St Mary Bourne memories
Here are memories of St Mary Bourne and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of St Mary Bourne or a St Mary Bourne photo.
Spring House Farm And Spring Cottage
I also have special memories of the two houses shown - Spring House Farm and Spring Cottage. Tilly and Fred (as mentioned by Marie Sloane) were my great aunt and uncle as were the Davis sisters and brothers living in the farm house. I am sure Marie must have known my Mother (Tilly and Fred's niece) who was Ivy Hibberd (before she married). I spent many of my childhood holidays staying in the farm house and some of my earliest memories were of "helping out" in Tilly's shop.
St Mary Bourne School
My mum was born in Lower Link and started St Mary Bourne School around 1942. In those days there were only two classrooms in use. The Head Mistress was either a Miss or Mrs Lee who taught the older children. She thinks her teacher was Mrs Thompson (who, each day, brought her small son called Roger in with her - can anyone confirm this?). As there was no school dinners at this time she went to her grandparents (Henry & Martha Deacon) for lunch, who lived in a house called 'Applegate' which was opposite 'Tibbles garage' (?) near the church.
Village Street St Mary Bourne
I have good memories of the white thatched house in the picture. I was evacuated with my Mother during the latter part of the War to this house which at the front was the local sweetshop and it was run by Tilly Annals and her husband Fred. The house which is partly shown was owned by Tilly Annals' two sisters and four brothers who kept cows in the sheds behind the farmhouse. I did go to the village school for a few months when my Mother decided that we had to go back to London. Many years later my husband and I visited the Annals and stayed at the white thatched house. I have many happy memories of Fred and Tilly Annals and my wartime stay.
My Aunties Cottage in 1962
Many happy childhood yrs spent here remember Mrs Pike who used to lIve next door and then my Auntie bought her cottage to make it into one. So many happy years in summer and yes can still see the jeep scars! Auntie has gone recently so no more chill out zone but will never forget
Always in my heart Liz
Love Jo
Scene of High Street, St. Mary Bourne, Hampshire
This photograph shows the thatched house of Mr and Mrs Hansford on the right, on the opposite side of the road to the village stores owned by Roy and Ruth Wells. In the centre of the picture, in the background, are the village almshouses. At the time this phograph was taken I was aged 4 and lived next door to Mr and Mrs Hansford with my parents Jack and Doris Howard and my sister Jeanette.
High Street St. Mary Bourne
On the right is the thatched house occupied at this time by Jack and Doris Howard with their daughters Stephanie and Jeanette. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor lived next door with there son Quiller. Opposite is the village Post Office stores.
St. Mary Bourne
This is the War Memorial, which is in the centre of the village. The white house was occupied a few years later by Air Vice marshall and Mrs. Perry-Keene and adjacent is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Cook with their daughter Angela, not to mention the Jack Russell Terriers.
High Street, St. Mary Bourne
In the foreground are the village Almshouses, with two village shops also in view. The first is the Post Office stores and the other owned by Roy and Ruth Wells. Neither are there today.
Church Street, St. Mary Bourne
This shows the notorious bend as you enter the village from the south, which is still almost the same today, made worse by the increase in traffic. The white house right on th bend was occupied by Mr. Pike who lived to be over 100.
Memories of Hampshire
Granny Green's Shop.
The building in the middle of this photo was the village shop. It was owned by my grandmother, Hilda Green. It seemed to me as a child to sell just about everything I could ever have needed in my life. Granny was also the parcels agent for the Wilts & Dorset Bus Company. Upstairs was a room that we called the 'Toy Bedroom', and spread out on the floor were loads of very old toys, still in their dusty boxes. We were allowed on special occasions to select one from the pile.
Set back in between the shop and the cottage on the left of the photograph was a narrow tumbledown cottage. This served as the workshop for my grandfather, Maurice Green, who ran the local carpenters' shop, together with my father, Geoffrey Green.
Just inside the front door was the bike shed, where people could leave their steeds, when they took the bus to work.
Opposite was the Post Office with its two Esso petrol pumps and its... Read more
Granny And Grandad Green
I remember going to visit Granny and Grandad Green every Sunday mornign with my father, Geoffrey Green. When out visit was over, usually I was allowed a 'treat' from the shop that Granny Green ran. We would go through from the house, and the choosing would commence! I remember metal tins of biscuits, with a drop-down see-through lid, so you could see what was inside. I vividly remember choosing a magic painting book, and being really excited and couldn't wait to get home (1 Rookery Cottages, Hurstbourne Tarrant) to get started on it! Imagine my disappointment when I opened the book only to find it half done! As the shop was obviously damp, it had been nearly completed for me! Years later, my mother, Hilda, was to work there, employed by Rowley, who used to be the baker in the village, in the shop in Church Street, where my mother also worked in the shop. I remember before my mother worked there, the shop being run by Heather, and we would... Read more
Phil And Gail Buckingham
Unless I am mistaken, the house on the left in this photo was formerly owned by Phil and Gail Buckingham and is called "Shepherd's Peace". Phil and Gail became friends of my parents while they lived briefly in New Zealand in the 1950's, around the time I came into the world.
When I lived in the UK as a young man in the 1970's, I visited them often in Hurstbourne Tarrant and spent many enjoyable Sundays (and sometimes weekends) with them.
I have been to the UK numerous times over the intervening years and kept in regular contact with Phil and Gail up until the times of their deaths. On my most recent trip in 2006, I visited the church and spent some time at their headstones remembering what wonderful people they were.
I would love to hear from anyone who might be able to confirm that this is indeed, their house in the photo, and anyone who knew them and who would share some memories of them.
Runaway Train
The day of my nan's funeral, a goods train from Newbury's brakes failed, and the signalman switched the train to another track, thus averting a major disaster as a passenger train that was nearly full was heading into Whitchurch from Eastleigh on the same track. I remember seeing the massive black engine rolled on its side fown the embankment. I believe the signalman received a medal for his quick thinking which must have saved a very bad accident from occurring. I think it was in September 1955, I was staying at my nan's bungalow with my mothr for a few weeks while Mum looked after Nan. The bungalow was, and I expect still is, about 100 yards from the station. I remember I got quite friendly with the then station master's daughter, Caroline, and we spent quite a lot of time together.
Childhood Escapism
My aunt and uncle, Jan and Keith Harman, lived in Enham after their marriage in 1965, initially in Dunham Lane, I think it was called - a development of prefabs that backed onto the woods. I spent school holidays loving the freedom of the woods at the end of the garden and long walks to Smannel, cadging lifts off my aunt's friend Margaret McCrill who lived round the corner from me in Andover but worked at the Enham Industries. I remember being dropped off outside the factory and walking through the early morning mists to Dunham Lane.
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