If you have not noticed our banner attached to the village hall railings, (and here’s hoping it hasn’t blown away!) this is a gentle reminder that our next meeting is this coming Monday 26th October, at 7.30pm in the village hall.
Our speaker this month is Guy Voice, who will, appropriately, be talking to us on a Remembrance related topic: Northamptonshire’s Post 1945 Roll of Honour.
We are all familiar with the many war memorials recording the fallen in conflict in towns and villages across the land. But how do we record and remember those who have given their lives in service since 1945?
Guy’s talk will explore how two ex-servicemen began with 20 names and went on to unearth the stories of 142 Northamptonshire men and women who have died on duty since World War II, and will give us an insight into the research and stories behind a number of these names.
The meeting will also include a short item on the stories behind the men listed on the War Memorials in St Martin’s Church, adding a Welton dimension to the evening, so I do hope you will be able to join us.
We hope to have a British Legion collection in the hall– so if you would like to contribute tothis worthy cause, please bring along any loose change you can spare!
Looking forward …..
Our November meeting will be on Monday 30th November and will draw from our research since January of this year to give an Up Close and Personal Exploration of Welton Residents. The talk is aimed at introducing you to some of the colourful characters of Welton’s past, from travellers to teachers, brewers to the social influencers of the day!
Friday 30th October at 10am: Missed Monarchs – a talk by Adrian Bell on the Royals who could or should have inherited the throne – Alliston Gardens Centre, Adelaide Street, Northampton NN2 6AR
Thursday 29th October at Abington Park Museum: 12-3pm and free: the Hitchhiking Historian Presents the wonders of Ancient Egypt: handle artefacts, try on costumes, colouring and crafts – great for keeping the youngsters amused! No need to book.
Friday 13th November at 7pm: Northampton Museum and Art Gallery: Verity Babbs – Art History’s Funniest Bits. Cost £10 pp, booking essential. Art historian and comedian, Verity Babbs takes the audience on a journey of 500 years of artists behaving badly!
The Welton History Group website continues to flourish!
We have been delighted by the number of site visits (over 2,500) and hope you have enjoyed the regular blogs relating to Welton history. Do keep checking back as new information is being added regularly. You can now go directly to a catalogue of available articles from the home page – and blogs and other articles can be selected from the scrolling carousel also on the home page.
Over the last few months, we have been busy researching a wide range of topics. Here’s a taster of what we uncovered on the communal ovens of Welton!
Some residents over the years have, when renovating kitchens, have discovered the remains of some of these ovens and these were not small, simple constructions, but significantly large ovens, to cope with demand.
Cottages and houses that are believed to have provided communal ovens include: Virginia Cottage, Garth Cottage and Rose Cottage.
The Old House, at the top of Kiln Lane, was known in the 1660s as ‘The Bakehouse’ and it is believed that at the far end of the building was a large oven that villagers could access.
Other investigations include the lost Toll House, reading the works of a celebrated Welton author, researching the memories of Tom Pearcey, digging deeper into the Liddell family – to name but four! Further work is in hand looking at the Fields of Welton and a new range of houses, including The Rosary and Well Cottage – and developing more in our series on People of Welton. Look out for further blogs relating to the list above and more!
Please do visit the website to see for yourself and if you have any suggestions regarding topics you think we should cover, please get in touch. There is a link to do this on the website!
And finally ……some committee news
We are delighted to welcome some new members to the wider Welton History Group committee!
Ellie Ponder has agreed to act as secretary to the committee
Bronwen Curtis, Andy and Anita Newell have all volunteered to join us as Associate Members who will stand in as required in exceptional circumstances.
Steve Becker has volunteered to undertake some data analysis for us!
Thank you so much in advance to everyone!
We do, however, really want some extra new faces to join our standing committee, to help bring new ideas and suggestions that will help take the Welton History Group forward in 2027.
If you can spare just four hours a year to join our quarterly meetings in the White Horse, we would love to hear from you!
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Monday.
The richness of Welton’s history has been recognised and valued for many years. The Welton History Group has a long pedigree, having been in operation in various guises since the late 1980s.
Today, our team of four Welton residents works together to create an interesting and diverse programme of talks, walks and visits throughout the year. We enjoy exploring local and regional history, sharing stories and discoveries that we hope will inform, inspire and entertain. We are endlessly curious about Welton’s past and proud of the huge amount of work that has been done to uncover and preserve the village’s far-reaching history.
If you have not been able to join us at our regular Monday meetings in the village hall, you may not yet know the people behind the group, so here is a brief introduction to each of us. And as mentioned at the last event, we are actively looking for new members to join the team – see the bottom of this email – if you are interested, please get in touch!
Suzanne Edwards – History Group Chair and Co-ordinator
Once I retired from a career in education, I was pleased to be able to have more time to get involved in village life. Just over a year ago I took on organising the History Group, aiming to share local history in ways that engage the community. I organise our annual programme, help guide activities, and enjoy uncovering forgotten stories that bring Welton’s rich heritage to life.
Karen O’Mahoney – Media and Communications
With decades of strategic marketing experience, including 20 years running my own consultancy, I support the History Group’s website and communications. Researching Welton’s past has sparked a passion for local history, revealing the fascinating stories and lives behind the village’s heritage.
Nigel Le Gresley – Treasurer
Professionally qualified in marine electronics, business and law, I served in the Merchant Navy before joining government and later BT. A former Justice of the Peace and county councillor, I now find local and national history far more fascinating than the British Empire studies of my schooldays.
Judi Le Gresley – Hospitality
History has always been a passion of mine. I worked at Liverpool Museum before family and work took us around the UK and abroad. After raising four children and retiring as a school science technician, I continued exploring local history wherever we lived, be it Liverpool, Somerset, Kent, Essex or Welton!
If you see any of us around the village, please do have a chat!
Vacancies – why not join us?
We are current looking for a secretary, a data analyst and a few associate members? Like the sound of any of these? Then please contact Suzanne at weltonhistorygroup@outlook.com.
The Welton News and Views back catalogue contains a fascinating collection of ‘spotlight’ articles of members of the community, one of whom was Bill Broadfield, Welton’s much loved postman who, in 2026, also shared his memories with Welton History Group.
Though not resident within Welton, Bill was a well-known member of the wider community of Welton, delivering the mail six days a week in a time when letters were the norm, long before the internet and email took over.
Born in Birmingham, in his earlier days Bill had been a Royal Artillery Gunner. Like his father before him he later decided to become a ‘postie’. He trained at King’s Cross Postal School in London and was a postman there for 20 years. A key test for would-be posties was to be able to sort 400 letters in 11 minutes – something Bill said was extremely challenging for him as a new boy in London!
It is increasingly hard nowadays to recall a time when such tasks were done by hand. Nowadays scanners and computers would probably have the task done in a fraction of the time!
It was in London that Bill met his wife, and the couple later moved initially to Birmingham. However, a sign advertising employment in Daventry caught his eye and the rest, as they say, is history.
Welton resident memory: Bill was (and presumably remains) an ardent Birmingham City supporter and the results of any football match involving Birmingham City could be instantly judged by Bill’s mood the following morning!
Bill’s first contact with Welton was around 1974 when, as part of his Norton and Whilton round, his responsibilities included delivering parcels to Welton and collecting the outgoing mail. Then, in 1982, he followed the previous ‘resident’ postie, Cecil, who (they say) almost had to be forced out at the age of 74!
The process back then was that posties were required to apply for the ‘rounds’ they wanted for the next year. Bill chose Welton. Rounds were ‘awarded’ in order of seniority – but Bill was, and remained, successful in his selection of Welton for many years.
Welton resident memory: You always knew when winter had well and truly arrived in Welton – when Bill finally put his shorts away.
Bill’s memories of his experiences on the Welton round became legendary, such as:
Staggering across fences and fields to deliver post to an isolated farm after his van became stuck in a snowdrift, only to be set upon by the farm dog when he arrived!
Transporting an inflatable life-sized doll (don’t ask – and no, the address of the recipient was not shared!), which became unwrapped… someone inflated said doll, which was then delivered in its fully formed state! I am sure the neighbours were taken aback!
We were fortunate to meet Bill during our early research into Welton history and found him to be a treasure trove of memories of Welton residents in days gone by. His anecdotes included reference to The Old House being once occupied by a German gentleman, Herr Frank: we know no more than this at present – but maybe you can help?
Wisteria Cottage once figured in a home make‑over! Following this intriguing snippet, further research had to be undertaken!
The programme was called House Doctor, on Channel 4 and our Welton cottage featured in season 6, episode 11.
The programme was hosted by a Californian home stylist called Ann Maurice. The show focused on de‑cluttering and styling homes that were otherwise struggling to appeal to buyers. Regrettably it is no longer available to view.
Bill complained that the show featured the old stone floor being taken up and various period features being ‘ripped out’.
Bill also recounted many tales of political visitors to the Stone House. We know that Jean Cox, lived there with her husband, Professor Cox between 1963 and 1996. Although she had left-leaning views, she became a Conservative Party member and went on to become a well-regarded leader of Daventry District Council, being awarded an MBE in 1992 for her services to local government.
Bill said that he would often take tea in the kitchen of the Stone House when on his round and that Mrs Cox would tell him he was on ‘hallowed ground’ referencing a number of high-level visitors to the house including Margaret Thatcher, Nigel Lawson, John Major and William Whitelaw. He believed that Welton was favoured as a good place to meet, out of the gaze of public scrutiny. Apparently, the chauffeur(s) remained outside with MI5 men!
Whether this was true, or just gentle teasing by Mrs Cox – the visitors were always there ‘just the day before’ Bill came in for tea – remains a subject of debate. Can you add to this story – did anyone actually see cabinet members coming and going?
A story with a similarly intriguing political dimension related to us by Bill, concerned Whilton Locks where Bill used to collect the mail from a post box. Apparently, the 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, would meet his private and political secretary, Marcia Williams there (later Lady Falkender from 1974). She was an enormously influential figure in his career, working alongside him between 1956 and 1983.
Bill was more than just a postie for Welton. He was an honorary member of the community, a cheerful friend to the then 246 households of Welton and someone who clearly won so much affection from residents that he featured in a whole page of Welton News and Views!
Long before the days of the Road Fund License or DVLA annual car tax, the responsibility for the upkeep of roads was at best haphazard.
The Highways Act of 1555 required each parish to take responsibility for maintaining the roads that crossed through its boundaries. Every year, each parish elected an unpaid (and therefore probably unwilling!) local official, called a Surveyor of Highways to inspect the roads, identify where repairs were needed and direct the workforce.
Men of the parish were expected to give up 6 days of unpaid labour to maintain the roads, by filling potholes with stones, clearing ditches or overhanging vegetation. Wealthier parishioners or landowners who owned horses and carts were required to supply their teams and equipment for those 6 days, instead of giving their physical labour.
As you can imagine this did not always work out well! Labourers were untrained and unwilling; surveyors were amateurs who knew little about engineering and any repairs made were temporary and poor quality – a phenomenon not unfamiliar to us in the 21st century!
In the late 17th and early 18th century, as the era of coach travel dawned with growing national trade and longer distance travel, the system needed radical change.
So, in the 18th century, Turnpike Trusts were set up by Acts of Parliament to improve the long distance through routes that had been long neglected by parish administration. The aim was to shift the financial burden of maintaining the roads from the local parish to the actual travellers who used them!
A complex system of toll charges was introduced so that the cost reflected the capacity to pay of the user, with commercial travellers being charged more – see opposite.
To facilitate the collection of the tolls, many routes had purpose-built cottages built at key junctions with windows on all sides facing the road, to ensure that all travellers were spotted and their toll charge paid! And Welton had its own tollgate!
The historic Welton Tollgate was a designated toll station operated under the Lutterworth to Badby Turnpike Trust, which was established in 1765.
The route stretched some 20 miles across Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, from the south end of Mill Field in Lutterworth, heading along what is now the A426 Rugby Road, and briefly the A5 Watling Street and then branched off towards Daventry onto what is now the A361.
The Turnpike had four main tollgates:
Misterton Gate – Leicestershire
Dove Bridge Gate (Leicestershire / Northamptonshire border)
Welton Gate
Badby Gate
Example of small toll gate building opposite.
So where was the Welton tollgate?
We learned from records from the time that the tollgate was located ‘on the south side of a crossroads’ near Welton. It was designed to control the thoroughfare between Ashby St Ledgers and Daventry. We discovered that the current exit road up to the Barby crossroads, across the A361 did not exist as today. The main route out was along the lane that branches left as you leave the village, off what is now Ashby Road.
The census documents proved to be a starting point for the location ……
In the 1851 census the tollgate is listed as a property – Welton Gate – and is the second listing on the census between Hill House and Windmill House – thereby locating it near the outskirts of the village, where we believe an early windmill was located and the Ashby – Daventry Road.
In the 1861 census the tollgate listing was not linked to geographical location. In this census, farms and other dwellings were listed separately at the end of the census, so the Toll Gate house (entry 153) was listed between Welton Place Farm (entry 152 on the road into Daventry near the canal) and Hobberhill Farm (entry 154 – and which is located on Ashby Road).
However, the discovery of an early 18th century map of Welton and Daventry sourced at the Northamptonshire Archives Office makes the location of the toll gate clear as you can see below.
The Toll Gate was located within the green circle above. The map shows that the gate lay beyond the village proper, on the left side of what is now the A361 between Daventry and Kilsby. At this time the road leading out of Welton (now Ashby Road) forked quite sharply, the left-hand fork remaining as you leave Welton heading northwards (highlighted green). The current extension of Ashby Road to the junction towards Barby did not exist – however the toll gate would have been near what is that crossroads now! And what looks like a road to Ashby St Ledger’s is the current footpath across the fields (highlighted pink)!
If you look closely, you can also see that one of the Welton windmills was located just to the north-west of Welton, on the high ground between Welton and Kilsby!
In the 1851 and 1861 census records for Welton we discover Edwin Watts and his family, living at Welton Gate.
In this record, Edwin is aged 41 and described as a labourer and a ‘farmer of tolls’. Further research has revealed that he was probably born in Kislingbury, where he was recorded on the 1841 census as an agricultural labourer. Becoming a farmer of tolls was clearly a step up in life!
In 1851 Edwin is living with his wife, Hannah, who is 40 and born in Frankton, Warwickshire, along with their son, Thomas George, who had been born in Badby. In 1851, Thomas is 16 years old and working as a shoemaker.
By 1861, Edwin is now 51 and no longer a labourer, only a farmer of tolls. A report in the Northampton Mercury tells us that on February 7th 1864, Edwin’s son, Thomas was married to Miss Sarah Baseley of Welton in St Martin’s Church by Revd. Daniel Darnell!
So, what was a farmer of tolls?
In the 19th century ‘farming’ in this context had nothing to do with agriculture but referred to the legal collection of tolls or taxes for using certain “toll roads’.
As mentioned above, roads during this era were managed by local Turnpike Trusts. To fund road maintenance, trusts set up toll gates and side bars to charge passing travellers.
Instead of hiring staff to collect tools directly, the Turnpike Trusts would lease or auction off the right to collect tolls at a certain gate for a set period of time – usually a year – to the highest bidder.
As a toll farmer, Edwin Watts would have paid a fixed, up-front lump sum to the turnpike trust. His income – and profit – relied entirely on his ability to collect more money from passing traffic than what he paid for the lease.
Several newspaper cuttings such as the below confirm the annual auction of tollgates to would-be toll farmers. This article dates from 19th May 1804.
The 1851 and 1856 census records show us that not only did Edwin a secure a steady income from toll farming, but that the job came with accommodation.
By the late 1860s and 1870s, the Turnpike System was rapidly declining as railways took over as the main provider of long-distance travel. With Welton being well served by the canal system and the railway with its station across the A5 in Watford, it was inevitable that the Welton toll house would become a less than sustainable means of making a living, although newspaper articles confirm he was still farming tolls as late as 1868
On Saturday 15th January 1870, the Rugby Advertiser reported the ‘shocking death’ of Edwin Watts.
Following an inquest held at the Warwick Arms, Daventry it was established that ‘the deceased’ the ‘keeper of the Welton tollgate’ had on Friday 14th January had two pints with Joseph Bates at about 1pm in the Warwick Arms, Daventry with a third man, Edmund Claridge. Watts sent Claridge to get some beefsteak. Whilst Claridge was gone, Watts ate cold meat and bread provided by a Mrs Hancock, the publican.
Once Claridge returned with the steak, it was cooked by Mrs Hancock. Watts was being served when he started choking. A doctor was called, a piece of beef was removed from his throat, but it was too late. Edwin Watts died of suffocation.
What else do we know about the history of the tollgate at Welton?
We know that the Welton Tollgate was in use as early as July 1785 as a report in the Northampton Mercurytells of Ralph Wood, who was accused of breaking open a drawer in The Tollgate in Welton and removing ‘two half crowns and two shillings,’ on the oath of Mary Howes. The report adds that Benjamin Baker was his accomplice!
The then Toll Farmer was recorded as William Siddens.
And what happened to the toll house? The physical tollhouse building has been documented as lost since 1920. It certainly seems to have been long forgotten.
In the 21st century we can be excused for not really thinking about how we cook. What is most normally on the mind is what to cook or, indeed, whether we can eat out!
However, looking at the 19th census records for Welton, we can see that many of the old cottages, since demolished, often had only one room downstairs and one room upstairs. Toilets were shared across properties and were located outside.
These cottages were generally occupied by the ‘retired’ or widowed / elderly people of the village, as well as poorly paid agricultural labourers. And for those people living in them, life would be hard!
A 1914 land survey of the properties in Welton frequently describes the poor conditions of these properties and declares them not fit for occupation.
Many had no kitchens as we know them today, just a small hearth over which a pot or kettle could be suspended. Bigger houses had a range fireplace with small oven to the side. In Philip Goodwin’s ‘Welton – a Sort of History’ one refugee child recalled Mrs Lyman’s cottage on Well Lane, a 2 up 2 down, with ‘a big, back range, an open fire with an oven at the side and hooks over the top to put pots on.’
So how did people cook or bake more substantial meals?
The wife of Welton vicar, Edward Liddell, described how the people of Welton managed.
Mrs Liddell, born Christina Catherine Fraser-Tytler(1848-1927) was, in addition to being the vicar’s wife and as such very active within the village, a prolific Victorian author, poet and member of a prominent artistic circle.
One of her works, ‘A Shepherd of the Sheep’(1916) is a biography written in memory of her then late husband, Rev. Canon Edward Liddell. It may be from that text that the following extract was sourced and reproduced in a 2002 Welton News and Views.
Angelus and Curfew had never ceased to ring at Welton. The working-men rose at the sound of their church bell, ceased work at midday when it rang again, and some, I believe, went to bed at curfew.
Every Sunday morning it rang at 9, the old Mass hour… and as we came out of church after Matins, the bells were rung. This was the sign for the villagers to go to the public oven to fetch their Sunday dinner – a custom which seemed to prevail pretty generally in the Midlands.
Describing life in Welton during the 1890s, it is clear that many Welton residents relied on communal ovens for some of their meals.
Some residents over the years have, when renovating kitchens, have discovered the remains of some of these ovens and, as the picture below shows, these were not small, simple constructions, but significantly large ovens, to cope with demand.
Cottages and houses that are believed to have provided communal ovens include: Virginia Cottage, Garth Cottage and Rose Cottage.
The Old House, at the top of Kiln Lane, was known in the 1660s as ‘The Bakehouse’ and it is believed that at the far end of the building was a large oven that villagers could access.
Exposed oven in Virginia Cottage at the top of Station Road – courtesy of Welton News and Views
Virginia Cottage was, we understand, built around 1790 and became a bakery in 1800. The oven above has a large arched fireplace, with smaller flues – typical of communal bake ovens built from the late 1700s to mid 1800s. The oven was engraved:
Improved Coal Oven – Manufactured by Stevenson
This suggests an upgrade in the mid 1800s – Stevenson’s ‘Improved Coal Ovens’ appear in trade directories from 1850 onwards. It was common practice to ‘improve’ wood fired ovens as coal became more widely availablefor domestic use, partly due to the development of the rail and canal networks, and of course the improved mining techniques developed during the industrial revolution.
We believe that the practice of using communal ovens continued into the 20th century, with some residents on Well Lane using a communal oven during the second world war.
Communal baking was another example of how villagers, particularly women, came together and it would have been one of the village’s important social rhythms.
If you can add any details to this- or have/had such an oven in your home – please get in touch!
The Welton News and Views back catalogue contains a collection of ‘spotlight’ articles on people with a historic connection to Welton. Lord Chesham was one of these figures.
If you have walked back up into Welton from the canal via Crockwell Farm and crossroads, you may have noticed the headstone set just behind the hedge and across a cattle grid at the entrance to Welton Grange Farm, just on the bend of the gated road.
The headstone commemorates the death of Lord Chesham after a fall from his horse, however there is more to this than meets the eye.
The inscription reads:
This cross marks the place where C. Compton W. 3rd Baron Chesham
met his death while hunting with the Pytchley Hounds
9th November 1907, aged 56
Erected by his friends …
Except of course that this was NOT the place where Chesham fell!
In fact, Lord Chesham fell from his horse near Daventry Reservoir, in a field which was at that time part of Monksmoor Farm. An eyewitness account of the accident reported:
‘It was a fine Saturday afternoon with a field of anything from 700 to 800 [?] with about 200 second horsemen. Lord Chesham was taking a fence near Daventry Reservoir when the horse put his foot in a blind ditch. Lord Chesham was thrown bodily, landing on the back of his neck which was dislocated, and he died instantly. His body was taken to Holdenby House.’
With the passing of time, hedges were grubbed up, Daventry expanded, and the headstone was moved to a corner of the farmyard.
Who was Lord Chesham?
Born in 1850 in Piccadilly, Lord Chesham was Charles Compton William Cavendish, 3rdBaron Chesham and a prominent British Army officer, courter and Conservative politician. He had fought in the Boer War in South Africa.
He belonged to one of England’s most powerful aristocratic dynasties – the Cavendish family, led by the Dukes of Devonshire. He was directly related to Sir Wiliam Cavendish and his wife, Bess of Hardwick, famed for Bolsover Castle and Hardwick Hall.
Lord Chesham was succeeded by his second son, John who was just 13 years old at the time, his eldest son having pre-deceased him, killed in the Boer War aged 21.
During his lifetime, he served in the Coldsteam Guards and, after his retirement from the regular army, became Lieutenant-Colonel of the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry. He was reportedly a charismatic man, liked by his peers and those who worked for or served alongside him. It was in this role within the Yeomanry that he raised a regiment to fight in the Boer War (1880-81 and 1899-1902).
Following a string of humiliating defeats in the second (and bloodier) Boer War during December 1899, Cavendish, alongside the Earl of Lonsdale, offered to raise a volunteer regiment of mobile, mounted infantry to counter the fast-riding Afrikaaner Boer commandos. Led by Cavendish, the battalion sailed in January 1900 – indicating that the regiment was swiftly raised and mobilised.
The 10th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, to give them their full title, were engaged at the Relief of Kimberley, Battle of Lindley and in a range of operations to dislodge Boer forces from the rocky hills or ‘koppies’ across central South Africa. Cavendish was mentioned twice in dispatches for bravery.
During his tour of duty, Lord Chesham’s wife, Lady Beatrice, and his daughter, Lilah, travelled to South Africa and were instrumental in funding and organising the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital to care for the thousands of sick and wounded volunteer soldiers. Lady Beatrice was awarded the Royal Red Cross for her efforts.
So how did the headstone come to be placed on Welton Grange Farm?
Amongst the many volunteers from his friends from the farming and hunting communities were members of two local families: the father of Gilbert Tebbitt and a Mr John Nichols, uncle to a Welton resident of the 1980s, John Nichols, of Crockwell farm.
For his part in the Boer War, Mr G. Tebbitt was awarded the Queen’s Medal. He also received a beautifully carved pipe bearing the insignia of the Imperial Yeomanry and the years 1900-1901 as well as 37th Company
At the base of the bowl were his initials: G.W.T. It is thought that this pipe was given by local people as a memento of his service to his country
It is thought that Mr Tebbitt was out hunting with Lord Chesham on the day of his death. Given their close association, it seems probable that it was Mr Tebbitt who arranged for the headstone to be moved to Welton Grange farm from its rather neglected position in the yard of Monksmoor Farm. Since Welton Grange Farm was home of the Tebbitt family from 1907, we can surmise that the headstone was moved some time after 1907.
Lord Chesham is buried in Latimer in Buckinghamshire, and there is another memorial to him, a stone column and trough, in Brixworth – erected by friends and fellow members of the Pytchley Hunt.
The Welton News and Views back catalogue contains a fascinating collection of ‘spotlight’ articles of members of the community, one of whom was Fred Day – aka The Bee-Man of Welton.
In 1986 Welton News and Views ran a feature on Fred Day – otherwise known as Fred: the Bee- Man of Welton.
A resident of The Paddock, Fred developed a fascination with bees almost by accident in 1942 when, as a caretaker for a college of Further Education, a Science teacher introduced him to his bees, asking Fred to help him collect a swarm which had settled behind the college.
This was the first time Fred had even seen a swarm, never mind collected one!
It was established (though at the time of writing, it is not clear how that was done) that the swarm did not belong to the college, so Fred was ‘persuaded’ to purchase a second-hand hive and, with the help of the teacher, ‘hived’ the swarm, which now seemed to be his – as far as a swarm of bees can be! The story continued that, during the following summer the science teacher went on holiday, took up another post and never returned. His bees were neglected and died
This is particularly shocking to a 21st century reader, knowing the ongoing concern about the dwindling bee population and the effect that has on the fertilisation of plants and crops.
Fred’s swarm however survived, and so, drawing on the support of a friend who also kept bees, a self-help book “Beekeeping for Beginners’ and joining the Rugby Bee Keepers Association, Fred got stuck in (metaphorically, of course!).
Fred took both the theory (winter) course – when bees are inactive, and the active course (summer) when the bees were buzzing! He took examinations in both and passed at the end of that year – though it was not a painless process. As Fred put it, he ‘got well and truly stung’ despite wearing the full beekeeper suit and hood! However, over time he gradually built up an immunity to the stings so that he hardly had any swelling at all after being ‘got’… fortunately for him!
Bee keeping in the 1950s. Not Fred. At least we don’t think so, hard to say
The passing of the first set of exams was only the beginning. By 1945 Fred had 4 hives and provided guidance and support to other bee-keepers. He later acquired 3 further hives. He also kept one ‘spare’ hive in case of a swarm and in this way was highly successful – never having to buy a bee! (Q: How do you buy a bee? A: Carefully!)
The amount of honey from a hive varies according to the conditions of the season: in 1984 Fred produced over 400lbs of honey from hawthorn, lime and rapeseed; whereas in 1985 the harvest was down to 22lbs.
Fred became a member of the Warwickshire Bee-Keepers Association, which gave him life membership after almost 50 years of his involvement with the group.
Some Welton residents continue in 2026 to manage beehives in their garden. Given the ongoing national concern regarding bee populations, it is worth saying a big thank you to those members of our community… and for the rest of us, a reminder to plant wherever possible plants in your gardens that are bee / insect friendly, maintaining ponds and creating bee friendly shelters.
For more information see the Friends of the Earth who have a guide for bee-friendly gardening: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/nature/gardening-bees
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Following on from this week’s newsletter, I just wanted to be sure everyone was aware of our speaker programme which recommences later this month. These meetings are open to everybody, no need to book. Just turn up, you’ll be made very welcome – and you’ll get a cup of tea or coffee! Or if you fancy something stronger, feel free to bring your owndrink.
September’s meeting – Walking through Daventry’s history
Monday 28th September 7.30pm Welton Village Hall. £5 a head cash or card.
Daventry has a rich history extending back to at least Roman and Anglo Saxon times and has over time been a hot bed of religious revolt, a welcome resting point for weary coach travellers and a key location for wartime communication.
Susan Watkins will take us on a virtual walking tour from Iron Age hill fort to 20th century Daventry, a communication beacon for many across the world.
Monday 26th October 7.30pm Welton Village Hall. £5 a head cash or card.
Guy Voice recounts how a military funeral in 2008 started a journey by two ex-servicemen to record all the county’s armed forces casualties who have died on duty since WW2.
Starting from a list of 20 names, the research now records 142 men and women who have died in action, on operations, through terrorism or on duty since 1945.
The talk will discuss how the names were identified, the method and approaches to the research, and who some of these men and women were.
November’s meeting – Welton History Project – a deeper dive into people and places
Monday 30th November 7.30pm Welton Village Hall. £5 a head cash or card.
What do Jane Farr the brewer, teachers Mr Quelch and Mr Bond and the Minors, the Benjamins, the Tolstoy boy and the Governor of Newfoundland all have in common?
Answer: they all once lived in Welton! The history of our village is full of surprising stories and this presentation will introduce you to several individuals through whose lives we get an insight not just into Welton’s past but into world history!
January’s meeting – 21st century Welton: your history, your voice
Monday 25th January 7.30pm White Horse. Free event butplease consider a £5 donation.
Starting with a few fascinating and lesser well-known stories of Welton, we shall explore all those weird and wacky things that make Welton what it is today.
Building on the meeting last January, this year we will be making history: capturing the 21st century voice about our village – what makes it special? How do we want to be remembered? What will the history of 20th/21st century in Welton capture?
February’s meeting – Save the Children: now and then
Monday 22nd February 7.30pm Welton Village Hall. £5 a head cash or card.
Save the Children started in 1919 and has become the largest international children’s charity working in over 100 countries including the UK. But who started it and why?
Marilyn Payne looks at how has it grown and developed over time and how it continues to operate today.
March’s meeting – An A-Z of food over time
Monday 22nd March 7.30pm Welton Village Hall. £5 a head cash or card.
What’s for supper mum? How might they respond if you answered with dormouse? Oysters? The carp that has been in the bath for the last two weeks?
Sharn Matthews’ presentation takes us on a quirky tour through food history from apples to zebra, and looks at some of the more unexpected foods that have been eaten – and yes, people in Paris did eat zebra in the 1870s!
April’s meeting – 20th Century social history through the eyes of Joyce Grenfell
Monday 26th April 7.30pm Welton Village Hall. £5 a head cash or card.
The comic monologues of Joan Grenfell give us an insight into social change during the twentieth century, particularly for women. In her own way, she was a social commentator.
This presentation by Jackie Hibbert of some of her work also contains an explanation of some 20th century social history which led to her skilfully observed monologues; still relevant and funny today.
May outing : 78 Derngate, Northampton
Details will be confirmed in the autumn, but a Thursday afternoon visit is proposed. Pre booking will be required. The cost of entry will be either £11 or £12 depending on numbers.
78 Derngate was remodelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1916 for the Northampton model engineer W.J. Bassett-Loake.
Shared transport is intended to support those who are interested in finding out more about not just this delightful building but these two extraordinary men.
June’s meeting – Trench humour in the First World War
Monday 28th June 7.30pm Welton Village Hall. £5 a head cash or card.
Soldiers often turned to humour to alleviate the stress of life in the trenches. Jokes, puns, and satirical songs were a part of the soldiers’ oral culture.
Much of the humour was lost on those outside the soldiers’ group, but it resonated with the soldiers and allowed them to cope with the strain of service and combat. Stephen Barker’s talk will be fully illustrated and offers a light-hearted look at one way in which troops tackled the horrors of war.
Welton seems to have always been a village that looks both backwards and forwards, as evidenced by our recent discovery of the Welton 2000 Project.
Mentioned throughout Welton News and Viewsin 1989, it was clearly a major community effort designed to celebrate the approaching Millennium.
Yet more than twenty‑six years later, the project appears to have slipped from sight — unless, of course, you know differently!
In December 1989, the Welton Local History Society reported that the WI, the Brownies, schoolchildren and society members had spent the year gathering material for an appraisal of the parish’s past and present, with an eye on what future changes might help — or hinder — village life.
An exhibition had been held in the village hall on Saturday 4 November 1989, showcasing everything collected so far:
WI questionnaire findings — a display built from responses to a summer survey.
Brownies’ gravestone survey — names, dates and a full plan of standing stones in the churchyard.
Parish footpaths — detailed descriptions and photographs charting routes across the village.
Then‑and‑now photographs — historic images paired with modern views of the same locations.
Hedge‑dating research — including hedges along Kiln Lane and the B4036*, estimated at around 700 years old using Hooper’s Rule.
Schoolchildren’s nature study — drawings and notes on local wildlife, from badgers and deer to the discovery of a snake’s nest.
What we would love to find out is:
• What exactly did the WI questionnaire ask, and what insights did villagers share?
• Where did all the collected materials go after the exhibition?
• Which hedges along Kiln Lane were identified as medieval, and can they still be located?
Were these hedges along Kiln Lane catalogued as medieval?
If any long‑time residents, former WI members, Brownies, or History Society volunteers still have memories — or boxes in the loft — the Welton 2000 Project may yet be rediscovered. Do get in touch if you can help.
Note: B4036 Road Reclassification
The B4036 near Welton refers to a historic road classification that was formally changed in the 1990s.
The original route connected Daventry to Market Harborough and ran directly past the village.
Under the reclassification, the Welton–Watford section ceased to be the B4036 and became part of the B5385.
It now carries traffic over the West Coast Mainline near the former Welton Station and passes under the M1.
The Welton–Daventry stretch was downgraded to an unclassified country road.
Last weekend we were thrilled to welcome over 130 people to our combined History of Welton in St Martin’s church and a celebration of the art of Eric Fleming in the village hall. The exhibition got off to a great start on Friday with a visit by Year 6 pupils and staff from Welton Academy. They were excited to see and learn the history of the Combles bell, retrieved from a WW1 battlefield by Eric Fleming’s father, Jim, and to explore just what it was like to live here in the past.
Organised as part of the area wide Heritage Open Day, the exhibition gave us an opportunity to share the many fascinating things we have uncovered about our village and its people. Thank you to those members of the History Group who visited, as well as people from Welton and beyond.
We were very fortunate to borrow a wonderful collection of the paintings by Eric Fleming from family members and residents, which was also very well received. Thank you to all who helped us with this, both in lending the paintings and the ‘volunteers’ (John and Pete) who collected them for us, as well as others who gave their time to ‘man’ the village hall on the day. Too many to mention – but you know who you are!
We have received some fantastic feedback from visitors, as you can see below:
“Really nice to see all this old history of Welton”
— Annette H
“Thought it was fabulous! Very interesting to find out about the history of the village I live in. Hope you can do it again next year”
— Samantha D
“This was an excellent exhibition, very detailed and comprehensive! The paintings are beautiful! The history of the village is so very interesting! Thank you for all your hard work and effort!”
— Sue D
If you were unable to visit the exhibition and would like to know more, please do visit – or even better, subscribe to – our website.
It’s free, easy to use and updated frequently with new stories.There is also entry into a prize draw for a £10 Marks and Spencer gift card for anyone who subscribes before 31st October 2026 – click here.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my partner-in-all things historic, Karen O’Mahoney for her hours of help in organising this exhibition as well as developing the website, helping research new leads and enigmas, making my basic Word documents look amazing – and so much more!
It has been a huge undertaking to get this far in just seven months and, together, we are determined to continue to unearth those forgotten stories and celebrate Welton’s astonishing, world-encompassing past.
And so, to the new season!
Our first meeting for the new season is on Monday 28th September 2026 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.
Our speaker, Susan Watkins, will be taking us on a Virtual Walk through Daventry.
From the relative comfort of our village hall chairs you will enjoy the stories about the people and places in Daventry that have made their mark on the history of our nearest large town. Do come along – you may think you ‘know’ Daventry, but there really is so much to discover, from our pre-Roman occupants to more contemporary figures!
As always, entry is £5pp payable on the door – cash or card, both welcome.
This cost includes tea or coffee and a delectable biscuit or two! Or if you fancy something stronger, feel free to BYOB! Our full programme for the year is available on the website here.
Please do share this newsletter with friends or neighbours. The work of this group is reliant on the income generated by these monthly talks and so the more who come, the better!
Have we enthused you? Why not join our committee?
The Welton History Group is a small group of enthusiastic volunteers – five in total! None of us would describe ourselves as historians. Although some of us might describe ourselves as fanatics. All of us believe that our village has a fascinating story that should be uncovered, shared and celebrated, as well as saved for future generations.
But we really need YOUR support.
You don’t need to be an expert, fanatic or otherwise, or have to give up hours of your time.
We’d just really value some extra, enthusiastic, interested people who would like to:
muck in and contribute to the future of this work in any way you feel ok with
help shape the future of the History Group
If you are interested, please email me or have a chat at one of our meetings.
And finally …… a few Welton related quiz questions
• What connects Welton to a house and botanic garden in New Zealand?
• Which Welton resident was connected to the moving memorial to heroic Londoners who saved the lives of others, at the expense of their own, in Postman’s Park in London?
• How did an Anglo / French family from India end up living at The Red Lion?
• How are Leo Tolstoy, Alice Liddell and Jane Austen connected to our village?
Of course, if you can answer these, you would definitely win the quiz!
This is a tale of strange memorabilia and a journey of discovery!
A current resident of Lion House (part of the wider Red Lion property) shared with the History Group an intriguing discovery: a strange collection of memorabilia in a dusty box left by a previous owner and found at the back of the loft. There were no previously known names associated with the objects, all of which were deeply personal and covered a time span across over twenty years.
