Below is Geoff Turner’s written history of his recollection of living in Egglescliffe. You can follow what he says in his oral history by simply clicking above and sitting back and enjoying what he says.
Geoff Turner was interviewed by Ruth Greenwood on 8thFebruary 2017.
My name is Alon Geoffrey Turner and I am 81. I moved into the village in 1978, having previously lived in Guisborough. I worked for ICI at the time. My two sons were brought up and schooled here. The rest of my family are all from Stockport in Cheshire.
I became a Governor at Egglescliffe Church of England School in 1983, when my two sons were attending. I was Chairman of that school up until 1999 – a 15 year stint. It involved close liaison with the teaching staff and the admin staff in the school, organising Governor’s meetings etc and very much liaising with the public. We were also involved in the 150thanniversary of the foundation of the school, which had, in fact, started off in the building that is now the Parish Hall, and had moved in 1965 into the new premises, which is still occupies to this day. The school didn’t grow very significantly in terms of numbers while I was there. It’s not a large school and it was pretty full when I first started going there; I don’t think there was room for very much expansion. It may have expanded a little since I ceased involvement because there is what is, in essence, a porta cabin which seems to cater for nursery-age children.
My wife, sister-in-law and brother-in-law and I were all heavily involved with the First Egglescliffe Scouts, which, at the time I was involved, was boys only. I was on the admin side mainly. I did, from time to time, help out my wife, who was a Cub Leader, but I found that one word from me and they did as they liked! So I tended to be a ‘senior presence’ but not doing very much! There were regular camps within the area. Kirby, I think…there was a Scout campsite there and at Commondale as well. We used to go there every year and for quite a few days. I used to go along to assist. We had Gangshows – I was never involved as a participant, although my wife was. Martin, my youngest, when he was at Egglescliffe School, got very involved with the drama group there, but very much on the technical side, rather than the acting. He did actually take a degree in stage management.
My wife and her sister were very much involved in gardening and were members of the Egglescliffe gardening club, which I was persuaded to join. I was Chairman of the gardening club from 1996 to 2016. Not because of my gardening expertise, I would say, but because nobody else would do it! The gardening club shows were a highlight of the year. The first one I remember was held in the Parish Hall which proved to be much too small because of the demands of stalls and attendees. So we moved into Butts Lane School for a good many years. It was a proper gardening show, with qualified judges for the various classifications and we did get quite a bit of input from allotment holders at the Egglescliffe allotments. That eventually disappeared as contributors and the actual number of people willing to participate in the shows diminished so eventually the gardening shows were shelved. It was a shame, really, but it happened and as far as I know they’ve not been resurrected again.
I have been a Parish Councillor since 1983 and I am still on the Allotment Management Committee. The Parish Council has two sets of allotments: one in the village and one on Ellifs Mill on the way to the airport, which are very popular. The waiting list in the village at this moment in time is about 5 years. My duty is mainly to inspect the allotments twice a year. The Management Committee basically do run the allotments – we provide water – and there is a disciplinary side to it, where people (very few and far between) but occasionally allotments for one reason or another do get neglected and as both sites have waiting lists we are empowered to require people to leave their allotment. It doesn’t happen very often, but it can do.
The village green used to be, well still is, but used to be even more active. Presumably in May the Primary school used to provide a Maypole, music and dancers to dance around the Maypole. I have memories of my younger son dancing round the Maypole. I don’t know whether my elder son did or not. Village sports used to occur on the village green, usually co-ordinated by the Smith family of farmers. There was also, for some years, fancy dress associated with the sports, but that seemed to fizzle out some years ago. The Parish Council had the responsibility of the Bonfire on the village green for many years. The Scouts used to provide refreshments, again on the Green, and it was all quite well co-ordinated and a specific firework area was cordoned off to try and keep people safe. Unfortunately one year a lady did get hit by a rocket – possibly due to her own fault – but the Council’s insurers decided that the 3rdparty insurance for that night should be so colossal that the bill was, we felt, unreasonable, though maybe not in terms of insurance claims etc. And they felt, also, that we should provide expert Wardens to patrol the area while the bonfire was happening. So, in the end the bonfire was abandoned, much to quite a number of people’s regret.
There are quite a lot of characters in the village, particularly the older ones, of which I count myself as a member! Two noteworthy examples from the allotments were Jack Robinson and Bert – both dead now. Real village characters, I think. Jack particularly – he was President of the Gardening Club, for instance, and an allotment representative for the Council as was Bert on the village site. Jack ran a very good allotment.
Egglescliffe village does seem like a village – a country village, which geographically it isn’t anymore. But being a dead-end, so to speak – no through road running through the village – it does have that ambience. Certainly when I was involved with the school it felt very much like a village school. I like Eastbourne Avenue because I like the neighbours. It’s a small enclave and not a place I would want to move away from, even though it is hardly my background, living in a country village. We have the Summer Fete, which the Council hold every year, usually in July though occasionally in June. It does attract quite a large number of people, not necessarily from the village. Probably three or four hundred can turn out, depending on the weather. And we have coincided in recent years with visits from American schools, who have joined in and contributed considerably to the ambience of the whole thing.
One of the big problems with the village – and the fact that nowadays virtually every family has at least two cars – is parking. Very few are garaged properties, especially on the village green itself, and even Eastbourne Avenue often looks more like a parking lot than a residential road.
Originally the Parish Hall was the village school, which had its own outside toilets. Primitive, though not by the standards at the time I suppose. But now it is what it says on the tin, the Parish Hall and used by numerous organisations, and is, in fact, at this very moment being expanded because of increasing demand. Some of it is casual basis – rehearsals for jazz bands, theatre groups – and has regular users; the gardening club, the quilters, WI and it is used regularly as a pre-school. The scouts used to use it a lot for Ceilidhs, quizzes (quizzes are still held there by other groups). It is a very active and well-used building.
In terms of preserving for future generations: I think the village green must be retained as a public open space. It’s very popular with dog walking etc. The church, of course. A very well-used church. The Pot and Glass, one of the few pubs in the area with a genuine pub atmosphere.
I wouldn’t live anywhere else. When my wife died 16 years ago, she thought it would be a good idea for me to move into a smaller house, but I haven’t and I have no intention of doing so! The Parish Council, at the moment, are preparing a Neighbourhood Plan. One of the findings we have got so far seems to indicate that most people who live in the Parish are very happy with the Parish. So there’s probably not a lot needs doing to it.