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Williamscot
Williamscot maps
Historic maps of Williamscot and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Williamscot maps
Williamscot photos
We have no photos of Williamscot, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Cropredy| Banbury| Horley| Warmington| Upper Boddington| Byfield| Broughton| Woodford Halse| Bloxham
Williamscot area books
Displaying 1 of 7 books about Williamscot and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Williamscot
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Williamscot.
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or of a photo of Williamscot.
An Under-Housemaid at Williamscot House
When my Great Aunt Phyllis Ivy Jarrett left school at the age of 13 (about 1918), she joined the domestic staff at Williamscot House, where she was an 'under-housemaid'.
Phyllis used to send photos home to her mother. These give the impression that life in service was not too bad for Phyllis. One photo shows the staff sitting outside the back door: there's the Butler, the Cook (Mrs Collins), Kitchen Maids Ivy and Amy, Parlourmaid Muriel, and even Susie the dog.
In a later photo, the same staff are standing on the immaculate lawn of the big house. The Butler is wearing a typically low-waisted, 1920s style dress and cloche hat, looking like the 'Lady of the Manor'; the Parloumaid sports a top-hat and tails, while Phyllis is looking very mischievous in a chauffeur's uniform, complete with peak-cap and jodhpurs.
I would love to know what they were up to on this occasion.
Phyllis (also known as Ivy) married a groom from Thorpe Mandeville in... Read more
Oxfordshire memories
Chacombe in 1969-1970
My family, the Nylins, lived in the house that had a driveway on an incline and was next door to to small market. I remember (I was 10 years old at the time) there was a small market because we would get our bottled, silver capped milk delivered through a box between the two properties. My dad, Roger, was in the Air Force stationed at Upper Heyford, but my mom, Irene, was a Brit and prefered to live off base instead of on base in "little America" She would say " Rubbish, you dont experience a country if you live on an Air Base" I think folks MIGHT remember us living there because we had a huge Winnebago, new concept for 1969, new to the states and VERY new to the UK. I very much enjoyed my time in Chacombe and miss the lovely little village and countryside.
Timms Family
My great-grandfather and his father were agricultural workers in Chipping Warden. I would like to find out about the area and the Timms family.
The Thirties
My grandmother, widowed, lived during the 20s and 30s at 1, High Street (next to The Dolphin), and was glad of family visits to assist in her invalid-style of life. That usually meant our family, and my mother took a number of 'Busman's Holidays' each year to help her mother, my Gran. We children became familiar over the years with the village, especially the Upper Middleton part. My grandfather had been schoolmaster at the Primary School; he was called William George.
Gran's cottage had, like many, a rather decrepit pump in the garden as its water supply (see Nancy Long's History). A large apple-tree stood in the garden and - of course - a vegetable patch beyond. Over the low garden wall, in Cotswold stone, lay the Jerrams' farmyard; it was usually quiet, but one day I was to observe the killing of a pig (my parents might have been horrified had they known of my secret observation.)
I lived in S.Wales, where coal was cheaper, and delivered... Read more
BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE
We lived for a year in Middleton Cheney. My great grandfather was from England, but we never looked up relatives. I was only seven, but I remember so much of the town. We would go to market uptown everyday, our milk and bread was delivered, we had coal burning fireplace, we would go to get the paper everyday. We had good neighbors and were made very welcome to the neighborhood. My father was stationed at Upper Heyford for 3 years. We would take the double decker bus to Banbury. The countryside was beautiful. We lived in a neighborhood that was at the edge of town. It was in the process of growing.
The Good Old Days
I lived in Mollington from 1948 until 1962. We lived in one of two cottages, set back off the main street, and at the bottom of our gardens was the road, then the row. I remember the Avahes and Harry Robinson. At the top of the lane were the council houses. We had no electric, water, or inside toilet - our toilet was halfway down the garden. At the bottom of our garden was a watercress bed which belonged to the Kirbys, who lived in the first council house (you could buy a bunch for 3d). We were the Coopers, and next door were the Kirbys. Billy Horne had the post office in his front room and then Mrs Stratford had it in her house, next to the pub. In the school there must have been twenty five of us big ones at the back with the little ones at the front - Mrs Hawkins was the teacher. We knew everyone, not only the people but also everyones dogs and... Read more
St Johns Priory (Private Girls School)
I was a pupil at St Johns Priory, and whilst I did not appreciate it at the time, it was an amazing start in life. The Nuns were incredibly strict so we all studied hard. Our classes were really small, by the time I left at the age of 11 I think we only had about 10 people in the year/class.
The two Sisters that I remember have since died (I did get in contact with them only to find one had passed away and the other was quite poorly and later died). I have visited their grave, they are buried together, at the Convent in Birmingham.
St Johns Priory has an amazing history and I have purhcased a book which details how the school was founded etc.
