Ivor Brecker

I bought my cottage at the Little Street end of Yoxford in the late 1960s. At that time the village was losing people and the primary school was in danger of closing as young people were moving to where there was work as farms no longer employed many.

I purchased the cottage from Mrs Winter, who had converted it from two smaller properties, formerly occupied by farm workers. The cottages were probably built in the late 18^th century and later thatched. The previous tenant was Harry Smith, a farm worker. His lavatory was a deep drop in a shed half way up the garden and the water came via a pump which is still there. Mrs Winter had a flat-roofed extension built at right angles to the original cottage and in 1988 we put a first floor onto this and a garage. 

At the far end of Little Street is The Lane. The field at the end contains an allotment run by a villager who said that the entire field was allotments during and after the Second World War. Beyond this is a footpath to a footbridge over the River Yox. The river used to flood adjoining fields and houses many winters until it was deepened later. Walking back along The Lane towards Little Street on the right side were the three long gardens of the cottages along Little Street which were all used for vegetable growing. These cottages belonged to Colonel Brooke of Sibton Park. The garden of Peter Mayhew’s cottage was the nearest. Each week Peter had to go to Sibton Park personally to pay his rent to Colonel Brooke, then aged 97. When Brooke died these cottages were sold to the tenants, who soon had planning consent for cottages to be built in that part of their gardens adjoining The Lane.

On the left side of The Lane the cottage was built and occupied by Charlie Kerridge. It was very small but has been much added to over the years. This is now Pear Tree Cottage. Charlie was a small man with bow legs from rickets as a child when there was a lot of malnutrition among the poor. He was a skilled carpenter and used to play the accordion at the Blois Arms pub some evenings.

Then there is a terrace of three houses. The first was lived in by Mr and Mrs Beamish, the middle one by Fred and Dolly Crane, and the far end one by the Watling family, Dick, Heidi and two sons, one of whom, Billy was a good friend of my son. Dick was an engineer on the Harwich ferries, often out with his shotgun and collie dog and we had a good supply of rabbit. Heidi was of German origin.

The surrounding fields were mixed use with more hedges dividing the fields. Across the footbridge cows were kept and Harry the Cowman took them back to Bloomfield’s farm, then run by the father of the present farmer, who kept pigs and chickens and let our children use his swimming pool. The son destroyed many hedges and turned the enlarged fields to arable.

I remember several shops from this period. One was Tew & Sons, grocers and hardware dealers, where G & T’s café and Suffolk Antiques and garage are now. These comprised three units. There were sacks of dry food along the counter and a large hole in the floor, probably access to the cellar, which had to be walked around.

Mrs Pearce’s Bring and Buy was where the Art Gallery (currently Rowe & Williams) is now. She kept a third of the price of goods sold on your behalf, which was useful for unwanted toys etc. Before that there was a hairdresser here. There was a bookshop run by Mrs Packham and a hairdressers later on the site of the long-gone fire station (now Snips).

Horner’s grocery was run by Jack Horner and several assistants, one of whom, Billy Brown, was a good artist. He always wore a white coat in the shop, which was open 9-5 except Thursday and Saturday afternoons when it was closed. There was a limited selection eg Wonderloaf and Fray Bentos.  Across the road going east, Horner’s Drapers was later Mains restaurant. In the 1960s this was a clothes and shoe shop run by Mrs Rumbold who lived in the three-storey white house opposite (Sunnyside) and owned half of the building. Bill Watling remembers being taken to the shop for his uniform and shoes for Yoxford School.

A newsagent was run by Mr & Mrs Shepherd then by Tony and Mrs Smy.

Kett’s Butchers was run by Peter Chenery, with an abattoir at the back. It was owned by Peter’s aunt Ida Kett (her husband Charles had been the butcher here until his death) who made the sausages. Peter closed the butchers due to EEC Regulations and changed to a bric-a-brac shop. It is now a private house (London House).

Barclays Bank operated two mornings a week, at what is now Bank House, on the corner of High Street and the A12, opposite the Jubilee Seat. After closure, they had a temporary bank a few hours a week entered by a side door at what is now Main’s restaurant.

The Post Office and sweet shop was run by Mrs English, who always had her cat on the counter. This is now the private Minsmere House. Cycle and Electrical shops are now houses, the bicycle shop is Yew Tree House and Cottage opposite the former Blois Arms, now the private Angel House.

Milestone House was a pottery and also sold ethnic clothes. 

Early on, no pubs served food except crisps and pork scratchings. The Blois Arms was run by two elderly men, possibly brothers. The Adnams’ beer was not well-kept, one regular kept his second pint to warm up next to the coal fire in winter. Later a man called Ted and his wife Iris from Birmingham ran it, then Adnams “refurbished” the inside as a eurolounge.

 The Church had excellent brasses and one rubbing we did we still have on display. The Yoxfest with classical concerts came much later.

The Village Hall was used to judge and then auction produce of the Horticultural Society. Film shows and dances were held and wedding receptions.

I am grateful to Yoxford for giving all of my family a love of life in the countryside for over 50 years, especially for my late wife Yvonne who died in 2011 (her memorial bench is in Yoxwood) who became a skilled gardener as she never had a garden before.

Ivor Brecker October 2020