The Francis Frith Collection.
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Whitchurch

Whitchurch photos (13 available)

Old photo of Whitchurch

Whitchurch maps (2 available)

Old map of Whitchurch

Whitchurch books (6 available)

Whitchurch memories

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Buckinghamshire memories

Our home on the village green

I lived in Quainton in the 1950s, on the corner of The Green and Lower St.  My family had the drapers shop.  I remember bonfire night on the green, rolling down Mill Hill, Christmas carols, ballet lessons in the church hall and sitting  the 11+ exams at school and of being sent to the Sportsmans Inn for a packet of Woods or Weights cigarettes for my father.
With my parents Ray and Sylvia Wheatley, my sister Barbara and brother Ian we emigrated to Australia but I will not forget the fun we had in Quainton
    Clare Masovic nee Wheatley
A memory of Quainton contributed by Clare Masovic

Whiskin's Grocers

Aylesbury, Cambridge Street c1955

In the 1871 census records my Great, Great, Great Grandfather owned a grocery store in this street.  His name was Charles Whiskin and he lived here with his wife Susannah and Catherine, Edward and Ernest his children. Many other relatives lived here also along with a nurse maid and a chap called Henry Green who again worked in the shop.
A memory of Aylesbury contributed by Tammalyn Williams

Canal bank down from Park St. bridge

Aylesbury, the Canal 1897

I never saw this part of the canal as shown in this photo, the opposite bank was the site of Frith's, the builders' supply company. My father was a salesman for Frith's for many years. The location was called Hilda's Warf, and earlier in the 50's & the 40's supplies such as bathroom tiles were delivered by narrow boat. (Tiles are fragile & the canal was a smooth ride.) Of course Frith's is long gone, its now a row of townhouses.
A memory of Aylesbury contributed by Doug Caton

Kingsbury

Aylesbury, Kingsbury 1921

The WWI tank was removed because little boys used to enter and use it as a toilet. It exploded when the welder went to work on it because there was still petrol in the fuel tank, not ammunition. The welder flew across Kingsbury and landed, dead, in front of Ivatt's shoe shop (the signs are still up on the wall). The Rockwell has reverted to its original name (thank heavens), why are pub names changing all the time? The Hen & Chicks became "Big Hand Moe's", look what happened to it!
A memory of Aylesbury contributed by Doug Caton

Extracts From Whitchurch & Buckinghamshire books

Whitchurch, Market Hill c1955

The castle was to the south of these cottages; its outer bailey was bisected by the later Castle Lane. The market place was encroached upon by later building, and is difficult to identify clearly, but it has several good 17th- century cottages around it, including this range of early 17th-century timber-framed buildings.
An extract from from"North Buckinghamshire Photographic Memories".

Whitchurch, Oving Road c1955

Oving Road leads west uphill from the north end of the High Street - the architectural quality does not fall off. Here the cottages use the three main materials that give Whitchurch its architectural character: timber-framing, local coursed random limestone and brick. The pair of brick cottages are mid 19th-century and an infill between 17th-century cottages, some timber-framed and some stone.
An extract from from"North Buckinghamshire Photographic Memories".

Whitchurch, Oving Road c1955

Moving east, the route passes through Whitchurch on its way back to Aylesbury. Whitchurch is a long village with many fine houses and cottages, and also the remains of Hugh of Bolbec’s early 12th-century earthwork castle. Oving Road runs east from the High Street; this view is taken beyond its junction with Market Hill looking west, showing the mix of building materials found in the village: timber-framing, brick, local crumbly limestone, thatch, tiles and slate.
An extract from from"Aylesbury Photographic Memories".

Whitchurch, High Street c1955

The next photographs follow the High Street from north to south. Here the photographer looks across the High Street westwards from Church Headland Lane with the start of Market Hill to the left of the thatched cottage, Cobwebs. This now (2002) has a giant spider in thatch crawling across its roof. The timber-framed cottage at the left is of about 1600, but has ‘1524’ cut on a beam.
An extract from from"North Buckinghamshire Photographic Memories".

Whitchurch, High Street c1955

A little further south, the photographer looks past The Old Cottage, on the west or left side of the High Street, towards the rendered and jettied mid 16th-century Tudor House with the carved bargeboards to its gable end behind the van. Beyond workshops, now a house, the gable with the Gothic window is a Victorian chapel, now a small (closed) fire station. The shop on the right, Fosters, is still the village shop. The garage on the far left still remains, but is no longer an Esso one.
An extract from from"North Buckinghamshire Photographic Memories".