Garden Cottage, Tusmore Park

I lived in Tusmore Park in the late 1950s and early 1960s. My name was Susan Barnsley. My dad Ken was gardener in the enclosed Victorian garden and I remember living in Garden Cottage which backed onto the gardens, there was also a racing stables run by Mr Keane. I remember my best friend in the park was Suzanne Clark, the gamekeeper's daughter, she had a brother called Rodney who was friends with Trevor Keane, son of the stable manager, We used to play in the grounds of the big house, as we called it, there were small ponds with newts in, we were not really supposed to play there but we did. I also went to school in Stoke Lynne and I remember Miss Saville and another teacher, Miss Andsell, Names from school I recall are Susan Turzack, Poppy Squires, Aann Miller, Pat and John Jones. I also had a friend called Wendy Burnham who lived at the crossroads towards Bicester where you turned off to go to Stoke Lynne. I remember walking through a woodland tunnel from Tusmore part of the way to Stoke Lynne, and I remember being in the Brownies and going to our Brown Owl's wedding at Stoke Lynne church. It was a magical childhood living there. I remember going horse riding on Mrs Brown's farm just outside the park. I loved living in Tusmore. My brother also went motorbike scrambling near Stoke Lynne.