Back, from the left: Mary, John William Studley Potter and his wife Marie; Rene, Les; front from the left Nancy, known as Nip, holding the cat and Ken.
- John Potter on the left, courtesey of the Malton and Norton Community Website.
John Potter was the first of his family to live at Oak Farm which it is believed was called Manor Farm until he changed the name to reflect the pub he owned in Malton Market Place.
While at the Royal Oak, John Potter was a champion curler and is pictured with the other team members of the curling team in a story on the Malton and Norton Community Website.
As well as running the pub, Mr Potter was a catering business man, specialising in providing the refreshments at race meetings.
But the real feather in his cap was catering for royalty which allowed him to display the Prince of Wales feathers over his door.
He also had business links in Norton where he was the joint partner in a venture to set up a dance venue – albeit in a tent! (See Memories of Malton by Thomas Baker).
His sister Annie Potter retained an association with Oak Farm as she married Guy Raines, born 1869, who bought Oak Farm in 1934.
John Potter was followed by his son John W S Potter who by 1913 was shown as also farming Hessle House. He died aged only 53 years on 21.07.34. He drowned in the attic after falling into a water tank used to collect rainwater for the household. His wife Marie, died 20.11.60 aged 83. They had two sons Les and Ken, and three daughters, Mary, Nancy known as Nip and Rene who married Charles Lund of Manor Farm.
John Potter was the first who can be remembered as allowing the field in front of the farmhouse to be used as a cricket pitch, a tradition which was followed by Alan Raines but then abandoned in the last quarter of the 20thC.
AGW 2011
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