Molly and the washer and the Howden beadle

This has been a busy week for family history with visits to both the archives at Beverley and the Borthwick Institute at York.

Whilst at Beverley I looked at the Howden vestry minute book  [PE 121/63] which is full of fascinating information about the highways and the poor.

I was interested to read that Howden had a beadle in 1780. Samuel South was chosen in place of Matthew Iveson. He had to provide his own utensils - wheelbarrow, spade, cowl rake, besoms etc and use them to clean the causeys [causeways - which could refer to either streets or footpaths] including St Hellin's Square, Northolmby Causey, Langton's Causey and Pinfold Causey.

A beadle was a parish official with several duties, as mentioned in Oliver Twist, although in Howden one of his major roles seems to have been street cleaning.

Today our quite new Hotpoint washer made a strange whirring noise and came to a halt in the middle of washing a load of clothes. It refused to pump out and we could not open the door. The chances of summoning an engineer to arrive on a Bank Holiday seemed low.

So we read the troubleshooting guide which came with the washer and found there was a filter we could examine at the front of the machine. It said 'a  little water may leak out'. In fact a lot of water poured out all over the floor. Then eventually, after a little more research on the internet, we found that we should check something called the impeller which should rotate freely. It did not.

We could see something caught in it and using a pair of pliers we extracted a small piece of cane. It had been chewed off the log basket near the washer by Molly. How it had got into the washer is a mystery. But the washer returned to life and is now recovered.

We love Molly dearly but since she also recently managed to cut off the power we are waiting, possibly vainly, for her to realise she is no longer a puppy!!

Howden parish records

I have been looking through my Howden notes and thought the following information may be of interest to researchers.

Goole Library has some Howden parish records which deal with the period 1828 to 1843. They refer to several matters but particularly to the poor.

For example, at a meeting in July 1828 it was reported that Thomas Nutbrown applied for clothes and it was agreed that he was to have a second hand coat.

In August the case of Milson Clark was discussed. He had previously been given notice to leave the workhouse and had appeared again to 'beg for something to set himself up as a quack doctor'. His request was refused on the grounds of his bad conduct.

A Mary Walsh appeared with a request for shoes. She was told to have the old ones repaired.

Also in these records are bastardy payments made by men to maintain their illegitimate children as well as some ale house licences, jury lists and notes on drains etc.

The records cover quite a short period but are very useful for anyone with ancestors in Howden.