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Wilmcote lies about 4 miles out of Stratford, a mile to the west of the main road to
Birmingham. It is a pretty little village, which contains the finest of the Shakespeare
properties, Mary Arden's House, which, according to tradition, was once the home of
Shakespeare's mother. When I lived in Wilmcote, many of the older locals laughed at this and
said that the original house was on the other side of the road ! In recent years it has been
shown that they were indeed partly correct. The home of the Ardens has been established as
the neighbouring Glebe Farm (not a name that I ever knew it by - it was Holmes's Farm !)
and the name Mary Arden's House has been transferred to it, the original property having
been renamed Palmer's, after Adam Palmer who owned it in the 1570s and 80s. How legends
are debunked !! I can imagine a certain old Wilmcote resident, (known locally as the "Bishop"
and now many years departed this life), chuckling away in the bar at the Masons' ! So the
only problem now is, when Mary Arden's House is mentioned, a lot of us will be thinking of
what is now Palmer's ! How confusing ! All the postcards which appear on this page are, of
course, old cards and show the original Mary Arden's House, ie Palmer's. Clear ?
Birmingham. It is a pretty little village, which contains the finest of the Shakespeare
properties, Mary Arden's House, which, according to tradition, was once the home of
Shakespeare's mother. When I lived in Wilmcote, many of the older locals laughed at this and
said that the original house was on the other side of the road ! In recent years it has been
shown that they were indeed partly correct. The home of the Ardens has been established as
the neighbouring Glebe Farm (not a name that I ever knew it by - it was Holmes's Farm !)
and the name Mary Arden's House has been transferred to it, the original property having
been renamed Palmer's, after Adam Palmer who owned it in the 1570s and 80s. How legends
are debunked !! I can imagine a certain old Wilmcote resident, (known locally as the "Bishop"
and now many years departed this life), chuckling away in the bar at the Masons' ! So the
only problem now is, when Mary Arden's House is mentioned, a lot of us will be thinking of
what is now Palmer's ! How confusing ! All the postcards which appear on this page are, of
course, old cards and show the original Mary Arden's House, ie Palmer's. Clear ?
The Masons' Arms. I lived in Wilmcote during the 1940s and 50s. My parents, Bill and
Vera Gregory, ran the Masons' Arms from 1944 until 1963. I've done a bit of research into
previous landlords - the following dates are the years in which I found the references, and
don't necessarily cover the entire period of the person's tenancy !! If you have any better
information, please let me know !!
1874 - George Stockley 1881 & 1884 William Stockley 1888-1904 John Bromley
1908 &1912 Albert Edkins 1916-1936 George Overton 1940 Percy Stubbs
1944 Eileen Stubbs 1944-1963 Bill Gregory 1963-1984 John Cockram
1984-1987 Ray Rutt 1987- Keith Snow
Thanks to Scott Cockram for the updated information.
Vera Gregory, ran the Masons' Arms from 1944 until 1963. I've done a bit of research into
previous landlords - the following dates are the years in which I found the references, and
don't necessarily cover the entire period of the person's tenancy !! If you have any better
information, please let me know !!
1874 - George Stockley 1881 & 1884 William Stockley 1888-1904 John Bromley
1908 &1912 Albert Edkins 1916-1936 George Overton 1940 Percy Stubbs
1944 Eileen Stubbs 1944-1963 Bill Gregory 1963-1984 John Cockram
1984-1987 Ray Rutt 1987- Keith Snow
Thanks to Scott Cockram for the updated information.
Wilmcote Festival. I never knew there was a Wilmcote Festival until I found an old
postcard showing the procession ! I presume it stopped for the war years and was never
revived. Have a look at the postcard on our Wilmcote page. It shows the procession going
up the hill towards the Masons, passing the old chapel, with Holmes' Farm on the left. Are
you in the picture - some of the children may well still be alive. ?? The postcard was
produced by C W Thornton, 20A Wood Street, S/on/A.
postcard showing the procession ! I presume it stopped for the war years and was never
revived. Have a look at the postcard on our Wilmcote page. It shows the procession going
up the hill towards the Masons, passing the old chapel, with Holmes' Farm on the left. Are
you in the picture - some of the children may well still be alive. ?? The postcard was
produced by C W Thornton, 20A Wood Street, S/on/A.
