Southmoor

Free's - Post Office And Grocery, Longworth

Having spent the first seven years of my life in Longworth, I remember Free's shop vividly. The Frees were friendly, welcoming people. Mr Free had curly hair and wore a tan-coloured kind of overall-coat. Mrs Free wore glasses on a chain. They ran the Post Office and sold all kinds of groceries and household goods, but I remember it for the sweets and ice creams – my favourite was a block of lemon mousse that you ate from a rectangular wafer cornet.

The sweets we enjoyed from Free's included Barrett's sherbet fountains and 'Jamboree Bags', which contained a novelty gift, a lollipop and lots of pastel-coloured, powdery-flavoured sweets, plus some toffees wrapped in waxy paper.

Mr Free also did home deliveries. My mum would order her groceries in a red-covered notebook with a little window at the top with her name in it. Mr Free would deliver the order once a week, with all the goods packed into a large cardboard box.

We used to... Read more

Longworth Memories From 1950.

My grandparents were William (Bill) and Molly Free - my mother was their daughter, Barbara. For five of my earliest years, I lived in the building shown, although it did not look quite like that! The shop and house were (mainly) re-built by the Mansell brothers of Longworth, in the early 1960s. My grandfather was generally well liked in the village, and was a very kind man. Grandmother was the same, and she rode around the village on her bicycle every morning (excluding Sundays), delivering the mail. Later, my stepfather, Philip Osborne, joined the business, and took over all deliveries. Groceries were delivered to customers in many surrounding villages and our van was seen frequently running from village to village. The van was, from about 1954, painted and grained so that it appeared to be wooden and when I was living in Buckland, we would form a crocodile to walk to the canteen for lunch, on the day that Mrs. Preece was having her delivery, most of the children would knock... Read more

Strange But True

My father was a bank manager in Faringdon in the 1970s and managed the accounts of the Pusey estate and the Hornby family, owners of the estate. On one occasion, during an annual fete, Dad was asked to act treasurer of the fete. He asked me to help him. On that day, two Puseys were in Pusey village.
My Pusey family was based in Oxford, where my paternal grandfather was employed in the University. His father was, I believe, a butcher in the St Clements area of the city.
In my father's family were six children, three sisters and three brothers, of which my father, Frederick was the fourth child. There were five Pusey cousins: John (son of Guy and still lives in Oxford), me, (son of Hugh and now living in Somerset), Michael (sadly deceased), Peter and Anne (sons and daughter of Harold). Peter lives in Malvern and Anne lives in America. There were also two non-Pusey cousins: Mary and Jane (daughters of Vera Heath, the youngest sister... Read more

Memories

I went to Northmoor back in the 1940s and stayed with my parents' friends Mrs Bastable and her family for 6 weeks. The house was thatched and just across the way from a line of trees called "The Causeway". I remember going to the farm across the road and getting milk fresh from the cow. At the time there was an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease and we had to dip our shoes and wellies in disinfectant before entering the farm. There was a little stream going past in front of the house and a little wooden bridge built to enter the garden. I wonder if that house is still there. We also rode bikes into another village where there was a raft-like contraption to take you across a small river. I often wonder about how things are and have things changed considerably? There was no electricity in the house at that time and we had to get water from a well in the garden, the lavvy was... Read more

The Green East Hanney

The Green 1956
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I moved to East Hanney in 1956 at the age of 4, we moved to Manor Farm Cottage just behind the centre of the photo. the large tree on the left was known as "the big tree" and it was said that Oliver Cromwell camped there, the occupant of the house on the far end of the row was Mr Creed, I have a photo of me taken in 1957 just behind his house in the orchard, where the new houses are now.Every year a small fair was held on the green, the rides were supplied by Jumbo Collins from Challow, I left in late 1966 and the big tree was felled shortly after that.
A nice village for a young boy to grow up in.
Tim Gibbs

The Green 1956
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I lived in the house immediately behind "the big tree" from 1973-1975. I was only 8 or 9 years old and have fond memories of climbing in the lower reaches of that tree. I have a photo my parents took of the tree in the winter, and one can see how massive the tree's upper branches and trunk were in spite of having been severely cut back over the years.

I last saw the tree in 1977 on a visit to East Hanney. I don't know exactly when it was finally cut down, but is certainly gone now. Interestingly, while visiting for the first time in 30 years this past spring, I found that one could still see remnants of its trunk if you looked under the branches of the new tree planted in its place.

The Big Elm Tree.

The Green 1956
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This is the best picture yet of that great old tree that I have found. I sat on its roots at the age of 5 years back in 1939, and all through the war it was a great place to sit out of the rain.
I have a picture of it when it was young, and a picture of its stump full of flowers. Its branches were held together with chains and very few kids could climb it. I haven't seen it since 1952. It would be great if someone had a picture of the complete tree.