Tag Archives: A Vanished Past

A Vanished Past Vol.1 – Who Has Contributed, Who’s Missing ?

A Vanished Past, Horley Oxfordshire a glimpse of ­­the village and people. Vol.1Horley Clare Marchant Vol 1

The photograph on the front cover of Horley from the Wroxton Hill is by Clare Marchant

Contents

  • Introduction [ featured in a separate post ] and Contributors
  • A map of Horley in relation to Banbury and other north Oxfordshire villages
  • Change [ featured in a separate post ]
  • People in alphabetical family surname order:  Allington to Meadows

The Contributors

People have been very generous with their photographs – taking time to search them out from lofts, boxes and cupboards – often bringing back happy times, but also difficult or tragic times and half-forgotten events. Not everyone would have chosen to share these records of their lives. For me it put together parts of a jigsaw about a way of life that no longer exists, and puts flesh on the ghosts of my memories.

I have a long list of people to thank: You will see that I give many people a formal title – which is because that was how they were known in the 1940s-1960s – first names were only used between very close friends – usually those that had been to school together.

The late – Mrs Gladys Barcock,  Honor (Morgan) Berry,  Mrs Florrie Dunwoody, Miss Joan Pearson, Mr Robert Pearson, Mrs Mary (Astell) Riley, Mr Eric Turner

A – Edward Allington, Eileen (Barcock) Alexander

B – Carol (Dunwoody) Baker, Alice (Saunders) Bowmaker for allowing free range of John Saunders’ photographs, Maureen (Eeles) Banks, Ann (Saunders) Barrett, Roy Bayliss, Mrs Kathleen Betteridge for information and photographs of the Maybury family, Mrs Harry Bishop, Jane (Tustian) Blake of Hanwell, Christopher Blythe and Richard Blythe, Betty (Hirons) Burns and her daughter Marolyn Burns.

C – Mary (Bayliss) Callow, Gwenda Cliff (for information about the Roylance family), Charles Cozens, Eleanor Cozens,

D – Barry Dunwoody

G – Reg and Elizabeth Green, William Griffin for material about the Bagnall family, William Gunn

H – Stanley and Wendy Hamer, Peter Hart of Hornton, Pat (Shawyer) Hassan-Jan, Doreen (Green) Hemmings, Victor and Joy Hillman, Shân (Morgan) Hoy, Mrs Dorothy Humphris for material about the Viggers and Hamer family

J – Mary (Hemmings) Jarvis, Alison (Jelfs) Intravia, Hazel (Jelfs) Collaby, Martyn Jelfs, Jane (Kay) Jones,

K – Channy Kennard for material about the Maul family, Anthony Meadows, Stephen Oliver for material about the Howe and Oliver family

P – Mike Patching, Hugh and Anna Pearson, John Plumbe for Allington photographs, Monica (Simmonds) Powell, Anthony Pratt

R – Rose (Kettle) Rawlings, Joan Robinson

S – Mrs Barbara Standish, Brian Standish, Mrs Stanley, David Stanley, Roger Sumner,

T- Daphne (Bullock) Thomas, Linda (Rose) Twistleton, Christine Upton for material about Horley Children’s Home

V – Phillipa (Varney) Walker, Timothy Varney

Other sources

  • Mrs Audrey Turner custodian of the two Womens Institute Scrapbooks of 1965 and 1985
  • The Trustees of the Michael Hardinge Trust, for some of the school photographs
  • Clive Wrench and the Horley Cricket Club
  • Daniel Batchelor for permission to use photographs of the Hornton Quarries
  • David Seccull for permission to use photographs from Wroxton, The Village and its People in Photographs. 1993. Out of print.
  • Richard Milward for permission to use Richard R Jones’ watercolour of Horley.
  • The Oxfordshire County Council
  • The Banbury Museum
  • The Rector of the Ironstone Benefices and Horley PCC

Who is missing?

There are people for whom I have been unable to trace any photographic record: William and Sarah Saul, the Misses Barrett, Dorothy Varney and her mother Laura, May Cripps and others from Horley Home, Mrs West, Edwin Walden, Mr and Mrs Percy Matthews and their son Billy, Mrs Lizzie and Miss Bessie Chapman of Park House, the Baillies of The Manor, Mr William Astell of Bramshill Park Farm, Mr and Mrs Partridge of Brook Cottage, the Misses Godson of Horley Cottage, Mr Tom Allington, The Clarks and their son Paul, Mr William and Mrs Hicks Snr, Mrs Campbell of the Firs, Mr and Mrs Turner, and others who peopled our life between 1941 and 1965.

If you have a photograph of any of them, or know someone who may, please let me know. My email address is at the front of this book. ( marchantclare@hotmail.com )

On the other hand there has been a huge treasure trove of photographs of people that might otherwise have remained ghostly images in the mind: including one of Mrs Herbert, another of Mrs Edwin Walden, and one of Fanny Walden, all strong characters in our childhood, who seemed to come from a different age.

I am grateful that my sisters Shân and Honor allowed me to plunder their earlier writing about Horley life which they had written for their children. I was lucky to have ready access to Honor’s quite remarkable and detailed memory. She was deeply interested in this volume about people, and I grieve that she died just before its completion. I owe a debt to my parents, Glyn and Elma Morgan, Horley’s Vicar and his wife during the period of this book. I hope something of their affection for Horley and its people emerges and that I reveal something of the active part they played in village life.

It is only now I fully understand why writers always thank their partners for their contribution. Harold has been exceptionally patient and tolerant: papers have covered the floors and tables, meals have been forgotten, of my alternating fury and despair when a computer virus destroyed material (thank you to everyone who went up into their lofts again) and things have been neglected or forgotten. He must now consider he knows as much about Horley and Horley people as anyone who lived there. He has checked what I have written, offered insights and made helpful comments. Thank you Harold for supporting this absorbing and time-consuming work.

Clare Marchant, June 2015

Clare MarchantThe is an extract from A Vanished Past Volume 1, each Volume is £15 +P&P  or you can buy both for £33 incl. p&p.

They are available directly from Clare , Shaftesbury House, 15 Circus Street, Greenwich, London SE10 8SN or marchantclare@hotmail or call on 020 8858 8529. Cheques payable to Clare Marchant.

Clare Marchant was born in Horley Vicarage, Oxfordshire in 1941 and spent her formative years there until 1965. She now lives in Greenwich, London

First published in 2015. All rights reserved. The rights of Clare Marchant to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of © Clare Marchant.  Copyright for each image rests with the contributor.

A Vanished Past – What’s in the Volumes?

A Vanished Past; Horley Families, Homes and Gardens

Life as lived in a North Oxfordshire village in the mid-twentieth century is depicted with skill and honesty, and illustrated by absorbingly interesting photographs. The residents give remarkably honest insights into their lives – their successes, joys and sadness over time.

These were the last days of an agricultural village. It is a story about the structure of village life, and its changes over several decades, seen through the eyes of the residents, drawn together by a sensitive author and illustrated by 500 or so amateur and professional photographs.

The first and second volume in this series concentrate on people;

Horley Clare Marchant Vol 1Volume 1 (in print)

  • Introduction and Contributors
  • A map of Horley in relation to Banbury and other north Oxfordshire villages
  • Change
  • People in alphabetical family surname order:  Allington to Meadows

Horley Clare Marchant Vol 2

  • Volume 2 (in print)
  • People in alphabetical family surname order: Morgan to Yates
  • People of Lane Close
  • Homes & Gardens
  • Our animals
  • Getting about
  • Water and sewage
  • Services: post, papers, deliveries, mobile library, police and the  shop

Volume 3 will be about Work and Leisure.   Volume 4 will include chapters on the School, Chapel, Church and Wartime as well as memorable views of the village and countryside:

  • Leisure: including walks, wheels, swimming, Brownies, clubs, May Days, Coronation Day 1953, fêtes, cricket and football, hunting, the Banbury Fair and fireworks
  • Farming
  • The Ironstone
  • Women and work
  • Working from home
  • The School
  • The Church and Vicarage
  • The Methodist Chapel
  • World War I
  • World War II
  • Men who were called up
  • National Service
  • The Home Guard
  • Wartime in Horley
  • Our environment – village and countryside

Clare Marchant, June 2015

Clare MarchantThese table of contents are extract from volumes of A Vanished Past, each Volume is £15 +P&P  or you can buy both Volumes 1 & 2 for £33 incl. p&p.

They are available directly from Clare , Shaftesbury House, 15 Circus Street, Greenwich, London SE10 8SN or marchantclare@hotmail or call on 020 8858 8529. Cheques payable to Clare Marchant.

Clare Marchant was born in Horley Vicarage, Oxfordshire in 1941 and spent her formative years there until 1965. She now lives in Greenwich, London

First published in 2015. All rights reserved. The rights of Clare Marchant to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of © Clare Marchant.  Copyright for each image rests with the contributor.

What’s New – October 2015

Photo credit. Richard Bord. AFP.Getty Images

Lunar Eclipse ~ Super Blood Moon Photo credit: Richard Bord/AFP/Getty Images‬

Did you get up early on Monday morning (28th September) to see the Super Blood Moon eclipse, Hanwell Observatory ‎estimated it would be best seen at 03:47am BST when the moon should appear red due to light bent by the earth’s atmosphere.

harvest festival auctionHarvest Festival – two events this week the first on Friday  (tomorrow) 2nd October 7:00pm at The Red Lion and sees the return of the ever popular Harvest Festival Auction. Please either drop off your produce or bring it with you at 7:00.

Then this Sunday October 4, 11:00 at St. Ethedreda’s Church a traditional Harvest Holy Communion.

