Picture by Rupert Fox from a design by Michael William Alabaster

 

The Alabaster Chronicle

The Journal of the Alabaster Society

 

 

NUMBER SEVEN,  AUTUMN 1996

 

 

Contents

 

Editorial

by Laraine Hake

Welcome to Alabaster Chronicle Number Seven!
As you will read elsewhere in this edition, the Alabaster Gathering was successful and enjoyed by everybody, I believe, whether they attended just for part of the time or went the whole hog. Of course, when I say everybody, I don't include my husband, Steve, because he always insists he is just putting on a brave face............
Besides the more obvious outcomes from the event; more knowledge, new friends and acquaintances etc, there were also one or two extra that have particularly pleased me. Attempting to speak above the crowd, and not considering it appropriate to shout, as I would in school, I raised my hand in the air in true Guider fashion, more in selfmockery than anything else. I was actually surprised by how many other hands were raised in response; so many Alabasters appear to be, or have been Guides! So, I became aware that at the International Jamboree, held in Essex at the end of July, at least five of the 5,100 Guides and Scouts in attendance were granddaughters or great granddaughters of Alabasters;Roxanne Stanley (WofW), Jemma Howle, Mandy Hake, Janine Howle and myself, Laraine Hake(HA). Not only that, but in two weeks time, 13th-15th September, Mandy will be taking her Guides, including Roxanne (with me tagging along), on an Activity Weekend with Eileen Alabaster (Hili) and her Guides. Just to think, if the Alabasters had been more attentive, and I had not had to raise my hand, we would not have discovered the shared interest!My sincere thanks to those of you who have contributed to this edition, particularly Peter Robert Alabaster who sent me lots of delicious cuttings from the Times newspapers spread over the 19th century, but whom I have not actually acknowledged where they have been used.
There will be more of these in future Chronicles I am sure.
Running to twenty-four pages seems to be becoming a bad habit;in fact, having thought I was going to have difficulty filling the magazine, I could have run to several more pages in the end. If only I had the sense to put some of the things in my head, that I did not use, on paper now for Number Eight, but I doubt that I will........... Please, please keep the articles, ideas, letters, emails, phone calls coming in, or I really will dry up.................. .now there's a thought!
Laraine Hake 30th August 1996

Alabaster Gathering 27th-28th April 1996

The recent Gathering, the fourth we have held, was good. I certainly enjoyed myself, and nobody has actually complained to me as yet! Rather than write a report on it myself, various members who attended have contributed to an overall report. I hope that it will give you all a "feel" of the weekend. Just a couple of points from me; as referred to in the Treasurer's Report, Gatherings are self-financing, those attending paying for the privilege! As agreed at the weekend, the surplus money we took was given to the churches of Boxford, Groton and Hadleigh in the form of donations, as thanks for the welcome they gave us. Thank you to everybody who came.
Laraine Hake

Joan Millican (Branch I) writes: Some·eighty members of the Alabaster family met in the Guildhall Hadleigh at 10.30 am to hear the latest developments in the Alabaster saga. Once again Laraine had set up a very interesting exhibition of photographs and documents gathered from research by various branches of the family. On a personal note, I was especially pleased to see a section devoted to my mother, May Millican, eldest daughter of Richard Rickard Alabaster, the son ofEdwin (Branch I). As far as we could ascertain she was the oldest member of the family until her death in September 1994, at the age of ninety-six.
After coffee there was a General Meeting of the Society with Michael William Alabaster as guest Chairman. There was a special welcome to those who had travelled from Australia, New Zealand and America, among whom was Dorothy Gould from Southern California and, at eighty-two, one of the oldest members of the family present.
Soon it was time to adjourn for our Buffet Lunch - another opportunity to renew links with those we meet only at the Gatherings.
The afternoon began with a fascinating talk by Laraine on the Alabaster connections with Boxford, Groton and Claydon (in preparation for our visits the following day). Later we divided into groups, some enjoying a tour of the Guildhall, others going to the Knot Garden. I joined the party taken by John Bloomfield, who led us around Hadleigh, now a Conservation Area, to look at timber framed buildings from the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. We also discovered that several of the Georgian buildings had features which showed they originated from earlier times.
At 7.00pm we gathered in the Guildhall for dinner. This was an informal affair followed by a very lively and humorous talk by Sue Andrews entitled "A Brett Valley Patchwork" illustrated with slides and dealt with local history from the area of Lavenham, Monks Eleigh, Kersey and Hadleigh - indeed Alabaster country. So ended a stimulating day in excellent company.
An amusing foot-note. At dinner, my cousin Dorothy Howells told me that when she and her husband were making enquiries about hotel accommodation for 27th April, one hotel receptionist informed them,- "You won't get anything in Hadleigh that weekend - it's the Alabaster Gathering!"

