Yateley

A Memory of Eversley.

Yateley, from my researches,was a very quiet village, yet being close to Sandhurst Military Acadamy & not that far from Aldershot, was a bolt hole for the military top brass, hence some large elegant houses. One, Glebe House, in Vicarage Road, was converted into a hospital for the Military during the 40/45 war, as it had several RAF camps during that time. Having moved to Blackwater from Staines, (see my memories of Staines) in 1961,then moving to Cranham, in Vicarage Road, Yateley in 1977, we changed the name to Beechwood House(which it still is). My late husband David (Dave) Mains, had a plumbing & heating company ( Nicholson & Mains). Yateley grew during these years to what it is today, still a very desirable (now designated as a town) place to live in. We moved to the Birches on the edge of the village green in 1994, we called the property Coach House & it was Yately's only Guest House (Licenced to sell alcohol to guests). Before we bought it, it had owner 's in the 1600's named Maynard, King, a daughter of one of them married a John Othen, who was an ancester of my own grandson Jonathan Othen, (history repeating itself). From the 1800's it had been a Dame school (the first school in Yateley) 2 single sisters lived there (their father owned it) & they had 2 sisters from Gibraltor who were servants. Other owners were a Col Luard, Mr & Mrs Turner (from the brewing family) & Ray Davies of The Kinks pop group. It also has a ghost, who was an elderly little lady, who's hair was back in a bun, & she wore little round shape spectacles. Guests would often mention seeing her, but I always denied the fact as many of our guests were business men who stayed week in, week out, & some were quite shocked. She appeared in the door way of the kitchen one morning - when I turned around she was stood looking at me, then gone. Unfortunately the house was not listed & when it was sold to developer's it fell to rack & ruin. Now all rebuilt, Yateley Hall was the home of one of the P& O shipping family before it became a girls (private ) school, now offices. I could give pages more of the history & life of (& names) of folk who Yateley was their home area, must just say I remember Mr Paice, he had a small building firm & Yateley was home to many real country folk, who lived in their caravans on the common & even in the prefabs (concrete cottages) which they moved into after the military moved out, up on Blackbushe airport, from Janet Mains