Vanished Past Volume 1A Vanished Past – Clare Marchant has kindly agreed to let us take a “look inside” her two books to share some photo’s and excerpts. Here are two emails we’ve received from former Horleyites ….

“I have been very fortunate in getting the first two issues of this wonderful account of life in Horley.   Memories came flooding back and I cannot thank Clare enough for all the time, effort and dedication she gave to this huge project. Eagerly awaiting volumes three and four! Read and Enjoy! Gratefully, Pat Hassan-Jan (the daughter of Vic and Lucy Shawyer of Box Cottage)”
 A Vanished Past Volume 2Hi Debra, Thank you for replying to my email and yes, of course, it’s quite o.k. for you to include my email in the October update. Although I have not visited Horley in a number of years I am always very happy to see photographs of the village and read all the events taking place. I must say I think the people who now live there are exceptionally lucky to have such a wonderful calendar of events. I hope to be in the Banbury area in the early part of October and, time permitting, I will certainly come through Horley and look at the houses which have been built in the field (Astells) behind the house where I once lived.   I am in touch with Clare and spent a lovely time with her recently and also met up with Shan after a very long time (1965) it was such a good feeling.    Looking forward to reading the October update! With best wishes Pat (the daughter of Vic and Lucy Shawyer of Box Cottage)”

You can buy them directly from Clare by sending your address and cheque made payable to Clare Marchant to 15 Circus Street, London SE10 8SN. Each book is £15, Post & Packing is £3 whether you buy one or both.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – Took place in our magical church last weekend, and was the most spectacular production so far. In addition to the “5 Reasons” each and every actor played their parts brilliantly, the feedback from each of the audiences was that they were amazed at how highly entertaining and professional it was. Full credit goes to Tessa Howell for her brilliant creativity in reducing this play to its pure essence and re-imagining it here in our church. Tessa adapted the script and had been struggling to recruit the cast for over a year. It was also no mean feat managing the scheduling of the rehearsals ; only on the final dress rehearsal the did she have a full cast!

Tessa always encouraged the cast to do their best and although you will probably find this hard to believe she did on occasion even shout at them, ensuring they played their role to their full potential.  Tessa paid special thanks to David Kyle for his musical contribution and to Mike Patching for all his help with the stage, music and lighting.  She says this is her last production and what a high to end on….. however we have a feeling that our sprite-like, inexhaustible and incorrigible director may be persuaded to do another small adult production, never say never – “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

Reminder: The Parish Council pages are frequently updated; see the Notice Board for items that are sent to the Parish Clerk that may be of interest; see Planning  for applications that are received and those decided. Also due to the transparency requirements all Parish Council Meetings agendas are published in advance and then the resulting meeting minutes are posted.

Also remember you can always see what Lucy submits to the  Banbury Guardian, these pages are updated regularly as are the photo’s and headers. I’ve started to include photo’s of Horley Views from Facebook and if you have any you would like to share you can always email them to horleyviews@outlook.com . We really enjoy getting your feedback and are delighted to include your ideas, information or memories in fact anything that you would like to share.

So let us know…….. Di (Marriot) & Deb (Fox)

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A Vanished Past: Horley – Clare Marchant

Dear Horley Views, I was born and lived in Horley for the first 25 years of my life – and along with other people of that time, have indelible memories of village life then – so I have tried to capture some thing of it and I have just published two books providing some vivid glimpses of Horley in the mid twentieth century, when major changes happened in the village. They are both about 200 pages long and have just over 250 photographs each from nearly 50 contributors, with  text. It seems the sort of thing that you might like to put out on Horley Views. I attach a  Flyer for A Vanished Past Volume 1 & 2 It gives only brief details so do let me know what you advise.      Kind regards, Clare Marchant

A Vanishing Past; Horley Families, Homes and Gardens

Life as lived in a North Oxfordshire village in the mid-twentieth century is depicted with skill and honesty, and illustrated by absorbingly interesting photographs. The residents give remarkably honest insights into their lives – their successes, joys and sadness over time.

These were the last days of an agricultural village. It is a story about the structure of village life, and its changes over several decades, seen through the eyes of the residents, drawn together by a sensitive author and illustrated by 500 or so amateur and professional photographs.

Vanished Past Volume 1A Vanished Past Volume 2

Volumes 1 is entirely about families (Allington-Meadows).

Volume 2 is about families (Morgan to Yates), as well as our homes and gardens, getting about, and the coming of water and electricity.

Volumes 3 and 4 will be published in the coming year. Volume 3 is about Work and Leisure.   Volume 4 includes chapters on the School, Chapel, Church and Wartime as well as memorable views of the village and countryside.

Clare MarchantClare Marchant was born in Horley Vicarage, Oxfordshire in 1941 and spent her formative years in Horley until 1965.   She now lives in Greenwich.

PS: Having spoken to Clare she has agreed to provide us with some “peeks into the books” and some photos. This content will be added in separate posts and shown on the Horley’s History page. We hope this inspires other to share their memories, stories and photo’s of Horley.