Mrs Beulah Boyles said she was born in 1905 in her mother's
home, a cottage opposite New Cumnor Place, still standing and occupied. The
Lambourn family has traced its line back to 1663, and in all probability, she
said, had some connection with the Lambourn of the Amy Robsart story. Beulah was
the only child of Herbert Lambourn's marriage with Alice Inness.
She attended Cumnor Village School until 11 years old and later Milham Ford
School. "I suppose my friend and I were among the first to go to school in
Oxford who weren't 'gentry' ", she reminisced. She trained as a teacher in
London and after one teaching post elsewhere returned to the village in 1929 to
take up post at Cumnor School as the first trained teacher to be appointed
(apart from Mr Brown, the Head). By coincidence another Miss Lambourn from
Appleton was also teaching in the school.
At this time the family had moved to one of the 'St. John's' houses in Leys
Road, by the Chapel. "There was one outside pump for the water in all four
houses. There was a block of 'privies' halfway up the garden and we had to cross
two gardens to get there -it wasn't an easy journeys at night! We had paraffin
lamps and candles in those days, and when we wanted a bath we had a zinc tub in
front of the fire".
One choir outing when Beulah was young was particularly recalled when almost all
the village children went to Oxford station by horse and cart and then in
reserved train carriages to Southampton. On the way home the children took off
their shoes and there was a big scramble to get them on again when the train
drew into Oxford and one of the Hales never did find her other shoe. Later there
were other outings by charabanc. "We went to church twice on Sunday and once to
Sunday School. The family went and we all had to trail along. The vicar then was
the Reverend Wilkinson and I remember my mother speaking of the previous vicar,
'Bonny' Griffith they used to call him. We used to look up to the vicar. He was
most important in those days. The Rev. Wilkinson's son (we thought he was a
handsome young man) died from injuries in the Great War."
Mrs Boyles felt that the village school had done well then as, apart from ESN
children, all left able to read, write and do arithmetic even though lessons
were conducted with all Standards in one partitioned room. One year seven local
children gained scholarships."First time I remember a radio was Derby Day -about
1930 I think. The headmaster brought a crystal set into the school".
Arthur explained how he came to Cumnor : "Herbert Thomas built Leys House in
1921, coming from Great Milton manor. He was a gentleman, with no particular
job. I think his family was connected with Christopher's Soaps in Bristol. My
father came with him as gardener. For a time on leaving school I worked for the
builders at Leys House. Around 1923 I went to help plant and lay out the new
garden at Hurstcote. It was a field before. Henry Brooke built it - a very nice
family. One of his sons became Lord Brooke and a Home Secretary - we went up to
Parliament and had lunch with him. I worked at Hurstcote for 52 years. Dr Arkell
(whose family were brewers in Swindon) lived there afterwards and then Brigadier
Hill. Gardening was hard work, harder than it is now - not the implements there
are now. Everyone did a bit of gardening in those days, to help with the
vegetables and so on. The gardeners (Mr Dance at Cutts End, me at Hurstcote,
Lawson at Thomas's, Jim Webb at Cumnor Place) were always exchanging pieces - no
selling. They helped each other out. All worked together".
"Some of the Cumnor/Botley/Wytham shows were held at Cumnor Place, organised by
Jim Webb. All sweet peas. Leaves and lawn mowings were used for compost - pig
manure was watered down and used to water plants. They used to grow wonderful
stuff in those cottage gardens - runner beans, potatoes, peas, brussels ...
lucky around Cumnor, we had good soil. You had to be gardener and handyman. You
had to go driving in those days. My father had the first bungalow in Appleton
Road. My father used to breed pigs and keep chickens - all free range in those
days. Eggs were 4d each."
"I used to go round the village collecting 2d a week from each family", said
Beulah, " - it entitled them to treatment at the Radcliffe. Amy Hicks' shop was
on the Oxford Road. Her bungalow was beyond and back from it (just past present
shops). The Post Office until the late 1920s was at the Hales in Oxford Road.
Bessie Pike's shop: just going into her living room, just a table with jars of
sweets on it. 'Nevvy' Capel had a shield over one eye. He grew two species of
red roses and always had one in his buttonhole. Bill Neale, he was landlord of
'The Bear' then. He would come up from the cellar, ash on his cigarette nearly
as long as the cigarette, but he never dropped it in the beer. It was served
through a hatch, not a wide open counter then. Nothing special happened in
Cumnor, no more than anywhere else".
Frank Didcock - he was a coalman with one arm. He used to bring the coal up from
Oxford wharf once a week. He'd carry it on his horse and cart. He'd tip it in
the yard, sack it, then deliver it at c. 2s 6d a sack. The shop goods came from
Grimbley & Hughes in Oxford. The shop had a low ceiling - a pokey little place,
room for no more than three people. A table stretched half way across the room
and Pat would cut the bacon there with a knife. Nice girl - nothing was too much
trouble. Used to be open till eight in the evening."
A big function in the Cumnor social calendar in their early years was the Cumnor
Rowser (a cricket match between Horspath Village men and the men of Cumnor
-apparently farmer Jack Walker had relations in Horspath which brought this
about). In her younger days Mrs Boyles herself had a keen interest in sport and
played cricket for the Cumnor Ladies' Team on the same field used by Cumnor
Cricket Club today. Tennis was played on various courts privately owned by
wealthier Cumnor residents. Courts existed behind the Church (New Cumnor Place)
and at Hurstcote.
"The one thing I looked forward to", said Arthur keenly, " was playing cricket
on Saturday afternoons. Once or twice a year there was a Whist Drive in the old
school. Cumnor, it was a good place to live, 'cept there weren't any buses.
Richins of Appleton kept a mini-coach, the 'local carrier', at a pub in Appleton
and he carried passengers and fetched parcels. Old 'cakey' Harper used to come
from Abingdon, pushing a truck and selling cakes. Eadle had a little truck to
deliver Sunday papers. He came from Wolvercote. 1 don't remember any daily
papers. There's not many of our generation who can argue against it. In 1934,
when we had a mixed choir - Mr & Mrs Brown were in it too - we went to a show in
London. When we got there some of the fellows decided to go to a football match
instead. They followed a crowd, but when they got there it was greyhound
racing!"
The Misses Jervois (whose father possibly held some important post in the
colonial service) were recalled as VIP's in the village and had on one occasion
entertained royalty at New Cumnor Place. Politically the village was divided,
with many finding it expedient to be strong Tory owing to being employed by
families in the village and others who worked independently being Liberal.
Mr Boyles' whole working career was spent in the gardens of Hurstcote throughout
its various owners. His first employer, Leslie Brooke, instigated the shaping of
Johnny Crow in the Garden in connection with his work as a book illustrator and
the bird was kept shaped up by Arthur during his years at Hurstcote, where it
still remains. Many American tourists visited Hurstcote to see Johnny Crow as
Leslie Brooke's books were popular in America. Toads were also introduced into
the garden for the purpose of Mr Brooke's book illustrations. There are still
numbers of them there. Some of Leslie Brooke's illustrated books were in the
possession of Mr Boyles : 'The Golden Goose', 'The Three Bears', 'Johnny Crow's
Garden', (all published Fred. Warne & Co.)
Mrs Sybil Brooke (wife of Leslie) was a founder of Cumnor Village Hall
(contributions of 1/- a brick being raised from Cumnor residents) and of Cumnor
W.I. The Brookes had two sons, one had been killed in the 1914-18 war and the
other, Henry, who became Home Secretary, who entertained Arthur occasionally.
(Based on interviews conducted by Mrs J.Adams in 1980, Bert Tighe in 1989 and
John Hanson in 1990)