Stories of the guests at Cleave House and a new husband for Kate.
While Auntie Kate, widow, was working in Cornwall, life continued in Sticklepath much as before.
Her sister Georgina, Mrs Albany Finch, had her hands full with the children and various chapel events.
Phyllis and Muriel, were growing up, fast approaching their teens.
Georgina was still running the guest house at Cleave House. I am sure they could have told some tales of their guests. Being Methodist many of their guests will also have been Methodist, coming to take the Dartmoor air. (Albany was a local preacher for more than 54 years).
Two boys and their governess were regular guests over the summer. Miss C.R. Martineau brought Colin and Pat Browning, and their dog, from Budleigh Salterton. One Sunday, while they were staying, Albany had taken the little jingle with the rather spirity pony to a preaching engagement. On his return journey there was a tremendous storm and poor Albany arrived home that evening soaking wet. Unfortunately shortly before he arrived home, Cleave House’s substantial flat roof had sprung a leak. Colin and Pat thought it great fun to see water gushing through the ceiling and flooding down the stairs! Georgina was not so pleased. Albany quickly took a poker and made a hole in the ceiling to relieve the pressure and stop the whole ceiling from falling in. The boys enjoyed that too but after the kerfuffle they were soon sent to bed.
Sadly, when Muriel and Phyllis were 12 and 14 years old, their mother Georgina took ill with bronchitis. After a fairly short illness, she died at Cleave House on 15 April 1917, with cerebral haemorrhage the final event.
This must have come as a shock to everyone. Albany, who worked for the Finch Bros. Foundry and went to Cornwall and Somerset regularly selling their Edge Tools, will have found it difficult to manage the two girls. It was also at this time that Albany was confirmed as a new Devon County Justice, announced in The Western Times on 28 April 1917, within 2 weeks of Georgina’s death. This too will have taken up his time.
So it was that on one of his trips to Cornwall, he called on Kate with one thing on his mind. I don’t know if she was expecting it – a proposal of marriage. Kezia, always known as Auntie Kate, became his third wife on 23 Feb 1918. As she was living in Tywardreath, that is where the marriage took place. Albany’s eldest daughter Jessie and her husband Arthur Barron were the witnesses. The marriage certificate says Albany was 54 years old and Kezia, 55 years. (Though their birthdates suggest a larger gap. Kezia was born 6th September 1860, so she was 57. Ages, like spellings of names, were slightly more fluid in those days!).
Kate moved back to Sticklepath as Mrs Finch and lived in Cleave House.
The following year the Western Times, 9 June 1919, reports the sale of Cleave House, “a villa residence, to Mr. A. G. French, J.P. for £550; Edge Tool factory and two cottages sold to French Brothers for £750”. Clearly French should say Finch. They must have been renting up until this time.
The house had 4 large double bedrooms and a fifth smaller bedroom. Usually these were all occupied by family members or guests. So when Albany’s daughter Muriel and her husband Charlie had a baby it was important to keep the noise to a minimum. Auntie Kate spent many hours walking up and down comforting the baby during the nights, so others could sleep.
As Muriel said – Auntie Kate was a lovely gentle person, who would do anything for anybody. I feel sure that having not had the opportunity to have children herself she will have relished this chance of family life.
Sticklepath a Village and its People 