It was a mystery: who owned them? Who had left them there?
And would we ever be able to work out how they related to the Old Red Lion?
Initial scrutiny of the objects suggested occupation at some time post 1948 of a family who had travelled in or from India and may have had a French or Belgian connection as some artwork by a child, included in the list below, clearly had a surname suggestive of these countries.
A selection of items discovered in the Red Lion loft included:
Photograph of a man c.1930s, taken abroad
Photograph of a woman – c.1900 perhaps
Photograph of a man wearing glasses, and the same man with a woman
Photograph of a girl – possibly Marguerite or her daughter
Child’s drawing labelled “slightly wounded” by Felix Augier + writing by F. Augier dated 9‑11‑16 *
Signature by Marguerite Muriel Augier
Drawing of The Man in the Moon by Clare Augier *
Cartoon – “Why wasn’t I born a man?” signed Gladys M. Saint‑Yves *
Drawing of a basket of flowers signed by Stella Delanougerede, 21 October 1910 *
Menu for Landfall Dinner in Tourist B (1948?)
Timings for sailing between Howrah (27 July 1948) and Bombay (29 July 1948) on S.S. Ormonde
* Denotes items found in the autograph book
*Denotes found in autograph book
Our investigation began with online searches and what a story we uncovered!
📘 SS Ormonde – Background Note - click to read
Note: Built on Clydebank in 1914, the SS Ormonde was constructed as an Orient Liner for the Britain–Australia route. In October 1917 she was requisitioned as a troop transport, then refurbished in 1919 back at Clydebank as a passenger liner. During the 1930s she was converted to One Class, carrying 770 Tourist Class passengers, and later transported post‑war migrants. She was again requisitioned during WWII, with berths for over 1,560 troops.
In 1947 she was chartered by the British Ministry of Transport for the government‑supported emigrant scheme to Australia, with capacity for 1,052 passengers, departing Tilbury on 10 October 1947 after a £270,000 refit. She was scrapped in December 1950.
How items linked to her sailings to Australia via India came to be in the Red Lion remains a mystery. Could some WWI‑era objects relate to Belgian refugees who stayed in Welton and attended school? Might the family have returned post‑war? Or could the items belong to someone who sailed back to England, possibly from Australia via Bombay?
How items associated with her sailings to Australia via India came to be in the Red Lion was a mystery:
Could some of the WW1 period items link to Belgian refugees who stayed in Welton and attended school here?
Could the family have returned to visit post war?
Could items link to a family who sailed back to England possibly from Australia via Bombay?
Our investigations moved on to a search around the names on some of the items focusing on the Augier family name, in particular Felix, Claire and Marguerite Muriel.
Unpicking the puzzle
We began by discovering a Find My Past record for Marguerite Augier born on 28th October 1905. She died in Daventry in 1996. This was the name written on one of the documents listed above and found in the Red Lion attic.
We also found a marriage record for a Stella Marie de Delanougere in 1928 lodged with the British India Offices (Marriage) in Calcutta. She married Claude Stanislaus Augier – Marguerite’s father. Stella was the sister of Maud Adeliade Augier, who was Marguerite’s mother!
Further to the items linked to Felix Augier, we found a May 1949 newspaper clipping describing a quite horrid end to one Felix Augier on Saturday February 26th, 1949. The report began with hidden stores of bomb‑making equipment found in British‑run engineering works in Calcutta, which at that time was being intimidated by anonymous figures.
Letters were being sent to executives, technicians and foremen, building on ongoing attacks on British subjects working in India, believed to be the work of the outlawed Revolutionary Communism Party, then around 30,000 strong. The article linked this discovery with an earlier attack at Jessops Ironworks at Dum Dum the previous February.
Three Britons had reportedly been battered to death and their bodies thrown into furnaces. Two further massacres had been foiled. “Remember Jessops” had been scrawled onto factory walls as part of this intimidation.
The Dum Dum massacre received much publicity and was raised in Parliament. The attack began around 11am on Saturday 26th February 1949. Workers were quietly warned to “make themselves scarce” and men were seen picking up crowbars, shovels and spanners. A labourer tossed a bomb through the office door before the foreman was “levelled with a crowbar.”
More home‑made bombs were thrown. As British employees ran for safety, Indian workers set up machine guns on the roof. Outside, three foremen scrambled for their lives. One, Felix Augier, was repeatedly battered as he fought his way toward an office. He sustained severe head injuries and gashes to his arms. The newspaper reported that “he fell, gasping his last words ‘They have finished me’ before he died.”
Could this be Felix who drew and wrote the documents found in The Red Lion? We decided to dig deeper…
A record for the birth of Felix Reginald Augier in India, on November 27th, 1906, at Cossipore, Bengal in India to Clarence Stanislaus Augier and Maud Adelaide Augier answered our question - we now knew that the Felix who had written his name on our discovered documents was a brother to Marguerite Muriel Augier.
The Unfolding Story of the extended Augier family
Things start to get complex so you can refer to this colour coded family timeline at any time.
1930s–1940s – Marguerite later marries cousin Emile Eugene Augier, previously married to Isabelle Marie Augier.
1947–1950s – Independence and partition prompt many European families, including the Augiers, to leave India.
1948 (16 Aug) – Ormonde passenger list:
Mrs A. Augier (65), Mr E. E. Augier (31), Mrs M. Augier (42), Miss M. Augier (Mary Ann) (3).
England declared permanent residence.
1949 (26 Feb) – Felix Reginald Augier killed in the Dum Dum massacre.
1949 (5 Aug) – Widow Ernestine Renée Augier sails to England with children:
Noreen,
Brian Felix,
Clarence B.,
Adrian,
Gordon Reginald,
Rosemary Blossom.
They settle at 44 Somerset Waye, Heston.
1952 (10 Jun) – Clarence S. Augier, Stella M. Augier, Charlotte A. Augier arrive in England.
1964 – Marguerite's daughter Mary Ann Augier marries Kenneth Silverlock.
1973 – Mary Ann Augier and Kenneth living in Northamptonshire, son Jamie born
1970s–1980s – Marguerite, Emile visit or even live at The Red Lion, Welton.
1988 – Ernestine Renée Augier dies in St Albans.
1990s – Mary Ann and Kenneth Silverlock living in Daventry and then Lion House, Welton.
1996 – Marguerite Muriel Augier and Emile Eugene Augier die in Daventry.
2000s – Mary Ann and Kenneth emigrate with Jamie to Spain.
Clarence and Maud Adelaide married in 1905 in Calcutta.
Maud Adeliade (nee DeLaNougerede) died in 1927. They had 8 children: Marguerite Muriel, Felix Reginald, Claire Maud, Charlotte Ann, Isabelle Marie, Estelle, Joan Bernadette and Andre Leo. The last, Andre, was born in 1927, the year his mother died. Her death certificate tells us that she died from post-partum haemorrhage.
On October 9th, 1928, Clarence – a widower – remarried. His bride was ‘our’ Stella Marie De La Nougerede: the artist behind our picture of red flowers. He was 47 and she was 40. The marriage took place in Calcutta, Bengal. Stella was the sister of Maud Adelaide, and so Marguerite’s aunt became her stepmother!
The Augier and De La Nougerede families had a long history in India as well as an established pattern of intermarriage between cousins. Their family tree shows that Clarence and Maud, as well as Stella, shared common grandparents, great grandparents…
Why did members of the family find their way to England?
At this stage in our research, we were not sure why England was chosen as a place to make a home; however, history gives us a very clear reason as to why. In 1947 India secured its independence from Britain, however times were turbulent due to the partition which divided India into a Hindu majority land (India) and Muslim majority (Pakistan), which led to horrific racial conflict, mass migrations and the brutal deaths of up to 2 million people.
The tensions remain a factor in the sub-continent to this day. This and strong anti-British feeling also led to many ex-pat families or long resident British and European families in India to return to Europe.
On 16th August 1948, the passenger manifest for the SS Ormonde (see above) confirmed the arrival in Tilbury of: Mrs A Augier (aged 65), Mr E. E. Augier (aged 31), Mrs M. Augier (42) – this is Marguerite, and Miss M. Augier (aged 3) – their daughter (Mary Ann Geneivieve Augier). The document confirmed that England would be their permanent residence. Mrs A Augier’s address was given as 4 Sunnyside House, Cricklewood Lane, NW2 and the others 27 Meadow Road, Southall. All were listed as British passengers.
We discovered a second ship’s manifest dated 10th June 1952, which recorded the arrival of Clarence S Augier (aged 71), Stella M. Augier (aged 64) and Charlotte A. Augier (aged 39). All had the given address as 44 Somerset Waye, Heston, Hounslow. Later electoral roll registers confirm that the family continued to live in the West London area right through to the 1970s and beyond.
We also found a record that confirmed that on 5th August 1949 after Felix’s death, his widow – Ernestine Renee Augier – sailed to England on the MV Caledonia. She travelled with Miss Noreen Augier (a teacher), Brian Felix Augier, Clarence B Augier, Adrian and Gordon Reginald (all school boys and her sons) as well as Rosemary Blossom Augier – a schoolgirl, possibly her daughter. The family settled at 44 Somerset Waye, Heston ….. with Clarence and Stella! Ernestine died in May 1988 living in St Albans. She too shared the same surname as her husband before they were married, suggesting that Felix and Ernestine were related, as cousins, possibly through their grandparents: Francis Augier (1836-1894) and his wife Mary Emma Grant (1976-1917).
Finally, we discovered that on November 1st 1934 Marguerite Muriel Augier had married Reginald Cecil Ignatius De La Nougerede in Calcutta. He was 27, she was 28 and they were cousins. However, it seems that he died and she later married another cousin, Emile Eugene Augier.
So how does all this relate to Welton? Marguerite Augier died in Daventry in November 1996. Emile also died in Daventry, in 1996. It seemed to us, from the records, that for both parties it was a second marriage. We believed Emile was previously married to Marguerite’s younger sister, Isabelle Marie Augier.
It seemed likely that at some point after 1950 and before the 1990s, Marguerite Augier and possibly her husband and daughter lived in or visited The Red Lion in Welton, leaving their memories behind in a box in the attic.
Connecting with descendants of the family!
For a couple of months this was all we knew about the family. We had developed an online Family Tree to help us find the various documents needed to confirm our thinking. But this did not help us with the more immediate history relating to Welton that we were looking for.
One day, wholly out of the blue, a message was received from another history buff who was working on the same Augier / De La Nougerede family tree on behalf of a living relative. We got in touch and were then able to add names to our pictures and get a sense of the wider family connections.
Shortly after this our Welton History Group article popped up on someone’s else’s feed and we had contact with another relative of the family living in Australia, Charlie, leading to a meeting with his mother in, appropriately, The White Horse, of course, to discuss our findings and to reunite the family with their long-lost memorabilia!
Resolving the story of the Augier family and the link to Welton
Our meeting with Sam, the Augier descendant, confirmed that our findings relating to the family history were correct and she explained to us a lot more about the history of the Augier (pronounced oh-zhay) family.
The Augier family originated in France. Pierre Augier, known as Peter the Cutler, emigrated to India in 1787. Pierre was born in Savoie in France, close to the Swiss border.
His nickname was a nod to his profession as a worker with metals although he was also an armourer. An advert in the 1790 Calcutta Gazette referred to him buying an Armourer’s business.
His name also appeared on the November 1804 List of Europeans in Calcutta (as a Cutler, resident at Cossitollah Street), although in his Will Pierre described himself as a gunmaker.
Peter the Cutler died in 1833. It was through him that the family evolved. He had thirteen children, the eldest being Matthieu (Matthew) and was married twice. From Matthew the family tree continued to encompass at least 7 further generations.
Sam told us that earlier family members may have been involved in the development of railways in India and that several relatives had close working connections with the Calcutta Mint, starting with Pierre the Cutler’s son, Matthew. The family grew prosperous and from the arrival of Peter the Cutler there were several marriages within the Augier and De La Nougerede family.
Through painstaking research and confirmation from a number of family members therefore we can confirm that the collection of objects found in the loft of The Lion House were collected and owned by Marguerite Muriel Augier.
Having left India with Emile (her now husband and previous brother-in-law), they settled in London. Travelling on board ship and with probably only limited luggage, these were some of the keepsakes she ensured she brought with her across the world to London, making them very special indeed!
It is likely that Marguerite and Emile continued to live in the West London area, as the artefacts box found also included an airmail letter sent to Emile from a relative back in India (Maurice H. De La Nougerede), which was addressed to 27 Meadow Road, Southall – the same address given on the manifest for the 1948 manifest of the S Ormerod. Their daughter, Mary Ann, left, was just 3 years old when they returned from India.
