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- George Lester - Description of Stoke Abbott in 1895 by Frederick Swaffield Transcribed by Stephen Jones from the original volume held by Dorset Record Office, Reference D.459/1
Sometimes of a Saturday I used to go up Jobs weeding and his wife
Sabina used to give me a big piece of bread and cheese and twopence. Job
Forsey and his wife used to live next to George Travers. Job was a mason by
trade he used to work for Mr Chambers at Beaminster. He used to keep a cow and
pigs. He was a very quiet man and he was a short stout man. Coming back from
Beaminster with him I and George Lester, a Bridport mason.
Job had a rise from seven pence to sevenpence halfpenny and how he talked all
the way to Stoke about it. Lester said "Did ee git yer rise Job?" "Yes" says
Job "No trouble, no trouble at all." "What der say when theest asked en?" "How
much dy want Job?" "Sevenpence hapny sir" "Right you are Job, you shall have
it. And sevenpence hapny tis gwine to be from now onward. And sevenpence hapny
tis gwine to be." "Ah!" says George "you must be pretty good." "Spose." says
Job "Wouden gie et to thee ver nothing would er. Never had sevenpence hapny in
me life avore."
John Canterbury was the son of Charles Canterbury. He used to carry on a small
business as a builder he used to employ two masons regular - George Wakely and
Jim Staple. He was a good mason himself - he could turn his hand to anything:
carpentering or play accordion or concertina or a flute or clarinette. He was
a very strong man in his younger days. He built the church room and the
cottage on the end of it, also Mr Hawkes House on the Mount and Mr Smiths
new cowstall and his big loft.
At the time the loft was built, the two old houses at the bottom of Broadclose
up in Anchor Lane were pulled down. Where the loft and cowstall are, the
orchard used to come right out to the road. He also built two houses in
Beaminster right opposite the church - the houses that were there before were
old lodging houses. He hired two Bridport masons to help build them George
Lester and Dick Gale. I worked for John carrying mortar as a boy. George
Lester is dead. I saw a man in Bridport the other day. I thought to myself
that looks like old Dick Gale - I hadnt seen him for over thirty years. I
said to him "Are you Mr Gale?" he said "Yes, but I dont know you". I said "I
worked with you carrying mortar in Beaminster". "La you beant thick liddle boy
what use to corr marter ver we in thick girt hod - be ee. Go ow you ve growed
liddle bid of a feller wodn ee" I used to have three shillings a week then
which was a boys wage then - I was thirteen.
"At work in Beaminster
"
One day when we was at work in Beaminster building the two houses. George
Lester who was one of the most nonsensical fellows ever I seen - although a
splendid mason and didnt hinder his time. Once he said to me "Freddie go down
and ask John for the six inch camber." "Who want it?" says John. "Lester" says
I. John says "Is it Lester or you want en?" "Stoop down" he said. I wondered
what was up and then he picked up his big trowel and I off out throo as hard
as I could and John after me. He said "Ave you got en?" "No, but I fernear had
en". I told him what I thought but he only laughed. He could make a fool of
anyone yet everybody like him.
It used to be old lodging houses so one day we had to pick over the heaps of
stone that came from the walls when they were pulled down and the masons had
to chip them over. Lester said "Now look yer me lads, a lot of money was found
in these old walls so if we come across any today share and share alike. And
when all o us be yer we will go down the eight bells and part it." So we all
agreed. We went on working for a time. Lester said "Come yer Fred, Im blowed
if I dont think there is something in yer." "Where too?" I said. He said
"Look in between they two stoans. What is it?" I went down on me hands and
knees and I could see a coin. I went to put me hand in after it. Lester pulled
me back. "Yer hold on Freddie, I seed et first." "Well" I said "What odds who
da ave et, got to be all parted up an et." "Ah" he said "You being young and
careless wi money you might lose et. I got a purse to put et in." An he put
his hand and pulled out a half sovereign. He said "Thas a blooming good start
in et. Whad a spree we shall ave." I said "Isse". Arth Hann and Wakely come
running up and the rest of them. Arth said "He ant bin lost very long. Whad I
can see o et. Tell that be the colour o en. Praps we shall hae some more vore
the days out."
We went on for a couple of hours when Lester said "Come yer Fred." I said
"Wast vound some more?" "I dunno" he said "I fancy I yerd a noise like some
money valled down on a stoan." So he wouldnt let me get close. He moved a
stone a there was a half crown. Arth said "Whad be they looking at? I spect
theyve vound some more. We cant nuen down yer can est" Lester said "I spect
this yers where the rich tramps used to sleep. Well change over bye m bye."
Arth says "Doan make nuen odds cos tis all gwine a be parted." During the
afternoon Lester found another shilling. When we left work we all thought we
was going down the Eight Bells and part the money. Lester said "We cant do
that. Jimmy Staple idn yer is er. You know what the greement was when we was
all together." Arth says "Whad odds is that we can gie Jimmy hes da mar when
we see en can ess" "No" Lester said "that wont do." When we were going home
Arth said "Theres summat vishy about wole Lester vining all that money."
