You are here:
Great Witley
Great Witley photos
Displaying the first of 7 old photos of Great Witley. View all Great Witley photos
Great Witley maps
Historic maps of Great Witley and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Great Witley maps
Great Witley area books
Displaying 1 of 12 books about Great Witley and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Great Witley
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Great Witley.
Add your memory of Great Witley
or of a photo of Great Witley.
My School Days Begin
Great Witley school is where it all began,we lived at Ockeridge some 5 miles from Great Witley,but soon after my parents moved to the Engine House,situated down witley court drive, and opposite the Hundred pool.
So i left for school that day from Ockeridge and walked to my new home after school,it was a lovely summers day and i was filled with excitement at the new and adventurous time ahead.
I was not disappointed, what a great place to grow up in,a super school,and a whole 360 acres of playground when i got home each day.
It was part of the witley court estate,and it was covered in huge tree's,oaks,beech,horse chestnut,and sweet chestnut, most of these would have to be felled to make way for the farm land to be cropped.
We had sheep,pigs and cows,chickens,turkeys,not to mention the pet cats and scottie dog, father had a working sheepdog, life did not get much better than this.
I left the school at the age of 11,to attend Stourport high school,but... Read more
Winter of 1963
I moved to Great Witley in 1954 with my family,we lived at the Engine House,which used to pump the water for Witley Court. I attended Witley school from 1954 to 1960, the headmaster was Mr Wyton,a memorable time for me, living on the farm enjoying the freedom that modern society cannot provide.
The winter of 1963 was a long one,and now at the age of 14 I enjoyed sledging and snowball fights with my two brothers Philip and Michael.
One of the greatest memories of that winter was the frozen pool above Witley Court,called the Washing Pool,a popular fishing haunt for midlanders. My father owned an ex army Willy's Jeep and decided that the ice on the pool would support its weight easily,which it did,and almost on a daily basis we all drove the jeep on the pool spinning and sliding around,Philip and I also took our old motorcycles on the ice, spending more time off the bike than on,but fantastic fun,looking back I realise how dangerous it was,but we... Read more
Too Much For One go
Mum and Dad bought the Post Office in 1944 and I grew up in Great Witley. I lived there from the age of 7 to 36. Boys had catapaults, and the police (there were 3 of them) took them off us, so we made new ones from nut sticks, the rubber from innertubes and the leather from the tongue of a shoe. Step out of line, ie shooting the cups off telegraph poles or the occassional window - the route was, police to father, and this was daunting! Later there was the Young Farmers, after a meeting, usually into the pub, BUT, the younger of the group behaved with reasonable decorum or they answered to the senior ones. Later the Post Office, Doreen, bless her! We fought like cat and dog but she was wonderful. Jan Francis is taking after her but we never worked together as she is far too young. I could mention so many names and events but the one I would like... Read more
Childhood
I was born in Worcester and brought up in G Witley until I left in 1976. I remember the days at the school, cricket and football; the Easter Monday Red Marley Hill climb; walks in the hills and visits to the court; days in the sun; cycle rides, fishing on the court pools; then the return off leave and the nights at the 100 house. What fun, what a care free existence. Visits are filled with happy memories and the occassional sight of an old familar face.
Worcestershire memories
Mr Maude
Please let me know if you remember Mr Maude who lived at the Elms for many years. I was told at the time he had been twice Lord Mayor of London. Many thanks in anticipation of a reply. Jayne
All Saits Church. Shelsley Beauchamp.
At one time I was a choir boy at All Saints Church. I cannot remember who was in the choir with me at the time but I do remember the vicar was the Reverend Bache. When I visited the church in 1997 while on holiday in Britain I found that there was a book in which all the past ministers at the church were listed. To my surprise, the Rev Bache was not among them. I think that the matter should be investigated and the list corrected. I know that I have the name right as I had a book of common prayer given to me by the said reverend in which he had signed his name. During the time Rev Bache was minister I had a great interest in Theology, an interest encouraged by the reverend to such an extent he suggested to my parents that I be allowed to attend a recognised Church School where I could peruse Theology in more depth with a view to taking up... Read more
Nan's Shop at New Mill Bridge.
The shop that was operated by my grandmother at New Mill Bridge was home to me and my family during the Second World War. It was a haven where the madness of the war seemed to be so very remote and in a way, inconsequential, particularly to us children. The warm glow of Birmingham burning could be seen in the night sky from time to time when they were being bombed, but that was 30 miles away and so remote it was almost another country. For us, deep in the country, the war was something happening somewhere else. The only time it intruded upon country life was when we woke up one morning to find the house and a large area around the valley covered with strips of silver paper. We wondered where it all came from as we gleefully wandered around picking up armfuls of it. It was only much later we learned that it was called "Window" and was dropped from aircraft in order to confuse Radar.... Read more
