Wheatley memories
Here are memories of Wheatley and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Wheatley or a Wheatley photo.
High Street
I worked in Wheatley village in 1963 in John Bull's butcher's shop opposite Sam's butchers with Ted! and a lady bookkeeper. After living in Waterstock on John Bull's farm during the terrible winter of 1963 we moved into his bungalow at 17 Beech Road, the building of which was delayed through the bad winter.
We are now both retired and live in Bournemouth. I remember Alan Hayday and his brother, also Dennis next door.
Advertisements in Wheatley
The lady on the right of this picture, taken outside Bowens shop (later Ferrridges) at the bottom of Friday Lane in Wheatley, is my mother Patricia Hanks. I don't know who the lady is that she is talking to.
Contributed by Lucille Goodwin
Bridge Bungalow Cafe
We lived at the BBC for many years. Near to the bridge over the River Thame, next to the garage run by Harold Thomas and Jeff Lafford. I went to Thame Grammar School on the double decker blue bus. Dad was George Allen, Mum was Alice Allen and uncle Bill and Auntie Joan lived just up the road. We used to fish in the river and sometimes the A40 used to be flooded when the river overflowd. grandad Allen was head gardener at Shotover House and Grandad Day lived in Forest Hill. Roger Allen, Melbourne, Australia. rogerstallen@msn.com.
Grandad used to drive the horse and cart along the almost deserted A40 from Shotover loaded with fruit and veg to Keenes in Iffley Road?
I Remember Wheatley. ..
My name is Bill Mitchell - when young in Wheatley other children called me Billy. Some of my old school friends still live in or around Wheatley. My father had a shop in Station Road for a while selling electrical goods, and he used to do electrical wiring. My mother who was in the W.I. died February 2011 in a home near my sister's house in Spilsby, Lincs. I remember the terrible winter of 1963. On the way home from school the blizzard was so bad I passed my driveway up the Old Road before I realised I had gone too far. I have fond memories of summer days spent watching the trains coming through and remember the sound the 28xx's and Moguls made pulling long car trains up from Morris Cowley when they couldn't get out onto the main line at Kennington Junction. I remember The awful Ransomes teaching at the Primary School, and then Mr Evans, Mr Babb at the Secondary Modern, also Ron Green - the greatest... Read more
Wheatley Secondary School
I was at Wheatley Secondary School from 1957 to 1962 and then went on to Northfield/Littlemore Grammer to do 'O' Levels. Fred Anson was the legendary headmaster, 'Stumpy' Sternberg the Art teacher. 'Chester' Barker and Mr Tong for were the teachers for Science, Ron Green for Maths. Mr Babb was the Music teacher and used to freewheel down the hill on his bike to the school! Class mates included Terry Williams, Michael Wake, Terry Higgins, Diane Davies, Colin Dallimore (whose family owned the shop opposite), and Colin Ring. I recently had a message from Ann Field, now in Australia. She used to live in Tiddington, as did Mary Mawle. I used to cycle to school from Forest Hill. I have very fond memories of the school despite being accidently knocked out by Mr Babb in one of his music classes. He was 'conducting' using a chunk of wood from the bible box which was an old corned beef box. I was watching the train go past on the Oxford/Risborough line... Read more
Going to School in Wheatley - Primary, Middle And High School
I remember first day of school in Wheatley at 5 years old and Mrs Summer used to live right next door to the school, that is where I met my best friend to be, Anne Joiner, we went to MiddleSschool and then Wheatley Park High School (previously known as Holton Park which was all girls at that time). Always walked home from school, stopped in George's Cafe on the way home.
A lot of good memories in Wheatley! If anyone out there knows me and wants to email please do: andrea.lowry@expresspros.com.
The River
I lived at 10 The Avenue, we were the Hillsdons. We walked up Shotover Hill, swam in the river, played in the woods and never went home all day, when we went out to play the only words we heard were "Be home before it gets dark", we had so much fun. We had to walk to the secondary school in the freezing cold, no mum's with fancy cars to take us then. But I would not change that time for all the flat screen tvs, video games and computers, and I do not remember any kids that were overweight. We didn't have time to eat, we were too busy playing, they were the good old days.
Schools
Does anyone remember when the school in Wheatley was called the Wheatley Secondary Modern, all I hear about now is Holton Park. I can remember Mrs Jones the PE teacher, Mr Hanson was Headmaster. Seeing the pictures on this site really bought back a lot of good memories, if anyone remembers me, Phyllis Hillsdon, I would like to hear from you. E-Mail: Clinphyl@aol.com
High Street
I worked for John Bull from Waterstock in his butcher's shop in Wheatley with Ted and a lady in 1963. The shop was opposite Sam's butchers and my wife and I lived in a bunggalow at 17 Beech Road. This was a terrible winter and we first lived with John Bull on his farm until his bungalow was finished in the summer as no work could be carried out.
