The Square c1955, Alton
The Square c1955, Alton Ref: A285019
Memories of The Square c1955, Alton
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Alton & local memories
Read and share memories of Alton and Staffordshire inspired by Frith photos.
The Cafe School
We moved to Alton from Somerset in November 1958. The primary school was closed for refurbishment. Mr. and Mrs. Carnwell who owned the garage and cafe played host to the village school, it all seemed quite strange to this 7 year old. There are many good memories. Rushing out at play time to wave to the steam train drivers after they left the station and Mrs Carnwell mothering us all. We played in the yard at the back of the premises and two classes shared a room. Mr. Carnwell had lorries which transported the first excavators for JCB. We moved back to the village school in 1959 after the toilets had been moved indoors and central heating installed. The winter was freezing and the walk to and from the village seemed long and cold. Mrs Carnwell used to heat up the bottles of school milk which were often frozen. Mr. Gilbert the Headmaster lived to the left of the bridge down in the valley in a bungalow. Petrol was a... Read more
Mrs. Worthington
Mrs Worthington ran the shop and cafe. She sold some interesting bits and pieces besides sweets and ice cream. In the background is the pub run by the Parringtons. We often walked from home down to the cafe and treated ourselves to an ice cream in the summer. There were lots of walks around the area and so the cafe was popular with visitors.
St. Peter's
As soon as we moved to the village we became members of St. Peter's church and attended most Sundays. Mr. Powell was the vicar. I remember seeing the 8 bells outside the church before they were hoisted into the tower. After Mr. Powell left my dad used to read one of the lessons most Sundays when the lay reader Peter Fisher took the services. Mr. Vincent became vicar after Mr. Powell.
The Round House
This was always a special landmark to me. It fascinated me and I was very curious abou it and longed to look inside. I must have passed it most days whilst living in the village. The houses nearby were on the edge of an old quarry and I believe their back doors opened onto the quarry.
Alton 2003
A quite recent memory but I visited in 2003 thanks to the kindness of my relative Josephine Dixon [dec.]. We are both related to the Byatt and Collis families from Alton. It was great to see where our family lived and worked, including the White Hart Inn [owned by George Collis and Susannah Clewley mid 1800s] and a shop with the Byatt name still above the door, now selling kitchen tiles as well as memorabilia. I bought a print of the Alton valley and managed to get it back to Australia in one piece for my mum. And a little pottery/porcelain trinket box for my daughter.
