Leading the Charge: one of the two most popular men in the North Riding

“MAJOR William Charge Booth was a splendid, almost ideal, specimen of a Yorkshireman and an Englishman,” said Spectator in the Darlington and Stockton Times of October 8, 1898. “Of large stature and powerful physique, his appearance was at once remarkable in a crowd to those who did not know him.

“He had a cordiality of manner, a warmth of welcome, a breeziness of greeting that made him one of the most agreeable and popular men in the North Riding.”

So agreeable and popular was he that the village hall in Catterick is named after – the Booth Memorial Institute. It was built at the very end of the 19th Century, but it now needs £150,000 to bring it into the 21st Century, complete with an internet cafe. A newly formed Friends group has raised £9,000 in nine months, and with grants from district and parish councils, more than £30,000 is already in the kitty which enabled the most important remedial work to begin last week.

FUND-RAISING: The Booth Memorial Institute in Catterick Village

Forthcoming fund-raising events include a sponsored dog walk, a table top sale and, on Wednesday, a talk about the history of Darlington Civic Theatre.

The Booth connection with Catterick began in the late 18th Century when Thomas Booth – “little is known of his origins”, says the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, unhelpfully – farmed at Killerby, to the south of Catterick.

Killerby is a fascinating part of the world. It takes its name from a Viking chieftain called Kilvert who had a motte and bailey fort – an earth mound with ditches and fences – next to the River Swale. His hillock is called Castle Hills, and although it is marked on the Ordnance Survey map, Army fences protecting the old airfield beside the A1(M) prevent further inspection.

At Killerby, Thomas Booth made his name as the most skilful cattle breeder of his day. He purchased shorthorn bulls from the Colling brothers of Ketton, to the north of Darlington, and created a herd that fattened quickly, produced good milk, and which was noted for its beauty.

In 1814, Thomas passed his Killerby estate to his eldest son, John, and retired to his Warlaby estate, near Ainderby Steeple.

John became a classic Yorkshire countryman. As well as a cattle-breeder, he was the master of Bedale Hunt. He raced horses at Catterick, and his dog, Nips, won the Wensleydale Cup at Leyburn.

When he died in 1857, he was buried in Ainderby Steeple, but the magnificent east window in Catterick church was installed in his memory. Directly behind the altar, it shows the Last Supper – well, most of it. Curiously, the wooden panelling on the wall beneath it has been raised several inches to block out the bottom of the window – this, apparently, was because the vicar’s wife complained that she could see Jesus’ feet inappropriately sticking out beneath the table as he dined.

GREAT NORTH ROAD: The Booth hall is on the left of this 1920s postcard of Catterick Village

John and his wife Jane, who grew up in Cleasby, had nine children, the youngest of whom was Major William Booth, born in 1837. He spent his early years in the navy, but with his siblings dying young, he unexpectedly became the head of the family – and of the herd, which he had to rebuild after it was “severely ravaged” by foot and mouth in the 1870s.

But still the Booths’ shorthorns won prizes at the Yorkshire Show, and even at the Royal Show at Windsor.

William – whose middle name comes from his mother’s family – lived at Oran Hall, a large house on the Killerby estate which is now lost to the MoD – in 1986, it was converted into RAF officers' accommodation.

His military rank came from his involvement in the Yorkshire Regiment of volunteers. He was a magistrate, a county councillor, a keen Conservative, and an avid churchman. “His face was a familiar one to all attending the church, his resonant bass voice ever sounding the praise of his Maker in his singing of the choir,” said the D&S Times.

His death, on September 30, 1898, at the age of 61, shocked the agricultural district. “Major Booth was in his carriage on the drive near his house when he expired quite suddenly without any warning,” said the D&S Times.

OBITUARY: From the D&S Times, October 1, 1898

Catterick Village was crowded on the day of his funeral with people paying their respects, and in Richmond, the parish church bells “rang muffled peals, and the inhabitants were unanimous in closing their shutters or drawing down their blinds”.

He was, as his obituary said, “one of the two or three most popular men in the North Riding”.

And now the hall dedicated to him is in need of help. On September 19, they’re holding a sponsored dog walk starting at 10am on September 19. On September 20, there’s a table-top sale, starting at 10am (call 07779-342782 for details), and on Wednesday, September 16 at 7pm, Chris Lloyd gives his talk Of Fish and Actors: 100 Years of Darlington Civic Theatre. Tickets are £5, to include refreshments, and are available on 01748-818061 or on the door.

By coincidence, on Tuesday, September 15, Chris is giving a fund-raising talk in St Peter’s Church, Croft-on-Tees, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland. The talk, A Carollesque Magic Lantern Show, starts at 7.30pm. Admission on the door is £5, to include refreshments.