Members of Toc H delivered 123 Christmas parcels of groceries to residents of Broadway aged 70 and over.
The parcels were provided by the Old Folk’s Party Committee whose funds received donations from the Winchcombe Charities Cup competition, Broadway Darts League, the Thursday whist drive committee and Broadway Bowling Club. Parcels were also distributed to Broadway residents in Avonside Hospital, Evesham.
100 Years Ago Today: 10th September 1922
King’s Cup Pilot, Alan Butler, Landed at Farncombe Estate in his de Havilland Aeroplane
During the afternoon of Sunday 10th September 1922, pilot, Alan Samuel Butler, flew from the de Havilland aerodrome in London to Broadway, landing his de Havilland bi-plane in the grounds of Farncombe Estate where he spent the weekend.
Butler (1898-1897) was the first private aeroplane owner. In 1921, Butler asked Geoffrey de Havilland to build him an aircraft to his own specifications and the first DH37 was built, which Butler named ‘Sylvia’ after his sister. Butler was one of 13 pilots to finish in the first King’s Cup Race held on 8th and 9th September 1922. The 810 mile race from Croydon to Glasgow, and back again after an overnight stop, was established by King George V as an incentive to the development of aircraft and engine design.
Butler was so impressed with the de Haviland company that he helped the company financially with their venture into aircraft manufacture and was appointed Chairman in 1923, a role he held until 1950.
The following visitors stayed in the village during August 1889 (from the list published in the Evesham Journal, 31 August 1889):
Broad Street (Mrs J. Stanley): Mr and Mrs Appleby and family (Birmingham).
Broad Street (Misses Tennent): Mr and Mrs Russell (Brighton), Sister Agatha (London).
Cowley House (Mrs Righton): Mr and Mrs Atkinson (India), Miss Weston (Salisbury), Mrs Dixon (London), Miss Roberts (Cheltenham).
Downside House (Mrs Herbert): Mr and Mrs Haynes-Williams and Miss Haynes-Williams.
Farnham House: Mr and Mrs Pemberton and family (Birmingham).
High Street (Mrs Newman): Mr Hingley (Birmingham)
Ivy House (Mrs A. Herbert): Mr and Mrs Milward and Miss Milward (Highgate), Miss Katie Manning (London)
The Knapp (Mrs S. Savage): The Rev. W. Flory and family (Leamington).
The Laurels (Mrs Arthur Smith): Mr and Mrs Manson and family (New York).
Lygon Arms Hotel (Mr Charles Drury): Mrs Huntingdon and family (New York), Mrs Bacon and family (America), Mr Bartlett.
Russell House: Mr and Mrs Frank D. Millet and family (New York), Mr Harold and Mrs Nettie Huxley Roller, Mr Edwin Austin Abbey (London).
Russell House Cottage: Mrs Barnard and family (London), the Misses Faraday (London).
Sunnyside (Mrs Kendrick): Mr J.T. Evans, Miss Evans and Mr J. Evans (New York).
On Saturday 3rd May 1952, Snowshill Manor near Broadway, which had been gifted to the National Trust by owner Charles Paget Wade1 in December 1951, was opened to the public by Professor E.A. Richardson RA.
Wade, an architect and owner of sugar plantations in the British West Indies, purchased Snowshill Manor, an adjacent cottage and 14 acres of land, in June 19162 when it was put up for auction. For generations it had been a farmhouse, and Wade spent much money restoring the house parts of which date back to the 15th century. The major part of the house is Tudor and the front door dates back to 1700. The farmyard was remodelled into an Arts and Crafts garden with the help of M.H. Baillie Scott (1865-1945).
Wade filled the manor house from floor to ceiling with antiques, curios, models and works of art. His eclectic collection attracted a number of visitors including J.B. Priestly, Virginia Woolf and Graham Greene. When Queen Mary visited it is reported that she said that the finest thing in the collection was Mr Wade himself.
Notes:
In April 1952, Major the Hon. Frederick Anthony Hamilton Wills, heir to Lord Dulverton of Batsford Park, purchased Middle Hill House and 1,100 acres of land on Broadway Hill.
Middle Hill had previously been owned by the sisters Lucy Miller Hingley and Emily Georgina Hingley who moved to Broadway shortly after the end of the First World War. Lucy Hingley died in 1942 and Emily Hingley in February 1946. By the terms of Miss Emily Hingley’s will (which amounted to £311,922 gross), Middle Hill was to be offered to the Friends of the Poor and if they were not willing to accept the bequest then to the Homes of Rest for Gentlewomen of the Church of England with a request that the house be known as The Hingley House of Rest. However, the Friends of the Poor declined to accept the property because of the huge cost of repairs needed to be spent on the house and ancillary buildings, and following a hearing at the Chancery Division in December 1951, it was decided that the gift had failed and declared that Miss Hingley had died intestate. Broadway Tower and the surrounding fields, also part of Miss Hingley’s estate, were bequeathed to the National Trust.
Following his purchase of the house and land, Wills was granted a £500 licence by Evesham Rural District Council to carry out the extensive repairs to make the house habitable. Wills was married with four children and lived at the house for many years returning the surrounding land to productive farmland.
Born on 19 December 1915, Wills was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. During the Second World War, Wills served with the Lovatt Scouts. He was an enthusiast about fieldcraft and was one of the Army’s leading experts on sniping. He founded and was chief instructor at a sniping wing at the War Office Advanced Handling and Fieldcraft School in North Wales. He gained the rank of Major in 1944 in the Royal Artillery. He succeeded as the 2nd Baron Dulverton, of Batsford, and 3rd Baronet Willow of Northmoor, Somerset, on 1 December 1956. Wills served as a Master of the North Cotswold Hunt for 8 years, resigning in 1960. He was appointed Commander, Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1974. He died on 7 February 1992 at the age of 76.
75 Years Ago – The Bleak Winter of 1947
The winter of 1947 was one of the severest on record. With the country still recovering from the impact of the Second World War, the UK was struck by one of the worst winters recorded. The cold snap was felt across Europe but the UK suffered the worst, and the country came to a standstill for many days. January started off mild but from 23rd January through to the middle of March, snow fell somewhere in the UK every day for 55 days and temperatures dropped to -21°C in some areas.
Broadway and the surrounding villages did not escape the icy blast of snow, fog, and gales from the east, resulting in freezing temperatures both day and night. The heaviest snow fell in the Cotswolds during the night of 5th February. Snowshill was cut off for a fortnight by deep snow and icy conditions until Broadway baker, Charles Jarrett, assisted by his son Ted, managed to get his van up the hill to deliver bread only to find the following week that the road was again blocked with drifts 4.5m deep. Spring Hill was cut off for much longer, and during the height of the blizzards one postman who became snowbound near the Jockey Stables on the Spring Hill Estate left his van and managed to walk back to Broadway despite the deep snow and freezing temperatures. In Evesham, sections of the River Avon froze to over a depth 4cm for more than a fortnight and a channel had to be cut in the ice to maintain the Hampton Ferry River Service.
Throughout the long winter there were delays in meat, grocery and coal deliveries and several villagers went without coal for weeks. The weight of snow and ice stretched telephone wires, water pipes froze and roofs and ceilings in many buildings collapsed under the sheer weight of the snow. Across the country, coal stocks at the power stations ran low, and the limited supplies were unable to make it through the blocked roads and railways. The government introduced measures to cut power consumption, including restricting domestic electricity to 19 hours per day and cutting industrial supplies completely. The Gordon Russell factory was forced to close for two weeks in the middle of February following the government’s ban on industrial consumption of electricity.
Towards the end of February the days brightened and spring appeared to be on its way as the sun put in an appearance. The respite, however, was short-lived and within a couple of days the weather turned colder again. Further heavy snowfalls followed and, combined with the high winds from the east, this led to more deep drifts across the area. On 5th March one of the worst blizzards of the 20th century hit the UK and by the following morning, Broadway was completely cut off from the outside world and movement around the village itself was practically impossible. Cars were abandoned, some completely buried, and only the tops of lorries and buses were left showing above the snow. Vehicles abandoned at the top of Fish Hill lay buried for several days. There were deep snowdrifts around Broadway Station, and the Broadway to Evesham Road was blocked by a drift almost 2m deep near the Murcot turn which was not cleared by snowploughs until late the following day.
Schools and businesses closed, bus services throughout the district were suspended and train services disrupted. An ex-US Army vehicle fitted with a snow-plough was used to help clear the High Street and a caterpillar tractor was used to deliver bread, milk and other supplies to stranded villagers. Groups of villagers joined snow-clearing parties in an effort to clear the roads known as Operation Snowdrift. Employees of local builders, Steward & Co., helped clear the road to Snowshill which was again cut off by drifts 3m high, and prisoners of war from the camps at Fladbury, South Littleton and Spring Hill were employed to help villagers across the vale clear the snow. It was estimated that during the week of 8th March, 1,500 tons of snow was cleared from the streets of Evesham.
