In recent years I have been working on my family tree, something my late father started way before the advent of the internet. I have had for many years a photograph of a drawing/etching of a Georgian House once in the family which my father said he was never able to find and he thought that it had probably been demolished.
Subsequent research revealed this not to be the case: the property still exists off Badesey Road and is Prospect House, as it was named in a copy of an advertisement of sale written out by my grandmother in 1918. . Finding photographs of its renovation online me to compare it with the original building.
The property was built by George Day, my grandmother's great-grandfather in the early 1800s and he appears on the Mayoral Boards in Evesham Town Hall in 1803, 1815 1nd 1826.
Assuming that this information is of interest to you I will be happy to give you copies of what information I have about George Day and his life.
Sadly, I am not in a position to buy the property which seems to be advertised for sale currently at well over £1000,000.!!! Far too large for a retired couple and two cats!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Many thanks for your email, Jenni. I have written to you directly so that you have an email address to which you can send information about George Day.
i read Jenni Last’s contribution about her great great great Grandfather George Day and his last home Prospect House with great interest.George was clearly a very notable gentlemen who before building Prospect House in Evesham, owned Aldington Manor in Aldington near Badsey and arranged for the Regency period extension to be built on to the existing Manor House (The Regency extension is now Aldington Manor) before selling the Manor and building Prospect House which is a fine Grade 2 Listed Building of the Regency period.
I have two contributions to make.
Firstly I have undertaken a lot of research about Prospect House and would like to voice my opinion of whether the famous musician Muzio Clementi actually lived in Prospect House or rented a cottage in the grounds (Vine Cottage which was demolished and apparently rebuilt next to Rose Cottage in Badsey). The Vine cottage story seems to be based on a ‘recollection’ by a Mr Arthur Jones of Badsey handed down from his Father. This story was published in the Evesham Journal in 1955. Personally I think it highly unlikely this was true although it is possible that Vine Cottage did originate from the Estate of Prospect House Mansion and Gardens (as Prospect House was known at the time).
Muzio Clementi was both very famous and very wealthy and owned substantial property in London, Not only was he a famous musician and teacher, he had a very successful piano making business and was the equivalent of a multi millionaire today. In 1828 he moved with his second wife Emma Gisborne to Lichfield and rented Lyncroft House from the Earl of Lichfield until 1831 when he moved to Evesham. Lyncroft House is a substantial Georgian House not unlike Propsect House in size and scale. Meanwhile George Day died in 1830 and following his death Lady Day rented out Prospect House Mansion and Gardens for the same of £600 per annum which is equivalent to £66500 today (Source: Bank of England Inflation Calculator). We know Muzio Clementi was very wealthy and that he lived in substantial properties; it seems highly unlikely that a man of his wealth and status would then rent a very small cottage and it is a logical conclusion based on all the known facts (It is not certain Vine Cottage was rebuilt from a cottage in the grounds of Prospect House) that Muzio Clementi rented Prospect House from Lady Day’s Agents in late 1831 until his death in 1832.
Indeed when Prospect House was sold in 1834 in lots, the property was rented out at the time.
I have managed to source and purchase some of the original Auction documents for the sale of Prospect House and some of these will be framed to be retained with the property for future owners.
My second contribution is that I have some of the original auction documents which are surplus and I would like to offer them to Jenni Last so that she can keep them in her family in honour of George Day. I will leave the Secretary of the Badsey Society to liaise with Jenni and see if she would like these documents; she would be welcome to a tour of Prospect House as it stands today where it is undergoing a significant refurbishment to restore it to its past glory.
Many thanks for your very detailed message left in our Visitors’ Book. It’s wonderful that Prospect House is being restored to its former glory. I have alerted Jenni Last to your contribution and given her your email address so that you can correspond directly.
Regarding where Muzio Clementi died, if you look on the British Newspaper Archive website, various newspapers of the time, published shortly after his death, describe him as dying in a cottage rather than a house. For example, this of 12th March 1832: “Mr Clementi, the eminent composer and pianoforte player, breathed his last on Saturday morning, aged 81, at his cottage in the Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire.” I suppose we shall never know for certain whether it was the cottage in the grounds of Prospect House.
Many thanks for your reply. I would be interested to know which publication you are referring to dated March 1832.
As I mentioned I have a copy of the original auction documents for Prospect House when it was sold in 1834 in lots. Perhaps the most compelling evidence of Mr Clementi’s last residence is given in the Birmingham Gazette of October 1832 in which an advertisement for Prospect House is advertised to be let with immediate possession which is described as ‘late the residence of Muzio Clementi’ and then goes on to describe the residence in great detail including 10 airy lodging rooms as well as a commodious flagged entrance hall. This property is clearly Prospect House not a cottage and the Milton flagged tiles lie under the current Carrara Marble tiling at Prospect House to this day. I have sent you a photocopy of the article as I cannot upload a photo on your Visitor’s Book.
On the British Newspaper Archive, I searched for “Clementi” and “Evesham” for the dates 11th-31st March 1832 and came up with numerous references to his death, first appearing on 12th March, all basically saying the same thing – papers such as “London Packet and New Lloyd’s Evening Post”, “Globe”, “London Evening Standard”, “John Bull”, “Sun (London)”, “St James’ Chronicle”, “English Chronicle and Whitehall Evening Post”, “Morning Advertiser”, “Worcester Journal”, “Coventry Herald”. Unfortunately there was no Evesham newspaper at that stage.
I tried to respond to your website address with the evidence I have but the mail came back ‘undeliverable’ I have therefore sent to your alternative e mail.
Back then, like now to some extent, news was distributed on a central source basis which is why they all say basically the same thing - it is not first hand reporting.
The evidence I submitted to you was a first source advertisement in the Birmingham Gazette offering Prospect House for rental following the death of its tenant (Muzio Clementi). The Agent was instructed by Lady Day (George Day’s widow, so the reference to the previous tenant (Muzio Clementi) is sourced by Lady Day herself. This is historical evidence of far greater value, I would suggest, than central agency news reports copied from the same second/third hand source.
I have sent you a copy of the actual advertisement in the 19th October 1832 edition of the Birmingham Gazette which you are welcome to publish (I paid for this in my research) and subsequently the same Agent (Mr George Robbins ) sold Prospect House at auction in 1834 on the instructions of Lady Day and I have an original copy of the auction documents as well as copy of the 19 October 1832 advertisement in the Birmingham Gazette (sent to you). These are historical document of fact not reporting.
I would contend this depth of first source evidence is fairly compelling.
Many thanks for your email, Ian. The building in question is now the Spar in Badsey High Street. The following link - https://www.badseysociety.uk/image/9858?gallery=51084 - shows you what the building looked like at the time of photo surveys of the village in 1968, 2008 and 2021.
Is it possible that there is any information about evacuees from Birmingham during WW11? Photos etc? My dad was evacuated to Badsey from Birmingham and he had many happy memories of his time there, especially at school. He stayed near a bakers shop. I remember him saying he could smell bread baking in the morning.
Any info appreciated.
P. Clark
If you send your father’s name, we may be able to give you further information about when he entered the school and when he left and exactly where he stayed.
My 11th Great grandfather is Sir Thomas Hoby, to get to me, you go all the way through to George Hoby, the boot maker, One of his sons came to NZ in 1860s. So a majority of my family still carry the last name. I’m hoping to visit both the church and monemunt in the near future.
I have just seen my grandfathers name on your site. You have some incorrect information attached to him. He was actually born in Sidbury, Worcester, and not Ledbury.
Back in the 60s I played keyboards in a rock band called ‘Ebenezer Baylis’ (twas fashionable back then to name bands after historical characters, such as ‘Jethro Tull’). Whilst idly searching on Google today I came across this https://www.badseysociety.uk/people/bayliss/ebenezer Curiously, my partner’s son, David Webster is a current Badsey resident and his mother was born in Shelton Mallet, as was your Ebenezer’s mother I think. Just one of life’s coincidences I guess.
Hello,
I am posting from the Hive in Worcester; as you know there is an ancestry hub here - I found a page on your site after looking up George Augustus Sandys Hill who was married to 2 sisters . These 2 sisters were the daughters of Edward Austen Knight(1768-1822) and Elizabeth Bridges...Edward had a literary sister.
Thank you for your email. Just to point out that, although Knight was the commonest surname in Badsey for three centuries, Cassandra and Louisa Knight, who each married Lord George Hill, were not connected to the Badsey Knights at all. They were the daughters of Edward Austen Knight who was the eldest brother of Jane Austen.
Hello
I see that there was a William Clarence Salter living in Badsey. My father's name was Clarence Salter so I think there may be a connection between these two. My grandparents lived in Badsey with their baby son Frederick who was my father's brother. They also lived in Bretfortan and one of the members of the family was a blind man who ran a shop.
Violet Salter
Thank you for your email. Your grandfather, Charles Salter, was one of 11 children of John & Leah Salter. Three of John & Leah’s grandchildren were given the name Clarence:
Clarence Edwin Frank, born at Llanfoist, Monmouthshire, in 1913, son of Samuel Salter
Clarence Vivian, born at Cardiff in 1914, son of Charles Salter
William Clarence, born at Badsey in 1918, son of Ernest Frederick Salter
So there were three cousins all with the name Clarence, all born at a similar time. Clarence was quite a popular boys’ name at the beginning of the 20th century.
My father was Clarence Vivian. I was not aware of the other two Clarences until now. I knew that some of the family moved to Llanfoist/Abergavenny, Monmouthshire in the early part of last century.
Hello, I have just found by chance the Badsey Society. My grandparents Charles and Agnes Salter lived there along with their baby son Frederick, my uncle. I will be looking more closely. I have done my family history and know there were other Salters living there. My Uncle Reginald was also born in Badsey who was the second son of Charles and Agnes. They were market gardeners.
Hi Valerie, many thanks for all of the information that you have posted and I would be very interested in receiving the photos that you have of my dad & his brother. Sorry but I don't know how we can contact one another other than via the website.
I have long intended to visit this beautiful little church - on account of the painted royal coat of arms of Charles II/James II, the medieval wall painting in the chancel, and the outstanding Jacobean/Carolean Sandys tombs. I did so yesterday and it was all well worth the visit.
My mother, Angela Reed, was the niece (through marriage) of Eva Mary Reed nee Keen and is a little intrigued as she was never aware that Eva's stepmother/aunt, Eva Kate, (stay with me!) was even alive whilst she was growing up in the 50s and 60s, let alone living in Badsey... and she was very close to Eva Mary, which makes it even more surprising. I wonder if anyone could throw any light on this at all, it may just have been a generational attitude to visiting relatives maybe?
My mother's father was Ronald James Reed (Jim or Ron) who was married to Maisie and then, following Maisie's death, to Betty. Mum's uncle was Archie and her grandparents were William and Mary Reed who lived in Chapel Street. If anyone has any stories or general history, that would be much appreciated, thank you.
Harry Keen and his second wife, Eva Kate, lived at the small house sandwiched between The Wheatsheaf and The Bell Inn. They married in 1937. Possibly Eva Mary, by now married to William Archibald Reed, did not get on with her new step-mother? Eva Mary’s father, Harry, died in 1948 (you can see his obituary) so, perhaps Eva Mary just didn’t see much of her step-mother after Harry’s death. Pure guesswork, but a possibility.
Hi, I have read the article that my father wrote concerning Badsey School &, unfortunately, it needs a small correction. He was not born in Badsey but in Walthamstow, London & moved to Badsey when he was a young infant.
I have only just seen your message. My uncle Harry Mason was friendly with your father and his brother John. They all lived on Pitchers Hill, Wickhamford. When Harry died I inherited his collection of photographs and there are several taken with John and Peter when they were living in Wickhamford and also when they moved away. I have for some time been trying to find someone to pass them on to and I am wondering if you would be interested in them. I also have a Christmas card sent to my grandparents by John and they received it after he had been killed in WW2.
Please let me know if you would be interested in these photographs.
Regards
Valerie Harman
I have just realised since writing my earlier reply that there is an article about the Collett family written in October 2022. If you look on the Home Page and Recently Added Articles. Scroll down to October 2022 and you will find the article. Under Fredk. John Richard Collett, the first two photos are part of my collection. Under The Daniels Family the photo with George, Fred and Constance also belongs to me.
Hope you enjoy the article.
Regards
Valerie Harman
Looking through the 1921 census I found my Great, Great Granny (Eliza Dore) living with the Gilberts at The Goren, Badsey, does anyone know where this was I would be interested to know.
If you look at the census returns on the Badsey website, you will see that the correct name is “The Green” and not “The Goren”: https://www.badseysociety.uk/census/badsey-1921/183. It also gives you the current-day address.
Hello! I am trying to trace this lady who attended school at Clewer in 1894. I have a diary of hers dated 1894 and several other fascinating family diaries. Is it possibly Clewer High School that she went to? I will enjoy ploughing through the Sladden letters as they are almost contemporary with my diary.
Thank you!
Comments
Prospect House
In recent years I have been working on my family tree, something my late father started way before the advent of the internet. I have had for many years a photograph of a drawing/etching of a Georgian House once in the family which my father said he was never able to find and he thought that it had probably been demolished.
Subsequent research revealed this not to be the case: the property still exists off Badesey Road and is Prospect House, as it was named in a copy of an advertisement of sale written out by my grandmother in 1918. . Finding photographs of its renovation online me to compare it with the original building.
The property was built by George Day, my grandmother's great-grandfather in the early 1800s and he appears on the Mayoral Boards in Evesham Town Hall in 1803, 1815 1nd 1826.
Assuming that this information is of interest to you I will be happy to give you copies of what information I have about George Day and his life.
Sadly, I am not in a position to buy the property which seems to be advertised for sale currently at well over £1000,000.!!! Far too large for a retired couple and two cats!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Re: Prospect House
Many thanks for your email, Jenni. I have written to you directly so that you have an email address to which you can send information about George Day.
Re: Prospect House
i read Jenni Last’s contribution about her great great great Grandfather George Day and his last home Prospect House with great interest.George was clearly a very notable gentlemen who before building Prospect House in Evesham, owned Aldington Manor in Aldington near Badsey and arranged for the Regency period extension to be built on to the existing Manor House (The Regency extension is now Aldington Manor) before selling the Manor and building Prospect House which is a fine Grade 2 Listed Building of the Regency period.
I have two contributions to make.
Firstly I have undertaken a lot of research about Prospect House and would like to voice my opinion of whether the famous musician Muzio Clementi actually lived in Prospect House or rented a cottage in the grounds (Vine Cottage which was demolished and apparently rebuilt next to Rose Cottage in Badsey). The Vine cottage story seems to be based on a ‘recollection’ by a Mr Arthur Jones of Badsey handed down from his Father. This story was published in the Evesham Journal in 1955. Personally I think it highly unlikely this was true although it is possible that Vine Cottage did originate from the Estate of Prospect House Mansion and Gardens (as Prospect House was known at the time).
Muzio Clementi was both very famous and very wealthy and owned substantial property in London, Not only was he a famous musician and teacher, he had a very successful piano making business and was the equivalent of a multi millionaire today. In 1828 he moved with his second wife Emma Gisborne to Lichfield and rented Lyncroft House from the Earl of Lichfield until 1831 when he moved to Evesham. Lyncroft House is a substantial Georgian House not unlike Propsect House in size and scale. Meanwhile George Day died in 1830 and following his death Lady Day rented out Prospect House Mansion and Gardens for the same of £600 per annum which is equivalent to £66500 today (Source: Bank of England Inflation Calculator). We know Muzio Clementi was very wealthy and that he lived in substantial properties; it seems highly unlikely that a man of his wealth and status would then rent a very small cottage and it is a logical conclusion based on all the known facts (It is not certain Vine Cottage was rebuilt from a cottage in the grounds of Prospect House) that Muzio Clementi rented Prospect House from Lady Day’s Agents in late 1831 until his death in 1832.
Indeed when Prospect House was sold in 1834 in lots, the property was rented out at the time.
I have managed to source and purchase some of the original Auction documents for the sale of Prospect House and some of these will be framed to be retained with the property for future owners.
My second contribution is that I have some of the original auction documents which are surplus and I would like to offer them to Jenni Last so that she can keep them in her family in honour of George Day. I will leave the Secretary of the Badsey Society to liaise with Jenni and see if she would like these documents; she would be welcome to a tour of Prospect House as it stands today where it is undergoing a significant refurbishment to restore it to its past glory.
Re: Prospect House
Many thanks for your very detailed message left in our Visitors’ Book. It’s wonderful that Prospect House is being restored to its former glory. I have alerted Jenni Last to your contribution and given her your email address so that you can correspond directly.
Regarding where Muzio Clementi died, if you look on the British Newspaper Archive website, various newspapers of the time, published shortly after his death, describe him as dying in a cottage rather than a house. For example, this of 12th March 1832: “Mr Clementi, the eminent composer and pianoforte player, breathed his last on Saturday morning, aged 81, at his cottage in the Vale of Evesham, Worcestershire.” I suppose we shall never know for certain whether it was the cottage in the grounds of Prospect House.
Re: Prospect House
Dear Admin
Many thanks for your reply. I would be interested to know which publication you are referring to dated March 1832.
As I mentioned I have a copy of the original auction documents for Prospect House when it was sold in 1834 in lots. Perhaps the most compelling evidence of Mr Clementi’s last residence is given in the Birmingham Gazette of October 1832 in which an advertisement for Prospect House is advertised to be let with immediate possession which is described as ‘late the residence of Muzio Clementi’ and then goes on to describe the residence in great detail including 10 airy lodging rooms as well as a commodious flagged entrance hall. This property is clearly Prospect House not a cottage and the Milton flagged tiles lie under the current Carrara Marble tiling at Prospect House to this day. I have sent you a photocopy of the article as I cannot upload a photo on your Visitor’s Book.
Kind regards
Derek Baptist
Re: Prospect House
On the British Newspaper Archive, I searched for “Clementi” and “Evesham” for the dates 11th-31st March 1832 and came up with numerous references to his death, first appearing on 12th March, all basically saying the same thing – papers such as “London Packet and New Lloyd’s Evening Post”, “Globe”, “London Evening Standard”, “John Bull”, “Sun (London)”, “St James’ Chronicle”, “English Chronicle and Whitehall Evening Post”, “Morning Advertiser”, “Worcester Journal”, “Coventry Herald”. Unfortunately there was no Evesham newspaper at that stage.
Re: Prospect House
Thank you for the clarification.
I tried to respond to your website address with the evidence I have but the mail came back ‘undeliverable’ I have therefore sent to your alternative e mail.
Back then, like now to some extent, news was distributed on a central source basis which is why they all say basically the same thing - it is not first hand reporting.
The evidence I submitted to you was a first source advertisement in the Birmingham Gazette offering Prospect House for rental following the death of its tenant (Muzio Clementi). The Agent was instructed by Lady Day (George Day’s widow, so the reference to the previous tenant (Muzio Clementi) is sourced by Lady Day herself. This is historical evidence of far greater value, I would suggest, than central agency news reports copied from the same second/third hand source.
I have sent you a copy of the actual advertisement in the 19th October 1832 edition of the Birmingham Gazette which you are welcome to publish (I paid for this in my research) and subsequently the same Agent (Mr George Robbins ) sold Prospect House at auction in 1834 on the instructions of Lady Day and I have an original copy of the auction documents as well as copy of the 19 October 1832 advertisement in the Birmingham Gazette (sent to you). These are historical document of fact not reporting.
I would contend this depth of first source evidence is fairly compelling.
Kind regards
Derek Baptist
National Telephone Company - Badsey Telephone Exchange
I came across this picture in the BT archives from 1909 and wondered if anyone can identify where this building was (or even is)?
http://www.digitalarchives.bt.com/CalmView/GetImage.ashx?db=Catalog&typ…
(Catalogue entry: http://www.digitalarchives.bt.com/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Cat… )
I can't find any reference to the historic (or current) telephone exchanges in your village, but hopefully this picture sits quite nicely with the directory entries you've collated from the trade directories of the time?
Re: National Telephone Company - Badsey Telephone Exchange
Many thanks for your email, Ian. The building in question is now the Spar in Badsey High Street. The following link - https://www.badseysociety.uk/image/9858?gallery=51084 - shows you what the building looked like at the time of photo surveys of the village in 1968, 2008 and 2021.
Re: National Telephone Company - Badsey Telephone Exchange
Thankyou for the rapid response! Another piece in the puzzle of telephony in the Evesham area for me.
Evacuees
Is it possible that there is any information about evacuees from Birmingham during WW11? Photos etc? My dad was evacuated to Badsey from Birmingham and he had many happy memories of his time there, especially at school. He stayed near a bakers shop. I remember him saying he could smell bread baking in the morning.
Any info appreciated.
P. Clark
Re: Evacuees
Thank you for your email. Our publication, Heads and Tales: A History of Badsey Schools, has quite a large section in Chapter 6 about Badsey Council School during WWII.
If you send your father’s name, we may be able to give you further information about when he entered the school and when he left and exactly where he stayed.
My Familiy Church
My 11th Great grandfather is Sir Thomas Hoby, to get to me, you go all the way through to George Hoby, the boot maker, One of his sons came to NZ in 1860s. So a majority of my family still carry the last name. I’m hoping to visit both the church and monemunt in the near future.
Re: My Familiy Church
Thank you for your email. Let us know if you have a date for visiting and, if available, one of us would be happy to meet you and show you around.
Edward Oliver Mytton
I have just seen my grandfathers name on your site. You have some incorrect information attached to him. He was actually born in Sidbury, Worcester, and not Ledbury.
Re: Edward Oliver Mytton
Thank you for contacting us, Jayne. I have made the correction.
Tom
Ebenezer Baylis(s)
Back in the 60s I played keyboards in a rock band called ‘Ebenezer Baylis’ (twas fashionable back then to name bands after historical characters, such as ‘Jethro Tull’). Whilst idly searching on Google today I came across this https://www.badseysociety.uk/people/bayliss/ebenezer Curiously, my partner’s son, David Webster is a current Badsey resident and his mother was born in Shelton Mallet, as was your Ebenezer’s mother I think. Just one of life’s coincidences I guess.
Big dig
NO comment on the tooth as shown to Shirley in her garden 1.ivor.
Re: Big dig
Sounds like a subject we could have gotten our teeth into Ivor, but we may have bitten off more that we could chew!
Sandys Hill
Hello,
I am posting from the Hive in Worcester; as you know there is an ancestry hub here - I found a page on your site after looking up George Augustus Sandys Hill who was married to 2 sisters . These 2 sisters were the daughters of Edward Austen Knight(1768-1822) and Elizabeth Bridges...Edward had a literary sister.
Re: Sandys Hill
Thank you for your email. Just to point out that, although Knight was the commonest surname in Badsey for three centuries, Cassandra and Louisa Knight, who each married Lord George Hill, were not connected to the Badsey Knights at all. They were the daughters of Edward Austen Knight who was the eldest brother of Jane Austen.
Robert Septimus Gardiner
Sir Robert Septimus Gardiner is my great grandfather. His sister Caroline Florence Mourilyan. It is wonderful to hear family mentioned.
Re: Robert Septimus Gardiner
Thanks for the email - it's lovely to hear that you have been able to read more about your family via the Sladden/Mourilyan letters.
Relative Ernest Frederick Salter
My relative, who was blind, ran a grocer's shop in Badsey. Your website is wonderful. It is so comprehensive and I only found it a day or two ago.
The Salter family in Badsey
Hello
I see that there was a William Clarence Salter living in Badsey. My father's name was Clarence Salter so I think there may be a connection between these two. My grandparents lived in Badsey with their baby son Frederick who was my father's brother. They also lived in Bretfortan and one of the members of the family was a blind man who ran a shop.
Violet Salter
Violet Salter
Re: The Salter family in Badsey
Thank you for your email. Your grandfather, Charles Salter, was one of 11 children of John & Leah Salter. Three of John & Leah’s grandchildren were given the name Clarence:
So there were three cousins all with the name Clarence, all born at a similar time. Clarence was quite a popular boys’ name at the beginning of the 20th century.
Re: The Salter family in Badsey
Hello
My father was Clarence Vivian. I was not aware of the other two Clarences until now. I knew that some of the family moved to Llanfoist/Abergavenny, Monmouthshire in the early part of last century.
Thank you for the reply.
The Salte family
Hello, I have just found by chance the Badsey Society. My grandparents Charles and Agnes Salter lived there along with their baby son Frederick, my uncle. I will be looking more closely. I have done my family history and know there were other Salters living there. My Uncle Reginald was also born in Badsey who was the second son of Charles and Agnes. They were market gardeners.
Peter Collett - Badsey School
Hi Valerie, many thanks for all of the information that you have posted and I would be very interested in receiving the photos that you have of my dad & his brother. Sorry but I don't know how we can contact one another other than via the website.
Re: Peter Collett - Badsey School
Maureen Spinks, the Chairman of the Badsey Society, has given me your email address and I have sent you an email.
Valerie
St. John the Baptist, Wickhamford
I have long intended to visit this beautiful little church - on account of the painted royal coat of arms of Charles II/James II, the medieval wall painting in the chancel, and the outstanding Jacobean/Carolean Sandys tombs. I did so yesterday and it was all well worth the visit.
Information Regarding Eva Kate Keen and Eva Mary Reed nee Keen
My mother, Angela Reed, was the niece (through marriage) of Eva Mary Reed nee Keen and is a little intrigued as she was never aware that Eva's stepmother/aunt, Eva Kate, (stay with me!) was even alive whilst she was growing up in the 50s and 60s, let alone living in Badsey... and she was very close to Eva Mary, which makes it even more surprising. I wonder if anyone could throw any light on this at all, it may just have been a generational attitude to visiting relatives maybe?
My mother's father was Ronald James Reed (Jim or Ron) who was married to Maisie and then, following Maisie's death, to Betty. Mum's uncle was Archie and her grandparents were William and Mary Reed who lived in Chapel Street. If anyone has any stories or general history, that would be much appreciated, thank you.
Re: Information Regarding Eva Kate Keen and Eva Mary Reed
Harry Keen and his second wife, Eva Kate, lived at the small house sandwiched between The Wheatsheaf and The Bell Inn. They married in 1937. Possibly Eva Mary, by now married to William Archibald Reed, did not get on with her new step-mother? Eva Mary’s father, Harry, died in 1948 (you can see his obituary) so, perhaps Eva Mary just didn’t see much of her step-mother after Harry’s death. Pure guesswork, but a possibility.
Peter Collett - Badsey School
Hi, I have read the article that my father wrote concerning Badsey School &, unfortunately, it needs a small correction. He was not born in Badsey but in Walthamstow, London & moved to Badsey when he was a young infant.
Re: Peter Collett - Badsey School
Many thanks for this - it has been corrected.
Re: Peter Collett - Badsey School
I have only just seen your message. My uncle Harry Mason was friendly with your father and his brother John. They all lived on Pitchers Hill, Wickhamford. When Harry died I inherited his collection of photographs and there are several taken with John and Peter when they were living in Wickhamford and also when they moved away. I have for some time been trying to find someone to pass them on to and I am wondering if you would be interested in them. I also have a Christmas card sent to my grandparents by John and they received it after he had been killed in WW2.
Please let me know if you would be interested in these photographs.
Regards
Valerie Harman
Re: Peter Collett - Badsey School
I have just realised since writing my earlier reply that there is an article about the Collett family written in October 2022. If you look on the Home Page and Recently Added Articles. Scroll down to October 2022 and you will find the article. Under Fredk. John Richard Collett, the first two photos are part of my collection. Under The Daniels Family the photo with George, Fred and Constance also belongs to me.
Hope you enjoy the article.
Regards
Valerie Harman
The Goren
Looking through the 1921 census I found my Great, Great Granny (Eliza Dore) living with the Gilberts at The Goren, Badsey, does anyone know where this was I would be interested to know.
Re: The Goren
If you look at the census returns on the Badsey website, you will see that the correct name is “The Green” and not “The Goren”: https://www.badseysociety.uk/census/badsey-1921/183. It also gives you the current-day address.
Edith Sophie Mary Elliott
Hello! I am trying to trace this lady who attended school at Clewer in 1894. I have a diary of hers dated 1894 and several other fascinating family diaries. Is it possibly Clewer High School that she went to? I will enjoy ploughing through the Sladden letters as they are almost contemporary with my diary.
Thank you!