The next morning, after breakfast in the book-filled dining room/library of Number One, we went to the East Riding of Yorkshire Archives for a day of research on Michael's Great-great-great grandfather John Marshall, who lived in Yorkshire from 1803 until the 1860s. With the gracious help of the staff, we poured through old Parish records, some written on goat-skin parchment, looking for records of Marshalls in Brantingham, west of Hull, where Michael's Great-great-grandfather Frank Marshall was born. To our delight, we found an 1851 Census record of the family at Thimble Hall Cottage, in Newport Gilberdyke, west of Brantingham and the baptism record of John Marshall's wife, Elizabeth Foster, that named her parents, Richard Foster and Anne, his wife! |
We retired to Grants Bistro 22, on Northbar Within, just inside the old north gate next to St. Mary's Church, for a grand dinner and fine drinks, as we planned our next day's trip.
The next morning after a modest breakfast of egg, toast, muesli and tea, we walked to the Beverley railway station and caught the 9:27 train south to Hull and the 10:25 from Hull to Doncaster, with stops in Ferriby, Brough (rhymes with cough) and Gilberdyke. We passed quickly under the Humber Bridge, past agricultural fields, low hills and woods to the north around North Cave, South Cave and Brantingham, the homes of Michael's Marshall and Foster ancestors.
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We got off the train at the wee station at Gilberdyke and walked into the village, where we asked directions to Thimble Hall Cottage at the local Post Office. The women behind the counter had not heard of the place, but a man followed us outside and told us there was a Thimble Hall Lane a half mile to the east, near a church at the edge of Newport. We set off to Newport on a narrow country lane, past modest brick houses with colorful gardens.
A short walk toward Newton and we were on Thimble Hall Lane! We found the vicar's house, now empty, and a small cottage near a brick pond, now a local fishing hole, but Thimble Hall Lane seemed to disappear under a new motorway in the distance. Little did we know, we were less than a quarter of a mile from Thimble Hall and Thimble Hall Cottage!
After we returned home, we discovered that Thimble Hall Lane once went straight were now there is a motorway, and the 1851 home of Michael's ancestor's still stands at the end of Thimble Hall Lane. Perhaps on our next trip...
We walked back to the Gilberdyke railway station and rested a bit, waiting for our train back to Hull and Beverley. Here came the train, we stood up... and the train zoomed by without even slowing down! Stating the painfully obvious: "The train didn't stop!" we watched it recede into the distance. Fortunately, our watch and the British railway system were not synchronized, the train to Hull soon rounded the corner and we were on our way back to the comfy Number One on Wood Lane. |
After a cup of tea in our room, we set off to Westwood Lane and Westwood Pasture, the old commons where Beverley residents grazed their sheep, dominated by the dark, towering brick base of the old wind-powered grain mill. A popular place for walkers, dogs and bicyclists, the gentle green pasture shows little wear after hundreds of years of use. |
We walked back into the ancient walled city, past the Beverley Minster, the 1300 year-old cathedral. We stared up in awe at the incredible carvings gracing the spires of this incredible structure. |
Finally, we stopped in for drinks and dinner at the Woolpack Inn, in company with neighbors and their dogs after a run on the Westwood Pasture. |