Marshwell House, Yorkley Slade, Lydney

Marshwell House, Yorklsey Slade, on the edge of the forest, was the home of my maternal grandparents for more than fifty years (c. 1905-1970). It was typical stone forest house with a walled garden. The house was pulled down in the 1970s and three bungalows now occupy the site. Does anyone have any information or a photograph of the house?

Christopher Dent

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1977 views

Apologies for typing error in my original message, which should, of course, read, Yorkley Slade. My maternal grandparents were George and Florence Hillier.

Christopher Dent

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1922 views

- Fod Records, Burial 4 February 1962, George Edgar HILLIER, age 83, Marshwell House, Yorkley Slade; in January 1938, (Jane Annette HULBERT age 98 was buried at Viney Hill, again residence: Marshwell House, Yorkley - this is wife's mother)

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1911 Census, Yorkley Slade, living in 4 rooms

George Edgar HILLIER, 32, married 10 years, 3 children born alive, 3 living, born Globe Inn, Portwell Lane, Bristol
Florence Jane - 31 - born Berkeley
Jane Annette HULBERT - 68 - widow, born Cardiff
Children: Gladys Annetta 8, Lilian Annie - 7 and Gwendoline Murial - 8 months

The Hillier's are No. 141 on the Census Summary Book - next is listed Exclusive Brethren Room P.B. (think it's P.B.) - not used as a dwelling

and then 142, with the Hyett family

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If you look at the Lloyd George Survey of Land Values for Gloucestershire

taken in 1909

http://www.glos1909survey.org.uk

GA/D2428/1/80/2 - Hereditament Number 1819

Place: West Dean

Income tax parish: West Dean

Person(s) served with valuation: owners

Occupied by:

. Hillier, George, Yorkley Slade (M)

Owner occupied

Property

Description: House & Garden

Size: 21 perches

Map reference: 39.11 0

Gross Value: £60

Site Value: £20

Difference

Tithe

Agricultural Value

Buildings: £40

Timber

Fruit

Taxable Value

Poor Rate

Number: 1780

Size: 6 perches

Gross Value: £4

Rateable Value: £3

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1933 views

Many thanks for this. I wasn't aware of the existence of the Lloyd George Survey, which is interesting. George Hillier (my grandfather)is listed as owner occupier, whereas I always understood they were tenants of the James family. I was also unaware that my maternal great-grandmother (Jane Annetta Hulbert) was buried at Viney Hill, where my grandparents and parents are also buried.

Christopher Dent

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1942 views

Hi Chris,
sadly no reply to your specific question, but I wonder if you've seen this lenghty and very interesting account of home life in the Slade c1900 ?
In fact I recommend this whole website to anyone with a love of the Dean and family history. It includes what is presumably the origin for the house's name

"Drinking water was obtained from local wells, some of which were privately owned, others were on Crown land, known now as Forestry Commission land. The people who had wells on their property, gave freely of their supply to neighbours until their wells reached a dangerous level in times of drought.

There were two wells on Crown land in the Slade viz: the Marsh well and the Slade well. Water for general use was obtained by catching rainwater from the house roof, either in butts or reservoirs."

Hoping this is of interest.
http://www.kenmorse.co.uk/36167/36212.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*

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1936 views

Many thanks; that is most interesting. My grandparents had no running water in the house until the 1950s. There was a well in the garden, presumably not the marsh well, which, if I understand the Cam Johnson article aright, was a more public well. There was never an indoor lavatory, and even in their old age, my grandparents went out to the privy at the bottom of the garden.
Christopher

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1906 views

Hi Chris,
Please bear with me as I don't know Yorkley Slade personally, so may be wrong. However searching the net gives a modern "Marshwell House" on a "Trovit" agency site at GL15 4SA, with a usefull location map etc, which is hopefully the property you mentioned and the right location ? (Sorry I cannot post a link to this site but it's easily searched-out).

Using this postcode on the Old Maps site gives it at Woodland Place, Yorkely Slade. The site has excellent close scale 1:2500 maps from 1878, 1902, 1922 and 1958-60, so nicely covering the timescale of both the article and of your grandparents' there just afterwards. The earlier map shows just a handfull of properties, some of which have their own wells (marked W, Well or Pump). Hopefully you'll recognise one of these properties to be yours ?. They also show at least one Well that's not within a house boundary - I suspect this is the "public" one referred to in the article. I think it's this same Well which is still marked on the 1958/60 Map, despite much new building having taken place in the locality.
search GL15 4SA within http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html

If you've not used the Old Maps site before it can be tricky, if you have any troubles please see this post which hopefully helps navigate the site.
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=38858

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1921 views

Many thanks for the further information. The modern Marshwell House is almost certainly not on the site of the original house occupied by my grandparents. When I visited last year, there were three bungalows on the site. Woodland Place is a relatively new road name, I suspect, as there was no such name in my grandparents' day and the new Marshwell House must be somewhere on this road. The Old Maps site is fascinating. I can certainly pick out the Marshwell House I knew, in the top left hand corner of the loop of the road now named Woodland Place. There is a well marked in a triangle of land (delineated by paths) to the left of the garden of Marshwell House. I can remember that this land was potentially marshy, and therefore I would guess this will be the marsh well referred to in Cam Johnson's article. Although no photograph of Marshwell House has yet been forthcoming, you have helped me to reconstruct in my mind the landscape surrounding it.
Christopher

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1895 views

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