Wheatley - Village Archive

BACK TO MAP

NEXT RECORD

PDF Files:

Talk summary given by Robert Avery in February 2009.

Archive Notes:

Summary of Robert Avery's talk about 'Growing up on Ladder Hill' complete with two maps which show the development of the houses on this and reference to the Avery sawmill. The three houses to the west of Ladder Hill and just before Windmill Lane are, today, numbers 42, 44 and 46. William Dennis, tenant farmer of Hill Farm in 1910 lived at number 44 with his wife Ada and 4 children - Amy, Warick, Maggie and Marion, before the Trinders took over as tenant.

1950s or 1960s drawing shows the railway station, Avery timber yard, and houses standing from this earlier time, these shown in blue with house names and name of occupier. The house occupied by Clark was the station master's house, later demolished and now Nos 25, 27 and 29 Ladder Hill.

William Avery snr died on 14 January 1918, age 69, leaving his widow Emma also in Roberts House. His will paved the way for new houses for the family, as shown in the 1931 Kelly directory with Albert Avery at Edgehill, Gilbert James Avery at Windyridge, Leonard Avery (age 24 in 1921) on Ladder Hill, Henry Avery (age 50 in 1921 and step-brother to the others) at The Orchard, Vicarage Road (now Holloway) and William Avery (age 35 in 1921) at The Lodge, Park Hill.

2009 drawing shows the houses in 2009, those in blue were standing previously (with occupiers according to the 1920, 1931 and 1939 Kelly Directory) being Nos 55, Elpis (1920 and 1939 Kelly directories Captain Addis, now Hill House), Edgehill (all three directories, Albert Avery), Windmills (James Algernon Brown all three directories), Windy Ridge (James Avery, all three directories, since re-named as High Ridge) Longside (Leonard Avery, all three directories), Coombe House (all three directories with the Misses Briggs). Green Hedges (No. 20) was probably built just before, during or just after the Second World War, see photo. Wensleydale House, and Six Acres are later houses. Also in all three directories, William Avery lived at The Lodge, and Henry Avery at The Orchard, both in Park Hill - see record 2073 for Kelly Directory ownerships. Houses in red are those more recently added. A more recent map is included with an overlay of the website map showing house number and names in the upper part of Ladder Hill and the start of Windmill Lane. Other names are Wychwood, The Spinney, Edgehill, Earlywood Paddock, Weylands (or Waylands?) and New Place and, on the other side, Hill Top and Dunmarie.

Edale was built as 64 Ladder Hill in 2012. Orchard House is No 66, High Ridge is No. 72, Windyridge is now called High Ridge with 70 Windyridge developed in its garden. Wensleydale House, which has no street number, was developed in the garden of Longside. On the other side of the road, The Spinney is No. 59 and Wychwood No. 57 which is adjacent to Betty's Brook, named after Betty Brown. In Windmill Lane, Windmills has been re-named Windmill House at No. 1 Windmill Lane, two houses have been built in its garden Windmills No. 1a Windmill Lane and 1b Windmill Lane. 3 Windmill Lane was built in 1993 and 5 Windmill Lane is another newcomer

Robert Avery told a wonderful story of the three Briggs sisters. They would telephone London stores like Harrods and Fortnum and Mason, to order delicacies for their lunch: asparagus, strawberries and foie gras, for example, and ask to have them put on the train at Paddington to be dropped off at Wheatley. It was the lad-porter’s job to take them up the hill and deliver them to the Misses Briggs in time for lunch! The date of this is not recorded but it may well have been the mid 1920s - they were still living here in 1939. Their burials took place in Holton Church - Edith Briggs on 26/03/47 - aged 71; Ella Briggs on 17/01/49 - aged 77; Linda Briggs on 20/01/59 - aged 79.

2018 Google Earth extract shows the development as at that date.

Note the existing walkway down to Avery's Mill, then called Tin Alley.

There is a 1920-1930 two copyright photos, image 1 and image 2 and image 3 from https://www.pictureoxon.com/ of Coombe House, front exterior viewed from an angle

Map Addresses: