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Hello

Does anyone about stone arches built into slight hills that made a shelter for sheep in times past? Yesterday we drove past two of them by the side of the road called the Rocks on Plump Hill. My mother recalled their use in the 1930s for the sheep. When it was raining or cold she says the sheep would go into the holes created by the arches. I have give a link to a photograph of the two we saw yesterday below. They are no longer in use as the arches are now close to the road surface, as well as not being near any fields containing sheep!

It would be very useful to me to know of any others as they could help my mother identify where she stayed as a convalescent child, somewhere on or very near to Plump Hill, in the 1930s.

If you click on this link you will see a small photograph of the two sheep arches, and if you click on it again it becomes much larger so you can see all the detail: http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/43989867/1/Sheep%20Arches?h=a159e2

My mother believes she stayed in a cottage that was part of a smallholding, possibly belonging to her Uncle and Aunt Sidney and Edith King.

Thank you for looking and for any help you can give - either to let me know of any other sheep arches nearby, or to give me any information on the King smallholding.

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As for the Sheep shelters - they are a fairly common sight although usually pens rather than arches, which look more industrial {mining ?) in origin .....

Name: Edith A Matthews
Name: Sidney S King
Spouse Surname: Matthews
Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1919
Registration district: Westbury on Severn
Inferred County: Gloucestershire
Volume Number: 6a
Page Number: 717

Year: 1919
Month: Jun
Day: 28
Grooms_Surname: KING
Grooms_Forenames: Sidney Samuel
Grooms_Age: 37
Groom_Condition: Bachelor
Grooms_Occupation: Collier
Grooms_Residence: Plump Hill
Grooms_Fathers_Surname: KING
Grooms_Fathers_Forenames: Henry
Grooms_Fathers_Occupation: Labourer
Brides_Surname: MATTHEWS
Brides_Forenames: Edith Alice
Brides_Age: 36
Brides_Condition: Spinster
Brides_Occupation:
Brides_Residence: Plump Hill
Brides_Fathers_Surname: MATTHEWS
Brides_Fathers_Forenames: Moses
Brides_Fathers_Occupation: Deceased
Licence_or_Banns: Banns
Date_of_Banns:
Signature_or_Mark: Both Sign
Witness_1: William Thomas Gibbs
Witness_2: Leah Marice Gibbs
Other_Witnesses:
Officiating_Minister: James Lawton Vicar
Event: Marriage
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P109 IN 1/10
Page_Number: 99
Parish_Chapel: Drybrook

Leah E King Apr-May-Jun 1920 Westbury S Shropshire
Vera M King Jul-Aug-Sep 1922 Westbury S Shropshire
Sidney King Jan-Feb-Mar 1925 Wesbury S Shropshire

Year: 1925
Month: Mar
Day: 1
Surname: KING
Forenames: Sidney
Residence: The Plump
Age_at_death: 30 minutes
Officiating_Minister: W M Bellamy Vicar
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P109 IN 1/14
Page_No: 137
Parish_Chapel: Drybrook

Name: Edith A King
Birth Date: abt 1884
Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1943
Age at Death: 59
Registration district: Forest of Dean
Inferred County: Gloucestershire
Volume: 6a
Page: 408

Name: Sidney S King
Birth Date: abt 1882
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1964
Age at Death: 82
Registration district: Gloucester City
Inferred County: Gloucestershire
Volume: 7b
Page: 503

Year: 1964
Month: Nov
Day: 25
Surname: KING
Forenames: Sidney Samuel
Residence: The Plump Mitcheldean
Age_at_death: 82
Officiating_Minister: H G E Hiscox
Event: Burial
Cause_of_death:
Memoranda:
Notes:
Register_Reference: P109 IN 1/31
Page_No: 10
Parish_Chapel: Drybrook

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Many thanks!

