As the picture above, taken circa 1960, shows The White Lodge has changed much over the years. In the early days of Welton, settlement began at the top of the hill, with the Manor Houses that became Churchill House, Old Manor Court (Monksmoor Farm) and small farmhouses, such as Pear Tree Cottage at the bottom.
As the village grew, the right‑hand side of Churchill Road (heading northwards) filled with modest two‑up, two‑down cottages, likely dating from the late 18th or early 19th century, surrounded by allotments and small arable plots.
1914: Two cottages become one
A 1914 land valuation survey reveals that the building now known as The White Lodge was then a single red‑brick property, originally formed from two cottages knocked into one, as the plan of the survey indicates a wide building with lands extending to the rear. The survey (map ref. 258) describes the property as follows:
Cottage with buildings and land extending to 2000 yards
The owner / occupier was James Gulliver of Welton, though the entry adds “late Perkins”, which may refer to a recent previous owner or occupier.
The building had 4 rooms downstairs and 5 rooms upstairs, confirming that the former two cottages had been consolidated into one larger property.
The house also had a “closet” (outdoor toilet) and a “hovel” (a low‑grade building or outhouse), as well as a garden, stables and other unspecified buildings.
The assessor noted that the roof was “bad” and that the property “wants a lot of repairs doing”, with it being in “bad repairs at the back”.
The market value of the property was recorded as £200, though considerably less if all structures and trees were removed from the land, which would reduce the value to £45.
Neighbouring properties: poor conditions and decline
At this time (1914) the property was bordered on the left (heading up hill) by a smaller house, map ref on above map 155 – but also includes 156, 157, 158 and 159, and garden extending to 1000 yards (as long as The White Lodge but about half the width) occupied by a Mrs Owen and owned by J. Brown.
The surveyor has also noted in pencil that “the 2 cottages at the back…awful, practically uninhabitable: 2 cottages in front been done up later”. The cottage facing onto Churchill Road is described as:
Being constructed of stone and thatch – but a “v v v poor property; thatch bad”.
2 rooms down and 2 rooms upstairs.
Having a closet, a hovel and a garden.
And oddly, the survey notes that the “tenant v v deaf”.
The site was formerly 5 cottages, now 4, with gardens and the gross value of the plot was given as £125.
The tenants were named as follows:
- 156 – J Price (owner J Brown of Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, Essex) – 1 up, 1 down, closet, garden
- 157 – J Frost (owner as above) – 1 up, 1 down, closet, garden, built of brick and thatch
- 158 – Mrs Iverton (?) now Mrs Owen, owner and description of property as above; on a weekly tenancy and actual rent stated at £5 19S – which seems very high by comparison top others
- 159 – W Stevenson; owner as above, rent £4 11, brick and thatch, 2 up, 2 down, closet – v v bad condition
This site (155) as well as plot 212 described below, separated the White Lodge from the Red Lion pub and is currently the site for The Rosary (No 37), Willow House (No 39) and the bungalow – 37A – behind.
Plot 212 was 845 yards and was described as a garden land next to The Red Lion. It was identified as a good site for 2 cottages but that there was at that time “no demand in Welton, cottages stand empty”. This land was owned by the Emery family and the land behind farmed by them for many decades to follow.
A village in transition (1910s–1920s)
The lack of demand for housing referenced above reflects a period in the village between 1910s and late 1920s when there was increasing transience in Welton, with families leaving, some moving in, others returning and many not staying long.
By the mid 1920s, the school population was down to 30 – 40 children. The cottages that occupied this stretch of Churchill Road were generally in very poor condition, many uninhabitable and some abandoned. Most were demolished, so the fact that the White Lodge remains is a remarkable thing!
Welton in 1914: A snapshot from Kelly’s Directory
Kelly’s Directory for 1914 tells us that:
- The current vicar was the Rev James Fearne Sugden MA of Trinity Hall Cambridge
- The Baptist Chapel, originally a blacksmith’s shop converted in 1831 was still in use with 80 sittings
- The Wesleyan Chapel, a red brick structure erected in 1858 continued with seats for 100
- Affluent families included Major Sebastian Garrard, Mrs R F Burton, Capt, J R P Clarke
- Lord Alexander G H Thynne MP and Guy Thomas Pocklington were chief landowners
- The parish clerk was George Lyman
- Miss Annie Leeson ran the Post Office: letters arrived from Daventry at 6.40am, noon and on Sunday at 6.40am and departed at 6.35am, 12.05pm & 6.20pm – Sundays 9am. There was a wall letter box at Churchill House which was cleared 3x daily: 6.55am, noon and 6.35pm.
