Sherburn village during World War Two
In the 1940’s Sherburn had six streets: High Street (A64) and St Hilda’s Street stretching north from the Post Office to the Restoration Monument. Both streets had several two-roomed and four-roomed cottages which have since been demolished; 1-8 Vicarage Lane, 1-20 Church View and 1-24 Springfield Terrace.
There were three places of worship: St Hilda’s Church, The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and the Primitive Methodist Chapel which was sited a few yards south of the crossroads was demolished in the 1950’s.
There were two public houses: The East Riding at the south end of St Hilda’s and The Pigeon Pie on High Street west of the Post Office.
The Pigeon Pie closed in the 1990’s and was a listed building so the redevelopment into dwellings had to retain the original design.
Bradford’s garage built in the 1920’s was opposite the Old Brewery.
The school was as it was built in 1894 without the extra land and mobile classrooms. When evacuees were rehomed in Sherburn during WW2, the overflow of pupils was accommodated in the Wesleyan Methodist school room. The School House was built in the 1920’s.
The village had several shops during the 1940’s: The Post Office with grocery, Beecrofts’ High Street home shop on the site of today’s bus stop sold second-hand goods, homemade cakes, cigarettes and sweets; a Grocer’s on the west side of St Hilda’s Street south of Blanche Villa, Central Stores, Heaths’ Butchers’ Shop next door, Parks shop at the entrance to today’s Wards factory premises, Postill’s home shop at 49 St Hilda’s street sold sweets, cigarettes, homemade cakes; Dobsons’ cobblers’ shop was sited on the southeast corner of the cross roads, Stephensons’ tailor shop was in the cottage north of the village hall.
There were several farms: Springfield Farm, Manor Farm; Corner Farm and Pasture House Farm (both at the crossroads), St Hilda’s Farm opposite the school, White House Farm (now Cherry Tree Cottage), Elm Tree Farm opposite the village hall.
At the start of World War Two a hostel for land girls was built opposite The Vicarage.
Weaverthorpe railway station was as it had been built one hundred years previous to WW1 and included the station master’s house and four cottages.
The village had a resident doctor who lived in the Roseville Victorian House east of the Garage and a resident policeman lived in a house in Springfield Terrace, which had a shield above the front door in the form of a police force badge.
Lists of the names of Sherburn’s service men and women are in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and St Hilda’s Church and there is a memorial plaque on the east-facing outside wall of the school.
Some Sherburn World War Two Chronicles
Lest We Forget – A Poem By Laurence Binyon