| Sambo`s Grave ? Somewhere near Morecambe. |
| Sandieh | As a child I remember being taken to a place somewhere near Morecambe and seeing a grave that was known as "Sambo`s Grave" it was said to be the grave of a young slave boy who was brought to England by his master who died, and Sambo was adopted by the village. The village was once a port and to get to it you had to go when the tide was out otherwise the sea would cover the roads, does anyone know this place? |
| noel | quote:
Originally posted by Sandieh
As a child I remember being taken to a place somewhere near Morecambe and seeing a grave that was known as "Sambo`s Grave" it was said to be the grave of a young slave boy who was brought to England by his master who died, and Sambo was adopted by the village. The village was once a port and to get to it you had to go when the tide was out otherwise the sea would cover the roads, does anyone know this place?
I think it's near Sunderland Point on the Lune Estuary, I went there once as a young boy. My father said it was where cotton first came to this country. I suppose like many old ports the sea took it over.
I have found a walk referring to it .
http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/lancashire/bolton/leisure/WHATWALKS4.html |
| Sandieh | http://www.bispham2.freeserve.co.uk/curios/misc1.htm
http://www.djclark.com/2000/city/sunderland/
Thats the place Sunderland Point, thanks Neil, seems I got the story wrong about Sambo`s grave, its a strange story.
I found two more sites.[:)] |
| LDunlop76 | I was taken there as a child too. It's the kind of place that stays in the memory. |
| William R | Didn`t Lonnie Donnegan have a ditty about Sunderland Point? Or have I got it wrong? I seem to remember some skiffle group mentioning it, memory plays tricks, so maybe not. Cheerio, Bill. |
| noel | quote:
Originally posted by William R
Didn`t Lonnie Donnegan have a ditty about Sunderland Point? Or have I got it wrong? I seem to remember some skiffle group mentioning it, memory plays tricks, so maybe not. Cheerio, Bill.
I think it might have been Cumberland Gap actually Bill. |
| William R | Well,I was nearly right Noel. Is it right when they say say that Undertakers in Morecambe stand their clients up in the bus shelters to make the place look busy? Once walked on Bare Promenade, and it was....and it was also b***** cold, but it WAS July. Cheers, Bill. |
| Sandieh | When I think of Morecambe, I think of rain, Wonder why? hahaha[:D] |
| Lady Griffin | Hello Sandieh,
There are other postings earlier about Sambo's grave and by an amazing coincidence I befriended a woman next to me on the plane as we tried valiantly to make the hours pass more quickly from Singapore to Manchester.
When we got close she invited me to visit her home -at Sunderland Point.I could hardly believe it.All I could say was that's where Sambo's grave is-having learned a lot about it on the Forum.Plus the info on the Viking graves etc.
A pity I won't make it but it was a lovely gesture to a complete stranger.
Ships that pass in the night etc.
Sambo's is a sad story-always makes me a bit tearful. |
| Sandieh | Hi Lady Griffin, Yes poor Sambo was said to have died of a broken heart, Its a pity you did`nt get to visit the lady in Sunderland Point, what an interesting history the place has. I remember as a child thinking it was very eiree, especially knowing that the sea would come and cover the road.
On a web site I looked at I discovered that the tide covers the road twice a day.
Best wishes Lady Griffin, and thanks for your reply[:)] |
| Caroline | Hello Sandieh. Yes, we had a few postings on this a bit back, I got a bit of info from my booklet ' Twenty Miles Around Morecambe Bay' ( price- 15 New Pence !).
Bill, I was tickled by your new Lonnie Donnegan song, I'll always think of that, now!
|
| Spitfire | Caroline - your 20 miles around Morecambe fits in perfectly, as it was `15 miles to the Sunderland Point` LOL |
| Caroline | Tee-Hee! Did anyone ever hear Peter Seller's skit of Lonny Donnegan ( 'Lenny Goonegan')? It's on ' Songs for Swinging Sellers'
' John Henry come down from Washington one long hot
summer's day
To bring some water for Sylvie, or was it Nelly Gray?
