The amazing tales of Nunnington

Well, in one particular corner of Ryedale, folklore has it that the picturesque village of Nunnington owes a debt of gratitude to another dragon-slayer.

As the tale goes, the village was terrorised by a dragon which destroyed all the crops. However, as luck would have it, a valiant warrior, Sir Peter Loschy, who rode all the way up to Scotland trying to find something brave to do in order to win the hand of his beloved, heard about the savage beast of Nunnington on his way home.

'Ah-ha,' thought Sir Peter. 'Here's my chance.'

A terrible battle ensued with the creature which lived on Losky Hill. It was made more difficult by the fact that each time Sir Peter hacked off a piece of dragon, it joined back together again.

The brave Sir Peter then had the brain-wave of giving the pieces to his dog, which rushed off and buried them in the field above the Church of All Saints and St James.

At last, the fatal blow was given and the last piece of dragon's head was removed by the dog, which was so pleased that it jumped up and licked Sir Peter's face.

Unfortunately, the dog's tongue was saturated in poisonous dragon's blood and they both promptly died. But the story goes that the parishioners, out of gratitude for the delivery, caused an effigy of Sir Peter and his dog to be placed against the south wall of Nunnington Church.

Sadly, the fact is the effigy is almost certainly that of Sir Walter de Teyes, lord of the manor, who died in 1325, and the animal at his head is a lion.

Thankfully, the village appears to have survived the terrors of the dragon and remains quiet and unspoiled.

Before being taken over by the National Trust, Nunnington Hall was owned by the Clive family and Mrs Susan Clive, who now lives in the extended old butler's house close by, still recalls fondly the days when it was her family home.

"My mother's grandfather bought Nunnington in 1839 because of its excellent hunting, shooting and fishing," she recalled. "I was born in London but I have lived here over 80 years. I grew up in the hall, as did my family."

Before the last war there were ten indoor servants - a cook-housekeeper, kitchen maid and scullery maid, a head housemaid, second housemaid and nursery-schoolroom maid. There were also three gardeners, three grooms and a chauffeur.

"The village has changed a lot," said Mrs Clive. "It used to be an agricultural village full of farm workers. Now a lot of people live in the village who work away. I only know a quarter of the people. I used to know everyone. It was like an extended family.

"I loved every corner of Nunnington Hall," she went on. "The National Trust look after it very well but it's a museum now, not a family home.

"I love the village. It's unspoilt, quiet and nice. The river is lovely except when it floods."

Her son, Richard Clive, and his wife Nicki have had first-hand experience of this in their home at Low Street, Nunnington.

"The water came right up to the back door," explained Richard. "But it was enough to cause seepage and lift some of the floor tiles in the kitchen."

Richard, who is parish council chairman, and was born in Nunnington Hall, recalled childhood games of hide-and-seek. "I remember shooting the greenhouse with my bow and arrow," he chuckled. "It made everyone awfully cross but made a lovely noise."

After he married, he moved to London for a few years where he worked as a professional photographer, specialising in pop groups, including the Beatles, fashion and advertising.

"We moved back up here because of the children," he explained. "I was brought up in the countryside. There's something about nice scenery - taking the children out in fresh air rather than the park where they can't climb trees." The couple have four boys.

Richard's brother and sister all live close-by in Nunnington. Charles has Nunnington Studios which sells garden furniture and ornaments and Mary was one of only two full-time female gamekeepers in the country at one time.

There used to be four shops in the village, three grocers' and a butcher's, also a post office which was reputed to be the second smallest in the country. There were also two tailors, two boot and shoe makers, a wheelwright, a joiner and undertaker, a blacksmith, a plumber and an electrician.

Today there is a popular pub, The Royal Oak, as well as a part-time post office. It is said that Canadians stationed at nearby Wombleton during the war used to cycle to Nunnington where they were very good customers at the pub. On their way home, they sometimes struggled to negotiate the bend at the bottom of the hill and rode straight on into the river where, fortunately for them, there was a ford.

The post office is run by Max and Margaret Timbrell, who have lived in the village for five years, although Margaret lived there previously when she was district nurse in Helmsley.

Originally from Australia, Max was a bush-brother - a single priest working in the Australian outback. "I had a parish of about 20,000 square miles and a population of about 3,000 spread over it," he smiled. "I spent my time going to visit them."

The couple met in Stonegrave Churchyard. Max was over in England visiting a friend who was a vicar but unable to take the service one week. He asked if Max could do it, saying that if he had any problems Margaret would see him right. "And she's been seeing me right ever since," he laughed.

Margaret, who had been a missionary nurse in Namibia for nine years, added: "I was happy here when this handsome, colonial parson came and took me away."

They went to Australia but eventually returned to take up a parish near Stokesley. When Max retired, they moved to Nunnington.

And the post office? "The previous postmistress, Mrs Jean Cooke, announced she was going to retire," explained Margaret.

"I didn't want to live in a village without a post office and it suddenly occurred to me that I was going to have to be the one to take it on. For someone who not only didn't pass maths 'O' level, but wasn't even put in for it, it's not bad going. I have to ask the customers how much change they want! Jean's been extremely helpful. I couldn't have done it without her help."

Max helps out in the village church as well as playing the organ. "I like the village because of its associations with Margaret and me and our marriage. It's a village that's still owned by the hall family. It has magnificent views over Ryedale and plenty of walks for our dogs. I don't miss Australia now. Wherever Margaret and I are together, that's home to me," he said.

Jack Smith, of Chapel Street, was born in the village and has lived more or less there all his life if you discount a spell when he lived just up the road.

"I just sort of got planted here," he said. "I used to know everybody by their first name but there are a lot of incomers now."

He attended Nunnington School which closed some years ago and is now a private house. He recalled the days when there were three teachers and 70 children. "I left in 1939 when I was 14 and went straight into farm work."

He also recalled a shop on the corner of Chapel Street which sold just about anything. "Joe English was the last man to have it. 'Honest Joe' we used to call him."

Peter and Jean Rooke, also of Chapel Street, farmed at Lodge Farm for some 40 years. "I like Nunnington," said Mrs Rooke. "It's peaceful. It was a bit too peaceful when I first came here from Wilberfoss but I have got used to it now and I would not want to go anywhere else."

Mrs Rose Hawkins, of Rectory Lane, has lived in the village some 39 years, working as a cook for Mrs Clive. "Everything is nice about the village," she said. "It's quiet and hasn't been spoilt. I could not think of anywhere else I would want to live."

Updated: 16:42 Wednesday, April 18, 2001