Your House and Mine

Introduction

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
[ All the text on the following pages is as written by Joan Barksfield except for the text in square brackets which is my own or has been contributed by others (acknowledged in the body of the text).

The images are of varying quality: some are original, some are copies of old photographs which my mother had made for her shows. The dates of the old (black and white) photographs are mostly unknown although some are clearly very old, possibly going back into the 19th Century. Where estimates are given ("c1920") they are my mother's. Of the more modern (colour) images the technical quality is sometimes not of the best and I am tempted to go back and retake present day images using more sophisticated (digital) techniques. However, I am conscious that even amongst these "modern" images some have already become historical themselves - after all, those images from the late sixties already reflect a time long gone. For example see the images of the Old Stores! Therefore, apart from some minor adjustments to get the best from them (and inserting some newly taken images where I could not find any in the archive) I am leaving things as I find them.

My mother acknowledges Peggy West amongst others below. It was only when I read Valerie Springett's book "The Firm - Peggy's Memories Revealed" that I realised that a proportion of this talk was created with Peggy's input. Valerie's book is nonetheless well worth reading. To obtain a copy please contact Christine Dawson of the FVS: johnchrisdawson@btopenworld.com

You can go through the slide show page by page as it might have been presented in the Village Hall at Frieth (Next slide please !) or jump to the information about particular properties from the map or index on the left if you prefer.
]

The following is a compilation of two talks that I gave at Frieth Society meetings with the above title. A number of people assume that I was born and bred in Frieth, however for most of my life I had lived in London and thought of myself as a Londoner. Then during World War II I met Fred Barksfield. We married in 1948 and came to live at The Platt, the family home.

The extended Barksfield family had at some time been associated with a number of properties in the village so I have some knowledge of them too. As you know I taught at Frieth School for many years and after the School Centenary in 1965 when I met a number of elderly 'old pupils' I developed an on-going interest in local history. For folk history I have had invaluable assistance from older Frieth residents, sadly many of whom are no longer with us : Mrs Sarah Brown, Mrs Emma Keep, Mrs Ireland, Mr Charlie Brazier, Mr Ted Collier, Miss Muriel Glyn-Jones, my mother-in-law Mrs Cecilia Barksfield and many others.

Miss Peggy West has been an enormous help and a wonderful source of information. [ Peggy passed away in 2006 ] Thanks too to all those people who have let me study their property deeds. Other sources of village history are old wills, the census returns from 1841 onwards, the Tithe map and schedule of 1845 and information as stated in the Bibliography.

If you find something written in the following pages is untrue please tell me [ Contact ] and I will make the appropriate corrections.

Joan Barksfield October 2001

Next slide please