Saturday, December 8, 2012

An Historical Christmas Greeting.

An Historical Christmas Greeting.
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Roasting Chestnuts around an old open log fire and playing with new toys and reading all my new annuals at Widbrook. That would of course been over 70 years ago. Now we can send cards and greetings via the internet. Anyway this is the same greeting that I used in my other blog, Click on the bottom right corner to get a full screen view. 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

A 160 Years of Change.

160 Years of Change.
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Click on this map to get an enlargement view of this map and then print it off. The take a walk around the village to find what buildings were there on the map in 1852 and the changes that have altered the village up to 2012. It would be an ideal time at Christmas to walk off that rich meal, and to get a breath of fresh air, and for the youngsters to get an history lesson. One thing you will note that there was no Holy Trinity School.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

A 160 Years of change-1

A 160 years of change - 1.
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Now that I am in possession of some 160 year old ordinance survey maps I thought it would be a good idea to produce maps of the same approximate areas so that you can note the changes. As I have said before people change far more often compared with the topography of an area. Place names change over time due to spelling of the day being more phonetic. The area I have chosen to start with is a portion west of Cliveden Reach and going as far as Widbrook Common east. The names of the field areas that I have named on the photo map are those given on the White Place Farm map 60 years ago.
You will also notice that the area I have name Tumulus you will note that it was named Bartle Meade, This we are told in history is where a battle was fought during the Danish incursion into England. There was up until the early 1950’s two low Tumulus mounds in what was then permanent pasture. These were flattened when the field system was enlarged to what we have today Of course the area known today as Battle Meade has been reduced to a small area south of Widbrook Park, previously known as “The Islet.”
The word Southey, depicted on the photo map as Upper and Lower covered you will find, a greater area back in 1852 back into what is now known as Maidenhead Court and the Sheephouse Farm.

Two other fields on the photo map called Upper & Lower Gardeners were made up from the two Southey fields by the first Lord Astor as summer grazing for his stud brood mares, as were two fields just south of Moor Hall. So these changes took place in the early 1900’s. These particular fields have been covered in a previous page of this blog.
 
 
The same area in 2012.
 
Click on the pictures to enlarge them to full screen.