General Chat

There was a lady who lived on Exmoor called Hope Bourne who was the subject of a couple of tv documentries. She lived in a beat up old caravan on the moors. She grew her own vegetables; caught fish to eat and hunted wild fowl to feed herself.

She wrote a number of books; mainly about the history of farming. Yet she apparently survived on just £5 a week.

http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/environment/culture/exmoors-literary-links/hope-bourne

She was a well known and much loved character locally. Unfortunately she died recently. There aren't many people like that left.

I remember reading the books and seeing her on tv. A while after she moved out of the farm we went to see it while we were on holiday. I knew we had the right place when I saw one of her field gates. It was made of wooden branches all tied together with bits of string and twine, all different colours. I took a photo of it at the time. The farm was in a beautiful spot with lovely views. I could see why she wouldn't want to move. I'm not sure about this but I think one of her natural meadows was to be protected for the future. A lovely lady who just got on with life making the most of what she had without complaining.

I used to love Geoffrey Smith RR. I still have one of his gardening books. I liked his straightforward approach.

its not looking good Barry

Rose that was a lovely article to read :-D :-D

Joy, you write "she isn't showing up on the Electoral Rolls."

I have noticed when searching electoral rolls for a person - if they are in a home - they may not show on the roll.
This occurred when the person was known to be alive and well ... living in the home.
The person should be shown on it, I take it. However, this 'no show' has indeed happened to me.
Jus' sayin'.

This is nice, and also mentions someone else who used to be on tv gardening programmes back then, a favourite of my mum's, Geoffrey Smith.

http://www.fordefables.co.uk/a-day-with-hannah-hauxwell.html

I think the poor lady had such a hard life
I am so glad things looked up towards her old age

and she got to tour Europe before settling in the care home


thank you Rose for the links :-D :-D

We have a lady(in her late 80's early 90's) in the next village to me who is the double of Hannah(NO it isn't her) but she speaks with exactly the same twang.

And she is also such a lovely lady with sparkling eyes and smooth skin.

I honestly thought it was Hannah when I first saw her..

Oh that is ominous Joy.

Thanks for the old thread Rose, lovely to read all those 'old' names on there.

she isn't showing up on the Electoral Rolls
:-( :-(

Thanks for posting these links, Joy and Rose. It is so lovely to read about Hannah again.
I clearly remember watching the shows - two, I think - 40 plus years ago!
What beautiful skin she had, too.
Certainly a lovely lady to be tremendously admired.
(About this time Alan Whicker interviewed the fellow who invented cats-eyes - for the middle of the road.
The chap had a TV in every room!)

We lived not far from Hannah - also veterinarian James Herriot - before they both became famous.

How about we folks on GR have a whip round and buy her a lovely new mattress?
If she is alive and she can be located, that is.
I am in for £25.
I am so very tempted to order her DVD from Amazon.
A lovely story indeed to read and recall after so many years.
Again, Joy and Rose, thanks for posting.

Barry

thanks Rose that's a blast from the past

I have found my family married one of the Hauxwells in the 1700s

Thats what made me wonder what happened to her :-D :-D

I read her book and you can still see her programmes in full on youtube.

I thought I remembered someone on here being related ( my memory seems to still be working even if the rest of me isn't lol)

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/general_chat/thread/724280

Last mention I can find is four years ago,

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/community/nostalgia/in-pictures-hannah-hauxwell-at-85-takes-a-long-look-back-on-fame-and-hardship-1-3353128

she had a dam hard life and never complained Ann
last I heard she had sold the farm and went into a old folks home :-D

Yes, a wonderful woman. Is she still alive? I know it said about her in 2008 but couldn't tell if the rest of the paragraph meant she was alive today. She'd be in her 90s now I think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Hauxwell