Reminiscences

By Les Brownsell

I spent a lot of time on Burnham Green as a child and used to fill milk bottles in the dairy at Burgesses farm just along from Tebbutt's shop and then go out with the milkman in a horse and cart to deliver them.  

I worked alongside my grandfather at harvest time helping him with the shire horses that pulled the haycart and drove the elevator.  When the horses needed to be shod, we took them to the blacksmiths in Datchworth (which is now a museum for the area). 

I remember walking to George Tebbutt's shop with my grandfather or my uncle Les to get the accumulator charged for the wireless and walking to the Duck pub with a jug to get Grandad's beer on a Sunday. That way of life is sadly long gone, but was a wonderful experience for a young boy like me to have. I completely agree with you that we need to record the history of the green for those who may be interested.

I still go to the Burnham Green Show every year on August Bank Holiday, but see how few of the original inhabitants are left. I have a photograph of me on a pony in front of Burgesses farmhouse around  the late 1940s or early 1950s. Also in the picture we think is Albert Baldwin and his daughter Jean.