Ovington, Norfolk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ovington (pronounced Ovh-hing-tun) is a parish and small village with a population of 239 ^[1] just outside Watton, Norfolk at grid reference TF925025. It has no pub, post office or other facility. That was until 2002 when Brovey Lair, a stylish fish and sea food restaurant set up after the Scottons sold the property to the Pembertons from London. Villagers didn't warm to the new residents because of their ambitions to have an expensive restaurant that they could not gain access to. Brovey Lair is still operating with chef Tina Pemberton (5 in The Good Food Guide) and controversial husband Mike.

1 Media
2 Clubs
3 Fairs
4 Fictitious biography
5 References

[edit] Media

Currently the newsletter is The Ovington Oracle. Previously it was Ovington What's On, then in 2006 Mike Pemberton and his friend Chris Lewis decided to revamp the newsletter and call it What's On Ovington (WOO). Despite the exciting new format newsletter with news stories articles and features, some villagers complained it was too much like a popular tabloid paper. After some 8 issues it was replaced by the Oracle, a totally neutral bulletin style newssheet.

[edit] Clubs

At the moment the long established ladies' group, gardener's and bowls clubs are in Ovington.

[edit] Fairs

Ovington holds a Christmas Bazaar in the Village Hall and a summer fete in the grounds surrounding the hall.

[edit] Fictitious biography

This is a history project that will give you an insight of what Ovington was like.

The year is 1877. The village is Ovington. I was born here on 20th November. My name is Arthur Harris.

According to my mother it had been a really wonderful summer that year but now the days are dark and cold. Some of elderly and poorer people had to rely on the Ovington fuel trust for their coal. We had to pay for coal but we also burned wood which I and my brother Norman would collect from the surrounding woodland. At this time of year there were lots of pheasants in the wood and the local landowner would arrange special days when there would be what they called a shoot. Norman was older than me and was one of the regular beaters.

My dad would come home for tea after work at Sunny Side Farm, where he was a manager. Tea was usually some cheese, boiled vegetables and a fresh loaf of bread bought from Richard Kemp the local wind miller and baker. If we were really lucky mum would have baked a cake. Dinner times we might have a tasty stew made sometimes with rabbit shot or snared by one of the village folk or a large corn fed capon from John Warman’s farm. Mum would make this last several days. We often had eggs which Dad brought home from work. Once in a while as a special treat on a Saturday, during the shooting season, mum would pot roast a pheasant. I will never forget the rich dark sauce she poured out of the pot and onto the meat which mingled with her crispy roast potatoes. I remember every weekend when Dad came home he would give his wages to Mum which she kept in an old biscuit tin on the mantelpiece. She gave him a few shillings beer money and, after tea, he would go down to the Crown, owned by John Stibbon, for a pint or two with his mates.

Sundays were special. Most families would attend one of the services at St. John’s a lovely old Norman church built in 1095 on the north side of the village. I remember putting on Wellington boots and wrapping up against the harsh Norfolk winter, then plodding through the snow which was sometimes several feet deep. The men in every house would turn out to dig a pathway from The Street up to the church. Mum would put a joint of meat in our coal fired oven before we set out and when we got back the smell was so wonderful I wanted to have dinner right away.

By the time I was 4 my brother was at school so I would help my mum in the cottage. I was strong for my age so she would send me to the village pump to fetch our daily water ration. Sometimes she would ask me to take a letter to the post office. This was managed by a lovely woman called Martha Stacey. She knew mum and dad very well and would sometimes turn up for tea with her husband on a Saturday after she closed shop. I remember she always brought Norman and me a small paper bag of boiled sweets. Soon it was time for me to go to school as well.

The school room was built in 1840 and run as a private school until 30th March 1870 when it became a church school under the direction of the Reverend Melling. There were about 50 children. It was a very happy time for me and I leaned a lot about life outside Ovington. It made me want to travel to big cities like Norwich and even London to see how other people lived.

If you look at the picture you will see the initials of many of the children who went to the school. In the photograph mine are on a brick three rows down. Later, when I was in my 30s, I heard that a school inspector reported that children could not be properly taught in the same room.

As a result some major changes were made in 1909. The building was extended and separate lavatories built for boys and girls. The whole place was painted and repaired by a builder called Alfred Harvey and cost £217 and 19 shillings.

After I left school I got a job at College Farm owned by Mr. Henry Hunter. At Christmas 1889 when I was 12, I had the best surprise of my life. Mum and Dad had saved enough money to buy me a horse. I named him Chocky and we were together for 17 years until he died in 1906 the year Mr and Mrs James Stubbings laid the foundation stone for the new Methodist Chapel.

In 1899 I married, a very pretty girl from Carbrooke who I had met at a local dance. It was love at first sight. We were married at St John’s and our reception was in the grounds of The Rectory. We produced two children Victoria (named after the Queen) and Edward (named after her son). In 1914 the Great War started in Europe. Several of the village lads went off to war and sadly never came back. It was a tragic time.

In the late 1920s I gave up farm work and was lucky enough to get a job as barman at The Cock Inn, a smart pub on the Dereham Road. My wife and I used to visit Norwich by bus once a month where we would shop in the market square. Once I went to London to see the sights. It was so exciting I will remember the trip for the rest of my life. I died in 1951 leaving behind my wife, two children and five grandchildren. Ovington was always my home and I am now resting in the graveyard at St. John’s, the church I loved.

NOTE: Names of Ovington people, places and dates are all true. Only the author and his family have been given fictitious names and dates. Written and researched by Joshua Pemberton. (4 October 2003)