From a Castleward childhood Netta marks her centenary

From a Castleward childhood Netta marks her centenary

13 November 2013

FEW of the thousands who enjoy the glorious setting of Castleward see beyond the immaculate grounds to the soul of the great estate with hidden walkways and cherished hideaways.

However, for one woman who celebrated her 100th birthday last week, Castleward and nearby Myra Castle are rooted deep.

Netta Bradshaw was born Annette Johnston in the gate lodge at Myra on November 6, 1913. She grew up in Castleward where her father George was head gardener. Later in life, Netta lived at the gate lodge, before moving to Lecale Lodge Nursing Home in Downpatrick.

It was there last Wednesday that she celebrated her 100th birthday and the celebrations completed with a telegram from Her Majesty, congratulating Netta on her milestone.

The Johnston line at Castleward goes back as long as the estate itself. Indeed, it is one of the families listed in the tenancies of Audleystown before it was demolished and the stone used to build “the farmyard” and part of the huge boundary wall at the estate.

With her brothers and sisters, Netta’s playground was the rolling deer park, the woods behind the Green Row and the shoreline around Castleward Bay.

Netta would know well the paths leading from The North Lodge across to the Church Walk as she made the daily two mile trek to Ballyculter Primary School and then again with her family on Sundays to Ballyculter Parish Church where she has been a lifelong member of the congregation.

As a young girl, Netta left Castleward to become a children’s nurse in Belfast. It was there she met her husband, Matt Bradshaw, originally from Co. Tipperary. After their wedding, they managed a housing block in the city before the opportunity arose for a return to the countryside she knew so well.

Matt was offered a position at Myra Castle and they moved into the Half Acre, later moving to the gate lodge where Netta was born all those years ago.

The young girl who once walked across the fields to school would later be found on a motorcycle, a tractor or a car, as a century of change stepped into Lecale.

Netta’s older sister, Hessie, married and moved to Co. Londonderry. Her elder brother George moved to Scotland to become a gamekeeper on the River Tweed. Netta visited both of them, but her other brothers remained as part of the fabric of Castleward.

Rupert worked with horses at the estate, while Willie learned his gardening skills at his father’s hands in the walled garden.

Indeed the farmyard at Castleward was a family focus on most Sundays. Rupert lived in one house with his wife Agnes and Netta’s mother Anne, lived next door.

The green would regularly be transformed into a makeshift cricket pitch as family and friends gathered. And Netta would often be able to prove as good a bowler as any of the young men.