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Lower Slaughter memories

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

Sheer Bliss

The Bridge c1950
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I lived in lovely Lower Slaughter in 1991 along with my children's father.  How we came to live in such a beautiful place was pure luck.  We had applied for jobs in nearby Adlestrop and with the jobs came accomodation, Manor Farm Cotts.  I remember an open top mock vintage bus driving through in the summertime, usually american tourists waved on the top deck, it felt surreal.  My favourite time of day was early evening, we would stroll along the river breathing the sweet air of honeysuckle.  I was pregnant with my first child and just filled with complete peace and contentment.  Although only there for a short time I really felt that I was home.

The Old Post Office

The Village c1950
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My husbands Aunt, Cicely Minnie Day, was the post mistress at the Post Office in Lower Slaughter when it was situated in the house on the far right of this photo. The sign above the door denoting this fact. When she died in 1954 the post office was moved to another house in the village. As a child my husband spent happy holidays in this house when his Mother and Father visited his family there.

Memories of Gloucestershire

Auntie's Tea Gardens

My mother's family once lived at the vicarage in Upper Slaughter, when my grandfather, Rev Arthur Parr, was vicar. My mother married and moved away to Yorkshire, where we grew up, but as children, my sisters and I stayed once with our auntie and cousins in their pretty Cotswold stone cottage while our parents attended a wedding. It was our first time away from our home, and it was so lovely. The garden was full of vegetables and flowers, with a greenhouse, I think - so well tended. It was no surprise when later my auntie made a tea garden there. When I was expecting my first baby I visited again, this time with my husband, and we sat in that lovely garden with a traditional Cotswold tea and cakes made by local village ladies. I can almost smell the sweet peas.

It's Worth Having A Closer Look

By The Windrush 1956
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It is worth looking closely at the people in the pictures within the Frith Collection, as you never know who you might recognise.
Within this photograph you can see a couple of ladies sat on a bench, and in the distance a man with two children, a boy and a girl. The lady sat on the bench on the left is my mother Molly, sat next to my grandmother. The man in the distance is my father Fred, with my brother and sister probably badgering him for some money for sweets.
I couldn't believe it when I came across this photograph, I am so in awe and hope that many others find photos of lost friends and relatives.

A Game of Soccer in The River

The Bridges c1955
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Every year there would be a game played in the river in the village using the bridges as goal posts and is, as far as I am aware still played today. It would be around 1955 that my late father, Frederick Tarte, was a referee at local football matches. My father attended over a number of years at the games in the river, as he was stationed at RAF Rissington. Fred arrived one year in a bowler hat and holding a briefcase, upon his arrival he open the briefcase and pulled out his referee's whisle, rolled up his trousers and entered the water ready for the match. The referees in subsequent years then also arrived in fancy dress to the amusment of all. This summed up my dad, he was certainly a joker at times.
I am proud to be one of his children.

Trips to Bourton-On-The-Water

I used to walk along muddy tracks and climb over stiles, cross fields and even a busy dual carriageway to get to Bourton from Lower Slaughter.  The first time we visited Bourton we went to the museum which houses vintage cars and many more curios.  I believe it started as hobby and grew from that.  I can't remember the name but it was a charming olde worlde place with an atmosphere to match, there was something to interest everyone.  Apart from the outstanding beauty of Bourton, (it was buzzing with tourists at certain times of the year), it also had its own community, people working in everyday situations who happen to live in an idyllic setting.  Another attraction in Bourton-On-The-Water was the cream cake cafe, which didn't sell the average cream cakes, the cakes were giant sized from massive chocolate eclairs to huge scones - absolutely fabulous!  I am sure that I saw the village on an episode of "Inspector Morse" at one time.  I look forward to the day... Read more

Lower Swell Forge

I first came to Lower Swell as a 16 year old boy; that would have been 1967. I had attended Wilsons Grammar School in Camberwell London. Austen Nichols had worked at the school teaching metal work. He told me that he lived in Lower Swell and had a forge there. He and I got on really well. He was a good teacher and became a good friend. When he left Wilsons he invited me to visit him and that summer I did. I had family friends not far away and combined my visit to him with a short stay in nearby Malmesbury.
Austen showed me the forge and his beautiful little cottage. I stayed for most of the day and before leaving promised to visit again.
To my eternal sorrow I didn't actually visit him again until about 1986. I had driven by over the years but felt I'd left it too long to rekindle our friendship. Now, however I was married and had a son and a daughter I... Read more

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