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1861
Charles King abt 1830 Westbury Servant Pauntley, Gloucestershire
Margaret King abt 1831 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Servant Pauntley, Gloucestershire
Henry King abt 1854 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son Pauntley, Gloucestershire
Alice King abt 1856 Westbury, Gloucestershire, England Daughter Pauntley, Gloucestershire
Charles King abt 1858 Blaisdon, Gloucestershire, England Son Pauntley, Gloucestershire
Sarah King abt 1860 Blaisdon, Gloucestershire, England Daughter Pauntley, Gloucestershire

1881
Henry King abt 1854 Longhope Head Longhope, Gloucestershire
Lucy King abt 1855 Longhope Wife Longhope, Gloucestershire
George King abt 1876 Blaisdon, Gloucestershire, England Son Longhope, Gloucestershire
Alice King abt 1878 Longhope Daughter Longhope, Gloucestershire
Mary King abt 1880 Longhope Daughter Longhope, Gloucestershire

1891
Henry King abt 1854 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Head Longhope, Gloucestershire
Lucy King abt 1854 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Wife Longhope, Gloucestershire
Mary King abt 1874 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Daughter Longhope, Gloucestershire
Sidney King abt 1881 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son Longhope, Gloucestershire
Laura King abt 1884 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Daughter Longhope, Gloucestershire
Elizabeth King abt 1887 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Daughter Longhope, Gloucestershire
Evan King abt 1889 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son Longhope, Gloucestershire
Arthur King abt 1891 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son Longhope, Gloucestershire

1901 Edge Hills
Henry King abt 1851 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Head East Dean, Gloucestershire
Lucy King abt 1851 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Wife East Dean, Gloucestershire
Stepney King abt 1882 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son East Dean, Gloucestershire
Evan King abt 1889 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son East Dean, Gloucestershire
Arthur King abt 1891 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son East Dean, Gloucestershire
Roger King abt 1893 Longhope, Gloucestershire, England Son East Dean, Gloucestershire
Hilda King abt 1897 East Dean, Gloucestershire, England Daughter East Dean, Gloucestershire

1911 Plump, Nr Mitcheldean, Glos
Henry King 56
Lucy King 56
Sidney King 30
Arthur King 20
Roger King 18
Vera Adams 9 Grandaughter

and prior thread Lucy WILLIAMS
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?mode=thread&id=34455#p36161

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Many thanks again, slowhands. You enabled me to do some more genealogical digging of Henry King's forbears with your helpful information.

I am still searching for the house somewhere near or on the Plump that I mentioned in the beginning of this thread so I am going to post a more specific request for help in this search now.

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Hello

Does anyone know of any records such as rent books that might help me pinpoint where Sidney and Edith King lived in the early 1930's?

I know from my mother's description that the simple, plain and small house had a long narrow back garden for chickens, which sloped downwards and had amazing panoramic views. To a small child visiting from Manchester it seemed very green and isolated. On either side of the garden were fields with sheep and on the left going down from the house were two stone sheep arches or shelters. There was a lane going past the front of the house and my mother says there were shops of some sort around. I have looked on the 1911 census for on and around the Plump and can see listed there milk sellers, inns, a storekeeper, a shop assistant,and a small sweet shop so this does fit.

If anyone else has memories of such a house, or knows about records such as rent books that might help, please let me know. Thanks!

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Hello

Does anyone know of any records such as rent books that might help me pinpoint where Sidney and Edith King lived in the early 1930's?

I know from my mother's description that the simple, plain and small house had a long narrow back garden for chickens, which sloped downwards and had amazing panoramic views. To a small child visiting from Manchester it seemed very green and isolated. On either side of the garden were fields with sheep and on the left going down from the house were two stone sheep arches or shelters. There was a lane going past the front of the house and my mother says there were shops of some sort around. I have looked on the 1911 census for on and around the Plump and can see listed there milk sellers, inns, a storekeeper, a shop assistant,and a small sweet shop so this does fit.

If anyone else has memories of such a house, or knows about records such as rent books that might help, please let me know. Thanks!

Plump Hill properties tend to be spread out , you might be describing Glencoe Lane, or the Point area , or just below on The Rocks... http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGHP_en-GBGB464GB465&q=%22plump%20hi...

http://www.geolocation.ws/v/W/File:A%20Road%20and%20minor%20road%20-%20geograph.org.uk%...

The arches might have been Lime Kilns
or left over from Fairplay Mine, Inkerman Colliery or EdgeHills mine which were all
in The Point area on Plump Hill..

