high wood Posted 19 August , 2008 Share Posted 19 August , 2008 These two photographs were taken during troop manoeuvres in the Towcester area. The left arm of the signpost is pointing towards Towcester. Can anyone recognise the location of the large house and the distinctive turning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 23 August , 2008 Share Posted 23 August , 2008 Hi, Can you identify any of the letters of the other two 'arms' of the sign? There appears to be a two worded name on one of them. Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 24 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2008 The caption for the upper photograph is, "Expecting the enemy, a battalion quartered in our village- Miss Iveston's House. On the signpost, the left arm appears to point to Towcester and the right arm appears to have two words, the first is of 5 letters and the second has 8 letters and could be Stopford but it is very hard to read. The lower picture is captioned. "Going back to camp, routed the enemy". The tip of the third arm of the signpost is just visible and appears to have the letters "pton" at the end of the destination. Again it is very difficult to be sure. A third picture has the caption, "the white army coming into Towcester". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 From memories of the A5 ... could the other name be Stony Stratford? Fenny Stratford? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 24 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Chris, I think that you have hit the nail on the head. Stony Stratford certainly fits the bill and Calverton could be the name on the third arm. Superb stuff. Many thanks, Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 24 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Enlargement, but not much clearer, even the local seems to be scratching his chin wondering where he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 The other direction could be Northampton. Wherever it is, it looks familiar to me. I used to live near Stony Stratford. Could be Pottersbury, Yardley Gobion, round there somewhere. It's doin' me head in, but it'll come. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 24 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Mick, the "PTON" is quite clear on the sign and I think that you are right in saying Northampton. I don't know the area at all and only have a map to work from. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 Simon, Basically a V is formed by the A5 and the A508. Bottom of the V is Stony, top left Towcester [A5], top right Northampton. [A508] For those three main towns to be on a village sign, with no mention of other villages, I think it has to be close to the bottom of, and inside that V. [could be complete bunkum too] Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 I wonder if this relates to the manoeuvres and exercises held in the area in something like 1912 or 1913? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armourersergeant Posted 24 August , 2008 Share Posted 24 August , 2008 My wife used to live in Towcester, as did I for a few months, she had no idea when she looked at the picture first time round. I will show it to her when she gets back from a few days away. She used to live in Greens Norton, just down the road from Towcester. I do think that the annual manoeuvers were around the Aylesbury, Towcester, Banbury area from recollection of Snow's involvement. regards Arm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 If we are in agreement that the signpost is Towcester, Northampton & Stony Stratford my money is on one of the following: Pottersbury, Yardley Gobion, Paulerspury, Grafton Regis or Stoke Bruerne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Couple of my 'scouts' from Stony Stratford had a look around today. They found the location, and sending me images tomorrow. It was Yardley Gobion. Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Couple of my 'scouts' from Stony Stratford had a look around today. They found the location, and sending me images tomorrow. It was Yardley Gobion. Mick. Well done that man. You are excused latrine duty for 1 week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Will O'Brien, Thanks for that, but if I don't do the latrines around here, they don't get done. Maybe I should actually be given more such duties for not explaining to my 'scouts' that to avoid going back tomorrow . . . . a camera may come in handy! Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Another fascinating thread. Looking at another aspect: working on the basis that "Miss Ivestone" was a well established member of the community for her name to be given on the photo, I figured that she may well have appeared in the 1901 census - no such luck! However, doing a general search across all types of Ancestry's records for the UK using "Ivestone" returns only one entry, so the name appeared suspect. Searching through the 1901 census pages for Yardley Gobion - lovely name - does show a number of, probably all related, families named Weston (ie handwritten W looks like Iv ?) in the village; of these there is one spinster, Elizabeth E Weston (aged 49), living at a property called "Prospect House" which sounds as if it ought to be a large property, possibly the one in question? A contemporary Map of the area can be found at http://www.old-maps.co.uk/indexmappage2.aspx (enter co-ordinates 476300 244800*; No. 5, the 1900 - Northamptonshire 1:10,560 can be zoomed). Unfortunately Prospect House isn't shown, and the size of the village