Page 24 - link magazine

24 The Link Magazine • 11999
When Shaw was a country idyll
CL Reclaimed
Timber & When, following their marriage in December 1955, Rose and Graham Tylee moved into the
bungalow they had just built in Old Shaw Lane, they came to a hamlet surrounded by farmland.
building
At that time there was a short- Easter 1953 was spent, in a bright
materials age of housing for young married burst of spring sunshine, with a
— We buy and sell: couples and many, having experi- crowbar, pick and shovel, digging
Ply, bricks, timber, hardboard, enced gloomy rented rooms, ended out a stony bank to make a 'pull-
chipboard and RSJs up returning to their parents. in' required by the planners. For
Graham and Rose were deter- the following eighteen months,
We also supply: .^
mined to start their marriage in a "freezing in the winter winds,
sand & gravel (in bags )
proper home. So when, in 1953, browning in the sun," Graham and
For more details the opportunity arose to buy a Rose, dug trenches, mixed cement,
pop in or tel: 829715 quarter acre plot from Mrs Maslin nailed cedar tiles to roof timbers
Open: Mon - Sat, 9am - 5pm at Lower Shaw Farm, they jumped and threw up 'giant worm-casts'
The Yard, Tate Estate, Kingsdown at the chance. whilst excavating for the septic
Road, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon
tank. From skeleton rooms, car-
peted with buttercups and clover,
emerged a home.
The bungalow stood, just three
I oqg%/f)aoeg wILL1AMS V miles from the town centre, on the
& VIDEO main road from Swindon to Pur-
ton. Rose remembers watching
For all your Specialists in repairs the procession of bicycles heading ing everything, but it specialised
to and from the GWR works.
PC Upgrades of TVs, videos, Closer to the gates, when the in birthday cakes. Meat, milk,
Phone For A Free Quote satelite, microwaves, 'hooter' went, the bicycles became bread and groceries were all deliv-
ered by various vans. Double-
(01793) 485750 audio equipment & a torrent, filling the road. decker buses ran twice a day,
Rose herself had started work at
Anytime in car hi-fi's. though they often had room only
Prices include home delivery as a GWR 'Comptometer Girl' for Rose and her son, but not the
and installation Free estimates shortly after leaving grammar pushchair.
school. The mileage office was at
30A COUNTY ROAD, SWINDON the top of 72 stairs and the nearest Rose says it was traumatic when
toilets were three floors down. they first heard that their country
Tel: 01793 423371 When, eventually, one was built lane was to eventually be found in
Visit our website at: the middle of the biggest housing
Mobile 0976 752073 on her floor, you had to ask the development in Europe and resi-
manager for the key to use it. As dents put up strong objections to
office junior, she was expected to Swindon's plans to expand
w4eee Dave Rogers collect the bosses' coats from the westwords.
cloakroom for them. Career
D
; lm c cs-fcd eeolsct€ choices for girls were generally lim- She was sad to lose the fields
E&c, ZZ a€ Sew4w and cows at the back fence. But
lj4
ited to teaching, nursing, shop or
YOUR FIRST STOP FOR • Interior and exterto office work. In Swindon, GWR Old Shaw Lane was and is a settled
community where people support
decorating carried out to was a prime employer, "if you each other. The road, no longer a
could get 'inside', everyone
From a 13 amp fuse, cleaner bag a high standard including: thought you were made for life." main route, is still used more by
or consumer unit to fridges, • Painting • Wallpapering walkers, cyclists and horses than
freezers or vacuum cleaners , • Coving • Tiling 1953: Rose makes a start on the by cars. For her, it retains the feel
we offer a fast, efficient • General Maintenance foundations of her new home of a 'rural island' in the midst of
and personal service. • Gardening West Swindon.
"I've enjoyed my life here, the
Only 5 minutes from West Swindon
countryside, my garden. It was a
Ample free parking
For a prompt friendly lot of hard work building the bun-
11 The Arcade, High Street professional service galow but I've never regretted it. I
Wootton Bassett Telephone: 875354 love my home and enjoy the peo-
Tel: 01793 854378 Mobile: 07970 483393 ple in the area."
With her strong connections to
Swindon's railway past, plans for
the STEAM heritage centre and
the possible restoration of the New
Mechanics Institute have delighted
01793 i ^RI,(^ 'Cedar Tops', as Rose and Rose. "We need to be able to look
694277 Graham named their bungalow,
became a family home with the back on the history of the town - it
Established since 1950 birth of their son, Chris. Rose is anchors people to their roots."
glad that Chris grew up sur- Looking across the beginnings of
RESIDENTIAL LETTINGS & MANAGEMENT
rounded by the countryside. She Cedar Tops to Lower Shaw Farm
DO YOU WANT A 1st CLASS SERVICE? remembers riverside walks punc-
tuated by glimpses of kingfishers
+ Our reputation has been built over nearly 50 years and herons. In their season, the
of professional property management fields were filled with cowslips and
+ Local & nationwide advertising primroses, mushrooms and black-
4. Wide range of se rvices, from introduction only to full management berries. Peatmoor Copse was
Peter Long & Partners known as 'the jungle', a source of
adventure for small boys.
16 High Street, Old Town, Swindon The hamlet grew and with more
houses a village shop opened sell-