Lifting the Latch - Shelia Stewart

A remarkable piece of social history and a tribute to one man’s courage and wisdom.

For nearly eighty years Mont Abbott has lived and worked on the land round the parish of Enstone, Oxfordshire. In this book, written by Shelia Stewart, Mont ‘lifts the latch’ to a forgotten world describing everything from his lost skills or carting and shepherding, to the joy of singing in the church choir, and the day-to-day warmth and loyalty of a tightly knit community. He vividly depicts a host of memorable characters, including his indomitable month Mary Anne; his brother Gil, who became Queen Mary’s footman; and Kate, the girl from Paradise, whose memory he still cherishes.

But this is no nostalgic look at a picturesque existence: Enstone was a place where a 13-year old could work twelve hours a day for two shillings and sixpence a week, and Mont also recalls his family’s struggles against poverty without the protection of a Welfare State.