Ugthorpe
village, a farming village with two churches and a pub. It’s a place that never
seems to change and if it does, its very slowly. Small local farms work
together whenever needed, strengthening a sense of true community, which is not
limited to work activities.
There are
strong family ties too, Whites, Browns and Gallons to name just a few. There’s
a sense of understanding, of knowing between folk often without things being
said, working for a common good and not driven by profit or self-gain.
Ugthorpe Quoit pitch, rear of the Black Bull circa 1928
This true community sense leaks
into their social life too, with dances, whist drives and such like.
The dances were in the village
hall, but most other things met around the pub, the Black Bull. In the days of
Will & Agnes White, the doors would be open whenever a customer arrived and
closed when the last one left. Social activities had to work around the seasons
of farming animals and crops, a village too small to field a football of
cricket team.
1) Jack Gallon 1930 2) Joe Sanderson 3) Joe Sanderson & John White 4) Fr Pat Bluett trophy
Quoits, a skilful game of
throwing heavy iron rings at a pin in a square base of clay, a distance of 11-yards;
quoits have been played here for well over a hundred years. There’s also a
strange set of words to describe the position of a thrown quoit: Hill gator, hole
gator, flat, pot, side on, que and Frenchman. The season would start the second
week in May and run for around twelve weeks. Long summer evenings and a
relatively quiet farming period made this an ideal game. Father Pat Bluett (St
Anne’s) presented the Bluett trophy, something to play for.
Ugthorpe B Team 1927
Back row: J
Gallon, J Booth, J Foster, W
White,
L Harrison, R Welford, H Brown
Front row: F
Hart, T Foster, W Duck, A
Newton, J Dobson, J R Gallon
Danby district quoits league
consisted of village teams such as Fylingthorpe, Goldsborough and Lealholm.
Often Ugthorpe would put up two teams, this was brought about by youngsters
showing an interest. John White was the motivator and persuaded the team to
include them. Names were chosen to fit around family, farming and travel
arrangements.
Teams for
1976 were:
Team-A captain
Malcolm Cornforth (lad) Ralf Brown
(man), Pete Floyd (lad), Anthony Gallon (lad), Chris Gallon (lad), Tommy Gallon
(man), Joe Sanderson (man), Walt Spenceley (man), John White (man) and Andrew
White (11-years old).
Team-B captain
Colin Spenceley (lad) Stan Carr (man – first season),
Pete Cornforth (lad), Luke Gallon (man), Eddy Harker (man), Bernard Gallon
(lad), Marshall Hill (man), Pete Hill (lad), Edmund White (man), Joe White
(man), Paul Welford (lad).
The quoits
handicap takes place at the end of the season and anyone from Ugthorpe can
enter. As often happened, a few from neighbouring Goldsborough also take part.
Experienced and inexperienced players are levelled with handicaps from 3 Away –
Scratch – 12 points (termed Owes). It’s a great event, drawing retired players,
and wives who offer to make tea. In 1952 there were thirty-four players. The
Semi-finals were E Calvert and F Gallon (11 - 21) & J Gallon and R Foster (21
- 4).
Jack Gallon won the final over
Frank Gallon (21 - 17).
1976 Quoits Supper: Thirty-two
played the handicap on the first Saturday of September 1976, and prizes are
presented at the Quoits supper or Quoits night as it is often called, (Friday
26
th November 1976). Not only the Fr Pat Blewitt trophy but also
prizes for the domino drive, a means of collecting money to help with the cost
of food. In years gone by, free-gift prizes would be sought from Whitby
traders. 1976 winner of the cup was Ralf Brown, presented by Bill Tyreman
(chair of the local league) but not before Bill telling a tale in his broad
Yorkshire dialect, so much that the writer had to
translate to his new wife.
As second, third and fourth place winners
are congratulated, and three domino players – Ralf pops the cup over the bar to
be filled with whiskey and lemonade. I remember the first quoits night I
attended with my father, he passed me the cup to drink from and told me clearly
to “Just wet thee lips lad.” It was a powerful brew!
Tradition says,
each prize winner must sing a song. John White (master of ceremonies)
called on Ralf to sing the first song. “What shall I sing” says Ralf” – “Go on,
give us Old Gypsy.” The room joined in the chorus to “Sing to me gypsy” and Ned
White picks up the bass harmony. There is no accompaniment here, though plenty
of encouragement. Most singers will have what is considered as their song and
folk expect them to sing it.
