College Ride
Douglas Marshall writes of the cottages at the top of Collage Ride, by the back entrance to Penny Hill Park. "One of them, called Rose Cottage, I believe was owned by my great grand father, Daniel Wooders. He was married twice and had 12 children, one of whom was my grand mother. She married and lived in Bagshot and Lightwater almost all her life. They had ran businesses in Bagshot, one being the former Lupin Cafe on the A30." 699.806
Three separate, but similar enquiries have come in about properties on College Ride.
Stefan writes that he lives at the junction of College Ride with Higgs Lane in what we both assume to have been the old gatehouse to the rear-entrance of Pennyhill Park. 319.603
"I know a little of the history and would like to hear from anyone who may know more of the history or has old photographs of the property."Our address is often stated as Church Lodge on mail shots we receive. This is not an address we have used and wonder if it is simply a mistake or whether there is more to it. I look forward to learning more.."
I am surprised at the property being called Church Lodge, as some maps I have seen give that name to one of Bagshot Park's lodges that is off Church Road. A correspondent has written: .260204
"The house at the junction of College Ride and Higgs Lane was the Head Gardeners House for the Penny Hill Park estate in the 1960's. In about 1952 the estate was taken over by the Heywood (Heyward? not sure of spelling) family who owned the Oakey Sandpaper factory in Tottenham, North London. Mr Colin Heyward lived there as a single man until his death. Then it became a hotel."
The housing estate recently built to the side of the house is called Heywood Avenue, which undoubtably confirms the Heywood name and association with the area.
Ian has written to tell us that the Head Gardener who lived in Stefan's house was Mr Wozencroft. 410.606
Mary, in a separate enquiry, recounts that she stayed in a cottage on College Ride, but the owner (who had only bought the property recently) knew little of its history. Between them they have managed to find reference on maps and census returns back to the mid 1800's, and have been told that it was probably a woodcutter's or other labourer's home on the original Bagshot estate. 313.403
Mary wonders if anyone has any more information about the origins of the cottages on College Ride.
Sam seeks information about Framfield on College Ride where he now lives. It was built in 1910 and he would love to know any history and see any old pictures if anyone has any information. 510A.205
Ian wrote "Framfield is I believe a few doors away from the
terrace which was 1-4 Oakdene. If this is the correct house, I remember the
roof caught fire in the 60's or early 70's". 410.606
Alan Gosden confirms Ian's location but cannot recall any fire.
260.606
Stanley Draper writes: We have some census information for a property on College Ride. The address is 153 College Ride but when we visited the numbers seem to finish at 115. Does anyone know if there were houses beyond what is now a gated track? 6148.1206
After making a few enquiries I may have resolved this matter. I think 153 would have been the census enumerator's "number of schedule" (the first column on the hand written form) not the house number, which should have been in the second column but which in my somwhat limited experience enumerators were quite bad at filling in correctly , often only putting down the Road name. The reason in part for this might be that many houses simply did not have numbers or names, and in a row of cottages everyone knew where everyone lived so that house names/numbers were a wee bit redundant anyway. Back at the time of the available censuses College Ride was not numbered sequentially. A group of cottages or a terraced row would be given a name and the dwellings numbered within that row. For example Ian (above) refers to "the terrace which was 1-4 Oakdene" thus the address of the occupant of one of these would have been, say, 3 Oakdene, College Ride, Bagshot - an address that gives no clue as to whereabouts on College Ride the terrace is to be found. Furthermore 2 Oakdene would have been next door, not on the other side of the road! One of the residents of College Ride tells me that it is within his memory that the houses ceased to be known by these terrace addresses.
I had always wondered what Church Road was called before the church was built. An answer came when I saw a copy of the deeds of 1884 transferring the land on which St Anne's Church is built - the associated plan clearly shows the road adjacent to the land as College Ride. This presumably means that College Ride then started at the junction of Jenkins Hill and the High Street, and not at the junction with Vicarage Road as it does now.
From Alan Edwards : An old friend and neighbour of mine recently told me her parents, who lived near junction of the A30 and Church Rd., always called Church Road 'Mill Lane' which figures with the old mill site on left hand side before St Annes church. 7019.307 I have also heard that the road, at least in part, was called Potato Row, though I have no idea why.
Can you throw any more light on this?
Diana asks if anyone has any information about
Pinewood Cottage, College Ride.
7024.307
Alan Edwards replied: If this is the pink cottage beyond Pinewood
House my great grandfather Henry Sumner lived there as a tied house to the
Elphinstones, running the surrounding fields as a smallholding. My
late mother Margaret Edwards remembered being frightened of the pigs when
visiting her grandparents.7019.507
Christine : I have been lookung for my greatgrandfather
Henry Sumner and his daughter Kathleen who was my grandmother.She would have
been 10 at the 1901 census but I cannot trace her, however it is certain
that my greatgrandfather Henry Sumner was living at Pinewood Cottage, College
Ride at this time. 8010.308 I have been able to put
Alan & Christine in touch.
If you can help answer any of these questions, please use the message pad below to reply.
Bagshot Hall and the old Catholic Church are addressed on a separate page.
Was this beech tree planted by Lord Nelson?
Mark remembers ... a huge beech tree opposite the church in College Ride; the one next to the house with the pond in the garden. The story was that it was planted by Lord Nelson. Is there any truth in that? Did the tree survive the great storm of 1987? 453.1203
The beech tree survived the storm and is still there. When Mark wrote to me I had not heard of the connection , though I have heard it since from another sourse so I assume that it is correct. It is also reported that Nelson stayed at both the adjacent Beech House and at Hallgrove, though other reports indicate that Beech House was built much more recently than that. Do you know about the tree? Please use the message pad below to reply. There is more about Nelson here.
Doodlebug
Ian wrote to tell us that a V1 "Doodlebug" landed in the fields and exploded behind St Anne's Church during WW2. It brought down lots of ceilings further up College Ride and caused structural damage, to my certain knowledge, to a property close to the junction of College Ride and Higgs Lane. 410.
Questions and answers index.
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