Joan Watts (Branch IIIB): On looking at the Giant Family Tree we were so pleased to realise that the people who came over from America were our cousins, albeit distant ones. They came over to Gwen and myself and we had a good chat and took some photographs. It is so nice to have such a sense of  "belonging" to a group such as ours and I look forward to our next gathering, hopefully.
My special thanks to Phil and Chris Alabaster for saving Gwen and myself a long, dusty walk back to French's Farm where we were staying, and for the lift back for the dinner. Thank you both so much! I would also like to thank Michael for the transport on Sunday morning. We did enjoy the service at Boxford Church, and thought the little "Quiz" on behalf of the children made it all very human.

Ron West [or as it should have been -- Ron Alabaster] (Branch IV): As our first introduction to the Society we were particularly delighted to find such openness and "familyship". How often can one walk down a strange High Street and without inhibition open up a conversation with a complete stranger because they are wearing the same name-tag?

Lilian Alabaster and Daphne Hart (Branch IIIA): We thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday jaunt which included the informal Church Service in Boxford, but the highlight was Roy Tricker with his most illuminating talk and introduction to St Peter's Church in Claydon. What a fascinating speaker he was. We were absolutely spellbound by his enthusiasm and his personality. He must be the "David Bellamy" of church conservation! If it wasn't for Shirley Rowe taking us in her care, we would have missed this very interesting experience."

 

One Big Family: Laraine Hake, Dorothy Gould.

 

Shirley Rowe (Branch IIA): The weekend "Gathering" at Hadleigh, Suffolk in April was memorable. The weather was beautiful and the company convivial.
But to me , the icing on the cake was the visit on Sunday to Claydon Church and the talk by Roy Tricker of the Churches Conservation Trust. After a very pleasant lunch at the Crown at Claydon, I was talking to Laraine's mother, Evelyn, who informed me, "We are in for a treat. Roy Tricker is a lovely man." How right she was! The little church of St Peter at Claydon is perched on top of a hill and Roy described it as "a sad church". Maybe it is, because it has fallen into disuse and has sadly been vandalised. I feel it can't remain sad for long with the enthusiasm and loving care bestowed upon it by people like Roy.
To feel the atmosphere inside that charming little church, where our ancestors were baptised, married and buried all those years ago, is something I shall remember with pleasure and pride.
Roy's talk was so interesting and he really fired my imagination with his enthusiasm. I am quite sure he could have continued for hours, and I certainly could have listened.
To me, the visit to Claydon rounded off a delightful weekend on a high note.

Friends of Hadleigh Guildhall

On the evening of Friday 21st June, an informal evening was held at the Guildhall in order that those who had helped towards the refurbishment of the Guildhall Garden should be able to see the progress thus far. As various members of our Society have made donations towards the Knot Garden. I was asked to attend to represent the Society.
It was a pleasant event and I am pleased to be able to report that the Knot Garden is growing. Also that the fountain, for which the cost of the pump was donated by Alabaster Computing Ltd (Martin Alabaster IIB) was bubbling nicely.  L.H.

