Lucy Brashaw was born in Well Lane on 3 January 1875. Her grandfather was John Fathers, listed in the 1885 Kelly’s Directory as a coal dealer. His daughter married into the Brashaw family.
John’s granddaughter Lucy,left, grew up in the heart of Welton.
It was in Well Lane, looking over the wall of farmer Clarke’s orchard, that Lucy first met Matthew Nicholls, a young man from Buckinghamshire who had come to work locally. They married at St Martin’s Church in 1901, when Lucy was 26. Matthew lived to the age of 92, dying in 1969, while Lucy reached the remarkable age of 101.
The couple raised six children: their son William, and daughters Lucy, Daisy, Nellie, Rose and Annie. The family lived in a cottage on Ashby Road, and Lucy (the daughter) and her sister Annie are pictured outside it below – we have wondered for a while the identities of the people in this photo so it’s great to put a name to them!
The cottage was demolished in the 1930s when farmer Adams owned it, and the Nicholls family moved into one of the newly built council houses further along Ashby Road. The new house had bare brick kitchen walls and an outside toilet.
Rose still lived there in 1999, now as the owner, while Annie Britten, her younger sister, lived only a few doors away. At this time Daisy was living at Great Brington, aged 92, and Nellie in Chelmsford, aged 86.
The Nicholls family also had ties to Welton Cricket Club. In the team photograph below, Matthew, Lucy’s husband, appears third from the right in the back row. Beside him, second from the right, stands Jack Goode of Well Cottage — Lucy’s nephew. Rose believed that the man fourth from the right was farmer Clarke rather than Sam Goode, as labelled. She should know: Jack was her uncle.
During the First World War, Lucy worked both at home and on the land. Her wartime agricultural certificate recognises the vital contribution women made, comparing their service to that of men fighting in the trenches, at sea and in the air – as we found out at a recent WHG speaker evening about the Women’s Land Army in WW1.
Daughter Rose
Lucy’s daughter, Rose, was remembered as a cheerful and lively character. She attended Welton School in the 1920s under the watchful eye of Miss Nora Burrows. However, she disliked school and was glad to leave, taking a job with Dr William Clements in Daventry.
Rose was maid of honour in one of the inter war May Day celebrations, sharing the role with Mary Pimlett, who lived in Well Lane at the time. Many May Day photographs survive because Mr Long, a photographer from Rugby, visited each year to take group and individual portraits.
In 1939, Rose joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). She served in several parts of England and later in Mons, Belgium, and Bonn, Germany. She never married. After the war she was welcomed back to the village by the Welton Soldiers’ Comforts Fund – although they clearly only had certificates designed for men!
Rose remained in Welton for the rest of her life. She worked for Sir Halford and Lady Reddish at Welton House, while she and Annie shared the care of their mother Lucy. This continued until one winter when Rose slipped on ice, broke her ankle, and ended up in a ditch. After recovering, Rose resumed caring for her mother and later for herself.
Despite back and hip problems, Rose stayed active, with the photo opposite taken of her gardening.
The story of Lucy, Rose and their wider family paints a picture of a Welton family from the 1870s, through two world wars and into living memory. They lived their lives in Welton’s houses, workplaces, cricket club, May Day traditions and long‑standing family connections — a reminder of how deeply rooted village life could be, and how one family’s story reflects the wider history of the community.
We are grateful to Barbara Franklin – Rose’s niece and Annie’s daughter – for sharing her information and photographs – Barbara herself grew up in the dining room of the White Horse – which used to be a cottage adjoining the pub!
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