In recent years much airtime on television and radio has been devoted to family history and house history. I have had an interest in family history for nearly 30 years and as we live in an old house it seemed natural to try and find out more about the history of it and even who might have lived here.
Our house, Sunnybank, lies within the Hook Norton Conservation Area but it is not listed. Stapenhill, immediately next door, is listed but it predates ours by some 20 odd years having been constructed in the late 1600s.
Paul Clark acting on behalf of the Oxfordshire Buildings Record undertook house histories of a number of the older houses in the village. We “volunteered” our house for inspection with Paul dating it around 1710/1720. An interesting observation he made was the presence of witches marks on the stone fireplace in our sitting room. These marks also known as Apotropaic marks (from the Greek for “turning away evil”) take various forms. Ours are a set of concentric circles and were carved near potential entrance points for evil such as chimneys to safeguard the inhabitants rather than by witches themselves! To see ours one needs to shine a torch at an angle otherwise a casual observer would not notice them.
The presence of the marks was an interesting find but given the age of the house I was keen to see if I had any success in tracing previous occupants.
The decennial census would seem to be the obvious starting points. For houses in a city or a large town that probably would have been the answer. However, for village properties it is an entirely different matter. Very few individual houses were named in the early censuses. There might be the odd reference to street names. In Hook Norton’s case High Street, Netting Street, East End, Bell Hill, Scotland End etc. may well have been mentioned. We regard our house as being in Scotland End at the western side of the village close to where Netting Street turns into Scotland End. Whilst these parts of the village are mentioned a researcher, i.e. myself, is unable to establish which way the enumerator went round the village collecting the forms.
As a result the early censuses drew a blank and it is not until the 1921 census that, perhaps, a clue or possible lead emerges. The 1915 Kelly’s Directory lists Joseph Hitchcox, a farmer, living at Stapenhill next door. A look at the 1921 census finds the family still living there. Assuming that the enumerator walked in the same direction collecting the forms the neighbours could well have been the Mobley family on one side and the Wise family on the other. Both surnames still exist in the village today and I have been informed that Israel Wise and his family did live in Sunnybank. However, in the census the address is just given as Scotland End.
Israel Wise was a 52 year old ironstone miner as was his 23 year old son, George. Both had been employed at the Brymbo Works but were out of work. The rest of the household comprised Caroline, Israel’s wife, aged 55, Horace a 16 year old agricultural labourer working for Mr Hitchcox and Phillis aged 14. The census form stated that there were 5 rooms in the house.
The 1939 Register was taken on 29 September of that year to gain an accurate picture of who was living in the country shortly after the outbreak of WW2. One purpose of the register was to ascertain the population in order that ration books could be issued. The address in the register given by Israel was Prews, Scotland End. So somehow the house, indeed if they were still living in the same one as 1921, had acquired a name. But where did that name come from? The 1931 census was destroyed by enemy action during the war so it cannot be used for checking. In later years the village baker was a Mr Prew who had premises at the foot of Bell Hill. He retired in 1987 after 35 years of operating.
We need to go forward a few years before we find references to Sunnybank. It is a pity that Land Registry records have been digitised which obviates the need to retain old deeds relating to a property. Some solicitors may have kept some for posterity but now there is no need to.
Many old newspapers can be found online. Using my subscription to Find my Past I input “Sunnybank and Hook Norton” as a search term in old copies of the Banbury Guardian.
The first reference I found was dated 20 November 1952 when a budgie was being offered for sale. The budgie, who was a fluent talker with numerous words and sentences, could be yours for 5 guineas (£5.25) including its cage. Apply to Pearson, Sunnybank, Hook Norton and it could be yours. Tom and Lucy Pearson bought Sunnybank in November 1946 for their retirement. Sadly Lucy died the following year, however, Tom remained in the house until his death on 6 July 1957 at the age of 84. An obituary was published in the Banbury Guardian of 18 July 1957. The Pearsons had 2 children, a son and a daughter. Mollie had married Alan King-Smith and lived in The Moors at the other end of the village.
Needless to say the house had to be sold but not before Mollie placed an advertisement in the newspaper to sell some of her father’s furniture. The house itself must have taken a bit of time to sell as I found advertisements in the Banbury Guardian from August 1957 up to the following year. The King-Smiths who were the executors were forced to lower the asking price from £3850 in 1957 to the best offer over £2000 the following year. The house was being marketed as an ideal retirement home ready to move into with no work being needed. Why did it take so long to sell? Was it because the couple had died in it albeit ten years apart? We will never know the answer.
Sunnybank was finally sold in September 1958 to Percy Bowyer and his wife, Irene. Irene was involved with the village W.I. In August 1964 the W.I. Fete was held in the “attractive” garden of Sunnybank. This was an event held to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the W.I. The Bowyer’s daughter, Ruth, married John Wise of Manor Farm Cottages in March 1967. We have met the surname Wise earlier, was John related to Israel?
Shortly after this wedding the house was sold to a Mr Brownlow who remained in it for 2 years when it was sold once more. The new purchaser was Evelyn Coles, nee Parks-Smith. She did not live in the house for long dying in it in May 1970. The next owner was her spinster sister, Violet who, in her working life, had been a teacher. Interestingly the 1939 Register detailed her civil defence role as that of ambulance driver! It was during Violet’s occupancy that a major change was made. Whilst the front garden was small and compact as it is today the back garden was fairly large and extended to the west. In February 1972 Violet sold the western portion of the land for £3000 to Donald and Christl Davis. The Davis’ would build the house known as “Westwind”. A few months later Sunnybank was sold, Violet moving to Swiss Cottage, Sibford Road in the village. The new buyers were Gyorgy and Mary Radda who paid £13260. Gyorgy was a Hungarian who came to the UK following the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. He only died in 2024.
After almost nine years the Raddas sold the house in 1981 to Emily Winifred Lobb who, at that time lived in Yorkshire. The consideration was £39950. Perhaps she moved to the village to be closer to her family. Born in 1900 she died in 1990, her death being registered in south Warwickshire.
Sunnybank was sold on a further two occasions before we bought it in June 2000. One sale was around 1983 while the other was in 1997. The family who bought the house in 1997 greatly modernised and expanded it , they had done this to several other properties in the area. The house increased in size to the five bedroom layout we have today. Having seen the layout in plans prior to this it was certainly a great improvement, we certainly would not have been up to the challenge of extending the property!
Owing to a lack of proper identification in the early censuses I have been unable to trace the early occupiers of our lovely house. However, I have the consolation of finding out almost everyone who has lived in it during the past 100 years.