She went on to marry Kenneth Silverlock in 1964. Kenneth was born in London and the couple married in Ealing. At some point the family moved north – and we know they were living in Northamptonshire by 1973 as the birth of their son, James, was registered as this point.
They may have initially lived in Warwick Street in Daventry, but at some point came to live in The Lion House, part of the Old Red Lion. We believe that as Mary Ann’s parents, Marguerite and Emile got older, they moved up to Welton / Daventry to be with their daughter and her family. This would explain why both their deaths in 1990 are recorded in Daventry.
Welton residents recall that Ken Silverlock owned and ran a tackle shop, close to where MacDonald’s in Daventry now stands. This later moved to his fisheries at Nether Heyford. He also had a greengrocer shop on the High Street in Daventry. Ken was a keen angler and very well known in Daventry. He and Mary Ann moved to Spain in the 2000s to set up a fishery and bed and breakfast.
So, our mystery box of amazing items was, in all likelihood, left behind by Mary Ann and Kenneth when they moved from Welton to live in Spain.
Felix Augier, the victim of the factory attack, was Marguerite’s brother; their mother was Maud Adelaide and their father Clarence Stanislaus. The box contained photographs of both. Claire Augier, who produced some of the drawings in the autograph book, was the sister of Marguerite and Felix. Claire Augier went on to marry Gerald Fleury and Sam, who came to see us in Welton, is her granddaughter!
From one small box of dusty old photographs, an autograph book, letter, postcard, wedding invitation and other humble items we have unearthed a complex family history, added a new line in the history of owners of houses in Welton, opened up a story with a link to key events in world history – and managed to reunite a family with treasures from its past!
Located on the left-hand side as you travel northwards up Churchill Road towards the church, The Firs dates from at least 1695 and extensive original documents exist for the house.
During its history it has been called The Firs and Welton Cottage. Its exterior has elements of Georgian design appropriate to construction at this time, although it may have been built around a smaller older property.
The Firs 1950s/early 1960s
The house was also a small holding with extensive land to the side and rear including paddocks – hence the name of the 20th century road of bungalows: The Paddock.
The property was extensively refurbished by Carl Ponder in the early 2020s and during the work a 1797 George III “Cartwheel” penny was found under a backdoor sill. This iconic large copper coin, measuring 36-37mm and weighing 28.3g was designed by Conrad Heinrich Küchler and struck at the Soho Mint, featuring a distinctive broad raised rim with lettering to prevent stop counterfeiting.
The obverse shows the king facing right wearing a crown of laurels whilst the reverse depicts Britannia seated. Over 8 million of these coins were minted and its equivalent value today would be about £1.63, so it was not a costly item to bury. But nonetheless, it would have been for a reason now long forgotten: perhaps to mark the date of renovation work or possibly as a good luck token to assure wealth in the household.
The Firs deeds
It is amazing that a comprehensive set of deeds and other legal documents going back to 1696 – when William and Mary were on the throne – all in excellent condition, which the current owner has kindly lent to us. This includes a previously made summary of the documents, an updated version of which can be seen below.
1696 – Earliest Known References
William Smith, Joseph Wright and others appear in surviving records as landlords or tenants associated with the property.
This is the earliest currently identified documentary reference connected with The Firs estate.
1706 – Additional Names Recorded
Matthew Hutchinson, Ann Hutchinson and Jon Bliss appear in the records, suggesting continuing occupation and management of the estate.
1713 – Lease Agreement
William Caswell and John Matthews entered into a lease agreement with two landlords.
At this time the property is believed to have exceeded 100 acres.
1736–1750 – Indentures and Family Connections
A series of indentures survive involving the Perry, Smith, Downes, Gregory, Clarke, Green, Ambrose and Bassett families.
These documents suggest long-standing family and occupational links with the property.
1736 – Thomas Perry, William Perry, Thomas Smith, Thomas Downes, Henry Gregory, Joseph Clarke, John Green, Henry Ambrose and Sarah Ambrose appear.
1745 – Additional Perry family indentures recorded.
1746 – Thomas Perry and Henry Bassett appear.
1750 – Further Perry and Bassett indentures recorded.
One individual could not write and signed documents with an “X” mark.
1763 – Evidence of Ownership
An indenture involving John Clay, William Smith and Henry and Sarah Ambrose suggests that Clay and Smith were among the principal owners at this time.
1767–1768 – The Sabin Family Appears
Mary and Josiah Sabin first appear in the records.
In 1768 Charles Ambrose paid John Clay £750 before his death, suggesting a significant transfer of interests.
The Sabin family would remain closely connected to the property for more than a century.
1789–1801 – The Era of Complex Ownership
Records mention William Clarke, John Gibb, John Chamberlain, Thomas Checkley, George Ringrose and Josiah Sabin as having interests connected with the property.
1789 – Reference to a 1-year lease to George Ringrose.
1789 – Assignment of £200 from Clarke and Ringrose to John Seaton.
1792 – A further £200 paid by Ringrose to Seaton.
1793 – Josiah Sabin transfers interests to son Joseph Sabin, including 70 acres of meadow and pasture.
1801 – John Seaton assigns a bond of indemnity to Joseph Sabin.
1806–1818 – Sabin Consolidation
1806 – Harrison & Golightly assign £3,150 to Joseph Bull.
1817 – Josiah Sabin dies.
1818 – John Clarke executes a deed of exchange with Thomas Sabin.
The Sabin family continued consolidating ownership during this period.
1854 – Reorganisation of the Estate
The Welton messuage was disentailed, removing restrictions on inheritance and sale.
Thomas Sabin and son Thomas W. Sabin allocated interests to John Fisher, who may have been a trustee, leaseholder or financial stakeholder.
The house was then occupied by Sarah Anne Hill and her eight children.
The Sabins were probably absentee owners by this date.
1858–1864 – Mortgages and Financial Pressure
Thomas Sabin transferred assets to son Thomas W. Sabin, who then became the principal owner.
1859 – Thomas Sabin dies.
1862 – Thomas W. Sabin mortgages the property for £900 to Frederick J. Morrell.
1864 – A further mortgage arrangement is made with Frederick P. Morrell and Charles Ward.
These financial difficulties would eventually result in the loss of the property.
1872 – Bankruptcy and Sale
Thomas W. Sabin’s finances collapsed and the property was sold to settle outstanding debts.
John Fisher emerged as legal owner during the process and subsequently sold the property to Martin Smith, a local Welton farmer.
All debts were settled.
Frederick P. Morrell and Charles Ward each received £420.
Martin Smith became owner of the property.
For approximately forty years the documentary record is largely silent other than indicating probable occupants Augusta Winterton and George Porter.
1910 – Francis Knibb Purchases The Firs
Retired farmer Martin Smith sold the freehold house and leasehold paddocks to Francis Knibb, a schoolmaster from Radford, Warwickshire. They are related by marriage – Martin is Francis’ aunt’s cousin’s husband!
Purchase price: £500.
Property size had reduced to around 5 acres and 2 roods.
Ernest Porter, (relative of George?) appears in census records by 1911. He is living there with his wife Annie, sister of Sarah Mills and cousin of Francis Knibb.
1925 – Sarah Mills and the New Zealand Connection
Francis Knibb sold The Firs to his cousin Sarah Mills, wife of Arthur Mills, a New Zealand farmer and sister in law of Ernest Porter
The property was placed into trust, ensuring that any future sale required trustee approval.
Trustees: Sarah’s daughters, Cicely Mills and Eileen Mills.
The arrangement may have offered inheritance and tax advantages.
Solicitors Jebb & Turnard prepared a synopsis of the earlier deeds.
1933 – Sarah Mills’ Will
Sarah Mills returned to Britain and made her will.
Cicely Mills became Cicely McHugh.
Eileen Mills became Eileen Stace.
Both remained executrices and trustees.
The will was witnessed by C. Porter of Virginia Cottage, Welton.
1946 – Sarah Mills Dies
Sarah Mills died and left The Firs and its paddocks to illegitimate son Frank Knibb.
The transfer was made with the agreement of the trustees.
1948 – New Trustees Appointed
Sarah’s daughters resigned as trustees.
New trustees were appointed:
Annie Porter
Cicely Knibb, wife of Frank Knibb and Annie’s daughter
Responsibility for the trust therefore moved into the Knibb and Porter families.
1958 – Sale to the Ellisons
Frank Knibb sold The Firs to Jack and Millie Ellison for £950.
Annie Porter appears as trustee.
Trust interests were extinguished through the sale.
Leasehold and freehold interests were merged.
The property became a conventional freehold.
By this date Annie Porter had developed dementia and Ernest Porter held power of attorney on her behalf.
1963 – Development of the Paddocks
The Ellisons sold the attached paddocks to Bedford Construction for £3,000.
This marked the separation and future development of land once associated with The Firs.
1964 to Present – Modern Ownership
After the death of Jack Ellison, Millie Ellison remained at The Firs.
Ownership later passed to Carl Ponder who undertook substantial renovation and subsequently to the present owner.
The house remains one of the historically significant properties in Welton, with documentary roots extending back to at least 1696.
18th Century
By the mid 1700s, the Sabin family feature heavily in the documents, starting with Mary and Josiah. They were to have control of the property for over a century, with interests passing through the generations to their son Joseph, his son Thomas and his oldest son Thomas William. For much of the time they were absentee landlords.
In the late 1700s a George Ringrose is leasing and living in the house (see 1789 note on timeline above). He is listed on the Welton Militia List for 1777. At one time he was a prosperous weaver, using the upper floor of the property which let in plenty of light as his workshop.
However, he was declared bankrupt in 1802, at which point he absconded. It seems that he later recovered his wealth as by 1819 he had applied to “inclose a seat at Welton Church”.
Note:
To “inclose a seat” in a church meant:
Building wooden panelling or partitions around a pew — forming a box-like enclosure.
Creating a private or semi‑private family pew, often for a particular household or landowner.
Reserving the seat for that family’s use, sometimes with hereditary or customary rights attached.
This practice reflected both social status and local tradition, marking out prominent families within the parish interior.
19th Century – The Hill Family – influence across the globe
In 1851, Thomas Sabin and his wife Rebecca and family were living in ‘Windmill House’ in Welton. He is recorded as a farmer of 140 acres, employing 4 men and he owned the Firs.
However it was the Hill family who lived there in 1851, where the census records Sarah Ann Hill, born in the Bahamas, resident with her children Louisa, Annie, Emily and newborn Edmund, plus her brother‑in‑law George Allinton and three servants. Sarah Ann was the wife of Stephen John Hill, a British Army officer and later colonial governor. Born in St Lucia in 1809, Hill joined the army in 1825 and rose through the ranks, serving in the West Indies Regiment and leading anti‑piracy expeditions in the Gambia. He became Governor of the Gold Coast in 1851, Sierra Leone in 1854 and 1860, the Leeward Islands in 1863, and Newfoundland from 1869 to 1876.
Sarah Ann was the daughter of Chief Justice William Munnings of the Bahamas. She married Hill in Nassau in 1830, though they did not live together until 1836, when their first child William was born. Her parents were killed by pirates shortly afterwards. The Hills lived in Jamaica and London before Sarah Ann moved to Welton in the late 1840s, likely for health, family connections to Rev Daniel Darnell, and schooling for her son William. A later son, Edmund Hill was born and baptised in Welton.
Sarah Ann died in 1869. Stephen Hill later remarried, fathered another child in Newfoundland, retired to London in 1876 and died in 1891. His estate was £184 11S 6d (equivalent: £27- 30K today).
Please click
here
to read a detailed history of the Hill family of the Firs including the story of the Governor of Newfoundland.
20th century – The Knibb and Porter family – connecting Welton to New Zealand
The Firs is central to the Knibb–Porter story, revealing how extended family networks shaped who lived there and why. Documents from 1910, show retired Welton farmer Martin Smith selling its freehold and the paddock lease for £500 to Francis Knibb. Although this looked like a simple transaction, the archive shows it was actually a transfer within an interconnected family group: Smith was a relative of Harriet Knibb, and the purchase linked the Knibbs, Porters and Smiths in a shared chain of support. Samuel and Harriet Knibb themselves had lived in Welton since the 1890s, and their daughter Annie later became one of the long‑term occupants of The Firs.
The house became home for Annie Porter (née Knibb) after her marriage to Ernest Porter. The couple moved into The Firs, supported by wealthier relatives who wanted to ensure better living conditions for the young family. In 1910, Samuel Knibb’s nephew, Francis Knibb, a schoolmaster and Annie’s cousin, purchased the property, likely to help Annie and Ernest settle into a more substantial home. Census records from 1911 and 1921 show the Porters living at The Firs for decades, raising their daughter Cicely there and sharing the house at times with other residents, including Ernest’s brother Clement.
