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Luxborough

Luxborough maps

Historic maps of Luxborough and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all Luxborough maps

Luxborough area books

Displaying 1 of 11 books about Luxborough and the local area.   View all books for this area

Memories of Luxborough

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Somerset memories

Croydon Hall School

I went to school (Croydon Hall) at Felon's Oak, on Sundays we went to the little tin church in Rodhuish morning and evening, we also went to Minehead on the Saturday bus, I wonder if anyone remembers?

Croydon Hall Residential School

My mother, Margaret was sent to Croydon Hall in 1949, give or take a year. Although she was only there for a year she has very fond memories of story times, learning embroidery, the beautiful gardens and the pond at the front of the hall that was her duty to keep clean. Also fond memories of visiting Lorna Doone's valley.

The Timberscombe I Knew (1957-1965)

We moved to Oaktrow in January 1957 and until the house was habitable, we stayed at The Lion (prominently displayed in one of the photos). The village then had four shops, these being the Post Office towards Minehead, Mrs Yeandle's, the Coombe Stores (very successful under Basil Hewlett and his wife) and Loveridge's which was on the way to Stowey. Mrs Yeandle, a large woman, sang in the choir, Sid Loveridge was in and out of the Lion all and every evening. Barley wine and whisky was his tipple. The barley wine took the sting out of the whisky.
The Huxtable family had two filling stations, the forge was run by Sammy and Ken Grabham. Tommy Heard had Kiln Farm and Harry Bishop had Great House Farm. The school was run by Mrs Willis. There was an agricultural engineer called Les Delbridge. Other farmers living nearby were James Henderson at Allercot, Bill Edwards-Heathcote at Beasley, Mr Watts at Stowey, Major Enderby at Old Stowey and the Dru family at Bickham.Read more

Kings Langley

The first 8 plus years of my life were spent here at Merrow Down, off the Common. The only time we were away was for a few months in 1939-40 during the Phoney War. I had various nannies, the best being Flora. She came about autumn 1940 and stayed until autumn 1942 when 'called up ' for work of national importance (day nurseries) and my mother had to cope with both my sister and I. It was a shock to her. I went to Mrs Hazlewood's school a few doors down for a year and then to The Priory. I didn't like it there and was going to London weekly for psychiatric treatment. In the spring I was sent to a sort of boarding school in Berkhamsted, with visits to psychiatrists weekly. My gullible mother swallowed everything they told her, which were a pack of lies. It was staffed by weird females and exercise consisted of walks. One of the women was called Anita and she was a blonde. She... Read more

Timberscombe 1957-1965

We moved to Oaktrow in January 1957, me travelling in the cattle truck. The rest went by car. We stayed the first week or so at the Lion Inn, Timberscombe. Oaktrow had been purchased the previous summer. We eventually moved in and gradually things got more civilised. I liked staying in the village and playing skittles at the pub. In those days there were 3 shops nearby. These were Mrs Yeandle's, the Coombe Stores and S J. Loveridge. Nearby lived 2 farmers viz Harry Bishop at Great House and Tommy Heard at Kiln Farm. Our daily, Mrs Prole, lived near the church and on the corner was Mrs Huxtable's filling station which seemed open all hours. Going towards Dunster was the post office run by the Bond's whose daughter was church organist and the Forge run by Sammy and Ken Grabham. It was more of a woodyard than a forge! Nearby was Knowle, which is now a holiday place for horseriders etc. Going towards Wheddon Cross, the next farm was... Read more

Old Stowey

My parents bought Old Stowey from Major Enderby, sadly after my father's death in 1970 the place was sold for 50.000 complete with farm workers cottages & 600 acres. I now see it's on the market with 40 acres for 1.5 million. I really loved the area but could be desolate when the cloud closed in and when the snow came. My parents are buried in Cutcombe churchyard. I would like to live near there again but am currently waiting for a visa to emmigrate to Perth in West Australia to be near my children.

Childhood Memories

The Village 1930
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In August 1939 I came to Roadwater from Kingston, Surrey to stay with my grandparents for my summer school holidays. My grandmother's name was Eva Morse and my grandfather's Rupert Morse.  At that time they lived in a house that was opposite the church at the lower end of the village. This was my great-grandfather's house, his name was VOSS.

I was due to return home at the beginning of September but the outbreak of the war stopped that as my parents were both called up. My mother into the army and my father's role as a parttime fireman became a full-time occupation
My schooling continued at Old Cleeve School in Washford and I well remember the 2-and-a-half-mile walk every day.

The highlight of the week was the Saturday bus into Minehead where we used to go the cinema or down to the beach. On a Sunday I would accompany my grandmother to the Methodist Chapel for the services and on some Sundays I would get to help... Read more

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