The following week, the thaw set in accompanied by much rain. The melting snow and rain from the Cotswold hills poured into the streams and rivers. Many burst their banks and flooded nearby areas resulting in some of the worst floods recorded in the UK. The River Avon at Evesham peaked during the night of the 13th March flooding Waterside and Port Street. This was followed by 80mph gale force winds on 16th which brought down a number of trees along the Evesham Road once again blocking the road from Broadway and bringing down the telephone lines. The country as a whole was relieved when spring finally arrived after Easter but the winter had a lasting effect on Britain’s economy. By February 1947 it was already estimated that the year’s industrial output would be down by 10% that year and the effects of the March floods added a further £250–375 million (equivalent to £10–15 billion today) in damage. Fortunately it was 1963 before the village had to cope with such severe winter weather again.
Debbie Williamson
Broadway History Society
Valentine’s Day, also known as St Valentine’s Day or the Feast of St Valentine is celebrated annually on 14th February. The English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, is thought to be the first to record St Valentine’s Day as a day of romantic celebration in his poem The Parliament of Fowls1 composed in the late 1300s.
Written valentine messages appeared in the 1400s and the oldest known valentine still in existence is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London, following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. By the early 18th century Valentine’s Day had grown into an occasion when couples expressed their love for one another either by presenting flowers, confectionary or greeting cards known as valentines.
In early Victorian times, after the introduction of the Uniform Penny Post in 1840, valentine cards could be mailed for just one penny, and the sending of valentine cards grew. A poem of the time by James Beaton, alludes to the mass popularity of valentine cards:
The letters in St. Valentine so vastly amount,
Postmen may judge them by the lot, they won’t have time to count;
They must bring round spade and measures, to poor love-sick souls
Deliver them by bushels, the same they do coals.
In 1841, 400,000 valentines were posted throughout England and by 1871, 1.2 million cards were processed by the General Post Office in London2.
150 years ago, the Berrow’s Worcester Journal3 reported on the large number of valentines that were handled by Worcester’s postmen:
Stationers and dealers in fancy goods have recently displayed a charming assortment of Cupid’s missives, which have found a ready sale, and postmen and supernumeraries have found it no easy task to deliver the love tokens to expectant thousands……… Exquisite designs in flowers, tiny birds of brilliant plumage nestling in some; figures of the little love god accompanied with verses; beautifully executed work on cards; lace-like bordering to pretty pictures; books with tastefully ornamented covers; elegant scent packets; these and other innumerable are arrayed in the shop windows. All tastes are consulted……… handsome cigar cases, purse, earrings, brooches and other useful articles. In this city, the Saint appears to have a large number of votaries, judging from the scene enacted in front of the Post-office for two hours on Tuesday evening. It was very amusing to witness the reception experienced by every visitor to the letter box, whatever the character of his correspondence happened to be. Young and old, gentle and simple, staid men of business, Benedicts, bachelors, and ladies of uncertain age, bashful youths and blushing amorate, all alike had to run the gauntlet of the jostling bantering crowd. The post-office authorities consider that the valentines sent this year were more numerous than on previous occasions, and an increase in larger ones (contained in boxes) was particularly observable. After the despatch at nine p.m., ten men were occupied for two-and-a-half hours in disposing of the valentines for the Worcester postal district alone. In order to prevent any delay in the delivery of ordinary correspondence, a special delivery of valentines was made at about noon, so that the letter carriers were employed almost continuously from 4.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The labour of carriers was unusually great in consequence of the large number of cumbersome boxes, and if this class of valentines should become more popular, as it seems likely to do, the postal authorities will certainly have to employ vehicles for the delivery of them.
A selection of Victorian Valentine’s Day cards in the collection held at the Museum of London:
Debbie Williamson
Broadway History Society
Notes:
1. The The Parlement of Foules also called the The Parlement of Briddes, a 699 line poem in rhyme written 1380-90.
2. Mancoff, Debra N. Love’s Messenger: Tokens of Affection in the Victorian Age. Art Institute of Chicago, 1997.
3. Berrow’s Worcester Journal. Saturday, February 17, 1872, page 4.
Next Meeting: Monday 21st February 2022 – 500 Years of Broadway Maps
Our next meeting will take place on Monday 21st February starting at 7pm in the Lifford Memorial Hall. The Society looks forward to welcoming back David Ella as our speaker with his illustrated talk entitled 500 Years of Broadway Maps.
