France Lynch
France Lynch maps (2 available)
Map of Gloucestershire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Gloucestershire
Personalised maps
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France Lynch books (13 available)
France Lynch memories
Caravan Holiday with Mum
We stayed in a small caravan on Ridings Farm, owned then by Mr & Mrs Rand. We travelled by coach from Gosport, Hampshire. Catherine Hackett, my mother,adopted me when I was less than a year old, she was widowed and had 4 children of her own and as you can guess she was very special. Gosport is a naval town on the opposite side of the Portsmouth harbour. We had no television, no car and so I had quite a limited childhood. To then find myself amongst this truly lovely countryside and the introduction to cows, calves, piglets etc was awesome. We spent another holiday there some 4 or 5 years later and they were the ...read more here
Contributed by Stella Flux
Gloucestershire memories
Caravan Holiday with Mum
We stayed in a small caravan on Ridings Farm, owned then by Mr & Mrs Rand. We travelled by coach from Gosport, Hampshire. Catherine Hackett, my mother,adopted me when I was less than a year old, she was widowed and had 4 children of her own and as you can guess she was very special. Gosport is a naval town on the opposite side of the Portsmouth harbour. We had no television, no car and so I had quite a limited childhood. To then find myself amongst this truly lovely countryside and the introduction to cows, calves, piglets etc was awesome. We spent another holiday there some 4 or 5 years later and they were the ...read more here
A memory of France Lynch contributed by Stella Flux
Early Life in Chalford
I was born in Chalford at "The Little House" in Chalford Hill in 1932 and lived there until March 1940. I was the youngest of six children who all lived in the cottage and have very lovely memories of both the cottage and the local school which I attended. My Mother was a local girl who was a clerk in the post office beore her marriage. Her name was Florence Emily Griffin, and she married my Father Christopher Hugo Chatteris in 1924 when they moved into "The Little House" prior to that the cottage was occupied by my Grandmother who died in 1932. I recently returned to Chalford, and although I remembered the hill was steep, at my now advanced ...read more here
A memory of Chalford Hill contributed by Dinah Milgate
My Grandmother
My Grandmother was born in The Round House, Chalford in 1901.
A memory of Chalford contributed by Joanna Smart
Extracts From France Lynch & Gloucestershire books
Sidney B Park was a
successful businessman;
in Edwardian days he
owned two drapery shops
in Stroud. However, on
26 October 1917 his only
son, Herbert, was killed
in France, and in 1927 the
Park family gave land to
create a public garden in
his memory. Sidney and his
wife, Ellen, are buried in
Stroud Cemetery.
An extract from from"Stroud Photographic Memories".
When this picture was
taken, the canal had only
recently undergone a
restoration programme. Of
the two pubs shown here,
The New Red Lion (centre)
survives. The Bell Inn (left)
is now a private house.
The retaining wall on the
right was part of Chalford
Station yard. The careful
posing of the children adds
considerably to the appeal
of the photograph.
An extract from from"Stroud Photographic Memories".
Here we are looking down
the High Street, with Smith’s
chemist’s shop – still at
this period with only one
large window – on the right.
Below it is Withey’s grocery
store, long-established even
in 1910. When the building
changed hands a few years
ago, a large number of
early grocery orders was
discovered in an attic.
An extract from from"Stroud Photographic Memories".
Here we can see a portion
of the gardens of Bank
House in the days before
they became accessible
to the public. Note the
thatched summerhouse. A
photograph exists, taken
from the same position
in the 1870s, showing Mr
W Cheriton, a member
of the church choir,
balancing on one leg on
the very top of the spire,
during renovation work!
An extract from from"Stroud Photographic Memories".
The church exterior is of
Bisley stone, while that
used for the interior walls,
most of the pulpit and the
base of the font, comes
from Painswick.
The floor tiles are from
Herefordshire. A few
early monuments survive
from the former church,
notably a fine 17th-century
memorial commemorating
the Stephens family of
Lypiatt. There are several
good Victorian
stained-glass windows.
An extract from from"Stroud Photographic Memories".




