These little cottages have been extended over the years but seen here, Nos 1 and 2 Mill Green are in their original petite state. A snowy time after Christmas 1981
In 1983 the Lowlands Area Planning Sub committee gave permission for 70 more homes to be built between New Road and Coalpit Lane. The said no more than 20 per year on the 8 acre site but in the event, there were more than this annually.
We were all sorry when Adrian Simmonds had to close his shop. It was like an Aladdin's cave inside and he aimed to have 6 new things each week. There is a letter to the Bampton Beam here from Toby Hopkins and one from Adrian himself.
In the middle of this picture you can see Angela John Antiques on the left and Health Matters on the right. Both were in the Market Square. To the left you can just see the entrance to Market Square Garage. On the right behind the blue car you can see two windows of the what was the WI Hall and later became the Village Hall.
Bampton Meadows, a new housing development is to be built by Taylor Wimpey at the bottom of Mount Owen Road on the Aston side. Taylor Wimpey have agreed to pay £1.4 million on local amenities.
This video club shop was well used and its demise was brought about when the local little supermarket began renting films and it was just too easy to get a film from the supermarket while buying other items. It was a special outing to rent a film from this shop in Bushey Row and a few people collected the posters that used. Now a film can be downloaded something of the magic of making the special effort to go out and rent a copy has gone.
This picture is of Bell Cottage which was visible briefly across the Market Square after Market Square Garage was completely removed and before Thornberry Flats were built on the site. The people living in the cottage at the time couldn't wait for the flats to go up to regain their privacy. The little lane, known by long-time locals as 'Back of The Bell' got its name from the Bell Inn which used to be where the Village Hall stands today. The Inn was bought by three ladies in 1923 for conversion into the WI Hall. In the 1980s the WI could no longer afford the upkeep of the building and it became the Village Hall ... next to the Town Hall.
A bird was found to have made its nest inside the letterbox at Bampton and Brize Norton Railway station by Mrs Emmie Papworth who along with Mr F G Cannons was a post lady in Bampton about 1960. It was thought to be a member of the tit family and was disturbed only once while the eggs were being hatched.
There was a time when our local post men and women cycled round to both deliver and collect letters. There was a letterbox at Bampton and Brize Norton railway station and it was here a blackbird's nest was discovered inside the box. Great care was taken when emptying the box and in the end, the birds hatched and fledged.