Lillington Local History Society Lillington Local History Society

Lillington Local History Society

MARCH 2019 NUMBER 27 MARCH 2019

Lillington Local History Society

Programme of meetings

Regular monthly meeting at the Lillington Free Church, Cubbington Road, at 4.30 pm on the first Friday of each month.

Contact us by -Coming to one of the Society’s monthly meetings, -or by referring any queries about the society, Lillington Local History Society members Gill Rhodes and Kathy Hobbs contributions, make their way in a November dawn to the foot of Knightlow Cross to pay photographs or the village’s annual dues to the Duke of Buccleugh’s representative. reminiscences to Graham Cooper – telephone 01926 “Wroth Silver!” 426942 The debt is paid for another year. See article on page 3. WHY NOT VISIT the Lillington Local History Society Website

The website address is: www.lillingtonhi story.org Images Andrew Hobbs

1

MANOR FARM ESTATE – The Pre-War Years

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the development of Lillington was more or less confined to the area around St Mary Magdalene Church, the Manor House and Manor Farm. A map dated 1903 shows that the terraced houses in Manor Road and Farm Road (or Farm Lane as it was then called) had been built, along with two pairs of semi-detached houses in Vicarage Road. A number of houses along the South side of Cubbington Road, either side of the school, pre-dated this, but most of these are long since demolished.

By the early 1920s, Vicarage Road was complete and more terraced houses had been built in Lime Avenue between Cubbington Road and the Smithy Club, presumably the present Lillington (Working Men’s) Club, opposite the end of Manor Road.

It was in the 1930s, however, when the development of Lillington, and in particular the Manor Farm Estate, really started to get under way.

Edward ‘Eddie’ McGregor, who had bought Manor Farm at auction from Sir Wathen H Waller in 1916, started selling off his land for housing development in April 1935, although plans for the Manor Building Estate had been drawn up as early as 1927 by H M Chaplin and J Watson, Architects and Surveyors from Coventry. It is interesting to compare this early plan (below) with the later design of the Manor Farm Estate – note that the roads had not been named at this stage. Highland Road (Road No 2) appears to continue beyond Melton Road (Road No 8) as far as Montrose Avenue (Road No 9); Melton Road continued as far as St Andrews Road (Road No 4) with no sign of either Braemar or Helmsdale Roads.

By the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, several hundred, mainly semi-detached, houses with large gardens had been built on the Manor Farm land. The photograph on the next page (dated 1938) shows that Lime Avenue had been extended to the bottom of Melton Road. The north side of Melton Road went as far as Highland Road, although two pairs of semis had been built near the top of the road adjoining the start of Braemar Road, and the houses in Keith Road had been built, apart from the few pairs of council houses at the junction with Melton Road which were built later. Highland Road and Kinross Road were more or less complete, and as we know them today, as were Lonsdale and Avondale Roads, although Burns Road still appears to be a work in progress. Houses had by now been built along both sides of Cubbington Road, and Telford Avenue, which is not visible on the photograph, existed only as far as the junction with Kinross Road.

Plan from: ‘No Bricks Without Mortar – 50 Years of A C Lloyd’ by Shirley Reading 2

Also visible in the photograph are houses along Leicester Lane (near the top of the photograph), the Lillington Bowling and Tennis Club in Lime Avenue, and the land in Cubbington Road, then a large sand pit, which became ‘the Rec’ and the site of the Free Church.

The majority, if not all, of the houses built on Manor Farm in the 1930s were built by Lewis & Watters Ltd – a local building firm that was founded in 1928 by William (Bill) Lewis who was joined in the business the following year by Jack Watters. Their objective was to build ‘good quality houses at competitive prices’ and they quickly earned themselves a good reputation. Both men lived on Cubbington Road – Bill Lewis at No 186 and Jack Watters at No 143 – both attractive, large, detached houses. Jack Watters died in 1959 but Bill Lewis continued in the business until his retirement when he moved to Kineton.

The advert in the ‘Royal Leamington Spa Courier and Warwickshire Standard’, dated March 29, 1935, shows one of their new houses in Lonsdale Road which was “calculated to appeal to the most discriminating owner, designed and built with the most modern and up to date methods incorporating every useful and labour-saving device”. Image: British Newspaper Archive

Development of the Manor Farm Estate restarted in the early 1950s as more farmland was sold for building.

My Story …

My parents and my brother, Graham, moved to No 27 Melton Road in, we think, the late summer of 1953 when Graham was nearly three years old – I was born, at No 27, in September the following year. At that time, there were no houses in Montrose Avenue, although the area was probably under development by then, and there were still fields at the bottom of the garden which could be accessed by a gate in the fence. Mum and Dad rented the house from Bill Lewis, as did quite a number of people in the area, and eventually bought the house from him in the mid 60s. My mother worked as a secretary for Lewis & Watters after I started school in 1959. Their offices were located in the old Manor Farm outbuildings, adjacent to Lime Garages in Lime Avenue, until expansion caused the business to move to Warwick in 1963.

