49 High Street, Needingworth

History of 49 High Street

Listed Building

Mid C19 house, Two-storeys.

According to Looking back on a Village 1875-1975, this was the home of Cecil ‘Knowledge’ Prior. There are a number of interesting and humorous quotes about him some of which are reproduced here:

Mr Knowledge Prior, known as ‘Knowledge’ to everyone was also known as the ‘Midnight Milkman’ owing to his habit of delivering milk at the most unearthly hours of the night when all people should have settled in for a night’s sleep. He was also the village ‘Crier’, going round with his bell … he always done this job riding his bike, dressed in his top hat, black suit with tails …

He was a devout Baptist – he’d go to church every Sunday – and I don’t think Baptists drink, but Knowledge would drink all the rum you could buy him as long as he didn’t have to pay for it.

Nothing Knowledge liked better than to put on his old frock coat and top hat and if there was any news then he’d go round and stand on the street corners and ring his bell an shout … then he’d walk on and someone would say “Have a drop of rum Knowledge” and he’d go to the pub and have a drop of rum and the more pubs he stopped at, the more dificult it got to tell what he was crying about!