Origins and early setting
Located on what is now Elms Dyke, Pear Tree Cottage was originally part of a large farm complex, with land stretching beyond it towards Kiln Lane.
This early photograph above shows the house looking from Churchill Road with the trackway looping to its left. The boundary wall can just be seen on the left.
The buildings behind are likely to have been part of the farm, as the current owners of property on the site have found buried foundations as well as a significant amount of agricultural debris including animal bone and parts of farm equipment.
What looks like a pear tree can be seen growing in the front of the building. The current owners report that the remains of a very old pear tree was found in the front garden facing towards Churchill Road, though this has long since died.
A second building remains standing to this day, once called Dairy Farm, known subsequently as Dalethorpe and currently named Churchill Cottage and was originally the dairy building for the farm.
Brickwork at the top indicates that this property has been heightened in the past, probably once it became primarily a residential property. Prior to the rendering work on the southerly end of the building, the stonework indicated the presence of a doorway or window in the end wall.
Residents in the early 20th century
The 1911 census shows William Joseph Emery (32), his wife Nellie (nee Wilson) (29) and sons William George, (9) Jack (6) and Frank (2) living at Pear Tree Cottage.
From a 1914 land survey and property valuation of Welton, we know the Pear Tree Cottage property was listed as house and garden, so evidently the farm had been gone some time, though the land did extend quite far back – see map on below (property no 119).
At this time the property is listed as being occupied by W. Emery (William above) and owned by J. Emery (presumably a relative) of 3, Warwick Street, Daventry, who may have bought it in 1907 as this is the date given for the sale. It was described as a monthly tenancy, with the owner responsible for tithes and repairs and both parties paying rates and insurance. The property is described as follows:
“3 [rooms] down[stairs] and 3 up; closet (WC?), hovel, cowshed, pigsty and yard, small orchard (20 trees)”
It was given a gross value of £180.
The adjoining property – now Churchill Cottage – (plot 120) was by 1914 residential, owned and occupied by G Russell, with a living room, kitchen, scullery, 3 bedrooms, an attic and outside a shed, hen house, storehouse and small orchard or paddock, valued at £115.
The 1921 census records William Emery’s family living at entry 84 – we believe Dairy Farm. William J is listed as a dairy farmer.
Mid‑century ownership
The next definitive information is we had on an owner was through classified adverts in the paper – Mr and Mrs Kemp who lived there at least between 1949 and 1951. This has now been confirmed by their son Peter Kemp who lived there with his parents Dennis and Evelyn, sister Christine and brother John from around 1948 to 1960. His father Dennis played in the cricket team and both John and Peter acted as scorers at various points in time. Peter and his parents moved to Weston Super Mare in 1960.
Tony Hupfield purchased the cottage in the 1960s for £2150. The receipt for the house still exists, shown below:
Tony was the son of Albert and Olive Hupfield who lived in Welton Manor (Churchill House) at this time.
Albert Hupfield was a successful businessman, who had established his own company in 1946 making precision engineering machinery, however, increasingly specialised in injection moulding machines.
As part of his expansion plans, he and his brother took on the lease of land in Welton corresponding to the area of Elms Dyke today to build a plastics injection moulding factory which became known as Rugby Plastics.
The factory was designed to complement his existing base on the Edgware Road in London. (For more information on Albert Hupfield see Welton Manor history here).
Decline of original cottage and redevelopment
Tony quickly set about building a new house for his family. By the 1960s Pear Tree Cottage (green roof below) had become very dilapidated and so a new building was added to the far end of the existing cottage building and at right angles to it.
This was built by Frank Emery senior – the same 2 year old Frank who lived there in 1911.
The remains of this end wall remain within the current modern building within a small single storey extension.
The curve of the road into the area from Churchill Road was also changed, reducing the overall size of the original site, as seen in picture below.
Eventually the rest of Pear Tree Cottage was demolished, and any footings remain buried in the front garden.
Modern layout and later history
The current owners of Pear Tree Cottage purchased the house directly from the Hupfield family in the 1980s. By this time Tony Hupfield was doing business from his home abroad.
The plastics factory was demolished, and the land sold to developers – giving rise to the development of Elms Dyke. One of Welton’s many streams flows out through the garden of Pear Tee Cottage. This may once have served the farm.
Aerial photograph of current Pear Tree cottage showing modern layout of property, with Churchill Cottage to the right.
Note layout of roads and development of bungalows on bottom of Churchill Road built during the early-mid 1970s.
Roanoak, a building form a similar period, can just been seen on the left of Pear Tree Cottage, on land that was probably part of the original farm.