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Hi Amaska,
sorry for belatedly spotting your post. Slowhands is indeed correct, the arches you photographed are almost certainly old lime kilns, partly immerged in presumably spoil from the surrounding quarry after it fell into disrepair. I haven't visited the Point kilns myself but they appear very typical, limekilns were definitely worked alongside the "Wilderness" dolomite limestone quarry where the road passes around the Point. The photo at the bottom of the attached article shows some almost identical arches, in this case limekilns near Lydbrook/Bicknor to the west.
http://www.peterdean.co.uk/walks/walk.shtml?id=660

This excerpt gives a little more detail to the Point kilns
"Quarrying and mining continued near Mitcheldean from the 17th century and several townsmen found employment as stone cutters and masons or as coal miners in the Forest. Lime kilns were operating on the Wilderness estate in 1791 and a mason was granted a lease of a quarry at the Wilderness in 1818. Iron ore continued to be mined there and the nearby Westbury Brook mine ran beneath the old workings in the mid 19th century. Small sandstone quarries were being worked near the town by the late 18th century. Those north of the Gloucester road, which yielded red sandstone, were exploited on a large scale from 1882 and became known as the Wilderness quarries. Those quarries, at which brickworks were established in 1885, were purchased in 1900 by Forest of Dean Stone Firms Ltd. Soon after the First World War the works were closed with the loss of 150 jobs and since then the quarries have been worked only occasionally. Limestone quarrying at the Wilderness expanded after 1885 when cement works were built on Stenders hill. Quarries were opened on both sides of the road but the enterprise, which gave employment to up to 200 men, ended when the works closed just after the First World War."
From: 'Mitcheldean', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St. Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean (1996), pp. 173-195.
URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=23259&strquery=lime

I recommend looking up the "New Regard" Journal of the FoD Local History society. By happy coincidence I'm just reading Issue 25 from late 2011 which is why I knew of these kilns, it has an article about an unusual accident at the quarry in 1872, four men sadly died due to unexpected noxious gases after a particularly large gunpowder explosion. By even happier coincidence the article includes a photo taken in 1927, so only a few yars before your mother arrived. This shows the view from the top of the quarry down across the Mitcheldean-Harrow Hill road and on to the houses below, with a just discernable "disused limekiln belonging to Aaron Symmonds", the 1872 quarry owner. The photo of course includes the superb panoramic views with large rolling fields in the distance.
http://79.170.40.163/forestofdeanhistory.org.uk/LHSnrprevious.html

I hope this helps a little, good luck with your search.

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Hi Jefff

Thank you very much for adding lots of useful information and giving me some leads to follow up. Thank you to you and slowhands for explaining that the arches my mother saw sheep use as shelters weren't originally built for that purpose and were limekilns. I have tried to find a systematic survey of disused limekilns that remain - perhaps the local history society will be able to tell me if there is such a thing.

In the meantime please could you clear up for me one of the geographical details that is eluding me - where is "The Point"? I have looked at the old maps site as well as my up to date map and can see things like "The Wilderness", but not this term.

Many thanks again - I will obtain the article you describe.

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By 1832 the number of dwellings in the hamlet of Plump hill had risen to c. 32, (fn. 20) and the development of Westbury Brook mine and other industrial activity stimulated more random building there later in the century. (fn. 21) Some new buildings faced the Mitcheldean-Coleford road, constructed over the hill in 1841. (fn. 22) One of the first, half way up the hill, was a beerhouse in 1851. (fn. 23) Later called the Point inn, it was demolished during road improvement after 1960. (fn. 24) Higher up the road a pair of small houses was built in 1876 by the quarrymaster Aaron Simmonds. (fn. 25) Much further along the road on Merring Meend a pair of houses built near Fairplay mine in 1856 (fn. 26) was later converted as four cottages. (fn. 27) Most houses built at Plump Hill in the 20th century were on the lower part of the hill. Cottages dotting the steep wooded hillsides further south, near Abenhall, include an early group in Horsepool bottom.

From: 'Forest of Dean: Settlement', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St. Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean (1996), pp. 300-325. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=23266 Date accessed: 23 April 2012.

The Point is amongst other things, a view point on Plump Hill. If you were driving up from Mitcheldean, the road bears sharpish right, Virgo Lane on left, and on your left is a dramatic view out across the Severn Vale. This is approx where the Point Inn stood, and what I call the Point (!)

Its not marked, but the bend in the main road is very clear
http://www.geograph.org.uk/showmap.php?gridref=SO6617 ( look for the black telephone symbol !)

http://www.geolocation.ws/v/W/File:Phone%20box%20and%20seat%20at%20Plump%20Hill,%20Glou...

