PARWICH.ORG

Thank you to Parwich & District Horticultural Society for the following:

This year we revived our Hanging Basket Competition, which fell into abeyance some years ago. This was prompted by the donation of a Trophy to the Society in memory of the late Abel Shipley. Abel was born in 1915 at Warslow, but his family moved to The Croft in Parwich when he was three months old. He lived in Parwich the rest of his life, and retained an impressive memory of village affairs right up to his death. Many will have very fond memories of Abel.

As a child Abel worked on the family allotment behind their house, now gone unfortunately, and “every fortnight my mother walked me, aged 5, over to Warslow to clean and wash for my grandfather and uncle and then walk back again. This took us through Alsop, Gypsy Bank and Beresford Dale. People in general had large families then and farmers used to employ probably a couple of men to help get the hay in and pay them with a bag of potatoes. The potatoes would be grown around the edges of the hay fields and a row given to each man. A farmer with a 300-acre farm would have about 40 acres of meadow for milking cows and young stock. From June (Wakes Saturday) till the end of August he would let the hay grow, then cut 8 acres and stack it, then cut another 8 acres and so on. By September the corn and the potatoes were ready and the men would have enough potatoes, about half a ton, to feed their families for the winter. ”

Abel and Elisabeth Shipley on Wakes Saturday in the early 1990s

Abel was always happy to share his memories with any one who was interested, including the Local History Society and several times on the radio. He was a founder member of the Parwich & District Horticultural Society when it started up after the first Annual Parwich Flower and Vegetable Show in 1951, and continued to be a keen exhibitor for many years. He had served on the Society’s Committee for a number of years and was made an Honorary Life Member in 1994.

Abel worked first at Alsop Moor Quarry and then later at Ballidon Quarry when it started up after the Second World War. He was always an active member of the village and was Chair of Parwich Odd Fellows for several decades.

Abel’s widow Elisabeth and their daughter donated the Trophy to the Society and the hanging basket competition was restarted. There was a good selection of entries, though unfortunately the fine display at the Sycamore Inn had to be excluded as they had been planted up by the competition’s judge, Sarah Rhodes of Leatherbritches Nursery, Fenny Bentley. The trophy and first prize were awarded to Mr John (Jack) Cundy, with Mr Alan Oldfield as runner up.

The Trophy winning baskets

The runner up

The Trophy and the cash prizes will be presented at the 58th Annual Parwich Flower and Vegetable Show on Sunday 7th September. More details can be seen on our pages here or by contacting our Secretary Mike H tel. 456.

A couple of the other entries