Dursley Glos Forum

I've just been looking through my local directory for 1904 and have found the following entries. The first reports the death of Elizabeth Winterbotham, wife of Arthur Brend Winterbotham and mother of Emily Page. OBITUARY - MRS. A. B. WINTERBOTHAM. "There is a proverb which says 'It never rains ...

Thanks for that Ken - I would be very surprised it it wasn't Major Hague's father although I haven't found any references to him yet. Also, all the people I've spoken to mention that the buildings and sheds around the tower were pig stys rather than cow sheds which ties up with your findings. Andy.

It's fairly evident from the latest photo that the tower at the corner of the walled garden wasn't round so the memories of a 'round' tower must be of something else. My thinking is that the round structure shown on the earlier photo (page 3) is probably a small silo, dovecote, aviary or similar, pr...

Hi Rich. There is something present on the 1903 map which could be the tower (see red dot on picture on page 4). I'm not convinced the bit behind the tower on this picture is round though. On the map it shows a rectangular shape so perhaps there were two parts to it? It's nice to see a picture at la...

Hi Rich The tower is most definitely square as can be seen in this new picture I've just obtained - and also in the aerial shot earlier. This photo was taken near the end of its life when it was in poor condition, after the farm had closed and just before the new houses were built. You can clearly s...

Hi Ken, the chances are it is the same Hiram Hague but I haven't checked it out yet. That son's full name was Arthur Hiram Winterbotham Hague but he changed it later to Arthur Hiram Winterbotham Hague Winterbotham which it would have been during 1938-1939. As Dartington make textiles that would have...

The 1911 census for Norman Hill House shows the following people present. HIRAM HAGUE, Head of household, aged 35, Captain, born Turkey EMILY PAGE HAGUE, wife, aged 45, born Cam ARTHUR H. HAGUE, son, aged 2, born Cam HUMPHREY J. HAGUE, son, aged 1, born Cam They had a number of staff working for the...

A few more snippets. The farm bailiff on Norman Hill Farm was Fred Tipper who was married to Elizabeth. They had five sons, Verdun, William (Bill), Jack, Fred, and Edward (Ted). Verdun became a sniper instructor during the war years in the Gloucestershire Regiment. Bill was a wood carver who spent s...

Apparently the tower had three levels; the ground floor was used to store potatoes, the middle floor to store netting, sacks and suchlike for the garden and the top level had a flagpole and was used by Major Hague as a vantage point as well as for shooting pigeons from! I also found out that the hou...

Thanks for that Ken. yes, I've known about the Bletchley Park connection for several years after talking to someoone who worked on the parts made at Mawdsley's. Somewhere in my files I have more details of the project. It was all very hush hush, the lorry drivers who took parts from the factory met ...

Thanks for that Dave. Ernie was probably one of the drivers but there were other names as well, John Humphries for one. What do you remember of Dursley station itself?

Thanks for that Patricia. Can you remember any of the other names on the photo? What was the school like? Andy

I can find a reference to a son (Arthur Hiram Winterbotham Hague) whose birth was registered in the second quarter of 1908. However I've also found another reference in The Times of 7th September 1909 to a son born to Mr and Mrs Hague of Norman Hill. I wonder if the second one didn't survive... but ...

A little bit more information on Major Hague. From the Times, 16th January 1961. "Major Hiram Hague of Dursley, Gloucestershire, left £89,407 gross, £88,845 net (dury paid, £36,647). He left one fourth of the residue of his estate or £5,000, whichever be less for distribution among such local a...

Does anyone have any memories of Dursley cricket club in days gone by? Thanks Andy