Tower and Town, June 2026 (view the full edition)A Newcomer's Glimpse Into Village Life Of The PastArriving in Minal a few years ago to begin my retirement, I found myself settling into village life on my own. What I discovered was a warm, welcoming community that gradually drew me in. Having grown up in a town in the 1960s, I've been fascinated to learn what life was like here for those who grew up in Minal. Conversations with villagers who have lived here since birth have revealed a picture of a very different village, shaped by farming, open land, and a close connection to the countryside. Minal was once a thriving farming community. At the heart of the village stood cottages, farmhouses, and barns belonging to the two main landowning families, the Gales and the Ainslies. One resident recalled that behind her cottage on the main street, tall fences enclosed stabled stud horses. To the south, near the River Kennet, fields were dotted with pigsties. She remembers piglets frequently escaping and the farmers' swift, rather matter -of-fact, castrations of the tiny males before they trotted back to their pens. Villagers speak fondly of wandering across fields and byways, exploring woodlands, and playing on an island in the river and freedom to roam. There were no pavements along the main road, and cobblestones lined the fronts of cottages. June Goddard (neé Fishlock), who has lived in Minal since the 1940s, describes a childhood spent in a cottage by the river, attached to the village blacksmith. Life was simple: water was drawn from a pump, heated in a large copper basin for weekly washing and bathing, and the toilet stood outside. She attended the village school and vividly remembers walking with her teachers into Marlborough in 1948 to see King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who appeared on the Town Hall balcony during the centenary celebrations of Marlborough College. Her memories paint a picture of a self-sufficient community. Bread, milk, and fish were delivered to homes, and almost every household grew vegetables. Children spent long days outdoors, watching wildlife along the river, observing the annual weed-cutting by the river men, and following farmers and nursery owners as they tended their animals and crops - sometimes helping, sometimes hindering, but always learning. These stories have given me a deeper appreciation of the village I now call home. Minal has changed, as all places do, but the spirit of community and connection to the land remains woven through its history - and through the memories of those who have lived it. Valerie Hammerton |