He threw away hishammer, and he parked his chewing gum,
But Sylvie didn't dig him, 'cos nobody loves like an
Irishman'......
(ETC)
|
| Alan Marsden | Departing Preston(Lane Ends) for a cycle ride to Sunderland point and Sambo's grave was a regular Sunday event,first stop was a transport cafe on the A6 at Garstang for a pint of tea, then on to the Cockerham road, calling at Glasson.,and then into Lancaster and on to Sunderland. The cotton tree was just as the websit depicted, and Sambo's grave was a 5 minute walk down a narrow path.On several occasions the tide would be flowing over the road. Returning, we occasionally benefited from the use of a small boat,to Glasson and once to the Boax at Cockerham.The following Sundays bike ride would be to Skipton, Bolton Abbey,Harrogate and home via Ilkley,Blubberhouses was a toil, other times to Ingleton Falls and Settle,then the backlanes thru Waddington Stoneyhurst and Longridge. Still found nothing better in the way of scenery !Good days out,fancy doing it again!! Is cycling still popular in the area ? Alan M |
| Alan Marsden | Afterthought. Does the tide still cover the road to Sunderland point, I ask this because on my recent ( 5 years ago last) visits to Pilling and Cockerham,I have not seen any sign of the tide coming near the road, wheras it used to cover the road twice daily !
Alan M |
| Caroline | Was the transport caff on the left going North up the A6? We used to stop at one for chip butties in the 50's. Mum and Dad had a 'combination' and we'd be returning from an outing to Tarn Hows. Other expeditions would take us to the places you mention, Alan- Ingleton, the Dales, Glasson Dock, over Blubberhouses in heavy mists.... but I haven't yet seen Sambo's grave . |
| Spitfire | The transport cafe at Garstang WAS on the left, as you remember it. It`s now a motel. I'm guessing here, but I think it may have been called The Concord Cafe in those days.
In my cycling days our first stop was a cafe by the river in Lancaster city centre. To be 'WITH IT' in those days meant being able to do Preston to Lancaster in the hour (felt like it was uphill all the way). Then for the REALLY keen(or daft) ones was the Jungle cafe on Shap. I can`t believe that we used to venture that far on bikes. I get tired just driving that far these days. LOL |
| Spitfire | Whilst I`m on the subject of places and memories, I wonder if Caroline (or anyone else) can put a name on a place for me?
It was either a small town or large village in Northern France. Hanging from the church steeple was parachute and attached to that, a dummy airman.
We will always remember being drawn into the church by the sound of organ music. A man, dressed in a two-piece type blue overall and wearing a black beret was playing a Bach toccata at full volume. One of those never to be forgotten memories. (The sound,that is. The name of the place has gone). |
| Bill Rigby | Yes, Spitfire, the small town is Saint-Mere-Eglise in Normandy. The parachute commemorates the landing of the 101st Airborne in the early morning of June 6, 1944, when one of the droppers actually landed on the church and was shot by the Germans. The small town has a very interesting museum of the period. When I was there in 1994, I saw a guy in the post office with a copy of the Herald Tribune under his arm and asked where he got it. He answered me in English, saying he had a subscription. He asked me where I was from; at the time I was living in Overland Park, Kansas. He then asked if I had visited the museum. Not yet, I said, so he wrote a little note on a piece of paper and told me to give it in at the entrance and the fee of 22 Frs would be waived! He was the museum director!
In the nearby village of Carentan. I found a B&B in a chateau with the good lady of the house giving me a reduction since I was cycling! I had a wonderful room, recently refurbished with adjoining bathroom, looking on to the chateau forecourt. Since I was the first American they had met who spoke French, they invited me to dine with them (it was strictly B&B) and we passed a very agreeable evening. I stayed another day and they asked me again to dine with them! I returned three years later, this time touring in a car, and was able to show the most interesting chateau to my wife. Two years later, they wrote to tell me they were selling the property because they could not make enough to maintain it from the B&B business. Since the property had belonged to a relative of the owner, it seemed a great pity. The folk who bought it were...English!