During David’s talk we will be looking at a wide range of maps which include Broadway, created from the 1570s through to 2020. While interesting and attractive in themselves the maps will be used to try and resolve some unanswered historical questions about Broadway and Broadway Hill. We will look at old county maps, and also unpublished estate maps for Middle Hill, Spring Hill, and the Countess of Gainsborough’s estates in Chipping Campden, which ran to the top of Broadway Hill. Amongst other things, we will look at the engineer’s diagram for the 1820’s roadworks on Broadway Hill, alongside an angry letter from Sir Thomas Phillipps who provided the land. We will find out why Broadway is in Worcestershire, why Five Mile Drive is only two miles long, and finally try and resolve how Colonel Lygon displayed the Battle of Waterloo at his Spring Hill estate, just beyond Broadway Tower. Closer to the village we will look at the “Haunted House”, and understand why one of the houses in the High Street lies at 45 degrees to the road – with the help of the Broadway Enclosure Map.
There will be a table display of original 17th and 18th century maps which can be viewed either before or after David’s talk.
Hand sanitiser and masks will be available. The Comittee will set out the chairs prior to the start of the meeting but please feel free to move them if you would prefer to sit in a different location in the hall. In line with current guidance we will leave the doors to the hall open until just before the start of the talk to allow as much fresh air into the hall prior to the start of the meeting. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the committee.
Debbie Williamson
Broadway History Society
Happy New Year! The Committee and I would like to wish you a happy new year and we look forward to seeing you at our meetings in 2022.
Next Meeting: Monday 17th January 2022 – The History of Luggers Hall
Our next meeting will take place on Monday 17th January starting at 7pm in the Lifford Memorial Hall. There has been a change to the programme – Committee Member, Roger Dudley, will be giving us an illustrated talk on The History of Luggers Hall a fine Grade II listed house on Springfield Lane designed by Andrew N. Prentice for the garden designer and artist, Alfred Parsons RA.
Hand sanitiser and masks will be available – it is still a requirement to wear a mask inside the hall unless exempt. The Comittee will set out the chairs prior to the start of the meeting but please feel free to move them if you would prefer to sit in a different location in the hall. In line with current guidance we will leave the doors to the hall open until just before Roger’s talk to allow as much fresh air into the hall prior to the start of the meeting. If you have any concerns please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the committee.
Debbie Williamson
Broadway History Society
Votes for Broadway Women
On 14 December 1918, women in Broadway, providing they were over 30 and they or their husbands were an occupier of property, were able to vote in a general election for the first time. The 1918 election had been called by the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War.
Eight and a half million women in the UK were eligible to vote following the extension of the franchise in the Representation of the People Act 1918. This amendment to the Act had followed 50 years of campaigning by suffragettes across the world for suffrage or ‘Votes for Women’.
Broadway Suffragette who “Affronted the King by Creating a Scene in the Throne Room” (Daily Mirror, June 1914)
In Broadway, Rose ‘Eleanor’ Cecilia Blomfield (1890-1954) and Mary Esther Blomfield (1888-1950), daughters of Sir Arthur and Lady Sarah Louisa Blomfield of Springfield, were members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Eleanor and Mary established a branch of the Non-Militant National Union Suffrage Society in the village and were founding members of Broadway Women’s Institute.
Mary Blomfield made the headlines in June 1914 when she fell to her knees before HRH King George V and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. Mary begged their Majesties to stop the force-feeding of suffragettes who’d gone on hunger strikes in prison, and was forcibly evicted from the Palace by the police.
Polling Day, 14th December 1918
The first polling day for women in Broadway passed without incidence. It was reported in The Evesham Standard on 21 December 1918 that:
Polling day at Broadway passed off with very little excitement. A gentle stream of voters made their way to the polling station during the day, and at no time was there any rush, in fact the last hour was the quietest of the day. It is believed the women polled as strongly as the men. Cars and carriages belonging to Commander Monsell’s supporters were busy, especially during the afternoon, and they are very confident of the result of their efforts at Broadway.
Voter turnout for the election across the country was low, however, the British Conservative Party candidate, Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell, retained his Evesham seat in the election and continued as a Member of Parliament until October 1935.
On Monday 13th December 2021, in the Lifford Memorial Hall, starting at 7pm, Martin Blakeman will give an illustrated talk on Gordon Russell Ltd and some of its people.
