Down at the vet's

DILIGENT Alf Wight looked destined to have a conventional life as a vet working deep in rural Yorkshire. But he had a yearning to write about the characters he met as he tended their animals.

He spent hours tapping away on a portable typewriter, but his manuscript was rejected by many publishers until one finally agreed to publish it under the name of James Herriot. Alf, conscious of the veterinary profession's strict rules against advertising, chose the pen name after watching Birmingham City's goalkeeper Jim Herriot play in the FA Cup against Manchester United on television in February 1969.

The rest, as they say, is history. More than 60 million James Herriot books have been sold, spawning two feature films and a BBC television series - All Creatures Great And Small - that ran to 41 episodes from 1978 to 1990.

Walking through the red door of probably the most famous veterinary surgery in the world is like stepping back in time to the 1950s, when a dowdy Britain was still trying to shake off post-war austerity.

The hall at 23 Kirkgate, Thirsk, has retained its beautiful floor tiles from the early 19th century.

The dining room was only used for eating on special occasions, such as Christmas dinner. Most of the time it served as the practice office where canny Yorkshire farmers would sit around the table waiting to pay their bills.

One client left bags of coal in payment. The bags were found to contain coal dust and ended up sitting in the cellar for many years until the bill was settled.

The sitting room, with its original fireplace, was recreated for the television series. Lying on the floor are the toys of Alf's children, Rosie and Jim. The shelves in the alcove are laden with books and against a wall is an upright piano. Alf inherited his father's love of music and was a keen musician. He liked to relax in the sitting room after a busy day on the farms, watching his children play and listening to Bing Crosby on the radio.

The dispensary, with its scores of bottles containing different coloured medicines on the shelves, has been left just as Alf would have found it in the 1950s.

He would spend hours in this room, working at the cracked sink, making up prescriptions for farmers who would collect them out of hours from an unlocked white wooden box next to the front door.

The cosy breakfast room, with its coal fire, was the warmest place in the house. Members of the family would eat most of their meals there and, sometimes, after the table was cleared Alf would use it for operations on small animals.

The spacious kitchen with its large table and Aga stove was the hub of family life. Alf grew to love these heavy duty stoves because he felt their warmth on visits to Yorkshire farms and, although he never had one at 23 Kirkgate, it was the first thing he bought when he moved into his new home nearby.

The scullery was used for washing, drying and ironing - a time consuming chore for housewives in the days before automatic washing machines and tumble driers.

23 Kirkgate also boasts a typical English cottage garden of the 1950s, complete with a small vegetable plot.

Alf's son, Jim, who has kept the Thirsk practice going in modern premises after the death of his famous father, remembers climbing into the wisteria from his bedroom window when he was a boy.

His father was operating on a cat in the room below when he saw his son hurtle to the ground. Fortunately Jim escaped injury.

Visitors to the World Of James Herriot can experience the sights, sounds and smells of a typical Yorkshire foldyard where livestock would be housed in winter.

It was in such buildings, cluttered with farm implements, that Alf would operate on large animals or test unruly bullocks for TB.

Outside the foldyard is the Austin Seven tourer that starred in the BBC television series. The 1934 vehicle is similar to the one Alf used to drive into the dales and moors on his rounds and Sophie, 14, Daniel, 12, and nine-year-old Rachel enjoyed sitting inside this car from a bygone era.

Three studio sets from the TV series have been set up at the £1.4 million visitor centre to give Herriot fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of the programmes that touched the hearts of millions.

Visitors can also learn about the physiology of farm animals, such as cows, sheep, horses, goats and chickens, as well as the transformation of animal welfare from a shady craft dabbling in superstitious folklore into a well-regulated profession dominated by scientific advances.

The World Of James Herriot has more than 4,000 pieces of veterinary equipment in its collection - donated from all over the United Kingdom.

Fact file

The World Of James Herriot, 23 Kirkgate, Thirsk. Tel: 01845 524234

www.worldofjamesherriot.org

Open all year round; closed on Christmas Day

Admission: adults £4.50; senior citizens £3.50; children (five to 15) £3.20; students £4; family ticket for four £13; family ticket for five £15.

Updated: 09:30 Saturday, August 03, 2002