Parish Pump (CGA series)

"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)
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.

Brief overview

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

Name Brief description Episode
Ossie Badger Local poacher Oct 75
P.C. Barter Village Bobby Jul 75
Old Mrs Barter Village nag Mar 74
Myrt Bilbury Schoolgirl Sep 72
Susan Bilbury Grey’s new cleaner Jun 73
Bert Billings Love rival Jan 74
Caleb Bingham Local farmer Mar 73
Corky Carter Aged villager Nov 74
Joseph Crane Oldest resident Nov 74
Barney Dean Ex G.I. Jul 75
Bob Grudging Village timekeeper Apr 73
Mrs Grisby Wealthy widow Nov 71
The Hartley Hales Wealthy arristves Mar 71
The Hollidays Eccentric architects Jun 73
Jasper Horncastle Hall Secretary May 72
George Laycroft Smallholder Mar 73
Maureen McGinty Irish maid Sep 74
Len Milliken Village handyman Jul 72
Jasper Pettigrew Dandified roadman Apr 73
Alfred Porson Clive’s Grandfather Aug 73
Clive Porson Solicitor Aug 73
Dave Porson Father of Clive Aug 73
Cyril Podger Hypocondriac May 75
Amos Pilling Gambler Sep 72
Rosie Randall Mother of 6 Mar 72
Ken Sparrow Gamekeeper Oct 75
Henry Stobbs Thatcher Nov 73
Maureen Stray Village beauty Aug 75
Sarah Stray Mother of Maureen Aug 75
Shiner Sparrow Love rival Jan 74
Marigold Upson Grey’s 1st cleaner May 73
Dr Wilkinson Traditional medic May 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)

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
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