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History FeaturesYou are in: Gloucestershire > History > History Features > Growing up in Woodmancote  The Old Post Office, Woodmancote Growing up in WoodmancoteBy Roger Blake Roger (Chad) Blake grew up in Woodmancote near Cheltenham in the 1940s and 50s. Here he recalls his idyllic childhood and experiences in the village more than half a century ago...  Roger Blake in 2009 Woodmancote nestles at the foot of the Cleeve Hill escarpment which is part of the Cotswold Hills range in Gloucestershire and the home of the highest point of The Cotswolds, Cleeve Cloud. It is bounded by the Parishes of Bishops Cleeve, Gotherington, Prescott, Southam and the hamlet of Nutters Wood. In my opinion it is one of the most idyllic parts of the country. During the years of World War 2 Woodmancote was a rural community of perhaps 300 to 400 hundred people - men women and children.
The Community could be split into two factions, families that we kids perceived to be bordering on the Gentry and Families who like our parents worked. Perhaps we were wrong as members of the Gentry began with school teachers or artists; remember this is how I remembered it.  Nutbridge Cottages Woodmancote BoundariesThe Woodmancote Parish boundary can be best defined as the land bounding Station Road from the Railway Bridge as far the Village Green at its junction with Stockwell Lane. The whole of Bushcombe Lane and Breeches Lane (now known as Butts Lane) and Stockwell Lane as far a the house known as The Washpool. The left hand side of Gambles Lane as far as Bottomley Farm; from the junction of Gambles Lane with Southam New Road it then continued down Two Hedges Lane and included all of the land on the right hand side as far as the railway. All of the land, when I was a child, was open and available to us kids for recreation so long as we treated it with respect which we always did. It was after all the Farmers Workshop, so to speak. Our Origins and How the War Affected PeopleMy parents came from Bristol where Dad ran 'The Hope and Anchor' in Jacobs Wells Road on behalf of his Mother. My Parents moved to Weston Super Mare when Mum and Dad got married and took the Railway Hotel. With the War imminent Dad joined a company, called McAlpines as their accountant. They were tasked with the building of many small airfields around the country. I was born in Blackpool, Lancashire when the company built one or two airfields there.  The Longlands Mum and Dad moved to Gloucestershire when McAlpines built another airfield at Stoke Orchard, I was only three months old at the time and we were housed in a village called Coombe Hill in a house adjoining a horticultural nursery. When the owner required it for his own use we were moved to another house on the road from Stoke Orchard to Bishops Cleeve not far from the new Airfield. This proved to be only a temporary home and before long we had been moved yet again, this time to Primrose Cottage, Bushcombe Lane in Woodmancote. Whether by destiny or not Primrose Cottage was also sited next to a horticultural nursery and we lived here for about six years. The house was owned by a Mr Bill Jukes who also owned the Nursery. As you can see for an outsider during the War a nomadic lifestyle wasn't unusual. Our next door neighbour on one side was a Mrs Robson who I used to call Auntie Robby. This was quite common in those days and the husbands and wives of all our parents' friends tended to be “Uncles or Aunties”. Auntie Robby was not a local person and came from Eastbourne where she returned three or four years later (I hope it wasn't anything I said or did). The house was occupied next by a Mr Wilf Shakespeare and his family. Our neighbours on the other side were an old couple called Mr & Mrs Pearce. Click "Next" to continue reading... last updated: 28/04/2009 at 18:59 Have Your SayWhat are your memories of Woodmancote?
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