Ned (Edmund) White is up next,
considered a trained singer and everyone listens when he performs. “Just a
wearying for you” sang with clarity and feeling. Joe Sanderson (John White’s
father-in-law) is next to sing. Joe is at the bar getting his old school friend
Billy Baldwin a drink. Joe asked Billy to stand in for him and sing “The old
rustic bridge” it’s sung seriously, and the room is quieter still.
John calls his older brother,
fourth place winner Joe White, who is a little nervous but encouraged by his
brother he begins to sing “The fishermen of England.” This was the first time Joe
had sung this, he would normally have sung “Keep right on till the end of the
road.”
Domino drive winner Phil Marsay
is called upon to sing but chooses not to and disappeared to the toilet. A
substitute is found and Ted Cornforth sings “Loch Lomond”. Pete Floyd wearing a
cloth cap sings “Nobody’s child” and the third domino prize winner sings
“There’s a tiny house.”
All the prize winners have sung, the next
in the way of things is for each singer to nominate the next. To get things
moving, John White calls on Phil Hales who really gets the room buzzing with
“The end of my old cigar” full of expression and laughter. Phil calls upon Luke
Gallon who needed a bit of persuasion to sing “Mother Machree” and they press
him for another verse. Luke calls Lucy White who reluctantly performs “Two eyes
of blue.” Next up is Bill Carr to sing “Granny’s old armchair” and the room
joins in with four choruses. Ralf Foster (brother to Jack Foster) is next to be
called on. John quietens the room and says, “C’mon Ralf, give us t’ord
favourite.” Ralph begins to sing “Nice to get up in the morning” as John calls
for quiet. Ralf calls on John White who changes from master of ceremonies to
the serious role of singer and performs “You’re the only good thing that’s
happened to me.”
After some persuasion, Walt Spenceley
sings a sentimental song “The wanderers warning” he then calls his son Colin
who gives a good rendition of “The crystal chandelier” though Colin forgets a
couple of words and is helped by Malcolm Cornforth. Colin is one of the
youngest lads there and calls on one of the oldest, Jack Gallon. There’s a loud
applause and John White taps his glass and calls for order. Jack sings a lovely
song “The bonny hawthorn” he struggles a little now with the high notes. “Your
call” says John, and Jack calls on the eldest in the room Jack Foster who says
he is past singing but is encouraged by John and the room to sing “Where is my
wandering boy tonight.”
After trying to get Eddy Harker
to sing or a substitute, John calls on Chris Gallon, one of the young quoiters.
Chris sings a Beatles song “Yellow submarine” and is then followed by Malcolm
Cornforth with a comical song by the Wurzels “The bus shelter.” Next to be
called is Liz Allen who sings “I’ll take you home again Kathleen” struggling
with the second verse John and Ned help out. Noel Stamp is called upon and
sings a song known as his song, “Old Shep.” Order is restored and Jack Bailey
of the Fylingthorpe club is called and sings “Rose of Tralee,” the room
responds well to the chorus.
It’s time
for Tommy Gallon to get up and sing a song learned from his father “Will you
love me when I’m old?” Tommy is followed by his nephew John Pearson, who sings
his father’s song “Mush mush tural-i-addy.” Anthony Gallon is requested to sing “A
roving” Sylvia Richards sings “A poor little orphan boy” and the landlady is
collecting glasses. The night is closing in, but you wouldn’t believe it! John
White and Phil Hales strike up a partnership and the whole room joins in with
songs such as: Cigarettes & whisky, old McDonald, the old rugged cross,
Dublin’s fair city, merrily we roll along and Moonlight Bay. You knew it was
home time when we sang “Now is the hour.”
North of
England Quoits championship June 1979 at Fylingthorpe. George Hutton wins.
Runner up was Paul Welford. John
White and Joe Sanderson were third & fourth respectively.
1977/8 Ugthorpe
Quoits Winners and other players at Ugthorpe Quoit club’s individual
championship. Seated from left: F Raw, Fryup 4th. J Winspear,
Egton Bridge 2nd. P Marsay, Goldsborough 1st.
P Welford, Ugthorpe 3rd.
Congratulations
are given deservedly and much encouragement, but it’s never about the
individual – great achievements are done together.
We learn through experience and
following the footsteps of those before us. These were golden days to be
treasured and relived in whatever way we can. There is a strong togetherness
within a community such as Ugthorpe, which even today holds on to these simple
principals.
Players Colin Spenceley & Paul Welford
July 1991 Winners of pairs Crown
at Beamish Museum.
Acknowledgments:
Keith Sullivan
– Leeds University for his recording of the events of the Quoits night 1976
Family photos, newspaper cuttings
and village archives