New Photos from Rick Jowett

Rick Jowett has sent us some further photos taken in Burton Green, taken between 1939 and 1972.

This photo was taken in the front garden of Dawlish in 1939. The baby in the pram is Rick Jowett.

The second photo was taken in Kandahar in Afghanistan, in 1917. The photo includes Charles Samuel Jowett, Rick Jowett's father.

The third photo was taken in the back garden of Dawlish, in 1939. It shows Charles Samuel Jowett, and son Rick. In this picture Charles Jowett was 69 years old. He was resident from 1936 to his death 1956.

Note the flat water tank in the background. Miss Jackson lived in that house. Under the flat rain water tank was a pantry accessible from the kitchen. The bottom of the water tank was the pantry ceiling, thus in summer evaporative cooling kept the pantry cool.

There were no windows in our pantry and I remember water condensing on the ceiling so it did cool pretty well. We did not have a fridge but eggs, cheese, meat, fish seemed to keep well enough. I think the Cheese got moldy on one occasion. Big disaster we were on rations,it was eaten anyway, toasted under a fire grate in the living room.


There was a lady named Woodward who rode a motor bike and delivered fish during war time. Any connection with the Woodward in the history group?

In the back garden of Dawlish, in 1949, showing Rick Jowett's collection of toys of the time - his tent, swimming pool, and wheels.

This is the Peeping Tom, in 1972.

One of the fascinating things about this photo is the style of the cars in the Tom car park.

This is a gypsy caravan behind the Bayliss' home.

The photo was taken in 1972, but Rick Jowett says that this caravan was certainly there from 1955.

And this is a general view along Cromwell Lane, 1972, with some more quaint cars.







All of these photos, and the text, have also been added to Rick Jowett's original page of reminiscences which is here: Reminiscences of Burton Green by Rick Jowett.

New Photos of the Light Railway from Judith Risley

Judith Risley, whose grandparents used to live in Hob Lane in the 1960s, has kindly sent us some photos of the Burton Green Light Railway.

The photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.




Judith Risley writes:

"The attached photos were taken in 1961.  The house is on Hob Lane and used to be called Westholme.  I think it is now painted white. 

"My grandfather, Frank Gilbert, lived there from when it was built in 1953 with his second wife Edna until around 1980.  

"The railway was in a garden on the bend of the road.  I can’t remember the railway as I was only 3 at the time. 

"I think the railway owner is the man between my father and Edna on this photograph – on the platform. 

"I am the young blonde girl behind the dark older girl holding my mum’s hand on this photo.  The boys either side are my brothers.  The dark girl is Rosemary who lived next to my grandfather.  We lived in Lancashire and used to visit regularly.

"The only other thing I remember about the area was when leaving Westholme and turning right there was a pond further up the road.  Unfortunately my grandfather and Edna are no longer alive.

Judith Risley" 

I'll put these photos toether with the photo of the locomotive, The Doll, on the Burton Green Light Railway page. I've posted them here, separately, so you'll notice them.


See Also

Burton Green Light Railway

MPs to Debate HS2 on October 13th

A debate about HS2 will take place in the main chamber of the House of Commons on October 13th.

Business commences at 10.30am. The HS2 debate is backbenchers item 4 (at the end of the sesssion). The schedule for the day is here:
House of Commons schedule for October 13th

And presumably reported in full, live, on the BBC Parliament channel.

This is from the Coventry Telegraph:

North Warwickshire MP Dan Byles says he is delighted that a full Parliamentary debate will be held over the High Speed Rail project. The Tory politician has been regularly lobbying the Backbench Business Committee for the scheme to be debated in the Commons and it has now been added to the agenda for October 13. Mr Byles said:

“We have debated HS2 in Westminster Hall before, but I have long
argued that this issue is so important that it requires an urgent debate in the main chamber.

“We now have that, and I will be using the opportunity to highlight my strong concerns, and those of many of my constituents, that the business case for HS2 simply does not stand up to scrutiny and the project does not represent value for money.

"This debate also represents an opportunity to raise awareness among MPs from parts of the country not directly affected by the line, of the shortcomings of HS2 and the flaws in the business case.

"Every household in the country will be paying for this project, so it is extremely important that we widen the discussion to include all MPs and not just those with constituencies on the line."

Produce Show 2011 - Photos

A few photos from the Burton Green Village Produce Show, 11th September 2011.

All of the photos can be enlarged, to almost full-screen size, by clicking on them.

Home grown grapes, the Best Exhibit in Show.

