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Horningsham memories

Here are memories of Horningsham and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Horningsham or a Horningsham photo.

Hues Family

Old Cottages c1955
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My Hues family lived, worked and died in Horningsham. My great great grandfather Robert Hues died in the far end cottage in the early 1800's.

Memories of Wiltshire

Sixties Longleat

Many fond memories of Longleat over the last 46 years: the freedom we all enjoyed as villagers to roam across the estate - the sixth Marquess was always very generous in this respect. The remains of the American hospital were still much in evidence then; dad would drive the car to one of the old stone ramps so that he could work underneath it! We'd walk across the park from Corsley before the reserve was built, and when it was finished and the lions introduced, we all worried that one might escape, but to our knowledge, they never did! Mum worked part time for the catering company J.G. Boyes who originally set up a cafe marquee near the house; this later moved to the new cafe/restaurant building that stands today. Dad also got a p/t job driving a Boyes ice cream van based in the park. Other memories include the pop concerts mounted on the front steps of the house including the Rolling Stones I seem to remember, but sadly... Read more

Gamekeeper at Longleat.

Hi Geoff, yes I was on the Longleat Estate in the 1960s, only for three years, I was gamekeeper, on the Corsley side of the Estate. Mr Minter owned the shooting rights over the Estate, with Mr Bill Buckett retained by Lord Bath to manage the deer herd in the park, and the lakes around Longleat House,. I started work at Longleat a few months before the lions arrived. After working for Mr Minter for one year, he decided to let off the Corsley side of the Estate, together with Lower Woods and Rodenbury, to a shooting syndicate, called The Corsley Syndicate. I was taken on as their gamekeeper, our young family lived in Sturford Lane, but after two years of hard work, I realized the large wooded areas of Longleat were more than I could sensibly manage, so I then took a gamekeeper's job on a smaller estate at Codford in the Wylye valley. But I have many happy memories of Longleat.

Race You to The Water

Lake Pleasure Ground c1965
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I am ordering a copy of this picture to send to my dear childhood friend, Peta Fenner. Peta celebrates her 50th birthday soon and it is quite possible that both her and I are in the photo. We would spend many days of our summer holidays playing in the paddling pool. The big pool was always cold and swamped with older children and we would have to build up courage to venture there. Our childhood was filled with laughter. We would giggle at anything and everything. From peering through the holes in the wood partitions separating the cubicles at the end of the pool. To laughing at how courting teenagers behaved. I remember us nearly wetting ourselves laughing at dog ends and kinky boots. We once dared each other to wear our swimming hats through the town on our homeward journey from the park. Not a good idea as we both had long hair and removing the rubber hats later was very... Read more

Warminster 1963

When I was 18 years old, back in that horrible winter of 1963, I used to live for a while with my aunt and uncle, Norah and Pat Kelly, who ran The Weymouth Arms in Warminster. At that time they were also involved in the running of another pub in Warminster called The Globe or Old Globe. I used to walk there every day, open the pub up, set the coal fire going, do any cellar work required etc and serve all of the smashing old codgers with their cider. By this time the fire was nice and hot and so was the poker that they used to mull their pints with. As you may imagine I have very fond memories of this old pub and have tried to find it on the net no luck, no luck that is until today when I found a pub called The Snooty Fox, this place looks like how I remember the globe and would dearly love to think that I have... Read more

Crickets & Formaldehyde

Longleat House c1955
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My mother lived in Warminster as a child and had lots of friends in the area. One worked at Longleat and she lived in what was called 'The Inkwell House' in the grounds. We went for tea. There were lots of very strange things pickled in jars & they weren't onions! The long grass outside was full of crickets. What happened to crickets in England and what happened to my mother's friend and the ink well house?

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