We now live in Bournemouth and are both retired.
Growing up in 1950's Wheatley.
I can remember my early childhood days. We lived in The Avenue. All the fields at the back of us were open fields. It is all houses of course these days.(Elton Crescent, Miller Road etc).
Early school days were having to walk to school at the infants school to be taught by Miss Flood or Miss Wren. Later on I attended primary school in Church Road.
I used to work as a kid for Ted Turner and John West the butcher. I also did a paper round before school and remember vividly some really cold winter mornings waiting for Mr Bill Phipps to bring the papers in from Oxford. The summer days were a lot better, deliver the papers and then grab some drink, food and fishing rod to go down to the river. Here we could all fish and swim till dusk. Then walk home on our own without fear of predators. Those were the days eh!!
One memory that will always stay with me is Mr Harris delivering... Read more
Memories of Oxfordshire
Hutt's in Horspath.
I was born in a house halfway up Cuddeston Road hill but at about 3 years old my family moved down into the village where we lived at Shipley House, next door to the Chapel and over the road from the village green. I remember watching (from my bedroom window) the village fair at night on the green with all the pretty lights on the roundabout and the fair music. I attended the village primary school from 1960 to 1963, before emigrating to Australia in 1964, and remember the icy cold walks to and from school in winter, the frozen school milk being thawed next to wood heaters in the classrooms and the very high ceiling in one of the class rooms. I remember attending Sunday School at St Giles' Church and just once being allowed to ring the church bells. We used to go walking on Shotover Hill and would play up there for hours. I revisited Horspath in 1991 and again in 2008. So much is still as... Read more
Famliy
In the last two months (year 2006) I found out that I had a Great Uncle that lived in Cuddesdon in the 1881 census. This was a surprise to me as I lived in Cuddesdon in Parkside Cuddesdon for 5 years under my ex married name(1995 to 2001) and never new I had famliy there beforehand. This was David King who married a Ann Gunn, who was born in Cuddesdon, her father John Gunn was also born in Cuddesdon. (I am not related to the Gunns, only by marriage.)
Playing in The Daisy Field
I grew up in Cuddesdon and spent many happy hours playing in the surrounding fields. My family moved up to Parkside (No. 15) from The Park houses in '56 when I was 2. I don't remember living there although a trip with mates down Redman's Lane, turn right and pass the crab-apple tree, then on towards the river was a regular summer jaunt. The water from the spring was so refreshing - much more pleasant than the Corona bottle of tap water someone had brought along.
We would play in Cuddesdon Brook (straight down the hill on Redman's Lane) although that was seen as 'foreign' due to it being on land owned by a Wheatley farmer (Mr Greaves) rather than the familiar Palmers. The sloping meadow at the top of Parkside by (now) Sunset Lodge was the Daisy Field, named for reasons obvious in the summer. In the winter of 1963 when the snow and ice was ferocious I well remember sledging on Mum's baking tray to the bottom of... Read more
Oh to be A Bishop's Daughter
In 1971 my father The Right Reverend Kenneth John Woollcombe became the youngest Bishop Of Oxford at the age of 47 and we came to live at Bishop's House, Cuddesdon, opposite the Theological College, next to Bishop's Wood.
On March 3rd of this year ( 2008) he died after a long illness at the age of 84.
The Times wrote in his obituary "Scholarly clergyman who rose to be a capable, effective and popular Bishop Of Oxford". I quote "He also had an enormous gift for friendship. He gave support and often spiritual direction to many throughout his life."
Whilst we lived at Cuddesdon, life was not so easy for us, the young family. Me and my two sisters were teenagers and had been used to living in the centre of Edinburgh. My elder sister, Meg, went to boarding school in The Lake District but Fran and I attended what was then Holton Park Grammar school in Wheatley (it is now known as Wheatley Park School). It was quite... Read more
No 4 Waterperry
My memories of Waterperry are all happy ones, my granmother Mrs Sparkes lived at no 4, the house was built in 1921, and my mother lived there as well, so some of the memories are from what she told me and some are from myself. As for what my mother told me, she as a child did not have it all easy in the school summer holidays, she once told me that she used to dread the school holidays as she had to go stone picking in the fields along with the other children, which literally means picking up all the large stones up for the farmer, I think they got paid for it but I don't know how much. But one thing they did like was going blackberrying, there was a book written that said Edy Sprakes (my grandmother)could pick quicker than anyone, then they would take them home and wait until a man came to the village to buy them, apparently they were used for dye. She also... Read more
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