* Extract from “Mysterious Britain” by Janet & Colin Bord
“…..the ancient men built upon the hills not for reasons of war, but because the re-moulding of the countryside was an integral past of their way of life. By sculpting the forms of the hills and downs they could enhance and magnify those currents of natural energy that flowed, and still do flow, through the body of the earth, by the use of sound, movement, and, above all, thought. In the form of solemn and joyful ceremonies, they could manipulate the vibrations in order to bring the bountiful and vital life force flowing through the land and the people.”
Thus it should come as no surprise that Crookbarrow Hill – until severed from its hinterland by major road construction – was the focus of the local community’s religious – ie Christian – celebrations and holidays, notably at Easter and Whitsuntide, as shown in this account provided by St Peter’s Baptist Church :
“The annual SS (Sunday School) treat was always arranged for the Whitsun bank holiday Monday and for many years Crookbarrow Hill, Whittington (more familiarly known as Whittington Tump) was the venue. In one account of this in 1908 we read ‘We started at 1.30 pm from the school and marched to Whittington, the infants being conveyed there on a dray kindly lent by Messrs Barnett Ltd.’ Our oldest member, Beat Clinton, who started going to SS in 1915 at the age of three, recalls the annual treat with great affection. She remembers the use of Mr Gammon’s dray to transport the children at 1pm. Tea was at 4pm and races at 6pm followed by a football match for all the fathers, everyone returning home about 9pm….”
