Higham Ferrers, Market Square

A Memory of Higham Ferrers.

My family lived on the Market Square for many years from 1946. I have many happy memories of Higham and looking at the photos on this site bring them flooding back. My sister, brother and I started at the local school. I remember being sent to Battersby's (the grocer at the end of the Market Square) and, having got there, I had usually forgotten what I had been sent to buy! I was too shy to own up so I used to buy something else! I also remember buying sweets and ice cream from Pashler's. Since it was just after the War, and rationing was in full swing, we could only buy a quarter of sweets, which came out of big jars. My father was the local GP so we always had a car, and later we had a caravan which we used for holidays. In those days caravans were rare and people used to wave to us. Every year there was a carnival and I remember being Alice in Wonderland in the fancy dress. Another year I was Robin Hood and my sister was Friar Tuck! It was a lovely place to grow up in and we played outside all day, weather permitting. After breakfast we would either put on our roller skates or get on our bikes and spend all day playing in the streets and on the Square with friends. People were not so over-protective of children in those days and there was not so much traffic! I remember one occasion when we had had a party and the next morning someone from the Town Hall came and asked very nicely if we could remove the beer bottles from the top of the War Memorial! I have been back recently and the heart of the town has not changed much, although all around it there are new houses and huge roads. Our old house is now offices, which is a shame, although I did go in and it still retains a friendly feel and I'm sure the ghost is happy!