Watlington
Watlington photos (15 available)
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Map of Oxfordshire
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Watlington books (11 available)
Watlington memories
Read and share memories of Watlington and Oxfordshire inspired by Frith photos
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Oxfordshire memories
Ewelme School 1957
I am Mick Phillips and I was at Ewelme School in 1957. Mr Coles was the headmaster and Miss Walker was my class teacher. We were 9 and 10 year olds in the upstairs room and the younger children were taught downstairs by a Miss Lewis, who got married around that time to someone from RAF Benson.
I remember Miss Walker being presented with some flowers at assembly one morning by Mr Coles to mark her 25th year at the school. She was a rather serious Irish lady in her fifties who rapped my knuckles for not understanding fractions and read to us from Wind in the Willows on Friday afternoon. Although probably no record exists, the BBC came to the ...read more here
A memory of Ewelme contributed by mick phillips
Old caravan field near Benson?
My husband was at RAF Benson in 1969. We got married in November, but could not find any accommodation around the airfield. In desperation we rented a tiny caravan in a farmer's field south of the airfield. There was no running water and the one outside tap tended to freeze in winter. The few caravans were managed by an elderly couple - the old lady I remember vividly, as she had long straggly grey hair and always wore the same outfit: big baggy sweater over a kilt over blue jeans and wellingtons! To get to Benson you came out of the caravan field, turned left and at the end of this lane was a pub, ...read more here
A memory of Benson contributed by Jeanette Clarke
Memories of Benson
My memories of Benson started in 1946/7 when we moved to Sunnyside, which in those days did not have the recreation field. Nor did the village have street lighting apart from a couple in the High Street, one of which was on the wall of Franklin's Farm. The shops in those days were Slaughters Stores, High Street & Chamberlains Stores, Castle Square. There were 2 butchers in High Street (Wm. Lee & the other I can't remember the name), Stan Blisset had the hairdressers next to Slaughters Stores. Tom Shotton was the postmaster. Bill Aldridge ran the greengrocers shop, opposite Crown Hotel, and was later taken over by Wm Turner. Gurneys Garage was a small unit in Chapel Lane. My stepfather, ...read more here
A memory of Benson contributed by John WEBB
Morris Dancers at Nettlebed
I remember coming to Nettlebed in 1993 to play my piano accordian at this pub (and several others!) for Whitethorn Morris.
It was a gorgeous sunny summer day and crowds gathered round to watch the entertainment. Whitethorn Morris is a women's clog morris team from Harrow and they always look smart in their scarlet and blue kit with shiny black clogs. We brought our own band to play and had a really good day's outing in Nettlebed along with with dancers and musicians from other morris sides.
A memory of Nettlebed contributed by John Howard Norfolk
Extracts From Watlington & Oxfordshire books
The small town of Watlington, at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment, used to be famous for its many inns. However,
all that changed when a 19th-century Methodist acquired six of them and immediately closed them down.
An extract from from"Oxfordshire Photographic Memories".
The small town of Watlington, at the foot of the Chiltern escarpment, used to be famous for its many inns. However,
all that changed when a 19th-century Methodist acquired six of them and immediately closed them down.
An extract from from"Oxfordshire Photographic Memories".
This 1893 view of the Catherine Wheel, an inn by 1499, shows
it just before it took over the two Georgian brick houses beyond.
On the right, the street still awaits the out-of-scale London and
Counties bank, erected in 1892.
An extract from from"Henley-on-Thames Town and City Memories".
All three views taken by the Frith photographer in 1899 are south
of the Regatta course, which from 1886 had its finishing line near
Phyllis Court. In the first view (right) we are looking towards the
bridge from south Riverside and the second (bottom right) was
taken from the bridge itself. The third (bottom left) was taken
looking along Riverside north with the gardens of the Red Lion
on the right; this was a most exclusive seating area, but it has since
been lost to road improvements. In this view we see the black
poplars on the Berkshire bank which replaced the late 18th-century
ones planted by Field Marshal Conway.
An extract from from"Henley-on-Thames Town and City Memories".
Pigot and Co’s National Commercial Directory, published in
1830, gives an interesting snapshot of the town just before its rapid
decline (the building of the Great Western Railway killed both the
commercial river trade and the coach trade at one fell swoop as
a result of by-passing Henley). ‘Henley, a market town, and one
of the neatest, cleanest, and most respectable in the County ... is
exceedingly pleasantly situated on the west side of the river Thames’.
Commenting on the town’s appearance, the Directory says that
‘its whole appearance [is] indicating recent improvements, and
bearing evidence of the good taste of its inhabitants. The town hall
is a considerable ornament to the town, and the market-house is a
commodious and well constructed building’. It also describes the
town’s then economic base: ‘a considerable trade is carried on from
hence to London, in corn, malt, flour and timber; there is also a
considerable manufactory for silk, and another near the town for
paper. The inns here are respectable and comfortable; the principal
commercial house is the White Hart’.
An extract from from"Henley-on-Thames Town and City Memories".