Aerial Photograph of Lillington – 1938 (Provided by Richard Taulbut) Denise Watson 3

LILLINGTON LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY’S COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

From its earliest days, the Society has been committed to sharing as widely as possible its research and related discoveries about Lillington and its long history. All monthly Friday meetings are open meetings. We publish three Newsletters per year, distributed free of charge, and hold a Coffee Morning in Spring and Autumn. In the last two years, we have taken this further by developing a website, www.lillingtonhistory.org, which can be accessed worldwide, and which enabled the publication of a collection of members’ memories of Lillington.

We have established contacts with local schools, and every year take part in “Looking at Lillington”, offering an interactive local history add-on to Year 3 pupils from Lillington and Telford Primary Schools. Through long-standing member Gary Timlin, we also have links with Lillington Youth Centre, which one year resulted in a lovely poem published in the Newsletter shortly afterwards. Local History talks, presentations and ‘hands-on’ sessions are also taken to local residential homes, a Dementia Support Club, and the Leamington and Southam centres for the visually impaired. These have evolved into some very rewarding reminiscence sessions.

Each autumn, LLHS takes part in the Leamington Local History Day, joining with other local groups from the wider community to showcase our research and share contacts. The two-way exchange of information has become an eagerly anticipated treat. We also regularly take part in Heritage Open Weekends, offering guided walks, and participate in a number of events at Lillington Churches.

Local Community Events are always an attraction: Fun Days on The Holt field, Church Fetes, a WW1 Commemoration Concert and Afternoon Tea at the Free Church in 2014 and November 2018, and in October 2018, the ‘Christmas Truce’ Commemoration Day and Football Match at The Brakes Stadium at Harbury. We contribute to the annual St Mary Magdalene Christmas Tree Festival, and supported both Lillington Blue Plaques, to Henry Maudslay, Dam Buster Pilot of Vicarage Road, and H E Cox, teacher and artist, of Manor Road. Prompted by The Chain Office in Crown Way, in 2018, we took part in the Leamington Art in the Park, knitting squares to be transformed into a flock of bluebirds, and latterly, contributed poppies to the stunning centenary exhibition in St Mary’s Church, Warwick. Most recently, on a fine sunny morning on Saturday 10th November, the Society was delighted to contribute to the Remembrance Service for the Warwickshire Royal Horse Artillery Territorial Regiment on the Midland Oak Park.

Margaret Rushton

4

WROTH SILVER

Just before dawn on a fine Martinmas Eve, Saturday 10th November 2018, a handful of Lillington Local History Group members joined the fully robed Mayor of Rugby and about 80 others gathered around a small mound in a field next to the A45 in Stretton-on-Dunsmore.

We were there to pay our “Wroth Silver”, the annual dues to the Steward of the Lord of the Manor of the Knightlow Hundred. As the parish names were called, representatives went forward and dropped the money into the collecting hole in the plinth on the top of the mound.

The “Hundred” was the administrative division of a shire dating from Anglo-Saxon times, and Knightlow is the biggest in Warwickshire. Knightlow Hundred contains 35 Parishes. The present Lord of the Manor is the Scottish Duke of Buccleugh but the title is unconnected to the land and can be bought and sold just like any other commodity.

As this was the 849th annual gathering, we were taking part in an event which originated in the year 1169. That was one year before four knights rode off to murder Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral having heard King Henry II rashly say “Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?”. Apparently, “Wroth Silver” is the oldest continuously repeated ‘folk’ event in Britain. It was a privilege to be there.

Lillington members Kathy and Gill with the Mayor of Rugby.

The Parish of Lillington has been required to pay 4d. annually to the Lord of the Manor. Any missed payment traditionally attracts a penalty of having to present a white bull with red ears and a red nose. Such bulls were common back in the day but have since died out so no one now extracts the penalty. This is fortunate for the parishioners of Lillington since they have not paid any dues for over 300 years. A real effort was made by our group to make up some of the arrears and so something over the expected sum was actually handed over.

The whole event was over in about 15 minutes and many of those present at the ceremony went off to a local pub for a traditional breakfast which included hot milk and rum, and a clay pipe!

Larry Connor

Main images Andrew Hobbs

5

MIDLAND OAK PARK

Friends of Midland Oak Park arranged a centenary remembrance on Saturday, November 10th 2018 by the granite memorial stone for the Warwickshire Royal Horse Artillery Territorial Force (WRHA). The memorial service was taken by Rev William Smith (Lillington Parish Church) and accompanied by the Cubbington Silver Band. Further support and funding was provided by the World War 1 Centenary Grant Fund [Warwick District Council].

The occasion was a resounding success and allowed us to research the 1st/1st and 2nd/1st batteries of the WRHA with support by Mr David Eason and Warwickshire Yeomanry Museum. During the research, we met some descendants of those who served their King and Country.

