Tucks Lane c1965, Longworth
Tucks Lane c1965, Longworth Ref: L187001
Memories of Tucks Lane c1965, Longworth
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Longworth & local memories
Read and share memories of Longworth and Oxfordshire inspired by Frith photos.
Longworth Memories From 1950.
My grandparents were William (Bill) and Molly Free - my mother was their daughter, Barbara. For five of my earliest years, I lived in the building shown, although it did not look quite like that! The shop and house were (mainly) re-built by the Mansell brothers of Longworth, in the early 1960s. My grandfather was generally well liked in the village, and was a very kind man. Grandmother was the same, and she rode around the village on her bicycle every morning (excluding Sundays), delivering the mail. Later, my stepfather, Philip Osborne, joined the business, and took over all deliveries. Groceries were delivered to customers in many surrounding villages and our van was seen frequently running from village to village. The van was, from about 1954, painted and grained so that it appeared to be wooden and when I was living in Buckland, we would form a crocodile to walk to the canteen for lunch, on the day that Mrs. Preece was having her delivery, most of the children would knock... Read more
Free's - Post Office And Grocery, Longworth
Having spent the first seven years of my life in Longworth, I remember Free's shop vividly. The Frees were friendly, welcoming people. Mr Free had curly hair and wore a tan-coloured kind of overall-coat. Mrs Free wore glasses on a chain. They ran the Post Office and sold all kinds of groceries and household goods, but I remember it for the sweets and ice creams – my favourite was a block of lemon mousse that you ate from a rectangular wafer cornet.
The sweets we enjoyed from Free's included Barrett's sherbet fountains and 'Jamboree Bags', which contained a novelty gift, a lollipop and lots of pastel-coloured, powdery-flavoured sweets, plus some toffees wrapped in waxy paper.
Mr Free also did home deliveries. My mum would order her groceries in a red-covered notebook with a little window at the top with her name in it. Mr Free would deliver the order once a week, with all the goods packed into a large cardboard box.
We used to... Read more