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Hi Amaska,
sorry for confusion, I was using the term my dad always used, he spent most his life thro and since the war driving buses in the Forest so I guess this may have been a significant "landmark" when climbing the hill from Mitcheldean in a laden doubledecker. I tend to think of the "Wilderness" as the area on the very summit of the hill; as you drive up from Mitcheldean and past the Point the road straightens, handy for overtaking said buses & lorries... just before the brow there's a righturn signposted "Wilderness", I really must drive up it one day soon ! I must admit I'd assumed you would understand my post as you'd driven around the area, apologies for confusing you further instead.

Thanks again Slowhands for clarifying things re the Point.
The only other point (oops) to mention is the now disused and overgrown quarry, clearly cut into the hillside twixt the road and the summit of the hill. If driving up from Mitcheldean, with the drop and view to your left, where the road swings sharp right are a couple of houses on your immediate right, hard against the hillside bank. Driving thro the "s" bend past the houses is the quarry on the same righthand side. It is this quarry that's shown in the New Regard photo, whether there were more quarries in the area perhaps below the Point I don't know.
For some years in the early 80s I travelled that road by bus for work in Mitcheldean, I always wondered how you accessed the houses down the drop below the viewpoint (near the aforemention kilns) and why on earth they were there, thanks for helping me find out !. Is this where the Rocks road were you mentioned ?. In those days a couple of HGV trucks used to park "in" the quarry, next to an old tin workshop, all presumably belonging to one of the houses. I really MUST actually stop and walk the whole area one day soon, however I've lived in Middlesex since the mid 80s so.... Sadly over the last winter theres been some nasty crashes of cars driving up the Plump and for some reason not taking the righthand bend, as a lad I enjoyed driving fast uphills but I'm at a loss to explain these crashes so please don't let this put you off.

Re the article, it is interesting from an industrial heritage viewpoint (I'm a mechanical engineer) but I'm not sure it will help you particularly in your search. The 1929 photo does show various houses below the Point but it's not overly clear, I doubt it will help you recognise any particular house. Probably standing on the Point "lookout" (I think there's a layby/bus-stop?) with binoculars will be a far better plan. If you are in the area you can borrow the New Regard from one of the local Libraries, there are a few copies available although I currently have the Cinderford copy !:
http://prism.talis.com/gloucestershire/items/923707?query=new+regard+25&resultsUri=...

This wonderfull website holds some photos of the area, the shop shown here is still standing as mentioned above, although nowadays the road is rather busier !.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/hale_people/pages/page_16.html
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/hale_people/pages/page_13.html

This photo shows almost exactly the same view as the photo in the New Regard article, taken from the top of the quarry. According to the New Review article the pale flat disc is the tops of the limekilns, with houses beyond which you may perhaps recognise?.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/fod_variety_1/pages/page_79.html

Could this photo of Plump Hill School c1915 contain any of your ancestors?
I presume the school is located below the Point?.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/mitcheldean/pages/page_7.html

Another excellent old photos website which is relatively new belongs to Neil Parkhouse who is a Forester who's contributed to many local history books including the New Regard. This site's stock is growing all the time so worth revisiting. I see it contains a photo entitled "Wilderness Quarry c1915", sadly I'm struggling to place the view in a modern context, having nothing to compare against. Is it the quarry around the Point, or elsewhere on this large hill ?.
http://www.archive-images.co.uk/index.gallery.php?gid=151&img=28

To research the King family if you have the time it may be worth searching the local newspaper archives at Cinderford Library, please see this prior thread.
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=34751

I see the Kings were from Longhope, as was my mother and her ancestors. In case you didn't know there is an excellent free website that may interest you, I see it shows the Kings in the various Census's. The site does take a little getting used-to but it does contains some excellent information and is well worth viewing.
http://www.longhopevillage.co.uk/familyhistory/

Finally please check your email for a direct mail, thanks, Jeff.

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Hi Jeff

Plump Hill School is, I believe, in Jubilee Road, off Plump Hill, which is now an environmental education centre.

Regards
Esther

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Hi Jeff

Plump Hill School is, I believe, in Jubilee Road, off Plump Hill, which is now an environmental education centre.

