Joan
Saxton, a Tickhill resident, recalls a time when her
ancestors were well-known as Tickhill carriers: ‘Joseph
Saxton (1843-1925), my great grandad, was a carrier of goods
to Doncaster at least at the time of his wedding in May
1877. He went to Doncaster Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
arriving at 11 a.m. and left at 4p.m. from outside the Black Bull Inn, Market Place. He charged 2d per journey
to Tickhill from the railway station (1¼ miles). In 1910
Tickhill-Doncaster First Class fare was 10d, Third Class 6d.
He took parcels for 1d each parcel. His daughter-in-law
Florence drove the
coach from about 1910.
His son
Alfred (1880-1965), my grandfather, did the same runs to
town with a horse called Paddy. He retired in 1956, but I’m
not sure when he started – he was listed as a carrier on his
marriage certificate in 1906. He also did many weddings and
funerals. I remember him telling me that ‘young Brown’ (I
think killed in the war) was the last to go in the hearse,
i.e. that was the last funeral he did. The best funerals
were at Rossington where a pot of beer was put on the
coffins, a drink grandad enjoyed, hence at one time his
weight was 20 stones. He did many runs for the ‘gentry’ and
he knew the Scarbrough family at Sandbeck. The biggest
trouble on journeys, he used to say, was getting the bustles
through the carriage doors! Alfred used to say that at least
‘he’ (the deceased) knew where he was going at the funeral
whereas at a wedding ‘he’ didn’t! I remember listening to
many tales grandad Alfred used to tell me after a Sunday
tea. Alfred married Florence Shaw on 10 December 1906. Her
great uncle was Henry Shaw who left money for the Public
Library to be built with two clock faces.
The
next generation was my father Joe (the Post) Saxton, son of
Alfred. He was also a carrier – of the Royal Mail – and
worked in Tickhill from 1939-1972. He was the only full time
postman for most of those years. Joe used to bring home all
the vegetables including peas on stalks etc from the
‘outsiders’ – being the farms around Tickhill. He knew all
the dogs! He could spin a yarn just like his father Alfred
and both had a great sense of humour.’
In
her survey of Tickhill in 1957, Janet Sully recorded that
Joe Saxton worked from 6.15 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. when he cycled 16 miles delivering post. He then cycled a further twelve
miles with deliveries between
1 p.m. and 4.15 p.m. His delivery route
reached to the edge of Rossington and included Stancil and
Wellingley. As well as taking the post, Mr Saxton took the
daily newspapers to one or two outlying farms. Two part-time
post women made the postal deliveries in the centre of
Tickhill and to farms to the south west down as far as
Blythegate Farm. Eventually Mr Saxton was able to do his
postal round in a van.
Joan
Saxton has kindly allowed the Society to copy some of her
family photographs as part of the HLF Project. Some are
included in the supplement.
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