The son aged 14 in 1994, by the way, had made his own museum in out buildings of the chateau. He had found parachutes from the drop, weapons, ammunition and pieces of equipment. People he knew had given him a US army uniform of the period and other items. Everything was neatly labeled and explained; great job for a 14 year old! |
| LDunlop76 | We've driven through/past Saint-Mere Eglise a few times, but we've always been either just getting off the ferry or just driving to catch it and we've never had time to stop there. One of these days we must make time to explore that area, rather than just passing through en route to somewhere else.
Like you, Bill R, I've found the French are very friendly towards anyone who makes the effort to speak French with them. It doesn't even have to be good French, just attempting a few words pays dividends in getting a decent table in a restaurant or whatever. |
| Spitfire | Thanks for the name. I remember it now of course. Didn`t the museum house a full size bomber? It was American, so was it a B52 perhaps? |
| Alan Marsden | Spitfire, if my memory is correct,the cafe at Garstang was named the 'Mayfield'. |
| Spitfire | Alan, I'm sure you are correct now you mention it. In that case either the motel is the Concord or was called that in the recent past. I hardly ever use the A6 northbound these days, being able to join the M6 at Leyland. |
| rocketmanjohn | I visited 'Sambo's Grave' on my last trip to UK. It's a short drive from Overton to Sunderland Point and then a good walk across the island. I say 'island', it is when the tide's in, yes, it still comes over the road. Sunderland Point is a beautiful place to visit, really wild and completely quiet, except for the sea birds calling.
Sambo's Grave is well cared for and there were fresh flowers, very touching, although probably a guilt complex. Overton and Sunderland Point are both well worth a visit, and I thoroughly enjoyed Morecambe, which may come as a surprise.
John |
| anacortesdamp | Spitfire:
The bomber in the St. Mere-Eglise museum is unlikely to be a B-52, since that didn't appear until well after WW2 and is a jet-powered airplane. More likely it's a Boeing B-17 or a Consolidated B-24.
Frank Damp |
| Spitfire | Hi Frank, I`ve just discovered that the aircraft was a C47 Dakota. I thought I`d try Google and lo-and-behold there was a site devoted to the museum. If anybody can tell me that there is a better source of information than Google, I`d be amazed.
I'm not sure what this has to do with Leyland but it`s difficult not to stray off the path sometimes. |
| Alan Marsden | Rocketman, I'm not at all surprised that you enjoyed Morecombe, always thought it was underated myself, I remember spending a week there once with my parents in a boarding house, visits to Heysham etc. Coach trips to the illuminations each year, walking thru Happy Mount Park, it could be that's where my first thoughts of Canada originated listening to 'When I'm calling you' at the illuminated Hiawatha display ! The countryside around ther is lovely too.,with Overton and Sunderland Point to the south, Arnside and Silverdale to the north. |
| LDunlop76 | quote:
Originally posted by Alan Marsden
Rocketman, I'm not at all surprised that you enjoyed Morecombe, always thought it was underated myself, I remember spending a week there once with my parents in a boarding house, visits to Heysham etc. Coach trips to the illuminations each year, walking thru Happy Mount Park, it could be that's where my first thoughts of Canada originated listening to 'When I'm calling you' at the illuminated Hiawatha display ! The countryside around ther is lovely too.,with Overton and Sunderland Point to the south, Arnside and Silverdale to the north.
I was taken on holiday to Heysham a couple of times as a child and alwasy enjoyed it. I loved the old church at Heysham and trips to Sambo's grave and Happy Mount Park. Pity they had to build a nuclear power station up there - what with that and Sellafield, it's a wonder Morecambe Bay shrimps don't glow in the dark! |