06-02 2 Maryville Park

The magic associated with our trip to Ireland in 1947 begins with the home of our grandparents at 2 Maryville Park. The photo of the home is taken from Lisburn Rd. and shows the front of the house facing Maryville Park.
Great grandfather Devon gave a home to all of his children but left them none of his wealth in the will. His oldest son inherited the family business, but his home and personal wealth all went to charity.
There were stables at the back of Maryville Park, and a couple of garages which the family rented out. Love the photo of Dad standing over one of the ponies that Uncle Alex tended for the owner.
There was no central heating, and each evening, all the family sat around in one room called the parlour. This room had a fireplace heated by coal bits that grandfather picked up the night before by following the coal trucks as they made deliveries. He scooped up the bits in a pail with a brush. He worked all through the night and slept in until 2 PM the following afternoon.
The garden, like so many during the war, was devoted to the growth of vegetables and had a greenhouse where they sprouted from seeds. And the mature fruit trees gave them a year's supply of apples. Ian and Robert in the photo are in one of the fruit trees. Ian is eating what is called a "slider", which is ice-cream between two wafers.
Uncle Alex also managed a hen house for a neighbour and kept half of the eggs for the Bulloch family. I remember getting fried eggs, fried tomatoes and fried bread for breakfast each morning. They were big on grease.
The house had running cold water but taking a bath was something to write home about. A large tank over the fireplace is filled with water, and after arranging some baffles, heat is directed to warm the water, which took about five hours. Then everyone used the same hot water starting with the oldest. I was number seven to hit the tub out of nine. Yuk. I remember cutting through the scum on the water to wash.
Going to bed when it was close to freezing in the bedroom was another experience. Just like in the old movies, a unique bed warmer filled with hot coals from the fireplace was used to heat our beds.
And no one left the room during the night, chamber pots hidden under the beds were used. Uncle Alex called them “thunder bowls”. Aunt Bertha picked up the pots in the morning. I was only 13 at the time, but felt badly for her.
Dad and grandmother Bulloch are shown at the side of the house. They were so alike. And Dad idolized her.