The Wide High Street
The Start Point of this trail is the Market Place on the pavement outside The Cherry Tree Restaurant, formally known as Westlands. This position provides a good general view of the wide High Street.See Photo 1 of the 4 images above. A photograph of the High Street around 1900 covering where we are now standing is included as Photo 2 of the images above. A few centuries ago the width of the High Street comprised three elements.The most significant was the stream that flowed down the west side of the High Street. Its dilapidated banks were propped up with wicker work and had overhanging willow trees. The stream emerged from Spout Lane (now called Spring Lane - the road adjacent to The Cherry Tree) and ran in a northerly direction along the High Street until it met another stream flowing in the opposite direction. They met at a point called the High Arch, broadly sited near the United Reformed Church, half way along the street, where they joined and the stream then flowed eastwards across the meadow to the River Ouse.The second element was the raised wide pitched causeway that ran down the centre of the High Street, where pedestrians could walk dry-shod when the stream was in flood. The causeway extended from the junction with Spring Lane for about half a mile to approximately the junction with Midland Road. The causeway was removed in 1790.The third element was the track for wheeled traffic sited on the east side of the High Street. Together these three elements demanded the wide high street as seen today.Two coloured photographs taken around 1900 of the High Steet covering its middle section and its northern end are included as Photos 3 and 4. The High Street was lined with stone-built and thatched cottages, with here and there a well built house. It was not until the 16th Century that houses were built in Olney facing the street. Previously the front doors were in Courts or Mews, as in the 20th Century we recall Berrills, Cobbs and Fields Courts among many. The street must have looked quite picturesque with its stream and causeway, but one wonders just how salubrious it was, as there was no waste collection in those days and the temptation must have been quite strong to use the stream as a dumping ground!Apparantly, Mr Garrard, a solicitor, was the last person to hold the duck shooting rights for the High Street.Moving on to the present day; let your eyes run along the roofline for the length of the High Street (on either side). The fact that there are few adjacent houses at precisely the same height is most noticeable and this certainly adds to the considerable charm of the town. Also, no major houses are exactly alike, and what could be described as almost a mansion can stand ‘cheek by jowl’ with a small cottage!Proceed to the next Point of Interest - Number 2 - The Two Brewers Inn. Look to your right when you reach 'Stephen Oakley - Estate Agent' because you will be more or less opposite the Two Brewers Inn.
The Two Brewers Inn
The next Point of Interest in this trail is the Two Brewers Inn, situated on the East side of the High Street, some 300 metres from the Cherry Tree restaurant along the east side of the High Street.Photo 1 of 6 shows the Two Brewers Inn around 1953 - probably decorated for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.The Two Brewers Inn has spent most of its life as two separate properties. A closer look at the ground floor reveals an archway between the two front entrances to the building. The centre of the arch houses the bar area.Until the early 1950s the larger property on the north side accommodated the Mechanics Institute and the Conservative Club. The smaller building on the south side was the Two Brewers Inn (formerly the Queen's Head)In earlier times the archway between them was the primary route for the fire engine to reach the High Street from the Fire Station situated at the rear of the property. After the siren had sounded, summoning the firemen to the station, it must have been exciting to watch the horse drawn fire engine, with its bell frantically ringing, emerge from the narrow archway into the High Street. Photo 2 is of an Olney Fire Engine around 1930. Photos 3 and 4 of the former Two Brewers were believed to have been taken in the late 1940s or perhaps the early 1950s. The first clearly shows the size of the archway leading from the High Street to the Two Brewers yard, which led directly to the fire station beyond at the bottom of the yard. The second, again taken from the High Street, shows a closer view of the archway and particularly the sheet metal tracks used to align a vehicle’s wheels when passing through the archway so as to avoid damage to the walls of the archway.During WW2 on the night of 28th October 1940, a German bomber dropped a large bomb (or bombs) in the meadow on the Clifton Reynes side of the River Ouse adjacent to the railway line. Maybe they were intended for the railway bridge which they missed by a couple of hundred metres. However, the resulting blast was so severe that, having progressed towards Olney and up The Two Brewers rear yard, it funneled through the archway and completely blew out two large windows of the shop on the other side of the High Street, then called 'Linco stores' (now Stephen Oakley Estate Agents). Photo 5 shows the Linco Stores during the 1930s. This bombing incident is confirmed by Bucks County Council's 'Bombs over Bucks' website, which reports that 69 properties were damaged that night in Olney and Clifton Reynes.In the 1950s, when the Two Brewers took in the whole building, it developed into a very popular pub under the tenancy of Bob and Ida Ford. Photo 6 is of the wheelbarrow race that ran on QE11's Coronation Day, as part of Olney's festivities. When Bob and Ida retired in the 1970s, Jack Dreuce acquired the tenancy. Again the pub prospered and continued to be the most popular pub in town. Jack retired in the 1990s and the business has continued to be successful to the present day.Incidentally, according to Olney Devil Law, the last appearance of the Devil in Olney was at The Two Brewers Inn!Some 80 metres further along the East side of the High Street will bring you to the former Lace Factory, the next Point of Interest.
The Lace Factory
Some 80 metres metres further along the street will bring you to the former Lace Factory, the next Point of Interest.The building of the Lace Factory is the last example of a commercial attempt locally to keep the lace industry viable, in spite of the changing economic climate and the vagaries of fashion. The earlier buildings on this site were destroyed by fire in 1924.The factory was built in 1928 by a slightly eccentric character, one Harry Armstrong, who hailed from Stoke Goldington. He employed George Knight to build him ‘something the like of which Olney had not seen before’. Builder George had to talk him out of Corinthian columns and other fanciful designs.The photograph shows the ‘topping out’ ceremony on the top of the factory building; which doubtless would not meet today’s Health and Safety Requirements!Being the time of the Great Depression, the building was constructed mostly with second hand materials. The only work with new materials was the façade over the front door, which included three huge carvings of a bobbin winder, candle-stool and a bobbin stand.The next photograph is of the finished building, adorned with the heavy façade, which was later removed for safety reasons.Lace was never made in the Lace Factory. It was used as offices and a warehouse, where lace was sewn onto garments or any article that Harry thought could be adorned with lace! It was then packed into parcels which were sent out worldwide.The lace was made by women in their homes and brought into the Lace Factory for sale, or was collected by agents in local villages. The lace makers had to buy the thread for the next week’s work out of their earnings.The lace maker in the photograph is of Mrs Mary Wooding, taken around 1930. She could be categorised as a typical Olney lace maker and lived in Osborn Court. As this court was accessed via an entry adjacent to Number 51 High Street, opposite the Lace Factory, she may well have sold her lace to Harry Armstrong.Harry advertised his business in women’s magazines, and by sending out postcards touting for business from individual women or women’s groups. A response would result in the dispatch of a parcel of lace ‘on approval’. Prospective purchasers were given a month to pay up or return the goods. The late Cis Elderton who worked in the office for him said they lost very few parcels. “People were honest in those days” she said.The photograph of the girls employed at the factory was taken in July 1931, and includes the late Cis Elderton (the fifth lady from the left).Harry was quite a character as he traded as ‘Mrs Armstrong’, believing women were more likely to buy lace from another woman! Sadly, he died at the early age of 56 while on a business trip to Scotland in 1943.Thereafter lace making in Olney, as a business, was carried on only by a few older women who made lace for gifts.Lace making enjoyed a revival in Olney in the 1970s. But by this time, the once traditional cottage industry had become a leisure time craft.The Church is situated next to the Carlton House Club and set back a little from the High Street. (see photograph above)In 1762 the Independent Chapel was built on the site. (See image above.) Just above the door is an oval tablet to Ebenezer Abraham, the clockmaker. At that time there were several clockmaking businesses in the town of which Ebenezer Abraham was probably the best known.This chapel was taken down in 1879, and was replaced in 1880 by a much improved and attractive building. At the same time the opportunity presented itself of securing a frontage to the High Street by purchasing the cottage that blocked the earlier chapel (see its rear yard on the photograph of the original chapel). The remains of the cottage are clearly visible on the house wall next door (Number 44 - above Millward’s Entry). The new chapel was renamed as the Cowper Memorial Congregational Church. It is now known as the Cowper Memorial United Reformed Church. The splender of the 1897 church is shown in a photograph above. A relatively recent local historian recorded that ‘it seems extraordinary that despite of all the widespread poverty in Olney for so many years, the chapels of the Independents were constantly improved'.In more recent times even when this Church was gutted by fire in the 1960s, it was quickly restored and in use again as shown in the image above.Continue to the next Point of Interest (4 ) by walking about another 100 metres along the street to Nos. 67 & 69 Orchard House; the next Point of Interest . In passing it is worth noting that you can clearly see the Lace Factory on your right. (See photograph above.) The Lace Factory is a major Point of Interest in a sister trail - A Lace Trail around Olney. In short, lace which which had been collected from the town and surrounding villages was packed and dispatched all around the world. Lace itself was never made in this building.
Cobbs Gardens
Cobbs Gardens were accessed through the archway. (See Photo 1 above.) It was one of the best known 'courts' of tenement buildings in the town, comprising some ten or more small cottages, often housing large families. The 'gardens' were situated outside their front doors. A photograph is included (Photo 2) above taken around the 1920s from inside Cobbs Gardens, looking east towards the archway in the High Street. The houses were demolished in the 1960s and have since been replaced by the NHS Cobbs Garden Surgery.To the left of the archway is Sandwich Land, a former bakery, which once belonged in the 1930s and 40s to Freddie Richardson and then Alf Harrison. The bakehouse at its rear could be accessed by walking through the archway and then immediately turning left. On Sunday mornings when Freddie Richardson owned the bakery, housewives (who had neither gas nor electric cookers with which to cook their Sunday roasts and Yorkshire puddings), walked their assembled roasting tins covered with tea towels through the archway to the bakery oven. This baker took in some 50 to 70 roasting tins every Sunday morning which were collected from 12 o'clock onwards for a charge of about 1p.Continue to the next Point of Interest by walking 200 metres further along the street to 133 High Street, which is adjacent to the Knoll, the next Point of Interest (Number 6).
The Knoll
A good vantage point to see the Knoll is from the pavement outside Number 133 High Street (known as Town Farm). See Photo1 above.Past local historians have suggested that in the northerly direction well beyond the Knoll, a castle, or a monastery, stood on the east side of Yardley Road.In addition, with a little more certainty, before the parish church was re-built in its current position in the 14th Century, a church once stood not too far behind the Knoll. Evidence in the form of human remains were found when digging out the footings for the Feoffee Cottages in Dartmouth Road. Also, until the 1950s there was an elm tree, known as the 'Churchyard Elm' located opposite the Queen Hotel. (See Photo 2 above). These suggest that this northern end was perhaps at one time the most important part of town. There are no records to indicate why the church moved to its current location, although many theories abound!-Moving along the time-line a good bit, say to a couple of centuries ago, the northern end of Olney, with the exception of a handful of properties, ended at the Knoll.Beyond the Knoll today is the development that emerged after the coming of the railway in 1872. The building of the new streets was intended to accommodate the number of workers that would use the railway to work outside the town, probably in Northampton or Bedford. Photo 3 a photograph of Olney Station taken in 1911.In reality most, particularly office workers, used buses as the frequency of the trains was insufficient for their needs. As it happened most properties were let, initially at least, to shoe industry workers as the majority of the hpuses had workshops, even mini factories, built at their rear. These were used by the tenants, as outworkers, to service the larger factories in the town.-In the 20th Century on the north side of the Knoll stood two buildings (see photograph above taken in 1910). The building on the left was the Castle Inn, a very popular inn after WWII when managed by 'Auntie' and 'Uncle' Fred Lyon. It was the only pub in town that was not owned by brewers Hipwells (and later Phipps, a Wellingborough brewery). It was not a 'free house' but owned by NBC, the Northampton Brewery Company. (No such thing as 'guest beers' in those days.)The building on the right was a blacksmith's workshop which continued shoeing horses well into the 1950s. (See Photo 4.) The last blacksmith was Alistair Bull who lived 'over the shop'.The Castle Inn was substantially extended into its current form after the demise and demolition of the smithy. The premises have recently been fitted out as the 'Maya' Indian restaurant..-In the coloured photograph (Photo 5) taken around 1900, observe the lighter coloured track that crosses the road, just in front of the cyclist and lamp post. There were two such tracks across the High Street, one at each end, which were 'apparently' kept clean so that the ladies did not soil the hems of their clothing with mud, or even worse!-The photograph of Olney Silver Band (Photo 6) was taken by George Lett in 1899. The band was preparing to play on the Knoll, obviously on a Sunday, as everyone was turned out in their 'Sunday best' clothes. George Lett probably took the picture from an upstairs window in number 2 Beauchamp Terrace - then the home of Harry Lett. The Knoll was not surfaced at that time (incidentally neither was the Market Place) and it is common knowledge that the surface was far from flat owing to children scraping holes in it on a regular basis to play marbles!-In past decades the Knoll could have been described as a 'mini Market Place' at the North end of the town. Today it is essentially a traffic island, but is occasionally pressed into service, e.g, as a Sunday market on ’Dickens of a Christmas' day.-A photograph of the Knoll circa 1948 (Photo 7) shows no significant structural or environmental changes over the 50 years since 1899. Except, the Knoll itself has been converted into a garden. But who would have thought that after another 50 years the A509 road, now nominated a 'trunk route', would completely shatter the peaceful nature of this part of town, with numerous very heavy vehicles and commuters en route to Milton Keynes and the M1,-Three farmyards that were fully operational up to around the 1970s are visible from the Knoll. The farm buildings on all three sites are now 'barn conversions'. Town Farm (farmed by Longlands then Pibworths) is the large house on the west side of the High Street, where we are standing! Kitchener's farmyard was on the east side almost next door to Brock's Garage, and Colson's farmyard was in Dartmouth Road (adjacent to the bus shelter). Cows from these farms were driven from the meadows up and down the High Street for milking on a daily basis well into the mid 1950s.The photograph (Photo 8) taken of the vehicle provides evidence that cows were driven along the High Street, albeit in 1898 in this instance, and continued to do so regularly up to the mid 1950s, as stated earlier. Unfortunately we cannot identify the cows but the vehicle is a six horse power, two cylinder Daimler Wagonette Body, built by Mulliners of Northampton. It was owned by the Newport Pagnell Motor Bus Company.Continue to the next Point of Interest by walking some 200 metres towards the Market Place and crossing the road with care using the Zebra Crossing to the next Point of Interest (Number 7) Lord's Malting.
Lord's Malting
A relatively recent photograph of Lord's Malting is shown as (Photo 1) above. John Lord is generally acknowledged to have developed the first extensive brewing business in Olney. John Lord was presumed to be born in Weston Underwood but his date of birth is unknown. Records can support that some ‘Lords’ lived in Weston Underwood in the mid eighteenth century. In William Cowper’s time, Samuel Teedon, a friend of the poet and a teacher in Olney, wrote in his diary 'whilst at Weston, Mrs. Lord brought Cowper some roast beef down from the farm'.John, his family and close relatives owned some seven public houses, The Boot, The Bell, The Sun, The Duke William, The Cock, The Dolphin and (at the south end of the town) The Red Lion. This malting at 104 high Street (see Photo 2) was the only one (of five) not attached to a public house. It is possible that the Lord family transferred its malting business to the premises in the High Street after they left the Boot Inn around 1840. An old beam in Lord's malting has the date 1 August 1835 carved into it, with the two carpenters' names.John Lord appears to have been an ambitious brewster. Unfortunately, following his death in 1812, his brewery operations appeared to become fragmented amongst his family. Had the business continued under John, it is possible that it would have expanded further, and as a consequence, it probably would not have been viable for Hipwells to develop their brewery interests in Olney at that time. However, his apparent early death paved the way for them eventually to buy all seven public houses in the 1860s and 70s, and judging by the grand dwellings that the Hipwell’s later built in Olney, there was still a fortune to be made in brewing.Further details on John Lord's Brewery Activities, as told by a descendant (another) John Lord! is to be found on the ODHS website.The three storey malting is Grade II listed as early 19th Century. The building has been used for several purposes since it ceased being used as a malting, including the manufacture of lampshades. .Walk a short distance