Regards
Esther

Plump Hill Centre Plump Hill School was opened by the school board in 1878 with 151 places in junior mixed and infants' departments which merged in 1883. More classrooms were added in 1890. The school was closed in 1984, the children being transferred to schools in Mitcheldean, Littledean, and Westbury-on-Severn. The building was used as an environmental centre.

and now its closed :-(
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-17771285

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Thanks all for that ladies & gentlemen.
I see from the ever-usefull Old Maps site that Plump Hill is a typical Dean "sprawling" community (no offence meant), with several houses & old quarry workings dotted about and even a tramway route across the top of the Hill where the old Wilderness Centre is. I really must take a mooch around the whole area rather than just drive thro' it on the main A4136.

Trying to help Amaska "place" my earlier post, to locate The Point and the adjacent quarry/photo I've tried to describe, it seems the nearest modern address is "Dockins Hill". I strongly recommend you search "Dockins Hill" on the Old Map site & wait for the modern-day map to load with this arrowed at the centre. The main A4136 road is shown red with the sharp bend clearly visible, this is "The Point". Wrt the main road Mitcheldean is "downhill" past the top of the map, and Harrow Hill thence Cinderford over the road's summit is towards the base of the map. The summit of Plump Hill with the Wilderness Centre etc is to the left, up above Dockins Hill area. The panoramic view towards the Severn is therefore from Dockins Hill out to the righthand side of the map, overlooking Glencoe Lane and then Jubilee Road (with the Plump Hill Centre/old School).
http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html

Using the website's righthand menu you can now load one of the various old maps altho be warned this takes a while to load. Eg the oldest 1881 map is a highly detailed 1/2500 scale, here the sheer number of quarry workings all across the whole hill can be seen as can several lime kilns, with many kilns around The Point both above and below the road !. The Point Inn is clearly visible next to Edgehills House, look immediately below the large "Plump Hill" title. The road is rather smaller then !
There is also a zoom feature too... Apologies Amaska if you already know how to navigate this site, I've had a lifetime of using this noofangled electrickery yet it still took me quite a while to work this particular site out, while being unsure as to whether my pc was waiting for images to load or just locked up (Vista!!?) as this site can occasionally do. (I do wish the modern Windows OS's would display the old hourglass "I'm working" symbol rather than leave you wondering what if anything was going on before the "blue circle of doom" appears...)

Using the various maps from around 1930 will hopefully help you place your particular house and garden, I do hope so !
Happy Househunting !

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Just to say a really big thank you! You have given me loads to think about and follow up again, and in fact have just answered one of my latest queries in your last post. I'll get back to you if I have more or if I ever find the house. Thanks again!

Amaska

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Thanks to Essie, Jeff and slowhands re Plump School.

I'm glad it's still in use and will ask my mother next time I can drive her down from Cheshire if she has any memories of second cousins being at school there.

My quest for the house continues. I know that Sidney and Edith King were described as living on the Rocks in 1922 and it could be their house that my mother stayed at about 10 years later.

Tow other possibilities are the house occupied by Sidney's parents Henry and Lucy King or the house occupied by his elder brother George King in 1911. In 1911 Sidney still lived with his parents Henry and Lucy King. It would be easier to work out where Henry and Lucy King, and George King's family were in the 1911 census if the apparent route of the enumerator hadn't gone all over the hill and down to the vale below in what seems like a zig-zag fashion to someone like me who doesn't really understand the geography!

George was described as at Hazel Hill and Henry and Lucy were described as at Plump Hill - 7 houses apart (14 pages of the census). 14 houses on from Henry and Lucy was the Nags Head Inn, Plump, and a further 3 houses on was Beech House, a "small sweet shop". 6 houses on from this was Hill View House, Plump Hill. 5 houses later the enumerator was on Jubilee Road. Then the houses are back on Plump Hill, and then on Glencoe Lane, then back to Plump Hill, including the Point, Edgehill House and then onto Fairplay Cottages, ending with Gunn Mills?

Thanks again for all your help.

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a zig-zag fashion to someone like me who doesn't really understand the geography!

This reflects the spread out nature of dwellings on Plump Hill. :-)

update 26/4/12

I was driving over Plump Hill last night in the pouring rain taking care on the road realising how wild and bleak ( Wilderness ?) it can be, against the wonderful view on a clear day. As I drove down the hill towards the Forest Church I came upon the "clear up" of a road accident where someone had left the road on one of the bends.......

