Lesley Williams 1935-2019
Funeral held at St. Mary's Church

Rupert Gooddy, a Loyd House pupil from 1970 to 1974, died on July 10 2023, after a short period of illness.
He was brought up in Blackheath, South-East London, the son of John, the clerk to the Governors of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, and Barbara, a radiographer. He attended Carn Brea prep school, Bromley, excelling as a sportsman, and was at one stage coached by Derek Underwood, the celebrated England seam bowler.

In Loyd House his sporting progress continued and within two years he had represented Bradfield’s cricket 1stXI. He was a batsman of real power and had an excellent eye. One school report said: “Gooddy played a well-judged and entertaining innings.” Another described him as “a most dependable opening bat and a fine gully.”

Ru’s family spent a good deal of time with his maternal grandmother at Byworth, West Sussex, which may be what inspired his love of country pursuits. He fished and shot, pastimes he pursued enthusiastically all his life. As a boy he kept doves in the garden at Blackheath.

While at Bradfield Ru, ever the nonconformist, with his great friend James Sutherland, acquired two ferrets, Blodwyn and Bill, which were kept out of harm’s way in his Housemaster’s garden, until one morning the Housemaster’s wife opened the front door to find Blodwyn tucking into the contents of her milk bottles. Blodwyn and Bill were “asked to leave”.

He was also an accomplished footballer, golfer and tennis player, his achievements matched only by his insistent pall of self-effacement, any compliment waved away with a genuine lack of conceit. He was ludicrously modest, as well as kind and caring. While he could be, as he admitted, ‘a grumpy sod’, he was essentially an engaging mixture of understated, unshowy charm and quietly forceful mischief, an astute listener and a huge enthusiast for merriment and fun.

Ru was a brilliant and generous host; excellent at putting people at their ease. He spoke with great gentleness and warmth, often almost in a whisper. It was part of an easy, engaging charm, but you underrated Ru at your peril; possibly in business sometimes people did and regretted it. He was a doer, softly spoken but a man of action.

Professionally he was a shrewd, hardworking and extremely successful entrepreneur. There had been early signs of this flair. At the age of six, Ru reported very excitedly that his parents were allowing him to use a couple of square yards of space in their garden, for his own devices. He explained: “I want to grow cabbages that I can sell to my mum.” Thus, the successful businessman was born.

The interest in horticulture was developed in his time at Writtle Agricultural College, Essex. During that period he spent a year working at Wyevale Nursery in Hereford, where he gained a love of the Wye Valley and Black Mountains, his parents having bought a cottage near Hay-on-Wye, which Ru loved. He went on to work at Northmoor Nurseries and in 1979 he opened his own nursery, Rupert Gooddy Plants Limited, Bampton.

Ru clearly belonged in Oxfordshire, where he lived for over forty years, indulging enthusiams for motorbikes, fishing and of course cricket. Moving there was absolutely the making of him, and he married his wife Elizabeth in 1990. His son Francis arrived the following year and daughter Mimi a year after that. The marriage lasted for 17 happy years.

One of the people who worked for Ru for many years was Di Newman. She said of him: “He was such a good bloke. Funny, caring and looked after his staff really, really well … If anyone was in trouble, he’d help them out, he’d go above and beyond… he would always give the young a chance by offering them work and he would always consult his staff before making decisions. He was out in all weathers with us, and never asked anyone to do a job he wouldn’t do himself. He was fun-loving and always rewarded well … Nothing was too much trouble for him. You couldn’t fault him. He was a lovely, lovely man …”

He enjoyed life to the full and was enormously and rightly proud of his son Francis, who followed Ru into the nursery business and helped it go from strength to strength, and daughter Mimi. He had a gentle, all-encompassing love of life. He was generous and loyal, with a wonderful warmth. His distinctive and hugely lovable personality will be enormously missed by all those who knew him.