General Meeting of the Alabaster Society

held during ALABASTER GATHERING - Old Town Hall, Hadleigh .. 27th April 1996

Michael William Alabaster took the Chair and welcomed members to the Gathering from many different parts of the world.

Robin Alabaster, Treasurer, then took the floor, for the important part of the formal proceedings, i.e. money. He explained that this was the second General Meeting of the Society.

The summary of accounts and balance sheet for the financial year ending 31st August 1995 had been published in Chronicle Number Six, but copies of these were circulated again. There was £366 in hand, and mention was also made of the £210 raised on appeal towards the Knot Garden at the Guildhall, which had been passed direct to the Friends. Robin reported that the 87th member of the Alabaster Society has now been enrolled, enlarging the geographical area covered by our membership to include Hong Kong! Of these 87 members, three have been lost through death and seven had not re-enrolled, leaving us, nevertheless, with a healthy membership of 77 households. The preliminary costing of £5 a member was based on a projected membership of 40 contributing households which is the reason we now have money in hand. There is no intention to increase the cost of subscription in the foreseeable future, despite the inevitable increases in printing and postage costs. Two subscriptions are paid out annually by the Alabaster Society: £5 to the Friends of Hadleigh Guildhall and £25 to the Federation of Family History Societies. Gatherings are self-supporting because not all members are able to attend.

Questions were invited from the floor on the balance sheet, but none were forthcoming. Robin Alabaster offered his thanks to Norman Alabaster for his sterling work auditing the books.

Members of the Society proposed and seconded the adoption of the accounts and this was carried.

The Treasurer concluded his report by proposing both Adrian Alabaster and Laraine Hake as Honorary Life Members as a fitting tribute to their unique contributions to the Society. The proposals were received with general acclaim and adopted unanimously.

I am absolutely delighted with Robin's proposal and the outcome of the voting. I trust that you as Secretary will convey to the members my hearty thanks and deep sense of your kindness in proposing me to become an Honorary Life Member.

I do not feel worthy of the kind things he has said about my early researches but of course I take great pleasure in finding the evidence of Alabaster and piecing it together so as to form something approaching a complete picture.

I know well that at least half a dozen people have done much of the donkey work required in setting up the new Society. It has been a privilege to work with such competent and enthusiastic and capable people and a great pleasure to see these same qualities deployed in the expansion and organisation of the Society.

Adrian Alabaster,
South Pavilion Cottage, 25th May 1996

Cuttings from "The Times"

May 31, 1854 (Before Vice-Chancellor Sir W. P. Wood): ALABASTER v.SILVERTHORNE.
Court case concerning the purchase by Alabaster of leasehold houses in Finsbury Market for £300 and an annuity of £23-1, paid weekly, to the vendor, James Silverthorne, for the remainder of his life. Silverthorne, a habitual drunkard, died soon after, and his representatives sought to have the contract annulled. Alabaster won the case.
Probably this is Robert George Alabaster (IIA). His and adjoining houses were damaged by fire in 1857: could this have been done by aggrieved relatives of Silverthorne...... ?

July 29, 1881. GERMANY, Berlin, July 28:  A. M. Alabaster, of the Royal Museum of Siam, after having examined the establishments of the same kind here, has pursued his journey, with the same inquisitive intent, to London.
Doubtless this was Henry "of Siam" (IIC) - the "M" being Mr or a misprint for H.

News from Around the World 

Robin Alabaster March 1996: Re John "Jack" Alabaster the N.Z. cricketer: but for him I may well have been stranded in Christchurch. Owing to an administrative blunder my credit cards were changed when I was out of the country and Access would not permit/authorise further use. However a Christchurch travel agent who had been "Jack`s" cricket pupil at Dunedin issued an airline ticket against my Access card without authority - needless to say he did get his money, and the Bank's Chairman got a rocket from me when I returned.

