh Drovers - the words translated as 'Seasoned hay, tasty pastures, good beer, comfortable beds'.

Stockbridge is a really pretty traditional English village where it seems like everyone you meet is polite, wears a Barber jacket and out walking with a friendly wet Labrador.

I was feeling just a little smug after our 8 mile odd tramp through the countryside. Yet for centuries some of my forefathers had walked from Wales to Hampshire (then onto Southampton or Surrey and back home again – 600 miles?) every year to bring Welsh black cattle to English markets. The cattle would have been fattened up on the local pastures and meadows after their long journey. Before the railways the Welsh had been cattle and sheep drovers to England (the first cowboys?) since at least the 13th Century.

Since the "Drover House" is no longer open I would nowadays recommend the “Grosvenor” Hotel (another Welsh connection?) for “comfortable beds” and the “Three Cups Inn” for tasty produce (if not pastures) and for sure - “good beer”. I am afraid that I cannot comment on the local “Seasonal Hay” but I am certain it is also very good.