Your House and Mine

The Horse Pond

Introduction
Map of Frieth
Moor End
   Bramblings
   Astrea
   Merrydown Cottage
   Corner Cottage
   Moor's End Cottages
   Moor Gate House
   Underwood
   The Copse
Fingest Road
   The Forge
   Folly Cottages
   The Willows
Perrin Springs Lane
   Perrin Springs
   West's Cottages
Ellery Rise
   Hilliers
   Lynden Cottage
Frieth Hill
   Hillside Cottage
   Rowleys
   Pear Tree Cottage
   Hillside View
   The Platt
   Little Barlows
   Cutlers Cottage
   Yew Tree Cottage
   Little Cottage
   Barlows
   Birch Cottage
   Tedders / Rose Cottage
   The Old Stores
   The Yew Tree Inn
   Fairfield House
   Flint Cottage 1
   Flint Cottage 2
   Inglenook
   Middle Cottage
   Sunny Corner
   The Gables
   The Orchards
   Hilltop
   Cattons
   Mallards
   Hillswood
   The Old Parsonage
   White Gates
   The Laurels
   The Cottage
   The Firm
   Marlstone
   Westwood
   Bradstone
   Haylescroft
   The Niche
   Rivendell
   Summerhill
   Ashcroft
   Selborne
   The Ranch House
   Sara's Cottage
   The Cherries
   The Old School House
Innings Road
   Collier's Farm
   Innings Gate
   Down the Lane
   Sunset Cottage
   Fermain
   Chilterns
   Rowan Cottage
   Creighton Cottage
   Apple Tree
   Old Well Cottage
   The Cottage
   Flat Roof
   Whitsun
   Backlins
   Red Kites
   Maidenscraft
Spurgrove Lane
   Maidencraft Cottage
   September Cottage
   Spurgrove Cottage
   Gable End
   Willems
   Elder Barn
   Sunnydale

The Horse Pond at Frieth crossroads was not the small ornamental one there today [ ? ] but a large one coming right out to the road and bounded by a concrete curb [kerb] to contain it from flooding.  It was fed by an underground pipe from the spring in the road above it on Frieth Hill and similarly from run-off surface water from Moor Common. Overflow from the pond was ducted under the road and down the gully by the side of the road to Fingest.

The Forge

Pond Cottage, Frieth, 1969 - From Joan Barksfield's collection

The Forge and two cottages stood on the corner diagonally across from the pond. One of the cottages was let to the blacksmith and in 1890 Mr Collier names him as Mr Audrey. Succeeding him was Mr Johnson ( first father, then son ) he was farrier and wheelwright as well as blacksmith, repairing farm implements and crafting wrought iron gates and seats etc.

[ The forge building stood approximately where the garage is located in the later photograph below. There are more photographs of the old pond and the forge in "Frieth a Chiltern Village" ]

Pond Cottage, Frieth, 1981 - From Joan Barksfield's collection

Neither the cottages nor the forge were shown on the Tithe Map so they must have been built after 1845 and are said to have been built for Ephraim Webb who lived there some time before 1849. [ You can find the Tithe Map under "Hambleden" on the menu bar above ]

[ Bill Johnson, the last Blacksmith to work at The Forge, enjoying a joke at a party held for senior folk in the village in 1961.

Left to right are :

Mrs Lee, Mrs Woodward, Bill Johnson, Mrs Johnson, Mrs Sue Webb, Dorothy Gomm and Alf Fry.

This image is reproduced with permission from John Harris's collection ]

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