Millie Knox, March 1996, has sent this report from another twiglet to the Alabaster tree:
My name is Emily Jayne Knox-Clifton..... I was born on Thursday 22 February 1996 at 6.53 a.m., weighing in at 6lb with brown eyes and black hair.

First I should explain:- through the Internet I had been put in touch with Virginia Bird of Hong Kong, gt granddaughter of Henry Alabaster "of Siam". These are just snippets from the mails that flowed back and forth for a while.

Virginia Bird, 16th April 1996: Dear Laraine .. or should I say 'Cousin' ? If I didn't have to be in Washington D.C. next week for an important meeting, I would have arranged to be at the Reunion. Do you have pictures of Henry Alabaster? I have only one picture taken from his portrait at the National Museum in Bangkok -- also have a picture of his Thai wife! I wonder if anyone in the Thai side of the Family knows that he had another set of family in the U.K.?
Laraine replied: The member of the Society who is Thai would appear to be your uncle Siddhi. He is a member through a couple of other Alabasters, Adrian and Angela Alabaster, who met him when he was in Britain a year or so ago. They were even invited to a wedding of one of his daughters recently, Suthinee. Angela has lent me the photos he sent her and I have them in front of me now.
Virginia Bird: I was with Uncle Siddhi in Bangkok in January. I am the Vice-President of the Veterans of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) Society in south east Asia. I was in charge of organising the presentation ceremony of the US Parachutist Wing to members of the Free Thai Movement. This was held on the 18th of January in Bangkok. Uncle Siddhi was one of the recipients. There were fourteen Free Thais altogether and four of them are my uncles. They worked with the OSS during WWII. Because of what they did fifty years ago, Thailand is free from Japanese Occupation to this date.
My father, Willis H. Bird (from Philadelphia), was the head of OSS in South East Asia (now known as the CIA) during WWII. He founded the Bangkok Stock Exchange.

Adrian Alabaster, 24th May 1996: My niece, Clare Alabaster, daughter of Oliver Alabaster, of Downing College, Cambridge, got a II.2 in Law.

Jim Alabaster (IIIA), 4th July 1996, says he has now resettled in England after living in Queensland, Australia, for more than twenty years.

Robin Alabaster, 3 July 1996: We are now grandparents. Amelia Hollie Nevin was born at 11.30 pm on Tuesday 18th June.
Nick and Susan will marry in Hadleigh Guildhall in November. Mark David is quoting for the catering.

Are you an Alabaster "Linnet"?

by Lesley Thomas IIIA

My connection with the Alabasters is on my husband David's side, Branch IIIA (Note 1), but as I have been doing a college course on 18th and 19th century King's Lynn, my general interest in history, social, economic and personal, has taken off. So, when Laraine mentioned that not one but two Alabaster marriages took place in Lynn and apparently, according to the 1851 census, the two girls were cousins, I took the bait. Well, Branches IIA and IIB, let's see how far back we can explore your history as a "Linnet" (2)?

Pictured right: 123 High Street, King`s Lynn, c 1804 

As you saw from the last Alabaster Chronicle (No 6), Robert William Alabaster married Ellen EARISH on the 29th March 1838 at St Margaret, King's Lynn. Robert William of St Leonard`s, Shoreditch, was down as a traveller and as I assumed this was in the Straw Hat trade, it made me wonder how Ellen met this chap as her father, Richard Earish, was a cabinet maker of 135 High Street, King's Lynn. The witnesses at the wedding were W. Parlett and C. Alabaster (3). Concentrating on this line, I found Ellen's baptism at St Margaret on 31st December, born 12th December 1818, so although she was down as "full age" on the marriage certificate, she was in fact a minor as she was only 20. Her mother's name was Ellen, and Ellen and Richard Earish also had a son, Richard, baptised 1817. Robert William's father, William was put down as a "manufacturer". At this point the story ends with no clues from the census. I could find no mention of EARISH on the 1841 census but there were some clues from the IGI which kept leading me to Tilney-cum-Islington, a village about 5 miles out of Lynn. Although no Earish was on the 1841 census, a Roger Earish, Shopkeeper, appears at London Road in White`s Directory of 1845 and a William Earish from Islington is on the 1881 census.