Mr Tony Corley, son of Driver Charles Corley 2nd/1st Battery, recited the fourth verse of Binyon’s famous poem For the Fallen. Also present were the families of Driver Alfred Henn, Bombardier Benjamin Thomason MM and Sergeant Sydney McGregor 1st/1st Battery, along with family of Gunner Thomas Sabin MM 2nd/1st Battery. Wreaths were laid in memory of the men and horses who served the Batteries.

There were approximately 200 people in attendance, with the Midland Oak Tree over looking proceedings. The granite memorial stone and bronze plaque were dedicated in 1967, unveiled by the Earl of Avon, the former Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden.

The original Battery of volunteers mustered close to the Midland Oak tree. Within ten days of War being declared, 1st/1st Battery had prepared men, horses and guns. They left under the cover of darkness in the small hours of August 14th 1914 from Leamington train station to join the 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade. They were encamped at various places in England including Newbury racecourse, where close to 2000 horses stampeded into Newbury itself. The terms of reference for a home defence force, which a volunteer force was, had to state if they would volunteer for overseas service or remain at home carrying out home defence duties. To a man they voted 100% to leave for France and follow the British Expeditionary Force. Other Territorial forces units achieved as little as 30% volunteer rate. image Major HP Haynes collection Warwickshire and Yeomanry Museum, 1st/1st

Their main role was to provide artillery cover for forward cavalry brigades. The Battery was equipped with four heavy guns each pulled by a team of six horses. The Battery was given two more guns in 1916 totalling six. A Battery of this size would usually have five officers and 200 men of various ranks including farrier, shoeing smith, driver, veterinary officer, medical officer and medics, saddler, wheeler, fitter, gunner, bombardier and trumpeter. Also one must include an ammunition column totalling approx 80 men with quads for ammunition, wagons for stores and men, all pulled by teams of horses. 6

The full Battery left these shores at Southampton, in the early hours of October 31st. They disembarked at Le Havre on 1st November from the SS Victorian. They eventually joined the 2nd Cavalry division on 2nd December having been delayed due to ill health of most of the horses. They were now the first ever volunteer artillery battery to enter a theatre of war over seas.

Image: Scot Welsh. 2nd/1st leaving Leamington on Holly Walk

Leamington 1915: The 2nd /1st reserves Battery were formed and underwent training. After being fully trained she followed her sister Battery from Folkestone England to Boulogne France on June 21, 1917. The battery saw action on July 20, 1917.

The 1st/1st served with distinction at 2nd Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Arras, the 3rd Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Cambrai and the Final Advance into Flanders. They advanced into Germany on 4th December 1918. Both Batteries joined in 1919 as part of the British Army on the Rhine. A 3rd/1st Battery remained at home training and supplying the two serving Batteries. The Warwickshire Royal Horse Artillery were disbanded in 1920.

The Batteries had served their part in World War One, which is estimated to have witnessed 11 million military deaths, 8 million civilian deaths, 23 million military personnel wounded and 8 million horses killed.

We Shall Remember Them All

Colour images, Pete Philips Text Gary Timlin

7

Exhibition at the Royal Priors

On Saturday, January 19th, the Lillington Local History Society held its first major exhibition on the upper floor of Leamington’s Royal Priors shopping mall. Nearly 500 visitors looked at the many displays, and shared their memories of Lillington with Society members.

John Baldwin It is with sadness that we report the death of John Baldwin at the age of 91 on 6th January. He grew up in the village of Depper’s Bridge. When an older brother was called up in WW2, John came home from school one Friday to be told that he was not going back: he was to replace his brother at Romback’s bakery. From then on, ‘Jack’ cycled to and from Leamington, working long days at Romback’s. Towards the end of WW2, he ‘escaped’ into the forces. He never saw action, but used to say that the training set him up with a skills- set for life.

John’s garden was a plantsman’s dream, with shrubs, flowers and bulbs giving year-round colour and interest. He specialised in Hellebores, selling many varieties at St Mary Magdalene Church Fetes. His fitness belied his age, and after the death of his wife, became a stalwart of the churchyard maintenance group. He was also a keen walker, and often walked from home across the fields to the Saxon Mill.

John supported LLHS, Leamington and Sydenham History Groups, and though a little frail, last attended LLHS in November. He was living at “Fourways” at the time of his death in January 2019. He will be very much missed. MR

Corrections

The reference to Richard Maudslay on page 2 of the November 2018 edition should have referred to Henry Maudslay. The map on page 2 of the July edition should have been credited John Winterburn’s ‘History of Lillington’. Our apologies for the error and omission.

Lillington Local History Society Website

The website address is: www.lillingtonhistory.org

This Newsletter is published by the Lillington Local History Society, c/o Lillington Free Church, Cubbington Road, Leamington Spa, CV32 7AL All references prefixed CR refer to8 documents held in the County Record Office, Warwick. The views expressed in the Newsletter are personal to the contributors and are not necessarily the views of the Society.