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

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Hello all

I wonder if anyone has any information about Frottage Cottage, which is on the Plump, Mitcheldean? Frottage Cottage, Plump Hill, Mitcheldean, GL17 0EZ

I would be very interested in information relating to when it was built and who owned it or occupied it in the first half of the 20th Century. I would also like to know if it was originally two cottages and how long the name Frottage Cottage has been in use.

Thank you for looking and thank for any help you can give me, either information or advice about where I can get information.

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Hello

Thank you to everyone who has helped so far with this search to find the place where my mother stayed while convalescing in the early 1930's. It turns out that Google is currently placing the label Frottage Cottage on top of the cottage I am interested in - but it's not Frottage Cottage! Frottage Cottage does exist of course, but it's not where Google is currently labelling it. I now believe the cottage I am interested in is called "The Tilt".

So please, if anyone out there has any knowledge of the history of this cottage, could you let me know? At the moment I know one half was occupied by my ancestor Henry King in the time of the Lloyd George survey (1909 - 1915) and one half was occupied and owned by Robert Bennett. The same families appear in the 1911 census next to each other though the enumerator just wrote "the Plump", so until I saw the survey map I did not know which cottage or piece of land was the right one.

Many thanks for looking.

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I'd like to say a big thank you to all the people - current and ex-residents of the Plump or the wider FOD, for your help in giving my elderly mother the treat of rediscovering the cottage where she convalesced in the 1930s.

And I'd like to thank this website for making it possible to do the research and make contact with so many kind and knowledgeable people.

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I have just seen your message of a year ago. I knew Sidney and Edith King and they had two daughters, Evelyn and Dolly (there may have been more children. Edith King was my grandfather's sister.

They lived in "The Rocks". There was on the right hand side of the road a Methodist Chapel and a little further up the hill (about 50 yards) Gibbs shop. On the left hand side of the road down a steep hill there was a lane known as "The Slip". It was named because in the 20s a house slipped partly into some old mine workings. At the end of this lane on the left were a pair of semi detached houses. The next house on the left down The Rocks was where the Kings lived. As far as I am aware they did not have a small holding.

Regarding the lime kilns I can remember them being used by Ivor Bennett until they were closed probably in the 1940s.

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Dear EileenR
Thank you so much for contacting me. We made a lot of progress, as a result of help from members of the forum, in finding where we think the Kings lived, and I am glad to say what we thought ties in with what you have written in your message - it's lovely to have confirmation.
The other really great thing is that my mother always said there were two girls, one called Evelyn and one called Dolly. According to the FOD records Sidney and Edith baptised a girl Leah Evelyn in 1920, then twins Vera May and William George in 1922 and then in 1925 a son Sidney who died quickly. So we have always been puzzled by the name Dolly and wondered if my mother was misremembering. I have just rung her to say she is finally vindicated, and she is immensely pleased! Presumably Dolly was a nickname for Vera May.
Do you know what happened to Evelyn and Dolly? Did they marry or move away? Do you know anything about Dolly's twin brother? Do you have any photographs of the children or their parents, or of where they lived?
The only photograph we have is from much earlier than the time of my mother's visit. It is of Sidney's mother Lucy King, standing in front of a wall that we think was part of one of the semi-detached cottages that you describe. We think this pair of cottages is now all one cottage called The Tilt. Lucy is standing with one of her granddaughters - my mother's Aunt Vera, aged 9. At the time of the 1911 census Vera was staying with Lucy and Henry King, with their three remaining unmarried sons, including Sidney - he didn't marry Edith until 1919. Here is a link to the photograph https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qmvnj60jwka0fji/xBIPnYMreR

At the time my mother visited she had just recovered from jaundice. She was known as Maisie. Her full name was Lovis Maisie Alice Dean, and her mother, who came with her for the convalescence in the countryside (they lived in Manchester), was also Lovis. Sidney was my mother's great Uncle but as her grandmother Alice was five years older than Sidney and he married late in life, she was just five years younger than Evelyn and three years younger than Vera May (Dolly).
As Edith was your great Aunt and also married quite late is there any chance you could have met my mother and played with her and Evelyn and Dolly?
Many thanks again - you have made my mother (aged 88) absolutely delighted to be proved right in remembering the name Dolly!

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