The National Forest’s LANDshapes project interview with Celia & Roger Miles

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LANt034 Celia & Roger Miles
LANDshapes Oral History interview summary

Bagworth born Celia and Roger Miles have known each other since childhood. Celia remembers some of the places where she played games as a child such as "Snobs" and "Sound your holler" at places like 'Sammy's Brook' and 'Black Lane' in what she describes as a "Wonderful" childhood. Hear Roger and Celia talking affectionately about the village they love and about the changes in Bagworth which was once called 'the dying village' "….it's a very old village… Saxon… it was so diminished by subsidence - whole rows of houses were demolished, unfit to live in, too badly damaged. A lot of people who didn't want to leave had lived [in Bagworth] all their married lives….A lot of broken hearts….people really did think…the village was going to die altogether".

Celia and Roger's son is the fourth generation of the family to farm in Bagworth. Talking about some of the changes in farming Roger, who remembers milking the cow and churning butter by hand, explains that "…One of the biggest differences is the fact that it was so physical. Everything was man-handled you see. Now it's pretty well mechanised". In the end, the couple say that they would like their ashes to be scattered in their own fields, a special place for both of them "Down near a pond, just down here…Somebody's already had their ashes spread down there…a neighbour…and she loved the walks around here…her husband put a seat there…with a little plaque on it, and scattered her ashes".

Interviewer: Roger Kitchen.
Interview Date: 18/04/2005
Landshape Zone: Leicestershire and Derbyshire Coalfield
Parish: Bagworth and Thornton
Location: Bagworth, Leicestershire,
Date of birth of Roger Miles: 1939
Location of Original: Originals held with The National Forest Company
Reference LANt034

Last updated: 15/9/2005
East Midland Oral History Archive Web maintainer
This document has been approved by the head of department or section.