An advert from the Rushden Echo
Harry and Mary Seckington in the garden behind the shop in the High Street
Mr. Fred Knight presided over a meeting held in the Council Buildings on the 18 May, 1920, when it was reported that subscriptions amounting to over £800 had been received for the erection of a monument to the men of Rushden who fell in the Great War. It was felt that there should be numerous subscribers of small sums rather than a few large subscribers, and to help with this the secretaries of the local Rolls of Honour were invited to assist in the collection within their respective districts. It was hoped that the fund would be completed within the next few weeks.
At a meeting of the Education Committee on 18 May 1920 a request was received from the local Newsagents’ Association asking that boys between the ages of 12 and 14 should be allowed to deliver newspapers from 7.30 to 8.30 in the morning and for one hour between 5 and 7 in the evening. The committee granted the application.
The County Authority sanctioned the appointment of Miss Burditt at the Newton Road Infants’ School and Miss Hodgkins at the Moor Road Infants’ School.
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Moor Road Infants’ School
Newton Road Infants School
At the Council meeting, held at the Council Buildings on the 12 May 1920, plans for the proposed public conveniences were submitted and Mr. Bazeley proposed that a loan be applied for and the scheme proceeded with. Objections were raised on the grounds that it would take builders away from house building and it was a bad time to be spending that amount of money, always supposing they were able to get a loan. Mr. Madin, the Surveyor, pointed out that there had been a 15% increase on the price of £1,750 which he estimated in January. There were arguments as to whether or not public conveniences were ‘luxury’ buildings, but it was also pointed out that most of the labour needed would be unskilled so would not take skilled workers off the house building. In the end the resolution was lost by 6 votes to 3.
Mr. William Bazeley
A definite increase in traffic had been noticed in Rushden High Street since the end of the war. Whereas the High Street had previously been relatively quiet it was now very busy with motor traffic from early morning until late evening. It was difficult for pedestrians to cross the road, but children were still using the road as a play ground and would often deliberately obstruct cyclists or motor vehicles. They were also playing a very dangerous game of throwing sticks under the wheels.
This postcard is post dated 1923. It doesn’t look very busy by today’s standard
The Council received a letter from the Housing Commissioner authorising them to accept the tender of Messrs. G. Henson and Son, Ltd., at the sum of £20,566 5s. 7½d. for the erection of 24 houses and that of the Rushden Master Builders’ Association at the sum of £15,145 for the erection of 18 houses. The Architect informed the Housing Committee that Messrs. Henson and Son, in consequence of the difficulty in obtaining bricklayers, suggested that reinforced concrete be substituted for the brickwork for a certain number of the houses. The suggestion had been discussed with the Housing Commissioner and he saw no objection to the proposal.
The Rushden Master Builders’ Association were to have a similar option.
Trafford Road – part of the Newton Road Estate
Rushden Weather Notes – May 1920
Summary of the records taken at the School Gardens, Station-road, Rushden.
TEMPERATURE –
Mean maximum shade temperature for the month 68.36 degrees; mean minimum temperature for the same period 43.76 degrees. The highest temperature 83.7 degrees was registered on the 25th, while the lowest temperature recorded was 30.3 degrees on the 5th.
RAINFALL – Amount for the month totals 1.16 inches. Total for the year to end of May 8.53 ins.
Characteristics of the weather for the month.
Rain fell on 15 days, but the amount on 6 of these was very slight. No very heavy falls occurred, the heaviest being .21 ins. on the 11th and .19 ins. on the 17th. On the whole May has been a dry month, the rainfall being considerably less than the average.
There were a few days during the month when sunshine was not recorded, and the second half of the month was considerably warmer than the first.
Only one frost was registered, nearly two degrees being recorded on the 5th.
Several rough and rather cold periods were experienced, the chief being on the 5th, 6th, and also on the 17th, 18th, and 19th.
Thunderstorms occurred on the 29th, but were not accompanied by much rain.