Buckden - a Huntingdonshire Village

68 subsequently sold for redevelopment as private housing – an echo of the 1840s fate of its old neighbour, the Falcon. See also earthquake, Buckden hit by small. Springfield Close is a residential cul-de-sac off Lucks Lane. For the significance of its name, see Weir Close. spy story: a tale of a Second World War mystery passed down to Leslie Osborn Glessner, who now lives in New Jersey, USA: ‘During the war due to the bombing and destruction the government ordered anyone who had extra rooms in their house to take in boarders to relieve the burden of displaced people. Much against my grandmother’s wishes they had to take in a lady boarder who was a stranger to Buckden. My grandmother was not very keen on the idea of a stranger in the house and made her discomfort known to my grandfather rather regularly. After realizing her unjustified complaints were falling on deaf ears she decided to observe the stranger’s daily activities. In a very short time she noticed that the stranger would have dinner with them until about 7 p.m. then leave for the evening. The stranger then would not return until late at night well after the pubs had closed. She would then stay in her room and not come out until dinnertime the next day then repeat her daily mission. So after observing this activity for a few weeks my grandmother decided to pass this information on to my grandfather. At this point my grandfather is working 12 and 16-hour days at his saw mill or doing contractor work on the military airfields. He really did not want to deal with this nonsense since he felt it was just my grandmother wishing the unwanted guest gone. Finally to keep peace in the house my grandfather agreed to follow the stranger’s activities one night. So my grandfather follows the stranger to a pub where airmen from the pathfinder’s squadron enjoyed themselves. I am not sure what pub he went to, whether it was a local pub or one far away since my grandfather did have an MG motorcar at the time. Anyway, once in the pub my grandfather noticed the stranger flirting with the airmen and coaxed them to drink but did not drink herself. The stranger at first would make small talk with the airmen about their families or girlfriends. After a few rounds the stranger would move into talking about what missions they had flown or if they were going to fly the next day. Now my grandfather was convinced my grandmother might be correct in her observations and went to the local constable. The constable told him this information was sort of out of his jurisdiction but would pass it along to the authorities. The next day officials showed up at my grandparent’s house eager to talk to the stranger. When they went upstairs to her room they found she and all her belongings had disappeared during the night never to be seen again. I have told this story to a friend of mine who was involved with the military and understands their methods. He said the stranger was most probably working for the RAF and just trying to see if any airmen had loose lips. So when my grandfather reported his findings to the RAF they just moved their informant elsewhere and made it appear like they were investigating a possible spy. My friend felt no spy would be so obvious but it is the story my grandmother and grandfather told me many years ago.’ St George’s Place, High Street, is another name no longer on today’s village street map. It was part of the George at a time when the inn went under the name of the George and Dragon (hence, presumably, the ‘St’), and had been divided into several tenements. The 1891 census lists ‘St George’s’ as a three room household between the inn itself and the shop on the corner of George Lane (which belonged to William Gale, boot maker and baker). The occupants were young Dr William Hillyer (q.v.) and two elderly ladies, a housekeeper and her sister. St Hugh’s Road , a residential thoroughfare, was constructed as part of the late 20thC expansion of Buckden; it runs between Silver Street and the northern end of the High Street. St Mary the Virgin [MapRef 13] in Church Street, is the parish church of Buckden. Its proximity to the striking remains of the old bishops’ palace sometimes leads visitors to overlook its merits. The full story of this fine, predominantly medieval, building and the central role it has played in the life of the village is told in detail in Chapter 5: A History of St Mary’s, Buckden Parish Church . stagecoaches to and from London are known to have passed regularly through Buckden before the middle of the 17thC. The trade that these early coaches brought to the village varied according to the season of the year: in summer, the northbound coaches might pause to drop or pick up passengers, but would push on to Huntingdon for the dinner break and then to Stamford for the second overnight stop of the journey (the first having been in Biggleswade). In winter, the timetable had to be adjusted to allow for less daylight, bad weather and deteriorating road surfaces. This meant that Stamford could not be reached until the third evening, the first overnight stop being in Stevenage and the second in Buckden. Travellers of the time wrote bitterly of the dreadful road between Biggleswade and Buckden; thus even in summer poor weather could work to Buckden’s advantage by delaying travellers and making them less likely to press on to Huntingdon. The spread of the railway network put an end to the age of the long distance stage lines, and in 1854 a trade directory spoke of there being ‘Not one coach…to be seen in the streets of this once bustling village.’ Despite this, the last scheduled coach and four to depart from the George ran for a week in the summer of 1932: it was the Vivid , once of the Windsor and Reigate line, and it nightly ran from the inn yard to Buckden Towers, carrying passengers at half-a- guinea a head to see the Pageant of the Centuries (q.v.). Stan[c]kes, Will , of Brampton, was Samuel Pepys’ bailiff, dealing with the tenants of his land and houses, including his properties in Buckden and Stirtloe. Pepys admired his wife’s home-brew: ‘small and refreshing, with a taste of Wormewoode’. Stannard, Henry John [Harry] Sylvester, RBA (1870-1951) was a well-known water-colourist of rural scenes. These were mainly set in Bedfordshire, but he was also active in Buckden between 1911 and 1920. He achieved national renown and enjoyed the patronage of several members of the royal family, including Queen Alexandra and the Duke of Windsor. He was the son of a popular painter, also called Henry and well-known for his landscapes and sporting scenes. His brother, his sister-in- law and his niece were also all professional artists, as was his daughter from his second marriage, Theresa Sylvester Stannard (1899-1944), a water-colourist specialising in gardens. She is also known to have visited Buckden to paint (see Sycamore House ).