A photo of a child's pet in the photographic competition for children.

The Village Hall was packed for the prize-giving.

All pictures enlarge, by clicking on them.

If anyone doesn't want their image to appear on the website, just let us know, and it can be pixellated.

Burton Green Local History Group

Monday 5th September 2011 saw the inaugural meeting of the Burton Green Local History Group.

This was an informal get together, to test the level of interest within the village, for a local history group. At the meeting there seemed to be quite a bit of enthousiasm, amongst those present. It's possible that some other residents (not present) may also be equally enthousiastic.

Just below are the minutes of the meeting, kindly prepared by Rona.


Those Present

Dr John Webb  - family resident since 1923; attended BG school
Anita Smith - resident since 1935; attended BG school
Shirley Howes - resident 60 years; attended BG school
Dorothy Raymond - resident 50 years
Betty Woodward - resident 46 years
Eileen Nisbet - resident 43 years; teacher BG School
Janet Court - resident 40 years
Rona and Archie Taylor - resident 36 years
Helen Hehir - resident 35 years
Lesley Tacon - resident 34 years
Anne Snelson - born in Red Lane; currently living in Balsall Common
Janet and Peter Stanworth  - resident 26 years
Barry Putnam - resident 26 years
Adrian and Janet Hickinbottom - resident 20 years
Michael Hibberd - resident 14 years

Apologies - Mary Webb (no relation to John Webb) - resident for 36 years

This was a very lively first meeting, with fascinating glimpses of oral history and a high level of interest in exploring all of BG' s past.


Interests Expressed at the Meeting

• Oral History: to interview the longer term residents about BG's past, and present memories in a booklet. 

• To prepare a Presentation for next Summer's Jubilee Celebration, June 2nd-5th 2012.  This will involve a display in the Village Hall and a living history event, with people in costume talking about village life in different eras. Hopefully the School will be involved. Lead people - Mary and Rona.

Cromwell Cottage

• Buildings (houses and farms): to constuct a questionnaire for residents, as a basis for collating information, and identifying buildings for further detailed research. Lead person: Janet Hickinbottom.

• School Log Book: to identify what the school log book shows about life in the village since the 1870s. This was a particularly interesting part of the meeting, we heard some unusual snippets from the period when the railways were being built. Lead people: Lesley Tacon and Eileen Nisbet.

• The Village 'Green': to investigate the site, nature and use of the old Village Green. Lead people: Janet and Peter Stanworth.

• Place names: to investigate names of roads, woods, and fields. Lead person: Helen Hehir.

• Burton Green in World War II: to investigate the war time changes in BG and the immediate aftermath of the War. And what about WWI, and the Boer War? Maybe the school log might contain some interesting information. Lead person: Archie Taylor.

• Residents' Association: to create an archive of the history of the Residents' Association History.  Lead people: Rona and Archie Taylor.

• Web presence: to present our minutes and findings to a wider audience, both locally and to the wider world, through the Burton Green website. Lead: John Webb.

• Some group members expressed an interest in the origins of Burton Green and archaeology. Lead person: Marlene Hills (not present).

• Genealogy and family history research was also mentioned. This is not specifically in reference to Burton Green, but is a subject that might be of interest to members. The possibility of a guest speaker on this subject was mentioned.

The inaugural meeting gave an initial feel for the interests of those present. Other possibilities could include:

• a more ambitious program, involving all the schoolchildren, could include a number of small 'digs', along the lines of the Kibworth Dig (see more just below, 'How Some Other Villages Have Approached Village History')
• old maps - the tithe map - farms and farming
• history of how BG became built up
• the Welsh Road (an ancient path through the village)
• Westwood School (a considerable number of children used to attend the school at Westwood)
• the Peeping Tom (why was it called the Peeping Tom?)
• did anyone attend a church? which one? where were people buried?
• Westwood Church - any interesting gravestones? who were these people?
• the BG Light Railway
• the Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (1930s)
• the Water Tower
• history of the Village Hall
• the archive at Kenilworth Railway Museum

Next Meeting of Burton Green History Group

Monday 7th November 2011, 7.30pm, Village Hall.

New members are welcome. Members don't have to be a long-established residents in order to be interested, and to take part.


Provisonal Agenda for Next Meeting

• Short talk, to be arranged by Rona.
• Show and tell. Everyone to bring one artifact - could be a document, old photograph, pottery, clothing, etc. Use your imagination. Small display and brief comment on each item.
• Review of progress so far with projects, and requests for any help, support, or advice needed.

Contact

local.history@burtongreen.com