LPC Minutes

Village Square showing the War Memorial, Baptist Chapel and the Bus Shelter

This view was probably taken in the mid-1950s as the bus shelter shown here was constructed and opened to celebrate the coronation of HM the Queen in 1953. Ordinarily a bus shelter would not warrant much interest or attention, however it is notable that very much in the post-war spirit of the times the shelter was built by volunteers from the village and constructed with materials provided by local residents. The other views below show the day of the shelter’s formal opening, as well as all those involved in supplying materials and doing the building work.

The Volunteers who Built the Village Bus Shelter

The Opening of the Village Bus Shelter, 1953

The village war memorial takes the form of a Celtic Cross that is made from Cornish granite. It was unveiled on 12^th December 1920 by Major Harold Hatton Hulse who lived at Lavendon Grange. There are 21 names recorded on the memorial for WWI. A memorial to Major Hulse himself also exists in the form of a stained glass window in the church that was donated by his wife, sister and children.

TO THE UNDYING FAME

OF THESE MEN OF LAVENDON

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

FOR KING AND COUNTRY

1914-1919

THIS MEMORIAL IS ERECTED

Thomas Bamford
Walter Bedford
Frank Bowyer
Frederick Bowyer
Frederick Chaplain
Hector Fielden
Arthur Freeman

Charles Freeman
Everitt Freeman
Melbourne Gammage
Charles Green
William Holmes
Cecil Lawrence
Frank Orpin

“LEST WE FORGET”

A further six names appear on the Lavendon Roll of Honour for WWII and the 1953 Malayan campaign. The following were victims of these conflicts:

1939 – 1945: George Johnson, Cecil Wilfred Panter, Ivor T L Robins, George Sanders and Reginald Taylor

1953 – Malaya: William White

Percy Panter
Percy Ward
Alfred Watts
Joseph Watts
Richard Watts
William Wooding
William Wright

Lavendon Village War Memorial

Looking up the High Street from the Village Square towards

Bedford Road

This seemingly tranquil scene, showing the Old School on the left and the Chapel on the right gives a rather different impression to that of the busy present-day village centre. The Lavendon Union Chapel, now the Lavendon Baptist Church, was built in 1894. In his book of 1900, Oliver Ratcliff tells us that “The Union chapel and school, at Lavendon, were erected with stone obtained in the parish by Mr H G Lay at a cost of £655, from the design of Mr Charles Dormer of Northampton. They are neat structures and an ornament to the village.”

Just beyond the Chapel on the right is the entrance to the former farmstead that has recently been developed and called Longmire, named after the Longmire family who originally owned the adjoining land. Elizabeth Longmire’s name featured in the Lavendon Enclosure Award of 1801. The barn associated with the farmstead, also visible in this view, was known as Parris’s Barn. It was demolished circa the early 1970s and gained the name after the prominent village family that lived at the farm. Bert Parris was one of the last to farm there.

St Michael's Church

In his History of the Village of Lavendon, written in 1947, the Revd R R N Rendell observed that “The Church has seen the Castle and the Abbey wax and wane, for its original builders were Saxons. Their work still rises above the Nave in the fortress-like Tower with its quaint herring bone construction.... It is most probable that a church has stood on the present site since 950 A.D. or even earlier.”

The Victoria County History describes the ensuing development of the Church: “The west end of the Chancel, the Nave and the West Tower are of pre-Conquest date, and were built probably in the first half of the 11^th century. Towards the middle of the 13^th century the North and South Aisles were added, and the Chancel was lengthened. Late in the 15^th century the North and South Porches, the clearstorey, and the second stage of the tower were added, and the south arcade, and possibly the south aisle, were rebuilt. The building was completely restored in 1859.”

The Village Centre Viewed from St Michael’s Churchyard

This general view of the village centre is believed to have been taken in the late 1960s. In the centre of this view, beyond the village war memorial and cross, is the handsome Union Chapel built in 1894. The prominent building on the right of the view is the former George Inn, now a private house. On the opposite side of the road is the former general store and Post Office. This is also now a private house though it still retains its disused PO letter box. English Heritage states that the building is of 17^th century origin, somewhat altered, but meriting a Grade II listing.