Parish Pump (CGA series)

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A typical Parish Pump ParPum P1010134.JPG
A typical Parish Pump

Parish Pump was a series of articles that ran between January 1971 and September 1975 in The Country Gentleman's Association monthly magazine. Written by Julian Grey, the articles detailed life in a fictional East Anglian village between the 1930s and the 1970s.

Contents

Brief overview

"Ancient men full of guile, bigotry and craftsmanship supping from chipped mugs at an ancient settle, they are long gone. No Parish Pump remains the same forever, and ours - like all the others - has had to change with the times." (Jan 72)

Grey is a writer and a townie, and as such is initially viewed with much suspicion by the mainly agrarian natives when he arrives in 1937. However, over time he is accepted as a harmless, if dilettante, member of the community. He brings his family up and sees the village change as technology and social change reach the depths of the countryside.

Location

The centre of the drama is unnamed, but referred to as the community around the Parish Pump. This is one of three satellite hamlets [1] surrounding the more dominant Greater Seething. They in turn feed into a market town called Steepleborough [2] (May 1975). A parish council still exists [3]

Within the village

Dramatis Personnae

NameBrief descriptionEpisode
Ossie BadgerLocal poacherOct 75
P.C. BarterVillage BobbyJul 75
Old Mrs BarterVillage nagMar 74
Myrt BilburySchoolgirlSep 72
Susan BilburyGrey’s new cleanerJun 73
Bert BillingsLove rivalJan 74
Caleb BinghamLocal farmerMar 73
Corky CarterAged villagerNov 74
Joseph CraneOldest residentNov 74
Barney DeanEx G.I.Jul 75
Bob GrudgingVillage timekeeperApr 73
Mrs GrisbyWealthy widowNov 71
The Hartley HalesWealthy arristvesMar 71
The HollidaysEccentric architectsJun 73
Jasper HorncastleHall SecretaryMay 72
George Laycroft Smallholder Mar 73
Maureen McGintyIrish maidSep 74
Len MillikenVillage handymanJul 72
Jasper PettigrewDandified roadmanApr 73
Alfred PorsonClive’s GrandfatherAug 73
Clive PorsonSolicitorAug 73
Dave PorsonFather of CliveAug 73
Cyril PodgerHypocondriacMay 75
Amos PillingGamblerSep 72
Rosie RandallMother of 6Mar 72
Ken SparrowGamekeeperOct 75
Henry StobbsThatcherNov 73
Maureen StrayVillage beautyAug 75
Sarah StrayMother of MaureenAug 75
Shiner SparrowLove rivalJan 74
Marigold UpsonGrey’s 1st cleanerMay 73
Dr WilkinsonTraditional medicMay 75

Unnamed characters These include

Plot Summaries

The series ran from bi-monthly in 1971 and 72; then again in 1974 and 75; in 1973 a shorter, but monthly, article, appeared.

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

"There is no great amity, just a polite acceptance of the other's existence." (Sept 75)

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References

  1. The other two are PARSON'S GREEN (Nov74) and GOSLING GREEN(May 73)
  2. Using the clues available to me I have tracked the small town to Halstead, Essex. The villages I suspect are Great and Little Maplestead.
  3. Rural Governance