Town Lane

 

We pass now to the left hand side of Top Farm into Town Lane, also recorded as Boultby’s Lane and known to some older residents as Bryan’s Lane. The aerial photo of 1965 shows in the centre three cottages in Town Lane which were demolished about 1975.

An earlier photo, perhaps about 1960, shows a  Malthouse, between the 2 rows of cottages; it was demolished before 1965 and it is said that also here had been an Inn known as The Sign of the Trooper ;perhaps this indicates the presence at some time of militia being stationed nearby. An area to the west of the George and Dragon  has long been known  as Barracks Yard.

Teddy Ball

Both photos include the stone row which still stands, now converted to just 2 dwellings. Here Mr Teddy Ball lived and operated his Joinery, Wheelwright and Undertaker business. Having made the coffins Teddy used a 2 wheeled handcart to deliver them around the village.

Residents who remember Teddy Ball tell that as a coffin maker he made his own coffin.....and kept it under his bed!

The next picture here is an invoice from Teddy of 1935 for the funeral of Esther Dickens of New Street. A shellibier mentioned here was a funeral hearse. Our thanks to the gentleman who shared this invoice  at a Heritage day a few years ago.

Jephsons Cottage

Before reaching the Recreation Ground we pass the 2 bungalows on our left built by life-long friends Frank Paskins and Sam Holmes. The photo here shows the construction underway in 1965. 

Opposite the bungalows we can see in the hedge old stone walls, remains of a tiny cottage, shown by the arrow in the picture above.. This was home to the Jephson family during the 1930s. They were Mrs Jephson and 2 sons, one of whom was Frank , known as Chang, who after his usual evening trip to a pub one night during the war, fell asleep on a wagon at Tibshelf Sidings; He was woken by police who arrested him, believing him to be a German Parachutist!