Your House and Mine |
West's Cottages |
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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 |
West's Cottages are situated opposite Perrin Springs. The Tithe Map shows them as two cottages and an outbuilding, the latter was demolished and a third cottage added. [ You can find the Tithe Map under "Hambleden" on the menu bar above ] Since WW2 these three have been converted into two cottages. Whilst there were three cottages this block of property was owned by the firm of West and Collier to house their employees - hence the name West's Cottages. Latterly the "apostrophe s" has been dropped giving the mistaken impression that they are on the west side of the village! During this period the cottages were of the "two up, two down" type. Living conditions must have been cramped for families with children. Peggy West told me this little tale of one small boy who lived with his family of brothers and sisters in one of these cottages. The child was a member of Frieth Church choir and, as such, was included in the annual choir outing. That year, accompanied by the Curate Reverend Wilkinson, the venue was Windsor Castle. Having toured the grounds the party entered the State Apartments, magnificent in furnishings and ceilings decorated in gold leaf. However when the curate addressed our small choirboy and asked "And what do you think of this my boy?" the reply was "It ain't very 'omely like sir." In the Victorian era one cottage was occupied by an elderly lady who was such a good pillow-lace maker that she was invited to make flounces for a petticoat for Queen Victoria. [ See also the previous page about Perrin Springs which includes some references to West's Cottages ] |
