Lilley
Lilley maps (2 available)
Map of Bedfordshire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Bedfordshire
Personalised maps
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Lilley books (11 available)
- 1 photos on Lilley appear in 1 Frith books - View photos of Lilley
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Lilley and Bedfordshire
Lilley memories
Read and share memories of Lilley and Bedfordshire inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Bedfordshire below.
Bedfordshire memories
Man in Picture 1965
The white-haired man in the photograph, I believe, is my father John Neville. He was a police sergeant in Hitchin from 1941 until his retirement in the late '50s.
A memory of Hitchin contributed by John Neville
Visiting
The lady in the centre of the photograph walking towards the camera is Mrs Kate Silsby my grandmother who lived at 8 Tilehouse Street. When this was taken we think she would have been walking to St Ippollytts to visit her daughter Mrs Babs Brown.
A memory of Hitchin contributed by MAUREEN RAINE
Letchworth Childhood
Seeing the fountain in this picture brings back childhood memories from the 1950/60s of sailing boats up and down the paddling pool at weekends or when your parents took you down on a sunny afternoon. Summer fetes and funfair on the grass area between the paddling pool and Norton Way South, last but not least playing in the small wood behind the paddling pool before the Council cut it down and spoilt it!
A memory of Letchworth Garden City contributed by Ian Griffin
How things don't change!
Oh my goodness. I was bought up in Wheathampstead and I can still see it now, the newsagents on the High Street and the then "Old fashioned" chemist called Busbys at the end!
A memory of Wheathampstead contributed by Belinda Devine
Extracts From Lilley & Bedfordshire books
The Lilley Arms is the oldest public house in the village and dates from around 1705. Originally called the Sugar Loaf, in 1852 its name was changed to the Sowerby Arms out of respect to the lord of the manor. During the Great War, it changed again to the Lilley Arms. For many years the adjacent building was occupied by the village blacksmith. Lilley was the home of Johan Kellerman, a famous alchemist who boasted that he could change mercury into gold. It is said that he lived in squalor in one room protected by sliding bolts and patent padlocks. Kellerman boasted that 'the world, sir, is in my hands and my power'. Eventually he was chased away and died in poverty in Paris.
An extract from from"North and East Hertfordshire Photographic Memories".
In 1901, Hermitage Road was a pleasant, open avenue. The building on the left in view
46642, left, is the Hermitage, home of Frederick Seebohm; very little of it still remains.
Windmill Hill is just visible in the background.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
A view of St Marys church in 1931, with the War Memorial in the foreground. In 1752, the Rewd William Cole wrote that the tower was `one of the most clumsy and heavy ones I ever saw`. Perhaps `solid` is a kinder description.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
In the 1960s, the Sun Hotel’s yard did not include
fire escapes from the upstairs rooms, as it does now.
Otherwise, there is little but the parked cars to give
a clue to the date of this photograph. The timber-
framed buildings, on the left, are believed to date
from the 16th century.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".
This 1908 view of the churchyard from the south shows the gates that once protected the dead from body snatchers. J Shipley Slipper, a
dentist, held a surgery at Waldock’s on the left, but only on alternate market days - a long wait if you’d just missed him. George Savage’s
draper’s shop is by the gates on the right, and next door to him is Allsop’s, trading as a cash tailor under the slogan: ‘The Novelty House
for Neckwear’. The façade of his shopfront has been rendered, and scoured with lines to give the impression that it is built of stone.
Unfortunately, the years have taken their toll and the render is slowly falling off. Halsey’s is on the right: an advertisement in the window
draws attention to ‘Halsey’s Dog Food’ - packets of puppy biscuits surround it. Strictly speaking, the buildings from Savage’s to Halsey’s are
in the Market Place, whilst those on the other side are in the Churchyard.
An extract from from"Hitchin Town and City Memories".