More Thompson tales

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I am delighted to say that I have been sent more tales and photographs of the Thompson years, by Barry Thompson (youngest son of Sidney and Hilda Thompson) and by Jane Moseley (daughter of Barry’s eldest brother Cyril).

Hilda Faint was born in Wix, as was her brother Charles. They moved to Landermere in the early 1900s as their father was a shepherd. Sidney’s parents already lived in the cottages.

Sidney and Charles both worked on the farm. Charles later married Daisy and they moved to a bungalow not far from Abbey Crescent and lived there for the rest of their lives but had no children.  

Around 1937 Hilda and Sidney moved from Landermere to a farm at Stanford Rivers. This was relatively short lived, as within a year, the family returned to a different cottage on a farm at Landermere where Sidney was appointed Head Cowman. It was a hard existence as the house apparently had no electricity, and water had to be carried up from the main farmhouse. They lived there until approximately 1943, and then moved to Beaumont cum Moze where he took on a more mechanised farm.

Sidney and Hilda’s eldest son Cyril was born at number 4 Landermere Cottages, second son Reg was born in the cottage half way up the lane on the corner, and Barry was born in the house at the end of Beaumont Hall Lane and is the only one left now.

  • Cyril as a toddler in dungarees
  • Hilda Thompson with baby Cyril
  • Cyril as a toddler in an old shirt
  • Cyril as a baby with his Aunt Lily Thompson
  • Hilda and Charles Faint

Barry has many tales of Landermere.  

“During the war, the Army had a big gun sited in the garden of my Thompson grandparents’ garden and wanted to test fire it. They asked everyone to move out that day while they did it. When Granny came back, much of the roof had slid off and windows were broken from the shock wave – but this was ok, the problem she had was that leaves had blown off the blackcurrant bushes and the potatoes had been shaken out of the ground, so she was very angry. The army people repaired the house but the crops were lost and as far as I know the gun was never fired again.”

“As children we would collect winkles at Landermere and take them home, boil them and have them for tea.”

“Did you know there was a prisoner of war camp nearby, all of our toys were wooden and made by the prisoners, some of whom worked on the local farms.”

“Other people from Landermere included Ernest Smith and his wife Elsie who had two children, Dick and Doreen . There was a man called Joe Bearder who in the 50s used to let me and my cousin Tony use his rowing boat to go to some of the nearby islands to play and catch fish.”

I am so grateful to you both for sharing your photos and memories.

The Thompson Family

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I’ve been exchanging emails with Clodagh Murphy, granddaughter of former Landermereite Lily Thompson! This is what Clodagh has to say – and some amazing family photos, published with her permission.

I have quite a connection to Landermere on my dads side of the family. Arthur Thompson married Louisa Young in 1901 and they lived in one of the Gull Cottages, but I’m not sure when they moved there (he was born somewhere near Thorpe Green in 1871). Arthur’s profession was a farm labourer according to the census (Farm labourer and Cowman), and their address was 1 Landermere.

Arthur and Louisa had 3 children, all born in Gull Cottages

  • Sidney George Thompson in 1903
  • William Thompson in 1905
  • Lily Thompson in 1912
  • Arthur Thompson and family
    Arthur Thompson and family
  • Sidney, William, Lily, Arthur and Louisa Thompson at Landermere
    Sidney, William, Lily, Arthur and Louisa Thompson at Landermere
  • Gull Cottages
    Gull Cottages

Lily is my Grandmother. She owned a hairdressers shop in Thorpe village near where the Essex Homes shop is before she married Thomas Murphy in 1938. He was born in 1902 in Waterford, Ireland. He was in the merchant navy, but worked as a labourer in Thorpe. possibly at Landermere Hall. We have a photo of him with Charles Childs walking the dogs that belonged to Landermere Hall.

  • Lily's hairdressers in Thorpe
    Lily’s hairdressers in Thorpe
  • Thomas Murphy and Charles Childs
    Thomas Murphy and Charles Childs

Charles Childs married Thomas Murphy’s older sister – Johanna Murphy, known as Nan in 1931. They lived at Killarney, Landermere Road. i remember my dad telling me that Nan worked at Landermere Hall, (or Thorpe Hall). I’m not sure how to check this record unless you have any old records of from Landermere Hall?

We are not sure how an Irishman ended up in Thorpe, but we think there may be a connection between him and Charles that bought him to Thorpe… still trying to figure that one out.

We have photos of Sidney and Hilda Faints wedding taken outside the Kings Head pub.

  • Charles Childs and Johanna (Nan) Murphy
    Charles Childs and Johanna (Nan) Murphy
  • Charles and Nan's wedding
    Charles and Nan’s wedding
  • Sidney Thompson and Hilda Faint's wedding
    Sidney Thompson and Hilda Faint’s wedding

Lily and Thomas moved to Abbey Crescent, where they had 2 children, Sheila, and Anthony (my dad).

Louisa died in 1933, and by 1939, Arthur was living with Lily and Thomas in Abbey Crescent. Sidney is living at 2 Landermere on the 1939 register, and worked as a Cowman, as did his brother William, who was living in Golden Lane in 1939.

I’m curious if you know of any records of workers or life in general in Landermere, or if you know if they are at an archive somewhere, I’m assuming they worked at Landermere Hall, I do not know for definite.

I don’t yet know the answer to Clodagh’s question about an archive of Landermere Hall workers – anyone else?

Lockdown summer at Landermere

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Although lockdown wasn’t exactly fun, what with all the restrictions, I was lucky enough to spend all of it at Landermere, offering online physio to my patients while sitting in Gull Cottages. And what a beautiful summer! Here are some of my photos, mostly taken during my “one-hour a day of exercise” walks with my dog, Feta.

Landermere: the pre-Henderson days

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Frederick Kempster English Giant

Jo has reminded me that Landermere did actually exist (!) before the advent of the Henderson era in 1954, with previous inhabitants including:

  • The quay was purchased by Richard Rigby in 1781, who built Gull Cottages and the King’s Head.
  • Sir William Withey Gull, physician to Queen Victoria and at one time suspected of being Jack the Ripper – the cottages are named after him, and there’s a placard on the end cottage showing that it once belonged to him. He is buried in the village churchyard.
  • There was also Sir Basil Spence, architect of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral; and Frederick Kempster, also known as the English Giant, who stood 7’9″ tall, regularly visited Landermere and in fact one of the best-known photographs of him (above) shows him shaking hands with someone at the first floor window of the King’s Head (now Steve & Lis’ bedroom!)

Thanks Jo – does anyone know of any other previous Landermereites?

Nigel and the terrifying devil puppet

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My grandfather Nigel Henderson died at Landermere, of a heart attack, in May 1985, when I was eight.  I remember Mum telling me when she came to collect me from the school gate.  I recognised that she was very sad, but I didn’t fully realise at the time what it meant, or that such a character had completely gone.  Because “Grandad” was a character, no doubt about it.

One of his favourite tricks when Lillie (two years younger than I) and I were little was to hide behind the bushes and wait for us to come close, before roaring and brandishing his terrifying devil puppet in our paths.  I think Steve still has the puppet actually, and I promise I’m not scared of it any more; but at the time we would invariably scream and run for our lives.  It was made of papier-mache, based I imagine on Punch; but all its joints were mobile, linked with eye bolts.

Does anyone else remember it?  I’m pretty sure I remember Mum saying Grandad had terrified her and Jo in the same way when they were little.  I’ll try to find a picture somewhere.