Wilmcote Station. I spent many hours here collecting train numbers. I've included a postcard from 1992 on our postcard page -
it shows GWR Locomotive no 6024, King Edward I - King Class locomotives were never allowed to run through to Stratford in the
1950s ! Does anyone remember Sid Webb, the signalman who used to live in one of those cottages just across the bridge ? He let me
and his son Jimmy put pennies on the line to get crushed; we sometimes helped him run the signal box, and if we were lucky we got a
ride on the banker when it went back down to Stratford.
it shows GWR Locomotive no 6024, King Edward I - King Class locomotives were never allowed to run through to Stratford in the
1950s ! Does anyone remember Sid Webb, the signalman who used to live in one of those cottages just across the bridge ? He let me
and his son Jimmy put pennies on the line to get crushed; we sometimes helped him run the signal box, and if we were lucky we got a
ride on the banker when it went back down to Stratford.
Wilmcote Cricket Club. We had a good cricket team in the 1950s. It was revived and organised by Herbert Bonehill, who I believe
is still alive aged 94 (in February 2008). We played in Monk Mason's field at the bottom of Cantlow Hill. If there are any former
players still around who would like to get in touch, please do so ! I have a team photo from about 1954 if anyone is interested - it's in a
box in the attic but I can easily find it ! Get in touch on gregoryolney@aol.com
is still alive aged 94 (in February 2008). We played in Monk Mason's field at the bottom of Cantlow Hill. If there are any former
players still around who would like to get in touch, please do so ! I have a team photo from about 1954 if anyone is interested - it's in a
box in the attic but I can easily find it ! Get in touch on gregoryolney@aol.com
If you have any memories, odd facts or information about Wilmcote, please email us.
I've subsequently received an email from Sue Holmes who tells me that the Wilmcote Festival was revived in 1992 and is held
every two years. It now covers a full nine days (1st - 9th July in 2006) and involves all the community. It includes two days of
open gardens, various musical/dance evenings, guided walks, cricket match, children's activites, culminating on the last night with
the Wilmcote Proms on the village playing field, with orchestra fireworks etc.
every two years. It now covers a full nine days (1st - 9th July in 2006) and involves all the community. It includes two days of
open gardens, various musical/dance evenings, guided walks, cricket match, children's activites, culminating on the last night with
the Wilmcote Proms on the village playing field, with orchestra fireworks etc.
In July 2008 we received an email from a former Wilmcote resident, Jane Hewlett (nee Hewins) who is now living in Australia. Her
father was Arthur (Brock) Brooks. He was a friend of my father and used to drink in the Mason's. Jane had a brother John and a sister
Judith, both of whom I remember from when I lived in the village. Jane's cousin was David Wright, son of Norman Wright and Jane's
Auntie Minnie. David played cricket for Wilmcote and was I believe the second player to score a century for the club. Jane sent the
photographs below, and also a postcard of the Wilmcote Festival which you can see on our "Wilmcote" page. If you can identify
anyone in any of these photos, please email us !
father was Arthur (Brock) Brooks. He was a friend of my father and used to drink in the Mason's. Jane had a brother John and a sister
Judith, both of whom I remember from when I lived in the village. Jane's cousin was David Wright, son of Norman Wright and Jane's
Auntie Minnie. David played cricket for Wilmcote and was I believe the second player to score a century for the club. Jane sent the
photographs below, and also a postcard of the Wilmcote Festival which you can see on our "Wilmcote" page. If you can identify
anyone in any of these photos, please email us !
| There is a lot of information about Wilmcote and the surrounding villages on the internet - see what you can discover ! |
| The 1950 infant's class at Wilmcote School. Are you in the photo ? If you can help with identification, please email us. |
| The Wilmcote Festival about 1932. The boy on the left in front of the flag is possibly Jane's brother. |
| Jane's mother Mary Bannister (aged 4) and her cat by the Lych Gate. |
| A group in the Village Hall - do you recognise anyone ? And does anyone remember the mobile cinema which used to show films in the Hall in the 1950s ? |
| Wilmcote School 1908. Cissy Bannister is the little girl next to the male teacher. The lady teacher is Grace Bromley's mother and Ern Bromley's wife - they lived in the cottages by the Lych Gate. Do you know anyone here ? |