Road through Kencot
The Malthouse
The Malthouse was originally a small independent farm.
The Forshews lived in the Malthouse. They lived in one part of the house. The wing facing the road wasn’t lived in at the time but allowed to decay. During WWII soldiers were billeted in the long wing and barns of the Malthouse. The Forshews had 4 children, Bernice (who died of diphtheria at five years old), Ralph, John and Grace. Mrs. Forshew was Mary Minnie Oakey before her marriage and was a very forthright woman. Mr Forshew was quiet. The rest of the Malthouse outbuildings – now the two barn conversions, were used for storage, and a place where the villagers came to buy fresh eggs from the chickens Mr Forshew kept on the land. At some points in the past, there might have been families living in the barns, ‘camping out’ as May described it. May remembers the children playing in the barns, and up and down the tallets (outside steps). Mrs Forshew used to drive for miles around the villages in her pony and trap. (The pony had belonged to the rag and bone man and was given to Anne Oakey’s family when he retired but, when it proved to be difficult to ride was passed on to Mary Forshew). Malthouse Barn
Malt Barn
Little Malthouse
The Maltings
2 Kencot Cottages
1 Kencot Cottages
Shill House
De Rougemont
Mr. De Rougemont had the house built in October 1927.
May’s paternal grandmother lived in the cottage opposite. (Now Shill House) May recalls her mother telling her that she left Gran’s house when she was in labour with May’s brother and walked past the workmen working on De Rougement. May’s mother tried not to show them she was in labour. Her brother was born in 1927 which is how May is so sure of the date the house was built. The De Rougement sisters were Helen and Biddy. May says they were much loved by the people of the village. She and Leonard remember many happy hours spent in their house with other children from the village, dressing up, doing plays, playing games. They had a wonderful collection of clothes in the dressing-up box. The sisters were lovely people, one tall and thin, the other short and round. Gill’s mother worked for them, cleaning and tidying etc. When the sisters died, Gill’s mum found lots of papers showing how the sisters were always raising funds for the Coal and the nursing funds. One learned to drive – a green Ford. There were only 4 cars in the village at that time. |
Until the early 1970s, The Old Stable was originally a birthing stable for Broadwell Manor Farm. It was sold by the Goodenoughs to their friend Brenda Colvin, (Born: 8 June 1897: Died: 27 January 1981 (aged 83)) the landscape architect who was based in Filkins (Colvin & Moggeridge).
She had the barn converted into a home, with living quarters upstairs, and sleeping quarters downstairs. It was her partner Hal Moggeridge with his family who first lived in the house. The house still retained features of it's previous existence, including outside steps to the hay storage area, lintels, horse hitching ironwork and hay baskets. Subsequent owners have changed the layout, extended the original barn (nearly doubling it's size) and changed the roofline. Manor Farm
Manor Farm Cottage
Wychwood
Mulberry Cottage
Cote House
Brookside Cottage
Brookside House
Holly House
Well House
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