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I am doing some genealogy research and am writing to see if you can help
me
with some information concerning Battle Abbey and my grandparents, now
both
deceased.
I understand that my grandfather, William Hutchinson,
was wounded during the
1st World War and was recuperating at or near the
Abbey. It was at Battle Abbey that he met my
grandmother Jessie Bain who had come all the way down from Denny in Stirlingshire
to work as a dairy maid. My
father thinks that Jessie came to work for the Duke and Duchess
of Cleveland. It was while she was working in the Dairy that she learnt how to make butter into
'Swans'.
One day, Grandpa saw her hanging out
the tea towels, and thought to himself
"There's a bonnie lass." .
. . . . . . .
When they were courting they used to cycle all around the Battle
area on
Jessie's day off.
Before the War my grandfather worked as a gardener at Raby
Castle in Barnard
Castle near where he was born. There he learnt
horticulture. My father
owns the nursery he started near Rainham Kent,
although he has now retired.
I have an Australian email address but live
in Paris where my husband works
at the Australian Embassy as Ambassador to
UNESCO.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind
regards
Linda Peek
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