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Lost Village: Rural Life Between the Wars
224 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1988
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 16, 2016
This book is thoroughly engrossing on lots of levels. It tells the very readable story of Pitton in south Wiltshire from 1912 to WW2, told by a Pitton man from farming stock. Pitton is a chalk downland village like Chitterne, but on the very edge of Salisbury Plain. So the change from the sheep to cattle farming rang bells, as did the change from horse power to motor power. The dialect words he used were of great interest to me and I read with my historian's glossary and pencil handy to jot them down. I recognised a lot of them and added a fair number of new ones to the glossary, which was lacking. The old photos were a joy.
March 21, 2024
I read this a few years ago, and it's just as good as I remember on rereading.
Ralph Whitlock was a prolific author and broadcaster who spent most of his life in or near Pitton, the Wiltshire village in which he was born. In this book, he uses Pitton as a case study to show how much rural life changed between the two world wars, but he also hearkens back to earlier days in the village.
I found one anecdote particularly interesting. One of Pitton's fields was named 'Genesis' which was thought to be a reference to the first book of the Bible since the field was the first one in the parish. Then an old map was discovered which showed that 'Genesis' field was a corruption of 'Jenningses' field. A timely reminder to always check oral history against available evidence!!!
I've yet to read a Whitlock book I didn't enjoy and this one was no exception. He mixes local characters and anecdotes in with general observations on farming and rural life and gets the blend just right. Each chapter deals with a specific topic, including 'Roads and Transport', 'The Farms and Farmers', 'Church, Chapel and School' and 'Words, Names and Dialect'.
One slightly annoying thing is that a couple of times, Whitlock refers to something which can be seen in a photograph, but no photograph matching the description is included in the illustrations. I assume that there were some last minute changes to the illustrations, and the text was not edited to match, but it's a bit frustrating as I'd love to know what he was talking about!
Recommended to anyone with an interest in English rural life between the wars.
Ralph Whitlock was a prolific author and broadcaster who spent most of his life in or near Pitton, the Wiltshire village in which he was born. In this book, he uses Pitton as a case study to show how much rural life changed between the two world wars, but he also hearkens back to earlier days in the village.
I found one anecdote particularly interesting. One of Pitton's fields was named 'Genesis' which was thought to be a reference to the first book of the Bible since the field was the first one in the parish. Then an old map was discovered which showed that 'Genesis' field was a corruption of 'Jenningses' field. A timely reminder to always check oral history against available evidence!!!
I've yet to read a Whitlock book I didn't enjoy and this one was no exception. He mixes local characters and anecdotes in with general observations on farming and rural life and gets the blend just right. Each chapter deals with a specific topic, including 'Roads and Transport', 'The Farms and Farmers', 'Church, Chapel and School' and 'Words, Names and Dialect'.
One slightly annoying thing is that a couple of times, Whitlock refers to something which can be seen in a photograph, but no photograph matching the description is included in the illustrations. I assume that there were some last minute changes to the illustrations, and the text was not edited to match, but it's a bit frustrating as I'd love to know what he was talking about!
Recommended to anyone with an interest in English rural life between the wars.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews