Pictorial Kesgrave 1994 - Part 4
Contents
Keith Beecroft Copyright 2008
All Saints Church Lawn Cemetery, adjacent to the Graveyard with access through the Lych-gate.
Gypsy Boy Grave, All Saints Church. In 1930 a small gypsy boy, named Frederick Burton, was accidentally shot by his brother at Martlesham Hill. The grave in the churchyard is frequently visited and well attended.
Another notable memorial in the Churchyard is that of John Chilcott, Horse Dealer, who died at the age of 25, on the 1st April 1851. On one side of the memorial is an inscription to the memory of Rosabella, otherwise Isabella, sister to John who died in a gypsy camp at California, Ipswich on the 16th April 1857, aged 26. The upper surface of the memorial bears another inscription, this in memory of Repronia Lee who died on 2nd March 1862, aged 25, a cousin to John
Kesgrave Social Club, Edmonton Road, located at the junction with the Main Road. The Club provides leisure activities in spacious bars, games room, lounge and dance hall, for members from the local community and beyond. Built in its present form following a major fire which destroyed the previous timber building.
Old Telephone Exchange, opposite the Church on the north side of the Main Road, now a private dwelling. Built in 1927 as a Telephone Exchange and paid for by Mr. W.M. Fison, owner of Kesgrave House. Mr Fison came to Kesgrave in 1923 and wanting a telephone, he arranged with the Post Office that he would build the exchange and rent it to the P.O., to speed up the availability of the phone service. Mr Fison was given phone number 2, number 1 being given to the Public Phone Box installed at the same time. This manual exchange ceased to operate when the new automatic exchange was opened, in Doctor Watsons Lane, in 1969.
Automatic Telephone Exchange, Doctor Watsons Lane. Built in 1969 when the direct dialling system came to this part of the Country, rendering the old manual exchange on the Main Road obsolete.
Fruit farm House. The residence and operational headquarters of the Fenton Family, who farmed the site from 1933 until the sale for residential development with Grange Farm, in 1989. Originally specialising in soft fruit but more recently in general arable, the farm was previously owned by Captain Dickerson and called Bell Barn Farm.
Mansion House Bedding Company, Holly Road. Formally E.C. Page (East Anglia) Bedding Company, a family business since 1938 producing the nationally known Sure-O-Sleep mattresses and divans.
Jackson Group, Head Office and site, Dobbs Lane. Situated on land previously occupied by Gayfer Concrete, manufacturers of Concrete products including the blocks from which the 'Dream Bungalows' were built. The Jackson Group, founded in 1952, is the largest employer in the Parish and comprises the following companies: Roadworks, Anglia Plant, F J Construction, Factair, Ingram Smith, Biscoe Transport, Jackson Projects and Anglair.
'Dower House' attached to the Grange Farm House and situated adjacent to the Catholic Church on the Main Road. Originally occupied by Philip Jolly and his family, son of the 'old' MrJolly owner and occupier of the Grange. The Dower House is now occupied by Mrs. Rope, sisterto Phillip Jolly. Patrick Jolly, the present owner of the Grange 'Farmhouse' building, is the son of Philip Jolly.
Police House, Main Road. Built in 1948 along with similar premises in villages throughout the County, as residence and office for local 'Bobby'. No longer used as a residence.
Bungalow adjacent to The Falcon Caravan site, formally a Dog Kennels, run by Mrs. Gifford, until the premises were devastated by a plane crash in December 1958, following which the bungalow was rebuilt as private residence.
The Green, Bell Lane. The pre-1924 map of Kesgrave shows a pair of isolated cottages mid-way down Bell Lane, known as 'Texas'. The high roofed portion of the building shown in the photograph is the original 'Texas' Cottages, now extended and modernised.
The Lodge, one of the few buildings on the north side of the Main Road. The original gamekeepers cottage to Bracken Hall. Once occupied by Gordon Kinsey, the aviation authors family followed by the Rope family.
Bracken Hall, Main Road, situated on the north side of the Main Road alongside the entrance to The Sinks. The Hall was built in 1906 and occupied by Captain and Mrs. V. Gilbey until 1929 when Col. William Gordon Yates took up residence. Later occupied by Hayward Smith the estate agents, Sneezums the local store owners the then by a timber importer.
Glanville Place Housing Estate, off Bell Lane, adjacent to Foxhall Heath. A Deben Rural District Council development constructed in the early 1950s.
Heathview Flats, Glanville Place. Further development by Suffolk County Council, in 1968, an addition to the existing Glanville Estate.
Communications Station, off Foxhall Road at the end of Bell Lane, now in the Parish following the change of the south boundary from Long strops to the Foxhall Road, in the 1980s. Closed in 1992, the site has been operated by the U.S.A.F., having been a feature of the landscape and source of controversy regarding the noise from the generators, for many years. The grounds, heavily guarded, were reported to have extensive underground networks.
Isolation Hospital or Smallpox Hospital, Foxhall Road. Another notable site brought into the Parish by the Boundary Commission changes in the 1980s. Fortunately not used as a Hospital for many Years, but was kept at stand-by until fairly recently
Doctor Crawfords Surgery, Main Road, adjacent to the junction with Cambridge Road. Priorto the Doctor being in Bell Lane, Dr. Crawford, who lived in Woodbridge, held surgery in one of the rooms in this property, now a private residence.
Chester House, so called after Chester Cardew the Doctor who had the property built as a house with surgery occupying the out buildings to the front. Dr. Dewer followed, then Dr. Stewart Young, head of the present practice and who had the purpose made surgery built next door, converting the old surgery as an extension to his residence.
Doctors Surgery, Bell Lane, one of the first, if not the first, purpose built surgery in Suffolk. Built adjacent to the Doctors House, which originally housed the surgery.
District Nurses House, Bell Lane, adjacent to Heath School. A private residence but once the home of the District Nurse, conveniently situated close to the Doctors Surgery.
Augustus Barnett, wine merchants, Nos 1-3 Dobbs Lane. Renovations and improvements carried out in 1992 took in the whole of the ground floor into the sales and store area. Formerly a general grocers and off license trading under the name, Deben Stores, Spar Supermarket and Deben Valley Stores. When owned by the Bugg family, one stood in wonder at the vast range of goods displayed. The previous owner was a Mr Leadbetter who was responsible for converting the original two shops of Greens Cash Stores and Denny's into one.
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