Ownership of The Firs continued to move through the extended family, reflecting both family support and practical inheritance planning. In 1925, Francis Knibb sold the property to Sarah Elizabeth Mills (née Knibb), his cousin and Annie’s elder sister, who held it in trust with her daughters, Cicely and Eileen Mills. Later, Annie Porter and her daughter Cicely Knibb became trustees. The house remained the centre of family life until 1958, when Frank Knibb—Sarah’s illegitimate son—finally sold it to the Ellisons (see below), marking the end of nearly half a century of Knibb–Porter occupation.
The Firs also acted as a symbolic anchor for a family member who had travelled far beyond Welton, Sarah Elizabeth, who emigrated to New Zealand after her marriage. Despite her life abroad, she retained ownership of The Firs and passed it to her son in her will. The house’s long history of intergenerational stewardship reflects the family ties between the Knibb, Porter, Smith and Mills families.
Please click
here
to read a detailed history of the Knibb and Porter families of the Firs including why there is a Welton House in New Zealand.
20th century– The Ellisons
Mill, as she preferred to be known, was born Millicent in 1930 in London. Her dad was a policeman there. She first came to Welton when she was evacuated, aged 9. She didn’t stay long the first time though as she was soon sent to join her sister Joan, who had been evacuated to Grantham. However, in about 1954 Mill returned to Welton. During her growing up she didn’t particularly enjoy school and always wanted to work on the land and to be with animals.
She met her first husband, Gordon Whitbread and lived in Great Houghton. Sadly, Gordon was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was on his way to work. At the time their son, Stephen was only two weeks old, having been born prematurely. Life was very hard, but Mill was always a hard worker.
She met her second husband, Jack Ellison in Weedon. He was a plasterer and together they wanted to buy a house and some land of their own. Then one day they learned of The Firs, a smallholding in Churchill Road, Welton being for sale and with the generosity of an acquaintance who loaned them the money to purchase the house and land, they moved in; needless to say they both worked hard and managed quickly to repay the loan.
Please click
here
to read more information and memories of Mill who was a much loved Weltonian.
After Mill moved out, the property was bought by the Ponders, who renovated it extensively and lived in it for a while, before selling to the current owner.
The Hills were a family that lived in The Firs. Theirs is a story that takes us far from Welton, across continents, to positions of colonial power and encounters with pirates.
The 1851 census records the following people living at The Firs:
Sarah Ann Hill (nee Munnings) aged 35, born in the Bahamas
Louisa Arabella Hill aged 11 – her daughter, also born in the Bahamas
Annie Hill aged 6
Emily Celestine Hill aged 4 – born in Nassau in the Bahamas
Edmund Stephen Hill aged 1 month and born in Welton; his baptism is recorded in the Welton baptism records on April 13th, 1851
George Allinton aged 45, born in Ireland and her brother-in-law, a surgeon in the British Army.
Also 3 servants
This was the family of Major Stephen John Hill of the British army – very much a career soldier. Stephen John Hill, KCMG, CB was born on 10th June 1809 and was, during his lifetime was governor of, in turn, four British colonial possessions.
He was born in St Lucia and began his colonial service in Africa becoming Governor of TheGold Coast (now Ghana) in 1851. In 1854 he moved to become Governor ofSierra Leone, a post he was reappointed to in 1860. In 1863 he took on the Governorship of the Leeward Islands and Antigua and in 1869 he became Governor ofNewfoundland, a post he held until 1876.
Left: Stephen Hill’s name on the board at the offices of the Governor of Newfoundland
Stephen Hill was of Irish ancestry but was taken into the Munnings household in the Bahamas following the death of his parents from fever in Honduras. It was through this this that he met and later married Sarah Ann Munnings.
He joined the army on November 10th, 1825, aged just 16. He was promoted to Lieutenant on February 13th, 1828, then Captain on April 15th, 1842. He commanded an expedition eighty miles up the Gambia in 1849 and was active in several attacks against pirates in the area, which was the primary objective of his mission.
Consequently, he was promoted to the brevet rank of Major on February 15th, 1850 – obtaining his majority in September 1851 when he was appointed “Governor and Commander in Chief in and over Her Majesty’s forces and settlements and their dependencies on the Gold Coast.”
Sarah Ann Munnings was the daughter of Chief Justice William Munnings, who came from an old Norfolk family. Her mother was a Bahamian, it was claimed, “of pirate blood” and who had a relative who sailed with the infamous pirate Blackbeard and was killed at sea.
Sarah Ann and Stephen were married in Nassau, by theRev Strachan in 1830 when he was 21 and she was 14. This was however on her father’s stipulation that they should not “live together” for six years.
They seem to have honoured this as their first child, William, was born in 1836 and christened at St Andrew’s, Surrey in Jamaica. We also know that Rev Strachan was a friend of Rev Daniel Darnell of Welton and his son, William Strachan, was registered as one of Darnell’s pupils at his school in what is now The Stone House, Welton.
Tragically, two months after William was born, Sarah Ann’s parents were drowned at sea by pirates whilst on their way to visit their new grandson. This may explain Stephen’s ruthless pursuit of pirates off the Gold Coast, West Africa later in his life.
At this point in his career Hill was a lieutenant in the West Indies Regiment. The family appear to have moved to London in the late 1830s, living at 57 Baker Street in 1839 and, in 1840s, living at 64 George Street, London.
We know that in addition to Louisa, Annie, Emily and Edmund the couple had at least 2 other children: William (born 1836, who came to Welton), and Mary (born 1841). In total the Hills had nine surviving children.
The Welton connection
It is believed that Sarah came to Welton for several reasons: to recuperate from colonial living and childbirth, as well as to recover from the bereavement following the deaths of at least two of her children. In the late 1840s Stephen Hill was pursuing pirates in West Africa. It is believed that her choice of Welton was in part due to personal association (Rev Strachan) and the proximity of shared acquaintances (Rev Daniel Darnell).
She wanted her son to be educated with other friends and associates from the West Indies and so moved into The Firs, Welton. Her son, William, lodged with Rev Darnell in The Cottage (now the Stone House). Here he is on the 1851 census for the Stone House.
Stephen Hill almost certainly visited her here, as their son Edmund Stephen Hill was born and baptised in Welton.
Hills’ career, his military and political successes, were widely reported in newspapers across the globe including the Worcester Journal, the Birmingham Gazette, the New York Times to name but three! On Oct 2nd 1869 The Morning Post (Canada) reported from the London Gazette of the day before:
“Downing Street, Sept 29 – The Queen has been pleased to appoint Colonel Stephen John Hill C.B.
to be Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the island of Newfoundland and its dependencies.”
Sarah Ann’s life however was far from the pomp and circumstance of her husband’s. She may have spent time with him in his posting to Sierra Leone (between 1854-1863) as evidence suggests they both lived at Government House there. However, she returned to England at some point where, tragically, in 1869 she went prematurely senile and died shortly afterwards.
Hill’s life after Sarah
In Newfoundland, Hill supported confederation with Canada and was disappointed when in 1869 the election gave the anti-confederacy the majority in the assembly. This aside he was a popular governor and re-married on 17th February 1873 to Louisa Gordon and went on to father yet another child: on March 19th, 1875, in St John’s Newfoundland, the birth was recorded of Florence Inez Hill, her father listed as Governor.
Colonel Sir Stephen Hill retired to London in 1876 where he lived at 72 Sutherland Avenue, Maida Vale. His death on October 20th, 1891, aged 82, was announced in The Times. Probate was granted to his widow, Dame Louisa Gordon Hill of the same address. His personal estate was £184 11S 6d (equivalent: £27- 30K today).
The Hills are just a small part of the story of the Firs. You can find out more here.
This history is complex – you can return to this colour coded timeline of key events to help you understand it at any time:
Knibb–Porter–Mills Timeline
1834 – Samuel Knibb born in Charwelton
1837 – Harriet Hadland born in Bicester
1861 – Harriet Hadland working in London for her cousin Sarah Beach
1865 – Samuel Knibb and Harriet Hadland marry in Charwelton
1868 – Harriet’s cousin Sarah Elizabeth Causby marries Martin Smith in Welton
1871 – Samuel and Harriet living in Kelmarsh
1873 – Infant Frederick Knibb, son of Samuel and Harriet, baptised at Charwelton; dies aged six months
1875 – Sarah Elizabeth Knibb born in Boultham, Lincolnshire
1879 – Annie Elizabeth Knibb born in Everdon
1881 – Samuel and Harriet living in Everdon with daughters
1891 – Knibb family at 3 Lower Church Street, Welton, two doors from Martin Smith; Sarah Elizabeth working away in London
1899 – Sarah Elizabeth working in Oakley; birth of Frank Knibb
1900 (March) – Samuel Knibb dies
1900 (May) – Harriet Knibb dies
1901 – Sarah Elizabeth back in Welton (without Frank) as head of late parents’ house; Annie a dressmaker
1901 – Frank Knibb living with John & Jane Brooks in Oakley
1903 – Annie Elizabeth Knibb marries Ernest Porter
1904 – Birth and death of Doris Porter, Annie’s baby
1905 – Cicely Ethel Porter born, daughter of Annie and Ernest
1906 – Sarah Elizabeth Knibb marries New Zealander Arthur John Mills on 8th September
1906 – Newly married couple sail to NZ on SS Athenic
1907 – Arthur Mills builds Welton House in Blenheim, NZ
1910 – Martin Smith sells The Firs to Francis Knibb, nephew of Samuel
1911 – Annie Porter and Ernest Porter living at The Firs, Ernest’s brother Clement living with them
1921 – Porter family at The Firs
1925 – Sarah Elizabeth Mills buys The Firs from Francis Knibb
1933 – Mills family travel to England – Arthur John Mills dies in England on 10th July
1936 – Sarah Elizabeth Mills living in NZ
1939 – Porter family still at The Firs
1941 – Frank Knibb marries Cicely Ethel Porter (first cousins)
1946 – Sarah Elizabeth Mills dies in NZ. The Firs left to Frank in her will
1958 – Frank Knibb sells The Firs to the Ellisons
1967 – Annie Elizabeth Porter dies in Welton
1974 – Ernest Porter dies in Welton
1984 – Eileen Mary Stace, Sarah and Arthur’s daughter, dies in NZ
1986 – Cicely Beatrice McHugh, Sarah and Arthur’s daughter, dies in NZ
The photograph, left above, was taken in Welton graveyard and records the lives of Harriet Knibb, wife of Samuel Knibb, who died on May 11th, 1900, aged 65, and her baby granddaughter, Doris Elizabeth Porter, who died 4 years later on 20th April 1904 aged just 10 months.
But what can we find out about who these people were and what their lives might have been like?
The right hand photo depicts the headstone in the cemetery recording Samuel Knibb himself – who ‘departed this life March 18th, 1900, aged 66 years.”
The headstone offers no more detail than that, but together they opened up an amazing family history that, in itself, captures the complex inter-familial relationships that influenced the settlement patterns in English villages and towns in centuries past.
It seems that Samuel and Harriet died just two months apart.
They were a humble agricultural family – so what was their story?
Our research into the house on Churchill Road called The Firs, first led us to the Porter family. Through accessing the extensive house archive, with deeds and records going back as far as 1696, we discovered that the Knibb family , followed by their younger daughter’s family, the Porters, had occupied the house for at least 48 years between 1910 and 1958.
The records also showed that in 1910 a retired Welton farmer, Martin Smith, sold the freehold of the house and the leasehold of the paddock of The Firs on Churchill Road for £500. This, we later discovered, was not just a sale of property – but the passing of land between extended family members!
We learned that Martin Smith was not simply a Welton farmer living two doors away from the Knibbs in the Lower Village of Welton but was also a relative – more on that below. There is more detail of the incredible chain of people who have lived in The Firs over time here.
This is a complex tale of interconnected families! In unpicking earlier records, we discovered that the Knibb family, whilst not native to Welton, had been living in the village since at least the 1890s, so what more could we find out?
The 1891 census – the starting point
Entry 47 on the 1891 census records the Knibb family at 3 Lower Church Street, living in a small 4 roomed property (2 up / 2 down cottage), which would probably be on the lower part of Churchill Road.
Samuel Knibb – head – an agricultural labourer aged 57 – born in Charwelton
Harriet Knibb – his wife – aged 54 and born in Bicester
Annie E – their daughter – aged 12 – a scholar and born in Everdon.
