10:39am Tuesday 16th March 2010
By Ruth Meech
A FASCINATING account of bygone days in Preston and Sutton Poyntz has been put together by a woman born and bred in the area.
Preston resident Sue Dodge was born in Church Cottage, which stands in Mission Hall Lane, Sutton Poyntz.
She has catalogued memories of growing up in the village and how it has changed over the decades in the book Memories Of Preston And Sutton Poyntz – Under One Cover.
Sue, who still lives in Sutton Poyntz, said: “It was a fascinating book to put together because as well as what I can remember, people came up and told me their memories as well.
“People would say ‘oh, the Americans were never here in the war’ and I was able to tell them that they were, and show them where they stayed and where their camp was. I remember the American soldiers handing out sweets.”
Memories Of Sutton Poyntz And Preston Under One Cover open with a look back at the Americans’ ‘occupation’ of the villages during the Second World War.
Most of the troops were billeted in and around the village, with some staying in the Mission Hall, but the black soldiers had to stay in Came Woods at the top of the Ridgeway and were only allowed to come down to collect provisions.
There are also happy memories of St Andrew’s School, of high days and holidays and activities in the two village halls – today there are four halls in Preston and Sutton Poyntz.
“At one village fair there was a game where men and women had to pass a bottle to each other between their legs but it was stopped because people thought it was too racy,” said Sue.
Sue remembers the old Reading Room, in Sutton Road, which also doubled as a baby clinic.
“Mothers would leave their prams outside and have to climb up a stone staircase with just one rail, while holding their baby, to get to the clinic. You wouldn’t be allowed to do any of that these days.”
The Mission Hall in the heart of the village is also dear to Sue’s heart as she was born in the cottage next door and her earliest memories are of her mother cleaning the hall in lieu of rent.
Family dramas are also part of Sue’s story.
Her daughter was due to be born in January 1962 but the village was almost cut off by heavy snow. Gas and air was specially delivered to the house.
The Preston Country Dance Group, sunny days at Bowleaze Cove and memories of the village’s thriving commercial heart along Preston Road are all included in Sue’s fascinating and informative book.
She writes: “As I sit on a bus going in to Weymouth and see the sun shining on the sea, I thank my lucky stars that I was born here and wouldn’t like to live anywhere else.”
l Memories of Sutton Poyntz and Preston Under One Cover costs £4.95 and is available from Joys at Overcombe Corner, Preston and from Books Afloat in Park Street, Weymouth.
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