Out and about in the real South Riding…

Well, my trip down from Glasgow to my parents in Hull (Kingsport in the SR-verse) is almost at an end, so I hereby report back on my efforts on the South Riding trail:

Hull Museum: I revisited the Rudston Roman villa mosaics, which gave their title to Winnie's collection of stories, Pavements at Anderby, Anderby being her fictional name for Rudston. (As a kid, i spent a lot of my childhood in this museum!)

I also photographed Albion Street, where (in the book and 1974 adaptation) Lily goes to the doctor's, and the plaque marking the site of the old infirmary. This is near the library where, aged 15, I bought my copy of the book for 25p, withdrawn from stock. I cherish it still, after nearly 31 years.

Hedon (SR Yarrold): It's a gorgeous wee town (and was once a bigger port than Hull until it silted up in the later Middle Ages), with a beautiful parish church, St Augustine's, the King of Holderness (locked, but we walked around the outside). The streets still have the sort of Anglo-Danish streetnames in -gate or -gait one finds also in Scotland: St Augustine Gate, Fletchergate, Baxtergate, Souttergate, Magdalen Gate & c. (Hull, Beverley and York, of course, also have -gate streetnames in their older parts.) There is a baker's shop which does wonderful curd tart/Yorkshire cheesecake. However, I couldn't see the JobCentre (modern equivalent of the Public Assistance), and as far as I'm aware, Dad and I were the only stray Scots lefties on the loose there… ;-D

The Holderness landscape is looking gorgeous just now: the oilseed rape is in bloom, so there are vast flat fields of pure gold under huge blue skies and interspersed with fields of green and hedges. We passed some Methodist chapels, which made us smirk, thinking of Alfred Ezekiel Huggins… Sadly, the area's railways fell victim to Beeching in 1964: the Hull-Withernsea route via Hedon (essentially Kingsport-Kiplington) being a casualty. (Snaith would not be happy about that, methinks.)

Hornsea (partially Kiplington): I tried to photograph the entrance of the drive to Dowthorpe Hall from the bus as it approached Skirlaugh, but we were going too fast to get more than some of the trees. Dowthorpe is still owned by some of Winnie's Holtby cousins (they do B&B and meals) and was partially a model for Maythorpe. (Winestead's Red Hall provided the location and its eventual fate, however.)

In Hornsea itself, I set about finding the house on Cliff Road. It's quite a long way up. It's a late Victorian/Edwardian terraced house, which bears a plaque next to the front door, commemorating Winnie's residence there. The neighbours were around, so I spoke to them, and asked if they thought anyone would be in. They said yes, so I gave a knock. The owner is a friendly and pleasant lady, who invited me in to show me the back parlour where Winnie had written SR! She said she and her husband hadn't known about its connections when they bought it, and only heard about it when they were approached re: the installation of the plaque a few years ago! She said they'd had TV people in from Calendar and the Mayor of Hornsea, and had ended up being invited to a celebratory evening at the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, where Shirley Williams (Win's god-daughter) had spoken. She has got used to visitors, and even coach parties stopping their bus outside to take pictures! So that was very exciting!

After lunch at a café, I went to the Floral Hall, which is a post-war building. I'm not sure if Kiplington Floral Hall is based on Hornsea or Withernsea, but it is, of course, where (for me) the most poignant of SR's love-stories begins (albeit one-sidedly!)

At home, we have now watched all 3 adaptations (1938, 1974 and 2011) together, and the consensus is that 1974 is best (my chief quibble with it being Norman Jones not being "pretty"), although we also like the cast in 2011. 1938 is like a bad trip, and best ignored: it trashes the canon on all sides and, while claiming to be a respectful tribute to the author's memory, makes a mockery of her work. (Mind, I liked Dad's comment re: John Clements as Joe: "What part of Glasgow is he from? Chelsea?" However, I forgive Mr Clements much for being canonically pretty.)

I'll do Withernsea (mainly Kiplington) on my next visit, probably in summer.

Glasgow's Current Ambassador to the South Riding