Through Mist and Mud

Amidst the bleakness of a dreary day near the old site of Summerhill Farm, stand these lichen covered gate posts, a testament to times long gone. The muddy path between them is now only trod by sheep, and the ruinous dry stone wall adds to the sense of abandonment. Yet, in the midst of it all, a clump of daffodils blooms, a small splash of colour amidst the withered bracken and grey sandstone.

These posts must have been a familiar sight to Mr and Mrs Muxlow, tenants of Summerhill Farm in 1941, whose small daughter had a remarkable escape when a milk float and its horse bolted through the main street of Great Ayton¹Newspaper cuttings: Great Ayton news. October 1941. The late Tom Kirby kept copious files of newspaper cuttings, mainly from the Darlington & Stockton Times (but not always with the source identified) relevant to Great Ayton. In 2010-12, Malcolm Race went painstakingly through the files and selected the more important entries. Transcribed by Peter Morgan. Available online at http://greatayton.wdfiles.com/local–files/newspapers/Tom-Kirby-Newspaper-Cuttings-News.pdf.

Accompanying her father to the village, the child found herself temporarily left in a milk float when the horse suddenly bolted down the main street, barely avoiding collisions with buses, cars, and other vehicles. In a moment of pure chaos, the horse then made a break for it and headed straight towards a door leading to the garden of Mr J. Wood in High Green. The horse’s reckless run came to an abrupt halt when it became wedged, and held captive until the arrival of Muxlow, who had to follow on a bus to retrieve his daughter and the milk float. It must have been a harrowing experience. One can only imagine other stories these posts could tell.

In the distance, the mist shrouds the outline of Roseberry Topping, framed by these sandstone gate posts which stand tall, bearing witness to the passing of generations of sheep.

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  Newspaper cuttings: Great Ayton news. October 1941. The late Tom Kirby kept copious files of newspaper cuttings, mainly from the Darlington & Stockton Times (but not always with the source identified) relevant to Great Ayton. In 2010-12, Malcolm Race went painstakingly through the files and selected the more important entries. Transcribed by Peter Morgan. Available online at http://greatayton.wdfiles.com/local–files/newspapers/Tom-Kirby-Newspaper-Cuttings-News.pdf