We know from other sources that the Knibbs had two daughters and that their first-born daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, was born in 1875 so would have been 16 at the time of the census. She was working as a servant in London at this time.
The census tells us that Samuel was born around 1834 and his wife around 1837. Samuel was born in Charwelton, on the Banbury Road out of Welton and the family had been established for some time in Charwelton as the 1891 census for Charwelton confirmed that Samuel’s sibling, Francis, (born 1828 and working as a gardener – not domestic) lived there with his wife and son, Francis junior (born in 1860) who was working as a teacher in the elementary school in Charwelton. Samuel’s wife Harriet (nee Hadland) was born in Bicester, Oxfordshire.
So, what else could we discover about Samuel Knibb?
Samuel was the son of Williamand Elizabeth Knibb. He was baptised in Charwelton on March 30th, 1834. His father was a labourer.
The 1841 census for Charwelton records William and Elizabeth with 6 children: Francis (13), Mary (11), George (9), Samuel (7), Eliza (5) and Ann (1).
By 1851 Samuel is still living in Charlwelton but has moved out of the family home and is recorded as a lodger in The Manor House, the home of Elme Browwick. Samuel is 17 and is employed as a groom. Ten years later, he is again lodging within Charwelton and still employed as a groom.
Samuel Knibb married Harriet Hadland on September 5th 1865 in Charwelton. The marriage was witnessed by Thomas Adams and Sarah Elizabeth Causby (more on the Causbys later).
In 1871 Samuel was recorded on the census for Kelmarsh, on the outskirts of Kettering. He is recorded as being 37 years old, married and working as a ‘stableman’ living in rooms over The Coach House. Incredibly he is working at Kelmarsh Hall, the huge country estate of landowner Richard Naylor. Interestingly he seems to be with a relative there, likely his nephew, as the next listing is for William Knibb, aged 24, unmarried, also employed a stableman and, like Samuel, also born in Charwelton.
The 1881 census shows us that Samuel and Harriet Knibb were living on Church Road in Everdon, with Sarah E aged 5 and Annie E aged 2. Samuel’s occupation is recorded as ‘groom’.
Of interest is the question of how the family of an agricultural labourer living in a small cottage could have afforded the fine gravestones we see today?
It is possible that, given that the gravestone for Harriet also commemorates a Knibb granddaughter who died four years after her death, Samuel and Harriet Knibb lay in less well marked graves for a few years until the stones were erected possibly by their daughter and son-in-law – the Porter family.
Harriet Knibb – extending the research: talking with descendants!
The Oxfordshire Connection
Around 1800 there lived a shepherd in Bicester, Oxfordshire by the name of William Causby. With his wife, Ann, he had several children and grandchildren, including: Hannah, John, Mary, Thomasand Susannah – who went on to marry a man called John Hadland. Susannah and her husband were the parents of Harriet, who married Samuel Knibb in 1865. If you are interested in the Hadland family you can read more below:
Read more
1841 census: New Buildings – Bicester Market End lists: William Causby (65), a shepherd, Ann (60), John (35) – son – a brewer, Thomas (30), Mary (30), Sarah (8), Jane (6), Sarah Blowfield (15).
John and Susannah Hadland: in the 1851 census Harriet’s parents are recorded as living in an area of Bicester called Crockwell, which was within the Market End area, close to the town centre and marketplace. This area would have been in the vicinity of Queen’s Avenue – the main N/S road through Bicester, roughly where the Community College now stands. There is now a Crockwell Close in the area which may commemorate this. Her father, John Hadland, was an agricultural labourer, born in Bicester, as was Harriet’s mother. Harriet was the eldest of six daughters at this point: Eliza, Sarah, Mary, Ann and Jane.
Hannah Hadland was baptised on December 11th, 1836, in Bicester. Her father, John Hadland, is listed as a “higgler” – a travelling merchant, peddler or street vendor.
Harriet Knibb’s aunt Hannah (Susannah’s sister) had married and had a daughter, Sarah. Sarah married a man called Phillip Beach, a bank clerk in Paddington, and would have been reasonably well off for the times. They were well off enough to employ Harriet as a servant before her marriage to Samuel Knibb. Harriet is listed on the 1861 census living at 16 Park Place Terrace, Paddington with:
Phillip Beach – 33 – Cashier in London and Westminster Bank – born Lymington, Hants
Sarah – 37 – wife – born Bicester
Phillip R. Beach – 2 – born Paddington
Hannah Bloomfield – 63 – mother-in-law- born in Launton, Bicester, auctioneer’s wife
Harriet Hadland – 24 – general servant – born Bicester
Meanwhile, another of Harriet’s aunts, Mary, had also married and given birth to a daughter called Sarah Elizabeth who went on to marry one Martin Smith – the Welton farmer mentioned earlier.
It was Sarah Elizabeth who was a witness to the marriage of Harriet and Samuel Knibb – which probably explains why the Knibbs moved into Welton, living just two doors away from Martin Smith, farmer and owner of The Firs. Harriet Knibb and Sarah Elizabeth Smith were cousins! We can presume it is this cousin that Harriet’s elder daughter is named after.
Meanwhile, Harriet’s uncle, Thomas Causby, had a daughter Jane, who married a farmer, John Brooks, of Oakley in Buckinghamshire. Jane Brooks* became a very important figure in the life of her niece, Harriet’s elder daughter Sarah Elizabeth Knibb (see * later in article). Additionally, John and Jane Brooks of Oakley had a daughter, Rhoda, who went on to marry the son of Martin and Sarah Smith in Welton. If you are following the genealogy you may spot that Rhoda and Martin’s son were cousins.
As mentioned in the introduction, Samuel and Harriet Knibb had two daughters, Sarah Elizabeth and Annie E, however we have found a baptism record for a son, Frederick, in Charwelton on May 11th 1873. Frederick died aged just 6 months and is buried at Charwelton.
The Knibb daughters; Sarah Elizabeth (1875-1946) and Annie E (1879-1967)
The 1901 census for Welton shows us that Sarah Knibb aged 25, is listed as the head of the family living in the lower village of Welton, and living with her is Annie Knibb (also listed as 25 years old, however we believe this to be an enumerator’s error and that Annie was actually 22 years old). By this point both Samuel and Harriet Knibb had passed away – both died in 1900, which would explain why Sarah is listed as the head of the household, in the same home as that of the 1891 census, two doors away from her Smith relatives.
This census also confirms that Sarah was born in Lincolnshire (she was baptised in Boultham) and Annie in Everdon. In 1901 Annie was working as a dressmaker, but there is no occupation for Sarah suggesting a recent move back to the village.
Annie E Knibb married Ernest Porter, a mechanic and engineer in 1903. The headstone for her mother at the top of this article tells us that their first child, daughter Doris died aged 10 months old in 1904. Ernest was born in Acton, Cheshire on 5th September 1880.
In 1910 The Firs was purchased by Francis Knibb, a school master from Radford in Warwickshire. The census below is from 1881 and shows him as a young man living with his parents in Coventry.
Francis was Samuel’s nephew. Samuel Knibb had many siblings one of whom, also Francis, had died in 1899 leaving a son also called Francis. This is our purchaser!
This helps to explain how Annie Porter (Knibb) – daughter of Samuel and Harriet, came to live in The Firs. It seems that that their more affluent relatives from both sides of the family – Martin Smith and Francis Knibb – came together to transfer ownership of the property of The Firs, so that Annie and her husband could move into a more substantial house to bring up their daughter, possibly to reduce the risk of early death linked to poor living conditions, which may have been what happened to baby Doris – an extraordinary act of generosity.
Francis never married and it seems took his responsibilities to his family seriously. In the 1911 census for example, he is recorded as being 51 years of age, living at 102 Radford, Coventry with his 85-year-old widower uncle, Thomas Knibb, his cousin Annie Gardner – 48 and single who worked as a housekeeper [his housekeeper, perhaps?] and a 20-year-old school master, Arthur Waterhouse who was a boarder.
The archives for The Firs also show that in 1925Francis Knibb, who was by then retired and living in Cheshire, sold the property to the eldest daughter of Samuel and Harriet Knibb, Sarah Elizabeth, however Ernest and Annie Porter continued to live at The Firs until 1958, which is confirmed by both the 1911 and 1921 census returns. In was in the 1911 census that we found the record for their daughter: Cicely Porter – aged 5 – born in Welton.
The Baptism record for St Martin’s Church, Welton confirms that Cicely Ethel, daughter of Ernest and Annie Porter was baptised on April 23rd, 1905, by F Hilton, Vicar of Welton.
Also living in the house at this time was Ernest’s younger brotherClement – see below – who was employed as a grocer’s assistant.
By the time of the 1921 Welton census Ernest Porter was aged 40, Annie was 42 and their daughter Cicely was 16. Ernest was now a smallholder, still living in The Firs. The census also shows us that another family was resident in The Firs at this time. We can find no family connection so maybe they were lodgers:
Alfred Stay – head of family – a plasterer from Rugby with a child under 1, no age given.
Nellie Stay – his wife, also no age given, born in Epsom, Surrey.
Local memory: Welton residents recalled that Ernest Porter could be seen every day driving his large herd of cows through the village to the field on the far side of the A361 and fetching them in again in the evening, whilst Cicely was a familiar figure in the early morning delivering milk around the village to those unable to collect it.
From the age of 15, Cicely was organist at St Martin’s Church, accompanied by a choir of some 20 or so parish folk. At this time, she would have been using the two-manual, hand blown organ, which stood where a later book cupboard was placed at the west end of the church.
By 1958 things were hard for the Ernest and Annie Porter. Ernest was now 77 and Annie around 79. Annie was struggling with the challenges of advancing years. She died in the 1967 and was buried in the new cemetery on Ashby Road. Ernest seems to have continued living in the village where he died on 14th August 1974 aged 93. He too was buried in Welton cemetery, at the top of the village.
What of Sarah, their elder daughter? More on her later. But first ………
The Porter Family Connection
We know from the records above that Ernest Porter was not Welton born, however the Porter family does appear on the 1891 census for Welton:
Entry 10 of the census tell us that at 11 Station Road lived:
Alfred Henry Porter – aged 39 -a stud groom employed and born in Whitchurch, Salop – now Shropshire c 1852
Elizabeth Porter (nee Hassall) – aged 38 – his wife, born in Acton, Cheshire c 1852
Albert H Porter – aged 15 – their son – also born in Acton, Cheshire in 1876
Clement Porter – aged 12 – born in Hill Cliff in Cheshire in 1878
Ernest Porter – aged 10 – born in Lymm – Cheshire in 1880
Percy Porter – aged 9 – born in Welton in 1883
So, we can see that the Porter family originated in Cheshire. They had obviously moved south any time between 1876 and 1881 and came to settle in Welton. As a stud groom it is likely that Alfred Porter was doing well and may have been employed by one of the large land-owning families in Welton or a nearby village. Their boys all feature on the school logs of Welton School, so evidently there was a commitment to their son’s education, rather than putting them out to work at a young age as was often the case.
There is no record of the older Porters in the 1901 census and our family with Ernest and Annie, with daughter Cicely and Ernest’s brother, Clement, are the only Porters living in the village on the 1911 census.
Sarah Elizabeth Knibb – the tale of a travelling woman
Unearthing the details of Sarah Knibb’s life has revealed a story of resilience in adversity and great determination
The detective work to uncover her story has been fascinating. We already knew that Samuel and Harriet Knibb had two daughters. The history for the younger, Annie, was easier to unpick through census and parish records as she had stayed in Welton. However, with Sarah it was a very different story and one that started with a gravestone and led us to New Zealand.
It was a chance comment by the current owner of The Firs, and the discovery online of the photograph of this headstone in Rapaura Anglican Cemetery in New Zealand commemorating Sarah’s death on 23rd February 1946 that enabled us to make direct contact with surviving members of the family and explore the fascinating history of Welton House, Marlborough, NZ, a restored Victorian villa just north of Marlborough.
We shall return to New Zealand in a moment – but we knew from Welton census records that Sarah was born in 1875 in Lincolnshire, and her wider family was primarily based in Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
From her descendants we have learned that as a teenager, aged 14 or 15, Sarah worked in domestic service. She was employed as a servant in London for an Elizabeth Major, which is why she does not appear on the 1891 census in Welton, but does appear on one in London. This may have come about through family connections again!
In around 1899 at 23 years old, Sarah was working as a servant in Oakley in Buckinghamshire where she gave birth to a boy named Frank Knibb. The birth certificate does not name a father.
