Howcutt family reunion

14 July 2007

About 30 members of the family met up at Brixworth country park, Northamptonshire for the first reunion of all branches of the Howcutt family. Fortunately, rain held off all-day and we had almost ideal weather to enjoy an event that was mainly held in the open air. 

People came from as afield as Yorkshire and Sussex, including descendants of all three branches of the Howcutt family. Not all of us share the same surname - for some it was a grandmother or even a 2 times great grandmother who provided that crucial link. 

After a picnic lunch, the more energetic exercised their football and frisbee skills. A number of us got out photo albums and shared memories of times gone by. In some cases, we were able to identify extra people appearing on pictures dating back to the 19th century.

Later in the afternoon, we moved on to Brixworth village and visited the Saxon church - the venue for many past family christenings, marriages and funerals - and tried our hand at deciphering the inscription on the tombstone of William Howcutt (1726-1782), from whom all English Howcutts get the name. A short trip down the hill took us to the old village school house, which is now the Brixworth Heritage Centre. There, we enjoyed looking at the displays about the history of the village and a welcome cup of tea.

The remains of the village cross proved a useful stage for group photos. It was at this point that two more members of the party arrived. We spent a while on the phone trying to work out exactly where they were before we realised that each caller was standing at a different end of the very same building.

Most of us then took a stroll along Silver Street, where many Howcutts lived in the 1800s, to 79 Northampton Road (built by John Howcutt in 1826) and on to the surviving portion of the Workhouse in Spratton Road, where our ancestors went when times were hard.

We rounded off the day with a meal in the garden of the "Coach & Horses", no doubt continuing to follow in our forebears' footsteps. Everyone enjoyed the event, making friends out of our relations. We look forward to catching up again in due course.