James Hanning

Scanned copy of old document containing extracts from Gardener's Gazetteer of Oxon 1852, Lascelles' Gazetteer of Oxon 1853 and Kelly's Directory of Oxon 1895. Listing businesses and trades in Bampton and surrounding villages, and the following surnames are included
Adams
Andrews
Arkell
Baines
Baker
Bateman
Beckinsale
Beechey
Beresford
Biddulph
Bradshaw
Bryant
Bullem
Burrow
Butt
Carter
Chandler
Clack
Clifford
Clinch
Collins
Cook
Cook
Cowley
Cox
Coxeter
Cripps
Croft
Dewe
Dickens
Dipper
Dumbleton
Dutton
Edgington
Eldridge
Evans
Forest
Fox
Frampton
Francis
Frederick
Gerring
Giles
Gillet
Grove
Hambridge
Hardman
Harris
Holliday
Hollis
Hudson
Hutchings
Jackson
Jeeves
Jones
Knight
Lambeth
Leforestier
Long
Lord
Luckett
May
Miller
Newport
Oakey
Patt
Perkins
Pettyfer
Pinnock
Pinnocks
Plaster
Pnnock
Prior
Pusey
Reed
Richards
Robins
Rose and Bullen
Sellard
Shepherd
Smith
Southby
Sparrowhawk
Spiers
Spurret
Steede
Stevens
Stone
Swinburn
Taylor
Teall
Thompson
Townsend
Trafford
Vesey
Waite
Walker
Walsh
Ward
Werman
Whitaker
Widdows
Wilkins
Williams
Winstanley
Winterborne
Young 

Funeral service for Les Harrison held in St Mary's Church on 23rd May 2023
Les Harrison he was married to Winifred who died 5.12.2017. They had two children, Winifred and Nigel. Les’s father Jack Harrison , as the butcher located at what is now Pear Tree Cottage in the High Street. A real old fashioned butchers’  shop with whole carcasses hanging from hooks in the ceiling. He later moved to the small shop (now Bampton Coffee House) attached to The Stores in the Market Square. Les also had a sister called Ruth.

Dutton the grocery shop also contained a bank and when the bank became Midland Bank and moved to a property next-door-but one, George moved out of the shop to run the bank full time and sold the grocery business to Bill Mathews.

George Talbot the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, was the only son of Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Dacre. As a young man George saw military service under Protector Somerset in the ‘Rough Wooings’ in Scotland and he married Gertrude Manners, daughter of the 1st Earl of Rutland, by whom he had six children, although she died in 1566. In March 1568, he married Bess of Hardwick, the wealthy widow of Sir William Cavendish of Chatsworth, who was a year older than himself.
The first creation of Earl of Shrewsbury occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counsellors. Roger thus became one of the most powerful magnates in England, ruling most of Shropshire and holding lands in eleven other counties, and included most of Bampton which continued to belong to the family through future generations.
Roger was succeeded in 1094 by his younger son Hugh, his elder son Robert of Belléme succeeding to his lands in Normandy. On Hugh's death in 1098 the earldom passed to his brother Robert.
More information about the Earls of Shrewsbury can be found in the pdf attached.

Two certificates awarded to George William Glenister , who worked at Bampton Station, probably as Station Master. He lived with his wife in Church Street in one of the little cottages. It was Mrs. Glenister who was instrumental in introducing Vera Tanner to David Elward at one of the WI Hall dances during the war.
Mr Wheeler from Church street also worked at the station. Mr Maurice John, who lived at the house now named St. Johns in Broad Street, was the last Station Master.

Workhouse yard in Weald was a row of 6 cottages, two faced the road and four went at right angles away from the road. The two which faced the road were demolished at least as early as 1968.

Handwritten notes by Hilda Kent, about the history of her home Cromwell House and the Old Forge. The tenants and owners from 1660's,, included
Ann Waring
Jane Coxeter
John Fox
John Jorden
Messrs Orpwood and Smith
Mrs Sammons
Richard Coxeter
Richard Sunderlands
Thomas Sammons
William Stamp

Document written by Hilda Kent relaying the story of a dog called Elsa