Martin Blakeman joined Gordon Russell Ltd 60 years ago in 1959 as an apprentice cabinetmaker, and worked for the company throughout his career. During that time he worked on special commissions in the company’s contracts department, became a foreman in the assembly shop and was later appointed Production Manager. His work took him to Japan in 1973 to establish a production warehouse for Gordon Russell furniture, and to Kuwait installing furniture at the headquarters of the Arab Organisations in the 1990s. Martin has volunteered at the Gordon Russell Design Museum in Broadway since it opened in 2008, researching and cataloguing the Archive, chairing the Education Committee and giving talks and tours both at the Museum and elsewhere.
All welcome to attend the talk, non-members of the Society will be charged £3 on the door.
The History Society’s October meeting will take place at 7pm on Monday 18th October 2021, in the Lifford Memorial Hall. Robin Goldsmith will be giving an illustrated talk entitled Seeds of Victory, the First World War.
In the summer of 1914, Britain had a small, tightly funded army, widely considered to have the best trained soldiers in the world. It had been extensively restructured and modernised following conflict against the Boers in South Africa, that ended in 1902. A General Staff had been created to command the Expeditionary Force.
No-one, German, French nor British predicted the nature of the war that would break out that summer. The Prussians and French had had a dry run in 1870-71, which the Prussians had won convincingly. From that conflict both had learned the wrong lessons and Britain was determined not to become embroiled in a continental war. How did Britain’s small Imperial Army transform itself, over four years into the most powerful force on the Western Front? It is a story of enterprise, initiative, innovation, organisation, and determination. Surprised? Let me tell you something.
All welcome. Non-members £3 on the door. Annual membership costs £10 per person.
Broadway History Society
At the invitation of cricket fans Antonio de Navarro and Mary Anderson de Navarro, the Australian cricket team visited Broadway on 7th August 1921 during their Ashes Tour of England. Around noon, a convoy of seven cars carrying the team were greeted by a crowd of villagers lining the High Street as it made its way to Court Farm.
The Australians, in the middle of a first-class match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston (which they went on to win by an innings and 61 runs), were spending their rest day touring the local area, hosted by Sir Herbert Austin, Chairman and founder of the Austin Motor Company Ltd. Aged 18, Austin, had emigrated to Australia where he had trained as an engineer, married an Australian girl, and spent the first 15 years of married life in Australia, mostly in Melbourne, before returning to England in 1893.
The Australians, captained by ‘Big Ship’ Warwick Armstrong, spent an hour at Court Farm where they met; Capt Theodore Rodocanachi MC (Captain of Broadway Cricket Club), John Morris (Broadway Parish Councillor), Maud Caffin (daughter of Rev. Charles Caffin, the Vicar of St Michael’s), Father George, Father Wilfrid and Father Edward Green (St Saviour’s), the distinguished pianist Harold Samuel, and two of Broadway’s doctors, Dr William Alexander and Dr Charles Standring who both had cricketing connections with the Australian team.
Touring with the Australians was Dr Roland ‘Rowley’ Pope, the team’s doctor. Dr Pope, like Dr Alexander, had studied medicine at Edinburgh University and played cricket for the University’s Eleven. Dr Pope had also been a good friend of Dr Henry ‘Tup’ Scott, captain of the Australian Cricket Team in 1886. Dr Scott retired from cricket at the end of the 1886 Ashes Tour and had stayed in London to pursue a career in medicine.
During Dr Scott’s time at King’s College Hospital he had played cricket with Dr Standring, who had joined Broadway Cricket Club shortly after his move to Broadway in 1893. Within a few months of playing for Broadway, Dr Standring was elected to the Club’s Committee and served as Captain of the Club for 10 years from 1895 to 1905.
After a tour of the garden and Chapel at Court Farm, Australia’s captain, Armstrong, said that the chapel “was the most unique and sweet thing he ever saw and would carry the memory of it in his heart”. Harold Samuel gave a short piano recital before the team left Broadway calling at Capt Rodocanachi’s home, The Hill, at the top of the High Street to take in the view before heading for lunch in Stratford-upon-Avon. At Stratford the team met the English novelist Marie Corelli and visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s cottage, and Shakespeare’s monument in Holy Trinity Church before heading back to Birmingham.
A Broadway cricket enthusiast showed pardonable excitement when he heard of the arrival of the Australian cricketers on Sunday. Yes, he would snapshot them. So he borrowed a camera and cleaned and repaired it, and procured some plates after half-an-hour’s search. Then he hastened to the top of the village, hopeful of taking some fine pictures. Yes, it was very disappointing then to hear that the cricketers had departed half-an-hour before, and that not only had he no snapshots, but he had missed seeing them.