- The school with master’s house was enlarged in 1882 for 111 children (in 2 teaching rooms!) and as small library of 200 books was established in 1871
- The village carrier was ……… Charles Gulliver (to Daventry every Wed and Saturday) who lived 2 doors away from James Gulliver – who lived in The White Lodge!
Gulliver’s travels!
The 1901 census shows the Gulliver family living in the ‘Lower Village’, next to Manor House Farm, probably further down Churchill Road. At that time James Gulliver was 46 and a farmer, Matilda was 43, and they had nine children at home:
Frank (20) and Charles (19), both farm workers; Edward (17), a butcher; Emily (16), Margaret (14), Mary Ann (10); and three younger sons, John (8), Sidney (7) and William (3). The first six children were born in various Northamptonshire villages — Charlton, Evenley, Hinton‑in‑the‑Hedges and Maidford — with John being the first of three born in Welton, suggesting the family settled in the village around 1892–3.
By the time of the 1914 land survey, the family were living in what is now The White Lodge, although this may have been a recent move. Around this period, Charles J. Gulliver, almost certainly James’s son, was already working as a carrier and carter. He appears in Kelly’s Directory of 1914 in this role, and again in the 1921 census, which confirms that he lived next door but one to the Gullivers at The White Lodge, moving up Church Hill Road, with his wife Frances.
As a carrier, Charles provided twice‑weekly transport to and from Daventry on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so in his case Gulliver definitely travelled — although not necessarily far.
In her later years, Frances Gulliver reportedly occupied the first room on the right upstairs, sitting warm by the fire. She is said to have died before her husband Charles, who used the second bedroom on the left. Local memory recalls Frances as the milk lady for the village.
The 1921 census lists :
- James Gulliver (67) born Westhorpe, Northants, a grazier
- Matilda Gulliver (65) his wife, born Wells in Somerset
- Emily E Gulliver (36) their single daughter born in Evenley and worked as a shop assistant in Leigh Confectioners in Daventry
- Margaret Gulliver (34) their single daughter born in Hinton in the Hedges – did “home duties”
- Gladys S Gulliver (17) their granddaughter, single, born in Welton and also a shop assistant at Leigh Confectioners
- John Gulliver (28) their son, single, born in Welton and worked for his father.
The family remained associated with the house for decades, and a descendant tells us that Charles Gulliver was the last member of the family to live there, leaving in the 1950s. Between then and 1967 the occupants are unknown, but at some point the frontage was painted white, giving the house its modern name. The wrought‑iron railings seen in the 1960 photograph survived both world wars and remain in place today.
A new chapter – The Prices
For some time prior to 1985 the house was owned by Ellis and Pam Price who lived there with their four children; Ellis had been the headteacher at Welton Primary School since September 1967.
For details of his career at the school refer to Welton School pages. Mr Price was an active member of the Welton Community and played for the Welton Cricket Club, photographed opposite in 1969: Ellis Price is seated in the front row second on the left in this image.
On May 23rd, 1985, the house was purchased by a young couple moving to the village from Croydon. The purchaser at the time still speaks fondly of the Price couple as, when the sale of their property fell through, thereby jeopardising their move to Welton, Mr and Mrs Price agreed to wait until such time as a second sale was secured so that the young couple could secure the house, they had set their heart on! A kindness still remembered today.
Earlier structure and 1980s renovation
An inspection of the house suggests that the original two cottages were post Armada as the requirement for wood at that time in the mid/late 16th century meant that housing timbers tended to be set further apart as wood was costly and scarcer.
The interior shows signs of its earlier form with an inner hallway which would once have led to the front door of the left-hand side pair of cottages.
In 1985 there was much work to do. The house at that point had no central heating, the main bedrooms were at the front with a small room to the rear at one end, with a sloping ceiling and significant wooden beam.
The garden stretched back to the stream at the back of what is now Elm’s Dyke, with a spinney at the back. The owners in 1985 were advised that the iron railings were indeed the original ones and that the family had quite a battle during the wars to retain them!
Evidence of earlier occupants have been found in the garden, including a number of clay pipe stems.
2026 view of The White Lodge, with properties leading up to The Old Red Lion – a modern-day view of the photograph that opened this article. Note the original railings and gate leading to an entrance that is no longer there!
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