obviously didn't warrant giving road names or house numbers in the census (that's if there were any) so a positive ID isn't possible. Did your 'scouts' came up with any property name when they reccied the area Mick? Compared with a modern map, The road layout has changed significantly since 1900 as the A508 has now been routed to by-pass the village (for which I would guess the residents are very grateful!). Don't confuse the canal with the roads, it's wet ! NigelS * Edited, was incorrect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 25 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Nigel, superb deduction, I have just checked the caption again and although the first arm/leg of the letter W is longer than the last, I think that the name is definitely Weston and not Iveston. Mick, excellent work in identifying the location, I look forward to seeing the pictures of Yardley Gobion. Many thanks to everyone involved. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Nigel, Before my 'scouts' went looking, they looked in the local phone book, found no Iverstone's. I also looked at 'Ancestry' and came to the same conclusion as you, but did'nt think of Weston. I reckon that's a very good chance. One of my 'scouts' has family in that village, and I'm sure I can get some more information on this, and I would imagine the villagers would be very interested in the subject also. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 25 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Looking on Google earth, I think that the road in the foreground bearing away to the left is Moorend Road and the road behind the village pump heading towards Northampton is Grafton Road. The same grass triangle is still visible today as is the long low building behind it and Miss Weston's House with it's central wing jutting out in front. The long low building appears from the aerial photograph to be part of a farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 High wood, Yes you're right about the road names. I see what you mean now, so the mention of her house is actually describing the house in view. Should be easy to find out who lived there. More news tomorrow evening perhaps, when I send the pictures. Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 25 August , 2008 Share Posted 25 August , 2008 Just been looking at the Kelly's Directories that are available for Northants at http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd/d.asp and there is the possibility that "Miss Weston's" is not Prospect house, dependant on when the photos were actually taken. There are no listings for Prospect House at Yardley Gabion before 1910, but in both the 1910 & 14 edition "Ashby, Robert Wilfred" is given in residence, so it looks as though Miss Weston had moved out by then; A Mrs Weston is listed at "Highcroft" (not listed in the 1901 census) in 1910 but the entry has changed to "Miss" in 1914. Other Westons are listed as farmers under the "commercial" heading (no Misses though). As with Prospect House, Highcroft doesn't, unfortunately, feature on the old maps NigelS Edit: The junction of Grafton & Moorend roads certainly does looks like the correct location. Looking at the old map, the building layout looks to be much the same as given in the photos (and possibly, with more recent additions, as on Google) there is also a "G.P" (guide post) shown on the old map, but no mention of a pump - not sure whether they even got mapped; the first building on the right hand side of the high street (opposite the church) is given as an Inn on the old map, wonder if it still is today? Using maximum zoom on the Google map/aerial view seems to show a three armed signpost & I wonder if the square fenced block is the pump (could be a bus shelter)? Now, is (or was) the house "Prospect House", "Highcroft", or neither? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickrose Posted 26 August , 2008 Share Posted 26 August , 2008 Nigel, My scouts confirmed that the pump was there still . . . . I think. Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 26 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 26 August , 2008 Excellent work everyone, I feel sure that we have cracked this one. I will be away enjoying the Shropshire countryside until the weekend. I hope to be able to locate a few more photographs from the same source which incidently was the remains of a photograph album that a local woman was selling. She had sold some individual photographs to a collector who specialises in early aviation photographs. I managed to rescue what remained. I know the man concerned and I hope to be able to take copies of his photographs. One of the blank spaces on the page is intriguingly entitled, "an aeroplane in the manoeuvres". If I can see this photograph it should help us to date the photographs accurately. Thanks again, Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high wood Posted 26 August , 2008 Author Share Posted 26 August , 2008 The caption to the photograph of Miss Weston's house. The Towcester photograph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 26 August , 2008 Share Posted 26 August , 2008 Looking forward to seeing some modern day snaps at some time. Having re-read my last post, I wasn't attempting to suggest that the signpost visible on Google today was the original shown in the old photos; most unlikely, as its probably the signpost equivalent of the ancient broom that's had many new heads and just as many new handles ! NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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