As an unmarried mother, Sarah would have almost certainly have lost her job. This may well explain why the 1901 census for Welton shows us that she was now living back in the ‘Lower Village” (Churchill Road) in Welton with her sister. By this point Sarah would have been 25 years old and had no listed occupation. Her younger sister, Annie, would have been 22 and is a dressmaker. There is no record of baby Frank Knibb in Welton – the family told us that they believed he was in the care of a family in Oakley where Sarah had been working.
Further investigation led us to the 1901 census record below, showing that Frank Knibb, aged 1, was living in Oakley with John and Jane Brooks*, Jane being Sarah’s aunt mentioned earlier, and that he was described as their ‘nephew’. Such arrangements were not uncommon in the past to hide the stigma of illegitimacy.
Frank was still at school in Oakley in 1911, but boarding with a Coleman family.
As an adult, Frank Knibb joined the Royal Navy, serving as a telegraphist on HMS Renown during the First World War and HMS Faulknor in World War II.
Although brought up in Buckinghamshire, Frank must have had some connection with his Welton family, as in 1941 he married his cousin, Cicely (daughter of his aunt Annie Porter – nee Knibb – and Ernest Porter of The Firs). Given the discretion of his early life circumstances, it is not clear whether either knew for a fact that they were first cousins, however it is hard to believe that their mothers Sarah Elizabeth and Annie did not know.
Frank and Cicely later settled on the Wirral, raising their son, Phil Knibb, who remembers visiting The Firs as a child! Frank died in 1977. Cicely died in 1988 in Birkenhead, on the Wirral.
But back to New Zealand ……..
ArthurMills – husband of Sarah Elizabeth Knibb
We know that Sarah Elizabeth Knibb married Arthur John Mills, who was born in New Zealand around 1867 but had travelled back to the UK for a period during which he married Sarah. The family believe that his parents bought land in the area with a view to Arthur and his brother “breaking in’ the land as adult farmers. His parents had emigrated to New Zealand possibly during the 1840s. Read more about his pioneering parents here:
Read more
Arthur’s parents were John Mills (1836–1910) and Ann Mills (1841–1896). Both are buried in Rapaura Anglican Cemetery, where Sarah Elizabeth also lies. Arthur was the eldest of seven children: Edith (1868–1909), Mary Ann (1871–1955), Eliza Sophia (1872–1878), Elizabeth (1876–1961) and Frederick Francis (1879–1947). Alice Maud also appears in other records.
Arthur’s father John Mills was a “pioneering settler”, working with his cousin Daniel Ford on a 150‑acre plot divided between them in Grovetown, NZ. Ford, who emigrated in 1842, came from Uley in Gloucestershire, and the road they built to access their land still carries their names today: Mills and Ford Road.
Arthur and Sarah married in Welton on September 8th 1906. He was 39, identified as a farmer resident in Welton at the time of the marriage, and she was 30.The witnesses to the marriage were Francis Knibb and Alice Maud Mills.
We have the ship’s manifest recording Arthur’s voyage to Britain from Wellington on the SS Corinthic, docking in London on 14th May 1906, presumably to prepare for his wedding. He was accompanied on this outward trip by his relative Alice Maud.
Soon after their wedding, Sarah emigrated to New Zealand, travelling back with Arthur and Alice on the SS Athenic.
Note: there was free movement between Commonwealth countries at this time, so it would have been very easy for Sarah to move to New Zealand.
Some puzzles still to answer…
We also have records to suggest an Arthur John Mills travelled back to New Zealand in 1901 on the SS Waiwera, accompanied by a Mrs Mills. If these voyages are for our couple, it does raise questions regarding how and when they met, and how exactly their relationship developed prior to the 1906 England wedding. This Arthur is described as a ‘car man’ so may not be our man at all.
These matter aside, we do know that, living on South Island, New Zealand, Arthur Mills had become a prominent Marlborough farmer and local official. He and Sarah would have been significant people within their community.
Welton House – down under!
If you were in any doubt about the Knibb connection to Marlborough, New Zealand, you need only look at the name of the cottage that Arthur Mills built for his English born wife – Welton House!
Records suggest that the development of the garden at Welton House became a labour of love for his Welton raised wife. Here she is in the grounds of the house.
‘In 1878 Arthur Mills began the arduous task of removing the indigenous bush to create a plot for his first simple cottage and the groundwork for what would become Welton House garden.
The current homestead, Welton House, was built in 1901 for Arthur’s new wife, Sarah, and named for the village where she was born in England… From the beginning the seven-acre garden has been a significant part of the local community and was renowned for its elegant garden parties and fierce tennis tournaments’.
Note: the current owner has confirmed the 1901 date in this quote is incorrect.
We know that Sarah and Arthur returned to England in the 1930s, with their two daughters, as the headstone tells us that Arthur died in England on July 7th, 1933. A newspaper obituary for Arthur reads as follows:
Blenheim: July 10th, 1933. A private cablegram reports the death in Derbyshire of Mr. Arthur John Mills, a well-known Grovetown farmer and member of many Marlborough local bodies. He was on a health [unclear] visit to England, accompanied by his wife and two daughters. Mr. Mills was one of the original members of the Marlborough County Council and prior to [year unclear] a member of the Spring Creek Road Board, the Spring Creek River Board and other bodies. He was also predominantly identified with the Automobile Association and various farmers’ organisations.
It was whilst in England that Sarah may have been reunited with her illegitimate son, Frank Knibb as, also in 1933, she made her will, which was witnessed by her uncle, Clement Porter – who by this time was living in Virginia Cottage, Welton which is at the top of the hill.
She had returned to New Zealand by 1936 as personal correspondence to her, found in Welton House, is dated that year.
On her death in New Zealand, in 1946, under the terms of her will, The Firs and its paddocks was left to her son Frank, although the will does not state their relationship.
Sarah and Arthur’s daughters
Our next point of investigation lay in the secondary stone, placed by Sarah Elizabeth’s grave, which is dedicated to J.L (Bill) McHugh and Cicely Beatrice McHugh.
‘In loving memory of J.L (Bill) McHugh died 12th July 1982 aged 69 years, loved husband of Cicely Beatrice – died 10th June 1986 aged 73 years.
Sarah Elizabeth and Arthur Mills had two daughters: Cicely Beatrice and Eileen Mary Mills. Remember that in 1925, their great uncle, Francis Knibb sold the leasehold and freehold of The Firs to his niece, Sarah Mills – their mother.
The property was sold ‘in trust’ which meant that the house (The Firs) could not be sold on without the agreement of the trustees. Unusually the trustees were Cicely and Eileen Mills, Sarah Elizabeth’s daughters. This was to provide inheritance safeguards and tax advantages.
Cicely and Eileen resigned as trustees in 1948, and new trustees were appointed: Annie Porter and Cicely Knibb (her daughter and wife of Frank Knibb.)
Finally in 1958, Frank Knibb sold The Firs and its land on to Jack and Mill Ellison, although by this point Annie Porter was suffering with probable dementia and Ernest held power of attorney in relation to the transaction. You can read more about Sarah and Arthur’s daughters here:
Read more
Cicely Beatrice McHugh was born Cicely Mills in 1907 or 1908, likely named for her cousin, Cicely Porter, born in Welton in 1905. She was buried in the Blenheim Anglican Cemetery in 1986. Although some of her online family‑tree details were posted by a Norwegian researcher, most verified information comes from direct New Zealand descendants.
The MyHeritage Norway entry confirms that Cicely Beatrice McHugh (née Mills) was born around 1908, died on 10 June 1986 aged 78, and was married to Joseph Linds (“Bill”) McHugh, who died in 1982. Her parents were Arthur John Mills (d. 1933) and Sarah Elizabeth Mills. Bill McHugh was a well‑known figure in New Zealand’s racing world.
Eileen Mary Mills, later Stace, Sarah and Arthur’s second daughter, became closely associated with the history of Eliza’s Garden Cottage and Welton House in Grovetown, Blenheim. Both properties are now recognised by the New Zealand Gardens Trust. Eliza’s Cottage, built in 1967, sits within a one‑acre woodland garden developed over fifteen years, reflecting the family’s deep horticultural interests.
Eileen was born on 19 June 1909 and married Henry Joseph Stace in 1943. Henry, born in 1878, died in 1958. They had at least one daughter, Elizabeth H. Stace (1945–2019), who in turn has two surviving children. The Stace family originated in England: Henry’s father, born in York in 1847, was a Colonel in the Royal Engineers and emigrated with his family to Marlborough, New Zealand, in 1861.
Eileen Stace died on 4 May 1984. Her home was on Staces Road, Grovetown—almost certainly named for her husband’s influential family. Her probate record shows an estate valued at £3132.
The Knibb and Porter families are just a small part of the story of the Firs. You can find out more here.
With thanks to Wendy Palmer of Welton House New Zealand for her help in finding Arthur’s history from information provided by Arthur’s grandson and for providing the photos of Welton House and the family
I know we do not normally put out a newsletter during the summer break, however there is much to update you on that could not wait until later in September.
Daventry Heritage Open Day – 12th September
For the last month we have been busy preparing an exhibition to showcase some of the fascinating discoveries we have made about the rich history of Welton. In fact, there has been so much that we have unearthed that it is hard to decide what to include!
The exhibition will be in St Martin’s Church between 10am and 4.00pm. It will be manned throughout to answer any questions visitors might have. We have designed a display, with lots of images, that aims to give visitors a real taste of the village then and now.
We will have a range of artefacts for you to see, such as the WWI Combles bell, that was retrieved from Flanders by a Welton soldier and donated to the school. We are very grateful to the staff at Welton School for agreeing to let us display this on the day. We also have an archive of Welton News and Views and a selection of Welton in the news reports going back more than a century.
It is still not too late to let us know if you have an item that you would be happy to share with us on the day, to help bring the experience alive! Please contact me or Karen O’Mahoney if you can help.
We have curated the exhibition to be as interactive as possible and have tried to cater for all age and interest levels, with a revised heritage trail for adults and a new young person’s version which encourages them to actively engage with what they see. There will even be a small prize for completed trails – for our younger visitors! Grown-ups will just have to take a personal pride in completing the trail, possibly at The White Horse!
It’s worth bringing along a small amount of cash as cakes will be available to buy, with proceeds going back into the History Group!
The free Heritage bus from Daventry will be stopping in Welton
We have prepared a publicity page for the Heritage Open Day website, including bus timetables, which you can access here.If you have friends and family outside of Welton, please encourage them to come along using the heritage buses.
In addition to the exhibition in the church, we are also delighted to be able to confirm that we will be hosting an exhibition of the art of Eric Fleming in the Village Hall. Eric was a prolific amateur artist and his many paintings of Welton, mostly from memory, provide a delightful perspective on the village in days gone by.
And in other History Group news ……
Wolfhampcote walk
I have been in touch with Mike Tebbitt, our leader for the Wolhampcote that was cancelled earlier this year. Regrettably Mike remains unable to lead the walk at present. I am sure you will join me in wishing him a smooth recovery. I am looking into alternative possibilities and will advise you of a revised date as soon as possible.
Programme of talks – 2026-27
Our next season of talks begins on Monday September 28th at 7.30pm in the Village Hall when we will be joined by Susan Watkins who will be taking us on a virtual tour of Daventry, exploring its long and rich history, how this is still reflected in the town we see today and some of the colourful characters associated with the town.
I do hope you will join us. Entry remains £5pp on the door, payable by card or cash. We will continue to provide refreshments or, if you prefer, please feel free to bring your own bottle! You can see the full programme for next year here.
Welton History Group website
Our website continues to go from strength to strength and is rapidly becoming the core of our communications. If you have visited us before, thank you – but please do take a look at the site from time to time, as we are constantly updating and adding new information – as well as adjusting the way information is presented to make it easier for you to use. A reminder that the address is weltonhistorygroup.co.uk.
For those of you who like stats, we’ve had over 1100 visits and 4100 page views since it launched earlier this year.
We also have 77 subscribers but we want more!
So anyone who subscribes to the website between today and 31st October goes into a prize draw for a £10 M&S voucher. If you are receiving this newsletter to your email you are already signed up – but please encourage others to do so, to help the History Group grow.
We would really love to get more members of the village active in shaping the History Group moving forward. We are only a very small group of five which can limit the extent to which we can bring the history of Welton alive to all.
We would value fresh input, ideas and support in developing our current projects as well as developing new initiatives. So, whether it is fund raising, research, helping out at events, developing the annual programme or any other ideas you might have, we need YOU! You can do as little or as much as works for you – no pressure!
Please email us at weltonhistorygroup@outlook.com or talk to any of us either at the Heritage Day event or a Monday evening meeting. We’d love to welcome you on board.
I hope to see as many of you as possible on 12th September in St Martin’s Church and the Village Hall. If you cannot pop by yourself, please do spread the word!