Wakely said "I been thinking. Ill bet thee he put that between they stones
when nobody wodn looking and he wasnt far out as we never had none of it"
One day when Lester was on the front wall - he was putting a bit of hoop iron
between some stones. George Gill came along and said "Thas very good stuff to
bind walls." "Ees tis" says Lester. Gill says "Id know ver any amount oet
good hoops too." Lester said "John Canterbury said he'd gie anybody a pint to
bring some on." Gill went on, didnt say no more. When we were at dinner out
at the back we heard a tinh of a noise coming in throo the building - when in
staggers George Gill loaded with hoop iron. He had several hoops over his
shoulders hanging in front of him and as many as he could carry on both arms.
"Well done. Well done George." says Lester. George stood looking stupid like
at John Canterbury. Of course John didn't know or had said anything about it.
"Thats a rare lot" Lester said "Start unloading George an pack it up against
the wall." He chucked it all down and went out throo cussing like blazes. A
day or two after George Gill was passing again when Lester said "George, John
was so pleased with the hoop iron that he said you could bring another lot."
And he called Lester all he could lie his tongue to.
John hired his father, old Charles Canterbury to help make some mortar for a
week. Charles said "I beant gwine a stop in yer wi a fellar like wole Lester.
Never yerd sich a fellar in all me life. Never yerd mothin like et. Naw I
oodnt bide yer var a fartune. The blooming nonsense he da go on wi. I be off
oud a yer." Charles only stopped three days.
One day when it was raining we was in an old shed at the back and one of the
tiles was out of place and the water was coming in. Charles said "If I had a
short ladder I could soon put that right." So he got a ladder and he went up
on the roof and put the tile in place. Lester said "Yers another yer wants
shifting a bit. Now tis coming in yer Charles" Charles said "twodn two out of
place when I come up yer." Lester said "If you put this one in place I think
twill be alright." Of course Lester had a short stick and when he did just
lift the tile so as Charles could see which one it was he did push it out of
place. It was raining in torrents and we could hear Charles grumbling to
himself up on the roof. As fast as Charles put one tile right, Lester did push
another out. And he came down and left it and he was nearly wet throo. Lester
said "You might as well put tother in place while you was up there. As tis
worst than twas afore you went up there." Charles said "I wodn go up there
agean, nod if they was all off. Ah you was too harsh Charl when you pushed one
in place you pushed tother out." "Ah!" says Charles "Twodn I. Twodn I darn et.
Twodn I."
Lester tried to make me believe that every time the **** on Beaminster tower
did hear the chimes play twelve he did go down Flatters Shoot to drink. And
that iron bars were made of lead. Lester said "My mother and your mother is
two mothers." I said "An I know bedder." "I tell you your mother and my mother
is two mothers." I said "Theet a liar. Thee beant no relation at all. I spose
thee st wan a make out that we be relation." He said "All I said was they was
two mothers. I never said nothing about relations."
Lester was a teetolar. He only drank gin. He used to send me up to the
Greyhound two or three times a day after a so much in a medicine bottle. The
boys used to very often those days fetch drink for the men. Gin was only about
fivepence halfpenny a quarter pint then. When I came back with it I always had
to go to the pump at the back and fill the rest of the bottle with water and
then take it up on the scaffold to him. One day when I came back and going
through to the pump, I met John Canterbury the boss. He said "Less see the
bottle Fred." So I gave it to him. He had a drink out of it so I went on out
and filled it with water. When I came back John said "Less have en." So he had
another good swig so I went back an filled it again with water and took it up
to Lester. He had a drink never said nothing only looked at me and made a face
at me. As much as to say thats good and I didnt know how to keep from
laughing. When I went up with some mortar just after he was leaning up against
the wall and wiping the sweat off his forehead. I said "Wassa madder wi thee?"
He said "Go beant I bad, I dunno whatever da do." I said "Well, wass gon wrong
wi thee?" "Ah!" he said "tis the drink. When you go up there ader any more
gin, tell the landlady I want the ordinary gin. I dont want none of that
strong stuff what her sent smarning - us I shall take my custom elsewhere. And
when you go out to the pump go a bit quicker us there going to be a shortage
of water." And that was all he said about it.
He had played a joke on John just before. One morning when we got in
Beaminster, Lester was always the first on the scaffold. We heard him say
"Good morning Missus and how is yer mother?"
"Ah! I yerd her was very bad."
"Is er gwine da git over it dy think?"
"Terrible bad when tis like that."
"I hope her ull gid on."
"I spose youll be on agean da mar and you can
let me know ow er is."
"Well good marning Missus." Wakely and I runned out
and Jimmy Staple to see who it was. There wasnt no woman out there. Lester
was busy at work. Jimmy said "Her disappeared purty quick din er. Must a bin
somebody. I didn yer whad er said, but I yerd Lester answer er." Wakely said
spect he was answering his one self. A blooming thing we be the biggest
fools." I seen Lester smiling to himself.
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