Pakenham History : William Rayner by Gill Applegate (nee Rayner)

I was born in The Ecke, moved to Bell House as a baby and on to The Pightle in the early 1960's. Lots of the information in the Pakenham book I grew up with, the characters detailed I remember from my years in the village. My father spent a lot of his time researching and writing village things facts and anecdotes etc. I have an article from the local press written by him in 1950 in which he gives a brief history of the origins of the Pakenham name (from the Pakes or Peccs as Pacca's Ham), the stories and photos of the local characters were in his bureau and my brother was a great 'drinking' friend of Bonkers. We have a copy of the booklet my father wrote on 'Nether Hall' . He also wrote an article in the East Anglian Magazine in 1957 about American Reeve. Ann Twitchett, the lady American Reeve ran off with was my Great Aunt, although I was born more than a hundred years after her. So the stories and bits in the Pakenham Book are really what I have always known. This information was obviously freely available and good luck and well done to the late Mr. Whitwell for writing this book on Pakenham and thanks to his family for allowing it to be printed on the website.

My mother's half sister Clara also caused a stir in 1912/13, as she and Jack Bridges fell in love. The Bridges family at the time thought that she was beneath him, so he was given his share of the family fortunes and they were banished to Canada to start a new life there!! As a child the two family stories became rather mixed up in my mind, but I have sorted them out now.

My father also wrote a Pakenham Pageant, I have a lovely photograph of him dressed as Mr. 'Pickwick' for this as he acted as the narrator when it was performed at Newe House I believe.

My father William Rayner was not born in Pakenham, having arrived there as a babe in arms, but he loved the village. He was at some time the village historian; he was a Church Warden, on the Parish Council, Thingoe District Council and may have been a County Councillor also. My mother was Kathleen Twitchett, sister of Raymond the last of the Twitchett Shopkeepers, the daughter of Arthur, and grand daughter of Crispin the other Twitchett shopkeepers. My great, great grand father John Twitchett started the Pakenham Twitchetts' having moved there from Brockley as a young man.

I hadn't been able to walk around Pakenham for some years, just coming and going to the Churchyard to visit family graves, but after starting the family research and contacting other Twitchett's I didn't know existed, I have come back and had a look round the village and inside the Church. We also came to the Open Gardens in July which we really enjoyed.

Pakenham seems so affluent now, not at all how I remember it in the 1950's and 60's. I remember The Dell full of snowdrops, which we all had access to and the wood full of primroses where we played for hours going up and down various pathways coming out in a lane which led to Bull Hill, those were the days of my childhood, another age, but all things have to change.

I do have a photo of Pakenham Infants taken in about 1949, prior to Mrs. Dash's days at the school. I have names of all the children on it. If it is of interest to anyone in the village I would be pleased to send them a copy.   I must complement you on the website which is really good and informative, keep up the good work. I visit it often.
Regards
Gill Applegate (nee Rayner) gillchiltonpc at btinternet.com