Pictorial Change

Change is a constant process and over the years King's Sutton has welcomed change as much as any other village.  Population has about doubled in the past 100 years and it is during this century that the greatest development has taken place. many years ago the village was centred around the Church and the village green but now the centre of the village could be seen as the Village Hall where most activities are carried out. 

The first fifty years of the last century saw the village grow slowly, expanding first along Richmond Street and then the Astrop Road area. Some photos below show there being no footpath on the school side of Richmond Street. Some show, what we may now describe, as poverty but taken as snapshots of a bygone age....when compared to more recent photos of the village it is the change which is remarkable.

Photographic Memories

The following series of photo memories are taken from the book written about the Village school to celebrate its Centenary in 2009.

          Sword Dancing in 1947                                                             Christmas Play in 1946

          


PC Goddard taking cycle lessons                                         County Council Village School New Class in 1910           

           


          Mr Easey with wartime staff                                                      School Class of 1928      
           
       

The next 10 photos are taken from the Kings Sutton Book published in 1993.

           Jesse and Ernie Twynam circa 1920                                         William Ridge circa 1932

                                         

    Picnic in Harper's yard, thought to celebrate the                              The Harper Family 1903  
        coronation of King George V, June 1911

    


             Staff at Astrop House - 1897                                              Troupe of children circe 1930

    



        Primary School Class in 1939 - 1940                                       King's Sutton Brass Band circa 1900

     

         King's Sutton Brotherhood Band                                                The Flower Show circa 1920

          


The 5 photos below are courtesy of Mr Roger Sim who says “My wife's grandfather Joe Middleton from Birmingham ran the Butchers Arms and Butchers shop in the 1950s.”

                               



         

The following two photos have been provided by Mr J. Taylor and are of Will Twynham who lived on the South side of Wales Street and worked for his great-great Uncle Joseph Colegrove, Farmer and brewer, of what is now Studleigh Farmhouse and the old brewery.

            

This is a picture of Mr Taylors Great-grandmother with Selwyn Colegrove, the son of her brother John Frederick. The picture was taken in the yard at the back of Studleigh Farmhouse. Most of the background has now gone. Selwyn Colegrove grew up to become the Chairman of the Auckland Stock Exchange.

All of the following 5 photos are by kind permission of Mr Brian Blackwell and represent various views of the village from times past. Brian says '' I was born in Birmingham, grandson of Kate Young (nee Reeves). She was born in Kings Sutton in 1875 and lived in Paradise.... and in the lane below the church in the house shown in the following two photos..''

                                           
                      
      Church of St Peter and St Paul                                 Another view of the church, gates and wall
                                                                                                 have been built.


   
               
Looking towards the church from the                                View of Paradise before the houses 
fields opposite the cemetary gates.                                             were built.       
                                                                                     ( Now known as Spinney Bank )

 Sitting on the far Right is Brian's great grandmother Ann Reeves (nee Silver).  Standing in the middle is his grandmother Kate Reeves (born 1875) and to her left is her brother George (born 1878). Sitting on the left is their sister Emily Cross(born 1868) and two of Emily's children..probably Daisy and Edward (the baby).


The following series of recently aquired photos is by kind permission of Darryl Bittner...and were all made available from Bert and Gwen Taylor's Photo albums. It is thought that they are all dated sometime between 1900 - 1935.

           

 Primary School, Richmond Street.                                        The Three Tuns, Whittall Street

           

Side of Recreation ground, onto Astrop Road                     The Green, Monks Cottages and Astrop Road

         

    Wales Street                                                                      Whittall Street



     

  Souvenir Postcard from the village                                      Formally known as the High Street, Now Whittall St.