Dorothy Crowe
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Summary
Based on the interview conducted on 9 Aug 2005. It reflects the interviewee’s life and memories at that time.
Dorothy Crowe’s memories paint a vivid picture of a Fownhope that was very different from today – a village of orchards, oil lamps, village pumps and quiet roads, where families worked hard, looked after one another and found joy in simple pleasures.
Born in 1931 at Highland Cottage in Ferry Lane, Dorothy spent her early years in a home without mains water or many of the comforts we now take for granted. Water came from the village pump, clothes were washed using collected rainwater, and evenings were lit by oil lamps. Her father worked as a gardener and later as a ghillie on the River Wye, while the family grew vegetables, kept chickens and made the most of what they had.
Dorothy attended Fownhope School, where Harry Proctor was headmaster. Although she enjoyed school, a serious illness kept her away for almost a year. She remembers with great affection the neighbours who helped her through that difficult time, bringing treats and nourishing food as she slowly recovered.
After leaving school at fourteen, Dorothy worked for Dr Malkin and his family at Mona House, helping care for their daughter and assisting with household duties. Later she achieved her ambition of becoming a hairdresser, training in Hereford and building a career she thoroughly enjoyed.
Her memories of village life are full of activity: singing in the church choir, cycling to dances in Bartestree, hop-picking with her mother, gathering firewood in the woods and spending long summer days in the orchards that once covered the area where Court Orchard now stands.
Dorothy met her husband Roy through friends in the village. They married in St Mary’s Church and celebrated in the Village Hall before making their home in Fownhope, where Dorothy has lived for most of her life.
Looking back, she remembers a childhood that was not always easy, but one filled with family, friendship and contentment. “We were quite happy really,” she says – a simple reflection that captures the spirit of her story.