My great grandmother Orpah Maria Proctor was born in Gubblecote in 1876, one of eight children. Orpah married Joseph Edwards from Wilstone in 1899 and lived in the village for the rest of her life, ultimately at Mardew, now 66 Tring Road.
The Village Stores has held a central role in Wilstone village life for over 120 years. Early photographs show a large white building (known as
Frederick Ernest Cooper was born on the 20th January 1877 in the village of Harrold in Bedfordshire. His early upbringing would almost certainly have included helping out on Crow Hill Farm on which he lived with his farm labourer father Thomas and mother Elizabeth.
This is the first of a number of articles about managers of the Half Moon Pub at Wilstone. We are still working on a timeline and comprehensive history but, in the meantime, some interesting stories are emerging. This first contribution describes and compares the experiences of two brave and capable women who were left on their own to run the Half Moon during the first and second World Wars.
A rural parish is not likely to host very many bridge openings in its history, so it was appropriate that a ceremony was organised to inaugurate the splendid new footbridge over the Aylesbury Arm of the canal at Wilstone.
There is good news and bad news with regard to this review. The good news is that the book is available in digital form on the Internet; the bad news is that this makes a fully considered review more difficult because it is not possible to see the book bound, in colour and complete form. This is in contrast to our earlier review of John Painter’s beautifully presented book on the same subject.
I first heard of this book when visiting Tring Local History Museum. I asked for any material on Long Marston, Puttenham or Wilstone and this was one of the items they produced for me.
This article is based on an interview with Michael Glasser, a long term resident of Wilstone who has fond memories of the village during and after the Second World War. The conversation also covers the growth and eventual closure of the family’s poultry farming and animal feeds businesses, which were a feature of the village during the latter part of the twentieth century.
This interview features David Mead, from the family that have been farming in the local area for many years and established the farm shop that is familiar to us all. David talks about his time as a child during the second world war, the community of Wilstone and his life in farming.
This is how Mr. Joe Edwards and Mr. Harry Cartwright described the lane which led from a fork with the Tring Road down to Great Farm.
This interview with Wally Braginton, long term resident of Wilstone, tells the story of his time there and how the village was saved from terminal decline by the commitment of new residents to creating a vibrant and mutually supportive community.
Send in your photos, stories, documents and we’ll get them added!