towards the Market Place to Number 100 High Street-Number 100 High Street (see above photographs) was formally 'The Doctor's Surgery'. During the nineteenth century it was the home of the Grindon family, members of which served the town as doctors for at least four generations.In William Cowper's day, Hannah Wilson, who was Mrs Unwin’s niece, figures in the ledgers of the Doctor Grindon of Cowper’s day; and one of the Grindons married Lady Austen’s niece. The doctor’s records also show numerous repeat prescriptions for William Cowper, Mrs Unwin; and the Newtons too; all took advantage of his medical skills.But the Grindons didn’t only dedicate themselves to medicine – we are told. In 1884 when the weathercock was being repaired and when the steeplejack was absent, Charlie Grindon climbed the spire and twirled the cock around to the amazement of the townsfolk. The steeplejack returned and removed his ladders, but the intrepid Charlie slid down a rope to the cheers of the spectators. Apparently generations of serious ancestors devoted to duty hadn’t entirely eradicated a daring spirit and a sense of fun!Another photograph is included above of the Doctor's House taken around 1935, then the home of Doctor Dickenson. The surgery and waiting room annex is on the right.Continue to the next Point of Interest by walking a short distance towards the Market Place to Number 88 High Street. This house is broadly opposite the next Point Of Interest (Number 8) the home of the ' New Hall' and Olney's ' Electric Cinema'.
The 'New Hall' later Olney's 'Electric Cinema'
Look across the road to Number 79 High street, the light coloured building set back a little from the pavement, which was built as a hall and later converted into a cinema. The following text is extracted from a letter written in the early 1990’s by Percy Wright of Olney.Mr Lewis Thompson, was an Olney grocer trading at 9 High Street in the early twentieth century. He had a hall built to be used for concerts, meetings and dancing; and having a stage the hall became very popular. Often at Election Meetings it could get a little rowdy with opposing supporters almost coming to blows. The building was called the 'New Hall’ and it was used by the townspeople for many years. The photographs above record a Senior Citizen's Dinner and a Sowman's Company Dinner held in the hall (the dates are unknown). Some years later, in 1919, the hall was bought by Mr Clifford, who converted the front of the building to form a cinema. The front of the building stood a few metres back from the pavement with two steps leading up to the two front doors. Inside was a vestibule with a ticket office on the right hand side. The projection room was built over the front porch, with an outside staircase leading up to it. The first proprietor was Mr Clifford. His wife was known as ‘Madam’ Clifford.Another photograph shows the front of the cinema. The film being shown at the time was the 1927 'King of Kings' a silent film directed by Cecil B de Mille - an iconic film of its day.The seats installed near the screen were more like forms. Behind them came the wooden single tip-up seats and then a few rows with padded seats. The seats at the rear, just inside the left hand side of the hall, were plush padded with arm rests, and the floor for these had been made a little higher so that people could look over the heads of those in front.In the early days, since there was no sound to accompany the film, when a performance was ready to begin, ‘Madam’ Clifford walked, much like a Duchess, down to the piano. When she was sitting comfortably on the piano stool, the cinema was plunged into darkness and the projectionist, Mr Chapman, started the performance by turning a handle to feed the film through the projector. As the story unfolded ‘Madam’ Clifford would play very softly and slowly for a sad scene, and fast and loud for galloping horses or cowboys and indians fighting.Another photgraph shows the well-published postcard of young customers taken outside the cinema around 1920. In the cinema’s later years when silent films were long gone, Mr Webster became the proprietor and Alistair Bull the projectionist. The cinema closed in the early 1950s.Continue to the next Point of Interest by walking about another 250 metres further towards the Market place to Number 20 High Street. This house is opposite No. 15 High Street (Olney House); the next Point of Interest (Number 9).