123 High Street, King`s Lynn
Home of Mary & William Jackman
and Mary & William Parlett 

Now on to Margaret JACKMAN who was governess to Ellen and Robert William's children and who returned to King's Lynn to marry Edward Alabaster at St John's Church on 28th July 1853. Witnesses were William Parlett and Harietta Alabaster. St John's was quite a new church then, built in 1846 for the "ordinary" people of the town and originally without pews, in order to get more people in, and to avoid the problem of "who sits where".

Before I continue, it is interesting to note that the railway from Lynn to London finally came about in 1848 - just in time for Margaret JACKMAN to spread her wings and fly to London, and the end of the line was Shoreditch. Liverpool Street Station did not open until 1872.


From Lynn News (West Norfolk Herald)
July 1853.

In the "Lynn News", the wedding announcement states that Margaret was the eldest daughter, but she was in fact the youngest of the daughters born to William Jackman and Mary nee GLASSCOCK (at last a new name: could there be a connection here)? Margaret was baptised at St Margaret on 28th March, born 2nd March, 1831. Her sister, Mary Alice, was baptised at St Margaret on 3rd December, born 24th November, 1825. William and Mary were married at St Margaret, 27th September 1824, witnesses Richard Jennings Glasscock (possible cousin), Joseph Glasscock (Edmund Joseph - Mary's brother), and Sarah Hastings (later to marry Edmund Joseph). This was William's second marriage, his first was to Sarah Harrison at St Margaret's on 8th November 1821, and I assume she died c 1823.
William Jackman was a baker/confectioner of 123 High Street, King's Lynn, a business man with property in the High Street opposite the large parish church of St Margaret on the Saturday Market Place. He was born in King's Lynn in about 1798 and was apprentice to Francis & William Francis Hillyard in 1821. He died 25th September 1831 at the age of 33 years, leaving his property and securities to his wife Mary, on condition that she "remained his widow". He seems to have been quite paranoid about this as it is mentioned several times in his Will and was not really reasonable considering that, when he made his Will in 1829, they had only one child, and Mary would have been only 27 years old.
According to the Will, Mary would also have had to give up all the household goods that she had inherited on the event of her second marriage, although I can find no evidence that this actually happened. I wonder if he suspected something. Nevertheless, in November 1837, Mary married William Parlett, this time at St Nicholas`s Chapel, King's Lynn. St Nicholas is another very large church at the North end of Lynn and was built as a "Chapel of Ease" to St Margaret`s.

St. Margaret`s Church
The right to hold a Saturday Market was confirmed and consolidated by the Second Charter of King Henry VIII.
The stalls in this view of the Saturday Market Place are backed by the old 'Shambles,' demolished in 1914. The north side of St. Margaret's Church is now clear to view.  

It was interesting to note that up until now all marriages and baptisms had been at St Margaret (the south side of the town) near where they lived and where William Jackman had been a bell ringer (4) but this marriage was at the other side of town. William Parlett (remember him from the witness signature on Robert William and Ellen's marriage) was a druggist/chemist and appears on the 1841 census with Mary, the girls, and their son William, at 123 High Street:
 

William Parlett

45

Druggist

Mary    "

40

 

William "

  5

 

Mary Jackman

15

 

Margaret Jackman

10

 


William Jackman had also left an annuity to his mother Alice of £20 a year until his youngest child reached full age. She lived to 92, died in December 1859, and is buried in Hardwick Road Cemetery. As in William Jackman's Will the property was to be sold if Mary re-married; we can possibly assume that William Parlett bought it. White`s Directory 1836 shows W. Parlett was a Chemist / Druggist, Saturday Market Place, and in White`s 1845, William Parlett is recorded still at 123 High Street under two headings, Chemist/Druggist and Confectioner. The 1851 census shows the family (less Margaret who was then a governess in Shoreditch) at 123 High Street.

From the 1851 Census:

William Parlett

 

59

Druggist & Confectioner

bn. K/Lynn

Mary Parlett

 

49

 

bn. K/Lynn

Mary A. Jackman

step-daug

25

 

bn. K/Lynn

William T. Parlett

son

15

Scholar

bn. K/Lynn
 

This census gives Mary nee Glasscock's birth place as Gayton, a village about 8 miles outside of Lynn. However, I was still no nearer the EARISH/JACKMAN connection unless it was GLASSCOCK and where did the hats come in? I returned to the Earish search and eventually found the marriage of Richard Earish to Ellen King GLASSCOCK Unfortunately, I could find no trace of them on the census for Lynn, but on a search of the 1822 Pigott`s Directory, I came across:

Not only a name connection, but hat-makers too! My search is continuing to build up a fuller picture of the Jackman / Earish / Glasscock connection, my special thought being "what did William Jackman die of?", especially as his widow's replacement was a chemist, but nothing has come of my suspicious thoughts, and, to be fair, there was an outbreak of cholera in Lynn in 1831, the year of his death.

Mary and Ellen King Glasscock were sisters born to Thomas Glasscock and Harriett King: Thomas·was a widower when he married Harriet and had married Ellen (Eleanor) Scott in Gayton 4th March 1781.
They had three children, Ellen 1782, Sarah 1785 and Eleanor 1788 with possibly a few more that I have not found. I could not find Ellen's (Scott) death but along comes Harriet King who has a daughter Eleanor Glasscock King, base born 23rd March 1792 and died May 1791.
Thomas eventually married Harriet on the 27th July 1795 and Ellen King was born c. l795, so whether this was before after or during the marriage we can only surmise. Judging from the baptism of their next child Ann who was baptised 3rd January 1796, I think we can safely assume that Ellen King was born before the wedding. Mary was baptised March 11th 1797, and they also had Edmund Joseph 1801 and possibly a Harriet c. 1806. According to the Manorial records of West Hall Manor, Gayton, Thomas Glasscock served on the jury of an inquest concerning The Common, Gayton on the 8th May 1783. Thomas died in Lynn in 1827 aged 84 and is recorded as a Victualler in Norfolk Street, King's Lynn.
Whether he had run a pub in Gayton, I have yet to discover, however the search continues....

Lesley Thomas IIIA

Notes
1 David is descended from Harriette Mary Masters, nee Alabaster, sister of Robert Hedges Alabaster, page 23
2 A Linnet is somebody from King's Lynn
3 Possibly Charles or Caroline Alabaster, brother or sister of the groom.
4 Hillen`s History of King's Lynn, Vol 2

Cuttings from "The Times"

November 11, 1844. A man named Alabaster is now engaged on Parker's-piece in attempting the arduous task of walking 1,000 miles and the same number of furlongs in 1,000 successive hours. He starts from the New Inn.
-Cambridge Independent.

Some of my Favourite Family Memories

by Valerie Henrietta Fowler (Hetty) nee Alabaster,
aged 83½ years, Branch IIIA

My happiest early memory in the war was lying on the settee and jumping up and running into the kitchen and saying to my mother "Brother George is coming home from the war today." My mother replied, "Who says so?" I said, "I do." Needless to say he walked in and I remember there was great rejoicing although sadly he was killed towards the end of the war.

Enlargement of central inscription

Another great memory was Saturday night treats. Dad would give my sister Win and me a silver three-penny bit and we would run all the way down Marks Road and choose sweets, fruit, and lemonade, then we would run all the way back home to share them. We never ate them on the way home: everyone would tuck in. Singing songs around the piano completed a glorious Saturday evening. When wireless came into the house we had to find our share, fourpence (4d), for the batteries and recharging the accumulator delivered by the Silcock`s man each week. Despite the wireless, we still played the piano and sang songs.
The newly invented gramophone was so beloved by my family that cousin Charlie would carry it all the way from Walthamstow, just for us all to hear and dance to. I remember that Charlie Kunz was all the rage, as well as the Ambrose Dance Band.

My Mum and Dad in 1933:
George Roger Alabaster and Mary Ellen Perry.
Their eldest -Frances Matilda Constance Their youngest - ME!
Behind, my husband, Charles Frederick Fowler.

Throughout all this time, despite there being so many of us, I cannot remember ever going short of anything. Back then people would share or swap. Life was hard but somehow we managed very well. We coped with rationing by exchanging what we didn't really want. I remember we added a lot of margarine, an egg and some milk to our butter ration, beat it all together and made it last twice as long. Mostly we missed apples and oranges and, of course, bananas, and anything else from abroad. We paid 6d for a pound of cheese, sugar was 4½d for two pounds, butter was 6d per pound, bread 4½d; pickles were sold for ½d each and we had to take our own containers.
Allotments started and everyone was encouraged to grow his own vegetables. This really helped make our diet bearable. Soup kitchens also appeared and were a great help to those in greatest need.
On Sundays we were given a silver three-penny piece. Chocolate was ½d or 1d a bar. We would buy a bar each on the way to church and put the other 2d in the collection box. We did this three times every Sunday in different churches, and on Monday evenings we had choir practice.

Pictured left:
Auntie Bert -- Alberta Alabaster

My father, George Roger Alabaster, had a foundry in Queen Street in Romford where they made the railings around the Church of St Edward`s in the Market Place. During the war the railings were taken down and melted down for the war effort. A small section of the railings was left with the Alabaster name embossed on it. The Romford Brewery Gates were also built by my father. When the foundry closed my father became an iron and metal merchant. At one time he owned six horses and our yard was crammed full of old iron. Also in our yard were hundreds of chickens who laid lots of much needed eggs during the war.
We also kept turkeys and we became good friends with them, although they became the best Christmas presents for Christmas Dinners.

Auntie Bert (Alberta Alabaster) owned a small shop, in fact it was her front room, in Marks Road. Every evening in the summer, if she had any ice-cream left she would stand and wave in the middle of the road. We would be there like a shot; there was no traffic then. She would scoop scoop after scoop of the best vanilla ice cream into cones and hand them to us. We ate the ice-tub clean for her so she could put in a new batch for the next day.
My Auntie Bert was very prim and very proper and if anyone was hurt she would always be ready with first aid. The counter in Auntie Bert's shop was a large piano.
She placed jars of pickles and trays of sweets along the keyboard. On top of her safe she kept a box displaying chocolate brazils: these, though, were not for sale, they were only for the Alabasters! Good old Auntie Bert!


My eldest son, Peter Norman Alabaster Fowler, has a son, Daniel, born in 1970, making him my eldest grandson, whilst Malcolm Fowler has two sons, Bo Lee Malcolm Fowler born in 1971, and Ben J. D. Fowler born in 1973. Malcolm recently sketched Hadleigh Church, copies of which appeared on book markers which were sold in aid of Hadleigh Church funds by Mrs H. Griffin.
My most recent happy memory is only one week old: it is of June 1st 1996, which was the silver wedding anniversary of George and Elaine Alabaster in Stevenage.
Their wonderful daughter Amanda, as a complete surprise, had organised a party with the help of Grandma and Granddad and neighbours.
When George and Elaine returned from a holiday in the West Country, -- surprise, surprise -- the house was full of friends, presents and great food. It was a brilliant party.
The presents were opened, food and drink were consumed, and laughter rang out across the Stevenage countryside and we all felt that we had won the lottery -- or something!
I had a really lovely time and it was well past midnight when we said goodbye to everyone.
The icing on the cake was Amanda throwing the party without her parents knowing.
We all say many, many thanks for a really good Alabaster idea.

 
The family tree from Robert Hedges Alabaster to Valerie Henrietta Alabaster
will be available here shortly