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In 1950 some interesting finds were made by the Rev.G. Edward Charlesworth, who was rector at the time. Underneath the floor of the nursery on the second storey, was discovered a varied collection of childlike treasures - a penknife, a handkerchief, a crab shell, a crotchet hook, a thimble, a little white glove and a child's shoe. Three small pieces of wood had also been secreted in the same hiding place. Each of them bears some writing in pencil. On one it states that the floor was laid in June 1843. On another, in what has almost positively been identified as Carroll's hand are these strange words: "And we'll wander through the wide world,
And chase the buffalo." Lovers of Lewis Carroll will remember that thimbles, white gloves, a left-hand shoe and the buffalo all make significant appearances in his writings. Croft has many memories of the shy, affectionate boy whose youthful initials "C.L.D." still remain scratched into a window pane at the back of the house that was his happy home for so many years. It has been said that if you wish to understand the English people then you should learn to understand "Alice in Wonderland." If you wish to understand Lewis Carroll himself you should look very closely into his early years in Croft for here was the germinating ground for much of his work. For 25 years Carroll knew & loved this little village by the Tees, at first as a boy playing with his many sisters and brothers and later as a student, university lecturer, clergyman, illustrator, pioneer photographer and successful writer. Always he returned to Croft for his holiday, as long as his father was Rector there. It was his haven for most of his formative years. |