Clifton House
Should you have looked to the left of the Two Brewers Inn in the 1950s, rather than looking at a wooden fence as you do today, you would have been confronted by Clifton House, a large Georgian style building standing between the Two Brewers Inn and the Carlton House Club. See Photo 1. Clifton House was a very imposing property on the High Street. Early details of the building, its purpose and its occupants are difficult to ascertain. In 1891 John Hamp, an Estate Bailiff, and his wife Elizabeth lived in the house, whereas in 1910 the house was owned by Annie Cooper who resided there.By 1936 Horace Cowley, who owned a significant shoe factory off Yardley Road, had moved into Clifton House with his family. The family still had a presence there in 1951. Photo 2 is of the lounge of Clifton House in the 1950s whilst Photos 3 and 4 are of the rear of the property including the billiard room. The ODHS is indebted to descendants of the Cowley family for providing the group of photographs of the building.The property was converted into flats in the 1950s, some of which were leased to American Servicemen stationed at the ‘Chicksands’ base near Bedford.Later that decade the building developed substantial structural faults, with major cracks clearly visible on the southern face of the property.Sadly the building was demolished during the mid to late 1960s. The plot now belongs to the Carlton House Club, next door to the left, and performs a useful role as their beer garden. Maybe a different decision would have been taken today, which might have resulted in the building being repaired and restored.Continue by walking about another 200 metres further towards the Market Place until you are opposite No 9 High Street on the West side of the High street; the final Point of Interest (Number 10).
Number 9 High Street
Number 9 High Street (see Photo 1) is a listed eighteenth century building. It has probably spent most of its life as a successful grocery store. The 1891 Census has Thomas T Coles living at Number 9, as a grocer and wine merchant, with his wife and family. As both Thomas's father, Benjamin Coles (1795 - 1855), and grandfather, Daniel Coles (1762 - 1827) were Olney grocers it is conceivable that Number 9 had been in the family for some years. Photo 2 shows a portrait of Thomas T Coles.The 1910 Revenue Survey indicates that, although Thomas T Coles still owned the property, he had moved into Springfield House, see Photo 3, a rather large property in Yardley Road (now known as Broomfield, a residential home).Lewis Thompson ran the business at this time as a Provision Merchant. The 1910 Survey also shows that Lewis Thompson owned some 22 houses and cottages in the town. This was the same, previously mentioned Mr Thompson, who had the 'New Hall' built for concerts, meetings and dancing; later to become Olney's cinema. Mr Thompson retired to 'Ivy Cottage' a large house in Midland Road.The shop was later managed by national grocers 'International Stores' for some years until the rapid growth of supermarkets in the 1960s. This store, together with the Co-op store across the road (Numbers 16 and 18 High Street), were arguably the two most successful grocers in the town during the 1940s and 50s.Photo 4 if of the staff who worked at the 'Inters' as it was known locally in the 1950s.In the 1980s the shop was leased to building societies, including the Woolwich Bank, for some 25 years or so, whilst the remainder of the building was given over to offices and healthcare facilities.Continue walking for a few metres so as to be opposite the junction with Spring Lane.Spring Lane was extremely narrow before Number 3 High Street was demolished and Spring Lane widened in the 1950s. It was just about wide enough for the passage of one horse and cart! The width can be vaguely identified from Photo 5, which is a photograph of Spring Lane and Westlands taken around 1910.SO WE ARE BACK ALMOST WHERE WE STARTED, WHAT NEXT?Further information and reading on the Points of Interest in this trail, and on many other aspects of Olney's history, can be found on Olney & District Historical Society's extensive website. On behalf of the former Olney & District Historical Society and the Cowper and Newton Museum, we trust that you have enjoyed your self-guided trail around Olney High Street. If you did not have an opportunity to visit the Cowper and Newton Museum before starting this walk then please consider a visit to this amazing heritage attraction today or in the near future.And finally, you will have noticed that this trail has conveniently ended within a few steps of a dozen or more restaurants, coffee shops and cafes. So before leaving for home, why not make your selection and enjoy?!
