You are here:
Prestwood
Prestwood maps
Historic maps of Prestwood and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Prestwood maps
Prestwood area books
Displaying 1 of 4 books about Prestwood and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Prestwood
No memories of Prestwood have been shared yet - be the first!
Add your memory of Prestwood
or of a photo of Prestwood.
Staffordshire memories
Idyllic
I cannot believe I have found this site. My dad used to work at JCB and we stayed in a little cottage (I believe is now privately owned) not too far from the factory. The cottage was originally owned by JCB and occupied for a time by my family - the Dellers - during what was to become my halcyon days. I am now 43 and still reminisce of the quirky cottage and adjacent stream and woods of the time. We found in the small orchard of the grounds a few fossils that our dog dug up (chasing a mole), most interestingly a prehistoric shark's tooth (52 million years old) dated by the History Museum which I still hold dear. I think my dad's boss was Mr Bill Hurst nearby. I used to go to Denstone Primary School in the next village. It is amazing to me that these older memories I still hold are dearer than recent ones.
Kathryn Butcher, nee Deller, daughter of Brian Deller.
The Cafe School
We moved to Alton from Somerset in November 1958. The primary school was closed for refurbishment. Mr. and Mrs. Carnwell who owned the garage and cafe played host to the village school, it all seemed quite strange to this 7 year old. There are many good memories. Rushing out at play time to wave to the steam train drivers after they left the station and Mrs Carnwell mothering us all. We played in the yard at the back of the premises and two classes shared a room. Mr. Carnwell had lorries which transported the first excavators for JCB. We moved back to the village school in 1959 after the toilets had been moved indoors and central heating installed. The winter was freezing and the walk to and from the village seemed long and cold. Mrs Carnwell used to heat up the bottles of school milk which were often frozen. Mr. Gilbert the Headmaster lived to the left of the bridge down in the valley in a bungalow. Petrol was a... Read more
Mrs. Worthington
Mrs Worthington ran the shop and cafe. She sold some interesting bits and pieces besides sweets and ice cream. In the background is the pub run by the Parringtons. We often walked from home down to the cafe and treated ourselves to an ice cream in the summer. There were lots of walks around the area and so the cafe was popular with visitors.
St. Peter's
As soon as we moved to the village we became members of St. Peter's church and attended most Sundays. Mr. Powell was the vicar. I remember seeing the 8 bells outside the church before they were hoisted into the tower. After Mr. Powell left my dad used to read one of the lessons most Sundays when the lay reader Peter Fisher took the services. Mr. Vincent became vicar after Mr. Powell.
The Round House
This was always a special landmark to me. It fascinated me and I was very curious abou it and longed to look inside. I must have passed it most days whilst living in the village. The houses nearby were on the edge of an old quarry and I believe their back doors opened onto the quarry.
Alton 2003
A quite recent memory but I visited in 2003 thanks to the kindness of my relative Josephine Dixon [dec.]. We are both related to the Byatt and Collis families from Alton. It was great to see where our family lived and worked, including the White Hart Inn [owned by George Collis and Susannah Clewley mid 1800s] and a shop with the Byatt name still above the door, now selling kitchen tiles as well as memorabilia. I bought a print of the Alton valley and managed to get it back to Australia in one piece for my mum. And a little pottery/porcelain trinket box for my daughter.
Cauldon Low Cricket Club
Whilst going through a number of items handed down to me by my late grandfather Ronald Arthur Rayson of Suffolk who passed away in 1982, I found a medal from the Leek and District Cricket League with an inscription 'Cauldon Lowe 1904 Runners Up'. It may have belonged to a member of my distant family, surnames of which are Rayson, Foules, Harris, therefore I am interested in any information regarding the Cricket Club, Team list from that period etc.
Andy Beesley