The Evesham Journal, 13 August 1921
Australia won the 1921 Ashes series. They won the first three matches against England (held at Trent Bridge, Lord’s and Headingley) which meant they had won 8 in succession, an unequalled sequence in Ashes Test Matches. The last two matches of the Test series (held at Old Trafford and The Oval) were drawn.
In March 1935, a Broadway Jubilee Committee of 50 villagers, chaired by Clement Parsons (of Luggershill, Springfield Lane), was appointed to organise a number of events across the village to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of HM King George V. Under Treasurer, Alexander Lomas1, a Jubilee Fund was set up which raised a total of £148 2s to fund the village’s celebrations.
On Monday 6th May 1935, Broadway celebrated the King’s Jubilee in style. The day started at 9am with a peal of church bells at St Eadburgha’s Church. Members of the Broadway branch of the British Legion, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides accompanied by a number of schoolchildren processed down the High Street to the War Memorial on the green, where a Service of Thanksgiving was held at 10.15am. The service, officiated by the Rev. Vincent H. Patrick, Vicar of St Michael’s, and the Congregational Minister, Rev. S.T. Butler, was attended by hundreds of villagers gathered on the village green.
During the afternoon, various sporting events, organised by the North Cotswold Athletic Club were held at Broad Close including events for the younger children and a men’s cross country race from Broad Close up to Broadway Tower and back – the race was won by J. Stokes2.
The athletic events, conducted under the rules of the Amateur Athletic Association, were organised by a Committee headed by Brigadier-General Napier assisted by; Frank A. Folkes (Secretary and Treasurer), Captain C.M. Napier, Dr William G. Alexander, Dr M.C. Beatty, Reginald Y.T. Kendall3 (of Abbot’s Grange), Charles Steward, Mr Harvey, A. Beard, C. Ingram, G.F. Knott, Archibald J. Bridgeman (Headmaster of Broadway Council School), Miss Tilley, Miss Ingles, R. Rawlings, R. Stokes, R. Holland, Rex Morris, and L.J. Smith.
Music for the event was provided by L. Hensley and the prizes were awarded by two of the village’s oldest residents, Thomas and Elizabeth Figgitt4. The couple were driven to Broad Close from their home at Swan Cottage along the High Street in an open-top waggon provided by Don G.S. Russell (owner of the Lygon Arms). After the sports, a tea party for children and parishioners was held in a marquee erected on the Recreation Ground.
From 12 noon until 4pm, gardens across the village were opened to the public. The open gardens were organised by the Jubilee Gardens Committee headed by Miss Pemberton and Miss Webb. The gardens, which were open free of charge, included: Orchard Farm (Lady Maud Bowes Lyon), Court Farm (Mary Anderson de Navarro, garden designed by Alfred Parsons), Lygon Arms (Don G.S. Russell), Bannits (Mrs Rees Price, garden designed by Alfred Parsons), Farncombe House (Frank Burges OBE), Abbot’s Grange (Reginald Y.T. and Evelyn H. Kendall), Austin House (Stratford C. and Eva A. Saunders) and Luggershill (Clement Parsons).
After dark, a torchlight procession of villagers made its way up to Broadway Tower where a beacon bonfire had been built by the Boy Scouts with wood provided by George Foster. The bonfire at the Tower formed part of a chain of beacons across the country. HM King George lit the first of the beacons in Hyde Park, and at 10pm the chain of beacons around the country were lit. As the Broadway Beacon was lit, a red, green and yellow rockets, symbolising the colours of the Scouts, were fired. It was reported that thousands of people made their way up to Broadway Tower to see the beacon and firework display.
The following Thursday evening, a Jubilee Dance , organised by Joan Warren, Violet Folkes, Mabel Figgitt, J. Keyte and P. Derrick, was held in the Lifford Memorial Hall. Villagers danced the night away to Eddie Mace and his Super Band, and prizes to the best dancers were awarded to Mr & Mrs Ken Riley and May Keyte.
After the celebrations, two commemoration oak seats set on staddlestones were installed on the High Street. The remainder of the Jubilee Fund5 was used to purchase a number of horse chestnut and lime trees, the ‘Jubilee Trees’, were planted along the Cheltenham Road and High Street, many of which can still be seen today.
Debbie Williamson
Notes:
