by Alan Cleaver

Published at 01:00, Monday, 09 October 2006

JOHN Ronaldson knows every square inch of his house. But then he has known it all his life and his family have been at Galemire for nearly 100 years. Three generations of John’s family have lived in the home on the Keekle to Moor Row road.

It’s a house with many happy memories for John which began when he visited his grandparents there in the 1940s.

They had first moved into the house in 1912, the year the Titanic sank and Amundsen beat Scott to the South Pole.

John and Emily Smith had previously lived in Frizington and John surmises that, as a clerk to the iron mines, he moved to Galemire for his work. They were married at Lamplugh Church, lived at Lamplugh before moving to Scarhead, Ennerdale where Annie and Pollie were born, then on to 127 Frizington Road, Frizington where May (John’s mother) was born in 1910.

John did not know his grandfather as he died in 1929, 11 years before John was born but his fame locally was as a gardener and breeder of guinea pigs. But he remembers his grandmother, Emily — a rather short but formidable lady! Also staying at the house was Auntie Annie.

After Emily’s death in 1942, Auntie Annie presided over Galemire and, after her death in 1949, the house passed to perhaps its most charismatic resident to date: Uncle Abel.

John recalls he was a lovely man. “He was originally a tinsmith from Wales and worked at Macilwraith ironmongers which later became Charlie Keane’s ironmongers at Cleator Moor until he was 77 years old. He was brilliant at making stuff out of tin. He also played Rugby Union and Rugby League, and was an outstanding billiards, snooker and dominoes player.”

But Uncle Abel and his son, John Smith Roberts, were only tenants of Galemire and towards the end of Abel’s life they moved out to Cleator Moor.

The house was to lay empty for three years. “It was boarded up” said John “and it was ever so depressing. I was actually looking for a house in 1969 and was quite keen on buying it but my mother said ‘You don’t want to buy that, it’s got a river running under it’ and that put me off.”

Galemire House was bought by Robert and Muriel Harkness who sorted out modern amenities, the house being renamed Galemire Cottage in the process.

And so it seemed Galemire had been lost from the Smith/Ronaldson family — but fate was to intervene.

John explained: “We were living down south from 1980 until 1985 but decided to come back up here. I applied to Thames Board for a post and they gave me an interview.”

While coming up here, John picked up a copy of The Whitehaven News and began to look for a house to buy: there in the property pages was Galemire up for sale!

John said: “The interview was going well and it was a bit cheeky but I asked if they were thinking of offering me anything as I had my eye on a house. They huddled together in a corner and agreed they could offer me a post so I went to see the owners of Galemire and made them an offer which they accepted. I was delighted.”

John and wife Myra have spent a happy 21 years in the house and it’s given John time to research further the history of the house — an investigation that’s still going on. He’s traced it back so far to 1785 when it was left in the will of John Matthews to his grandaughter, Betty Thompson (née Burton).

John has also been researching his family tree. Since the maternal name is Smith it’s quite a struggle — but at least he can be fairly certain of their address!

Galemire from 1785 to present

THE first record of the house was 1785 when it was ‘willed’ to Betty Burton (later Thompson) by her grandfather, John Matthews.

John’s grandparents, John and Emily Smith (nee Sisson) moved in to Galemire in 1912 with their three daughters: Annie, Pollie and May (John’s mother).

John Smith, accountant, gardener and guinea pig keeper, died in 1929. Emily and her daughter Annie lived in house, and Emily died in 1942.

On Annie’s death in 1949 the house stayed with her husband, Abel.

Shortly before his death, his son John Smith Roberts moved them out to James Street, Cleator Moor, as they did not own the house but were only tenants. This was in 1969.

The house then remained empty for three years, its name becoming Galemire Cottage instead of Galemire House.

It was bought by Robert and Muriel Harkness who modernised the dwelling.

In 1985 John Ronaldson — then living in Berkshire — was visiting Whitehaven for a job interview and picked up The Whitehaven News to look for a house. He saw Galemire Cottage advertised and bought it a couple of hours later.

A family tree full of Smiths

JOHN Smith Ronaldson put off researching his family tree for many years. After all, with a paternal name of Smith, you know it’s going to be hard work.

His grandfather’s name was John Smith and his three daughters all gave the name ‘John Smith’ to one of their sons in honour of him. Hence John Ronaldson has the middle name, Smith. His other cousins are John Smith Roberts and John Smith Robinson.

Digging up home's history

EVIDENCE of the history of Galemire can about in an unexpected way in 1987.

John was digging the garden when three elderly gentlemen walking past stopped to chat with him.

“Keep digging” they said “and you’ll unearth the big stone.”

They claimed there was a giant stone buried under the garden. John said he thought it unlikely as he’d dug the garden many times and never come across anything. But on their instruction, he dug further down and eventually hit something. Much more digging revealed a giant circular stone that had once been used to help make cart wheels. It’s known that part of the house had once been used as a blacksmiths.

The stone was lifted with the help of a JCB and given pride of place as an ornament in the backgarden.

Their names live on

AT least one piece of Galemire’s history will live on in the community.

A 3ft square table cloth crafted in 1913 — the year after the Smiths first moved into Galemire — is to be presented to the local history society.

The tablecloth is made up of 13 handwoven / embroidered squares and was produced for St Michael's Church (Lamplugh) Bazaar of 1913.

It has the 273 signatures of everyone who entered a tombola embroidered within the squares, together with an embroidered depiction of the church. It was done by the Girl's Friendly Society (G.F.S.) of which John’s grandmother was a strong member. She would obviously do a lot of the embroidery work and her name appears in the main centre square, alongside the vicar, Mr Richard Haythornthwaite.

John is hoping to have the piece framed so he can present it back to the community of Lamplugh.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk