Homes: Sweet and Not so Sweet - The House In the Moat.

Cottages in the Castle Moat - A. Walker

 The house in the moat may have looked and sounded picturesque, it was quite the opposite to live in. It had no electricity, no bathroom, no hot water and lacked an inside toilet. Cockroaches and woodlice crawled on the downstairs floors and ceilings despite all attempts to banish them. They flourished  in the cellar-like ground floor which was below the level of the moat. This was where my Mother had to do the laundry as it housed a large copper boiler, the only source of hot water in the house.   The boiler stood in a corner, encased in a  dome shaped brick wall and underneath it was a large space for a fire which heated the water. There was a tap over the boiler supplying cold water but no outlet pipe, just another tap at the bottom of the edifice. The boiler had to be emptied via this tap, a bucket load at a time, carried outside and tipped down the drain.

From Cross Keys Yard into the Moat

 

     The house backed onto the yard at back of  the

Cross Keys pub and this is where the lavatories were located for all the properties that backed onto the yard, including the ones at the very top of Brewerton Street. Each house had it's own 'lav' with it's own key, thankfully.         

This is a much later photograph taken long after the houses had been demolished but the footpath and steps are still there.

Moat House, Knaresborough

 There was another  house in the moat next to Mum and Dad's. Quite imposing, it stood on higher ground, separated from the more lowly houses by a narrow flight of steps which led up to Brewerton Street

A house stands there still, in solitary splendour. It is known as 'The Moat House' now but the house that Mum and Dad lived in was the original 'Moat House' One day some officials called on my Mum and Dad and informed them that they would have to change their address as the big house next door was to have the title 'The Moat House' from then on. Mum was having none of that. 'This house has always been known as the 'The Moat House' and will continue to be so called as long as we are living here". No more was heard about it.

You may wonder why my parents chose to live in those conditions. The fact is that houses were just as scarce after the first war as they were after the second. Mum and Dad had to take what they could get at the time.

It was not until Knaresborough Council built a new estate off Stockwell Road that they had the opportunity to move, as ex-service men and their families were given first choice of a house.

Houses in the Moat by Albert Walker [Mercer Art Gallery]

Life in the house in the moat was not all doom and gloom, far from it. The upstairs rooms were pleasant and nicely furnished, Mum was very houseproud. The Castle grounds  provided a delightful front garden, and the moat was an exciting playground for the boys. Summertime brought a stream of visitors: Grandma and Aunt Annie, who stayed for two or three weeks, Uncle Walter, Aunt Ethel and their girls, Uncle Sam and Aunt Florrie, Uncle Earnest and Aunt Annie Wood, Aunt Mary, Uncle Jonas and their children, and Dad's brother Fred, his wife and two children, all squeezed in at various times. Added to them were the day trippers; friends who arrived on charabancs, calling in to say hello. How did my Mother cope with it all? I'll never know, however, she was not left to do all the work; everyone pitched in and helped, so leaving time to get out and about and enjoy all the delights that Knaresborough had to offer.

   One notable story from the moat house days passed into the family annals and has been recounted many times since. It was a hot summer day, much too hot to light a fire in the living room so Dad decided that this was a good opportunity to sweep the chimney. His method was simple. A small bush was dug out of the ground and a long rope attached just above the roots. Dad climbed up onto the roof and  lowered the other end of the rope, followed by the bush, down the chimney. Using a long pole he pushed the bush further down as far as he could, to help it on it's way, before going indoors to pull it all the way down bringing the rest of the soot with it. Unfortunately, he had not informed my Mother of his intentions and when he entered the living room it was to find Mum seated on a stool, in front of the fire place, the baby in the tin bath, with Ciss standing by, towel at the ready, all of them covered in soot.  All Mum said was, "Nay, Joe, couldn't you have told me what you intended to do?"

Mum and Ciss were all dressed up, ready to go out as soon as the baby was bathed and dressed. They had to strip off and start all over again.

Dad had done a very good job on the chimney: the trouble was, the soot was now all over the sitting room. Dad got the job of cleaning it up.

The house in the moat was home to the family for a good few years and by the time the move was made to Stockwell Avenue it had increased in number with the arrival of three more sons; Arthur, Laurence and Eric.

King's Gate, Knaresborough Castle and steps to the Moat

The view from the front of 'The Moat House'

My thanks to Barbara for editing and photographic illustrations and to Ken Watson for supplying copies of the art work.

If you compare the present day house in the photo to the one in the painting by Albert Walker they are quite different. I wonder if the original house was demolished and another one built in it's place at some time. Perhaps some one can shed more light on that?

To be continued:  If you are still interested you may like to follow the family to Stockwell Avenue on my next blog.