Family forced to flee after hole appears in garden
Safety fears mean Chieveley man and grandchildren must leave home, March 25, 1971 OLD MEMORIES REVIVED Extracts taken from past columns of the Newbury Weekly News
150 years ago April 6 1871 Waggon reels
JAMES Hawkins was summoned for being drunk at Hampstead Norris, on the 18th ult.
PC Plater saw the defendant coming along the road about quarter-to-four, with a waggon. He was falling up against the shafts and was obliged to hold by the traces.
A man named Laley came up and promised to see him home safely. Defendant’s master, Mr John Richmond, said he saw the man come home.
He had had some beer, but did his work as usual. Witness could not, however, say what day he was speaking of.
Mr. Slocock (to defendant) – Haven’t you been a soldier? Defendant – Yes, sir.
Mr. Slocock – Then you’re drunk or not drunk, you know (a laugh).
Fined 5s, with 7s costs. Allowed a week.
125 years ago
April 2 1896
Doctor gets on his bike
A SECTION of residents in an adjoining village were sorely disturbed in their minds on a recent Sunday afternoon by the mysterious sounds which proceeded from behind the garden wall of one of their most respected inhabitants.
For he was not only their doctor but their churchwarden.
The majority voted that he was mowing his lawn, the minority were undecided as to the cause of the noises which were more apparent at irregular intervals. At last some of the boldest determined on a reconnoitre, and cautiously made their way to a point where they could the more clearly ascertain what was going on.
Their minds were relieved when they found that it was nothing worse than the doctor learning to ride a bicycle within the privacy of his garden. I understand it was decided not to bring the matter forward at the Easter vestry. 100 years ago March 31 1921
Time for a change
SUMMER-time comes into operation next Sunday. On Saturday night, it will be necessary to put on the clocks an hour, and rise an hour earlier next morning without realising it.
It is to be hoped that the conditions will be more auspicious than last year, when the new time was hailed by a snowstorm and gave the critics a chance to scoff.
The benefit will be felt immediately in the evenings which have lengthened appreciably.
The extra hour of daylight will provide an opportunity for recreation and labour in the garden after the day’s work has been done.
Farmers are still in opposition, and some of them privately ignore the change, but even they have to catch trains and posts, and the younger generation of them are not averse to the leisure which comes to them, as to all, as a consequence of the alteration in the clocks.
75 years ago
March 28 1946
Row over restaurant
HUNGERFORD’S British Restaurant, now established in the Corn Exchange, so that the Church House could be freed from requisitioning and handed back to the Church authorities, continues to provide a bone of contention between the Hungerford District Council and the Ministry of Food.
The Council feel that the restaurant is still needed by the community, and they are prepared to take over future financial responsibility, but regard the price asked by the Ministry for the purchase of the equipment as excessive.
If terms cannot be agreed upon,
the British Restaurant will probably be closed down.
At the District Council meeting last Wednesday, it was stated that the equipment originally cost £1,000 and it had been in use for six years.
The Ministry had offered two alternatives, neither of which was acceptable to the Council. One was that the equipment be purchased by the Council at 80 per cent of its cost.
A deputation had interviewed the Minister of Food, but he would not depart in principle from the offers made. Incidentally, the Minister asserted that the restaurant ought to yield a profit, and pointed out that Hungerford’s price for a main meal was 1s 2d at British Restaurants throughout the country.
50 years ago
March 25 1971
A hole lot of trouble
A CHIEVELEY man and his three young grandchildren are anxiously packing up their furniture and other belongings today, hoping that their condemned house won’t disappear into a hole.
Newbury District Council condemned Ashfield Farm House on Tuesday, five days after Mr Charles Barnes had reported that a well which stood in the garden had disappeared into a seven feet deep hole. On Thursday, Mr Barnes had visits from RDC officials, the Thames Valley Water Board and the agents for the house.
Since then steps outside the back door have fallen into the hole and so too has a long brick wall bordering the garden. Large cracks have appeared in the basement wall, and, says Mr
Barnes, “they are opening up about a quarter of an inch a day”.
The district council have told Mr Barnes to get out of the house as soon as possible and he will be moving tomorrow to temporary accommodation at Pound Lane, Thatcham.
Chicken and geese which he kept at his garden are advertised for sale.
The appearance of the hole on Thursday morning came as quite a shock to Mr Barnes. He said: “I got the kids up for school and had put the kettle on. “Then I looked out of the window and saw that half the garden had disappeared.”
25 years ago
March 22 1996
Thieves target farms
FARMERS with isolated buildings are being warned to be on their guard against a gang who study premises before raiding them.
The warning follows the latest incident at Eastleaze Farm, Baydon, when horse tack worth £31,000 was stolen after thieves drove across fields to reach a stable block.
Older tracks in the field suggest it was not the first time the thieves had visited.
In recent months, similar incidents have occurred at East Soley and Ogbourne Mazey.
10 years ago
March 31 2011
Costa opens for business
COSTA Coffee opened in Thatcham on Tuesday without planning permission from West Berkshire Council.
Many customers have already visited the café, but the franchise owner, Steve Falle, admitted he has only just submitted a retrospective application for change of use of the unit in the Kingsland Centre, which was previously office space.
Mr Falle said that his plan was to get the business up and running as soon as possible so he would not lose money after buying the franchise. He confirmed on Monday that he had now submitted his application and was confident of a favourable result.
He said: “Because we have spoken to [planning officers] previously, we are pretty confident that it does not warrant a rejection. I would be very surprised if they turned it down.”
However, last year West Berkshire planning officers refused permission for restaurants in the main shopping area on the grounds that there were too many non-retail units already. “As soon as we signed the lease, we cracked on with the building,” he said.
“I have not tried to hide anything or to do anything underhand.
“We just approached it in a way that we normally would.”
But Thatcham resident and businessman Martyn Herriott said that he was concerned he was trying to “roll over planning application permission”.
He said: “[Other developers] have done it in other places. “They open the doors very quickly, get people to fill in a form saying they want it there and then apply for retrospective planning permission.”
Mr Falle said that Costa would be good for the town centre and other businesses, as statistics showed coffee shops increased footfall in precincts.