​Bemerton HISTORY
preserving the past for the future
YOUR HOUSE
45-63 Lower Road
45 Lower Road
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Known as 1 Homelands, the first occupants of this house were James Burridge and his family in 1897. James was an engineer. By 1911 Henry and Eileen Twining lived here. Henry was a staff sergeant in the Army Pay Corps. Fred and Fanny Phelps lived in the property with their daughter Margaret in 1925. Fred was a postman and Fanny was a midwife. Later, Margaret set up a kindergarden business from the house which she ran until The Croft, a larger property nearby, became available in the 1950s.
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47 Lower Road
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Previously known as 2 Homelands, the first occupants of the house were retired couple William and Elizabeth Callow, who lived here in 1897. Alford and Minnie Rex and their daughter Marjorie lived here in 1901 with their 15-year-old servant, Alice Bonner. By 1932 widow Mrs Jones lived in the property with her son William, who continued to live here until the 1960s.
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49 Lower Road
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This house was known as Ingleholme, a word used to describe a ’home from home’. In 1901 John Mortimer and his five children lived here. John was listed as being married, not widowed, but his wife must have been away visiting on the night of the census. John was a railway engine driver and the eldest three daughters were dressmakers. One of the daughters, Eva, was self-employed working from home.
Freville and Margaret Wallis and their five young children lived in the house in 1911. Freville was a quartermaster sergeant in the Royal Engineers. By 1925 the Spinks family occupied the property; Albert and Clara Spinks were still here in the 1950s.
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51 Lower Road
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Previously known as Monteviot, the house took its name from Monteviot House which is located on the River Teviot near Jedburgh in the Borders area of Scotland. An early occupant of the house in 1901 was Sarah Tuft and her two children. Her son William, who was 14-years-old, was employed as a GPO messenger. The property was occupied in 1911 by John and Isabella Clark and their young son. John was a railway clerk. Mrs Clark remained here until the 1940s when George Philpott and his wife moved in. Members of the Philpott family remained in the house until the 1990s.
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53 Lower Road
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Originally called Dulce Domum, which means 'Sweet Home', and was the name of a house which features in the famous story of Wind and the Willows. In 1901 Ellen Lingwood, a spinster, was living here alone. In 1911 Alfred and Sarah Smith and their two young children lived in the house, along with a boarder Reginald Gibbs. Alfred’s mother, Mary Smith, was visiting at the time of the census. Alfred was employed as a domestic gardener and Reginald was a grocer’s assistant.
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55 Lower Road
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Originally known as Borstal Villa, this property took its name from the village of Borstal, near Rochester in Kent. It was here that the first youth detention centre was formed and thereafter these establishments were known as Borstals. In 1901 George and Jessie Cooper lived here, when George was employed as a painter and decorator. The name of the house, not surprisingly, was changed by 1911 when it became known as Lynton, named after the town of the same name on the Exmoor coast in Devon. At that time Horace and Margaret Keller lived here with their two young children, Doris and Frederick. Margaret’s mother Charlotte Tapley, born in Australia, was also living with them. Horace was employed as a government clerk with HM Forces.
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57 Lower Road
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Known as Moxham Villa, the name Moxham comes from the word ‘Megg’, a short version of the female name Margaret. In 1901 John Fludgate, a locomotive engine fitter, lived in the house with his wife Marianne. Augustus and Elizabeth Marks and their two young sons lived here in 1911 along with their boarder Alice Chalke, who was employed elsewhere as a housemaid. Augustus was a railway engine fitter inspector. After her husband died, Elizabeth continued to live here until the 1940s.
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59 Lower Road
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Originally known as Limbury Villa, Limbury was a civil parish in Bedfordshire before becoming part of Luton and had a long history dating back before the Norman conquest of England. In 1901 Frank and Kate Saunders, their four children and Kate’s sister Jane Maggs were living here. Frank was a railway engine driver and their eldest child Beatrice was a dressmaker. In 1911 Frank and Catherine Saunders lived here with their 10-year-old son Edward. Their married daughter Gertrude Green was also living with them. Frank was a railway engine driver. The Saunders lived here until the 1950s.
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61 Lower Road
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Retaining its original name, this house was named Brierley after the town of Barnsley in South Yorkshire. In 1901 Frank and Emily England lived here, when Frank was employed as a grocer’s traveller. In 1911 Arthur and Ruth Powell and their two young daughters lived in this house. Arthur was a quartermaster sergeant in the Royal Army Medical Corps.
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63 Lower Road
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Still known as Lorna Doone, the house took its name from the romantic novel and film of the same name set in Devon and Somerset. In 1901 Frank and Sophia Gorse and their young daughter lived here. Frank was a colliery agent. In 1911 Samuel and Christine Harper and their three children lived in the house. Samuel and one of the sons, George, were employed as clerks in an Army Office. Their daughter Edith was employed in a fancy draper and milliner business. The other son Samuel was at school. Later, they had another daughter, Mary, after which Christine became a district nurse.
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Mary, who had married Fred Smith and continued to live with her parents, was an accomplished musician and in 1941 became a music teacher offering lessons from the family home.
