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| Between Chapel Lane and Spring Lane. On the left: the Wesleyan chapel and
schoolroom, built 1891-2. Its last service was held in 1975. On the right of the photo is the Old Forge,
32 Main Street, which was in use from the mid 18th century. In the early 19th century the then
blacksmith opened up the adjoining building (No.34, centre of photo) as a village inn: The Three
Horseshoes. Both are now private houses. |
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| The largest of several stone barns around the village. This one is located on the south side
of Main Street, between Chapel Lane and the disused Wesleyan chapel. |
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| Thorne Cottage and Stone Cottage, 33 and 35 Main Street, Wymondham. These houses
are opposite the barn and Wesleyan chapel. |
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| Laburnum Cottage (41), 43, Japonica Cottage (45), office (47), Miller's Cottage (49) and
Wee Cottage (51) along the north side of Main Street. Hidden from view by the small tree on the right
are the Post Office and the Berkeley Arms. The large trees are at The Manor House. Visible on the
left is a "For Sale" sign for Hideaway Cottage (39). |
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| Japonica Cottage (45), office (47), Miller's Cottage (49) and Wee Cottage (51) along the
north side of Main Street, Wymondham. This row of cottages is opposite The Bowery, 42 Main Street.
The first-floor blue door was to a bakehouse. The office served as the village Post Office until the
1960s. |
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| The Post Office/Cottage Stores, 55 Main Street, Wymondham, viewed from Church Lane.
Gillian and John Bunting, with help from Pat and Ann, provide a range of groceries, bread, snacks and
sweets, wines and spirits, gas, small items of hardware etc. |
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| The Berkeley Arms, 59 Main Street, Wymondham, Leicestershire. The 300 year
association of 11 generations of the Berkeley family as Wymondham landowners ended in the early
17th century, but is reflected in the name of the Berkeley Arms (previously The Angel Inn). Following
the closure of the Hunters Arms in 1997, the Berkeley is now the only public house in the village. It
was completely refurbished by Pubmaster Ltd during the autumn of 1999. Fine food is now available at
lunchtimes and in the evenings from a regularly changing menu or the fixed
bar menu. |
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| Now a warehouse with a recently built extension, this building next to the Village Hall was
originally built as a Wesleyan chapel. It was purchased in 1854 to become the Day School for Girls,
later becoming the National School and then the village C of E primary school until 1968. It stands on
Church Lane, which was previously called School Lane (certainly as late as 1905). |
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| The Village Hall, Church Lane, Wymondham. Opened in 1928, the Village Hall has a
well-equipped kitchen and a large stage. It hosts the thrice-weekly doctor's surgery as well as other
village functions, such as Church bazaars, dances, and the annual pantomime. |
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| Priory Cottage, 8 Church Lane, Wymondham, Leicestershire. This home has a very
attractive setting, near to St Peter's Church. |
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| Next to the Church, St Peter's Reading Room was the original village Grammar (Free)
School, built circa 1675 from the bequest of Sir John Sedley. The Reading Room was established in
1883 when the Grammar School moved to its new premises on the outskirts of the village. It was
restored by the Rector and Churchwardens under the aegis of the Charity Commissioners. By 1950
all its books had been 'lost'. The building housed the Snooker Club until 1999 when the premises
were pronounced unsafe, and a buyer is now sought to convert the building into a residential
property. |
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| St Peter's Church and lych gate from Church Lane, Wymondham, Leicestershire. St Peter's
has been served by 69 rectors for over 800 years since 1158. Today, St Peter's is within the Waltham
Team ministry, with a part-time curate, residing at the Rectory. Worship is based on the Sunday
morning service (BCP, All Age and Family), with special services as appropriate throughout the year.
St Peter's is financially viable (Parish Funding scheme 1998) with a Parish Share for 2000 set at
£7,919. The latest major repairs were to the roof (1998) and the cost of £15,000 was partly
covered by a National Heritage Lottery Fund grant. For detailed architectural information, please see
the page in the Gallery |
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| Standing Stone Cross, National Monument 30229, listed Grade 2, is east of the Church
south porch, against the nave wall. |
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| The War Memorial in the Churchyard commemorates villagers killed, as members of the
armed services, in both World Wars. A pigeon sits on guard, and Tithe Barn lies beyond. |
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The oldest gravestone in Wymondham Churchyard: Eleanor Ward, died 1744.
Also to be found is the tramp's gravestone, inscribed:
I in my time did gather rags
And many a time I filled my bags
Although it was a ragged trade
My rags were sold and debts were paid
And so my friend don't waste your time
On bad biography and bitter rhyme
For what I am this cumbrous clay ensures
And what I was is no concern of yours
– Samuel Pears, died March 3rd, 1808, aged 91. |
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| A view of St Peter's Church from the south east. |
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| A view of St Peter's Church from The Paddocks, 1 Nurses Lane, Wymondham,
Leicestershire. |
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| Nurses Lane viewed from the head of Dark Lane, with the Church in the distance. You
might also like to see a sketch
of this view. |
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| An old friend slumbers in the grounds of Space Foods, Wymondham. The Manor House,
61 Main Street is visible on the left, across Nurses Lane and the allotments. |
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| Ivy Cottage and Jessamine Cottage, 4 and 2, Nurses Lane, Wymondham,
Leicestershire. |
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| Butt Lane, looking north from Main Street, with the windmill in the distance. The Berkeley
Arms is out of shot to the left, and The Manor House is on the right. We also have a
sketch of the view
down Butt Lane towards Main Street. |
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| The former railway goods yard, Butt Lane, Wymondham, Leicestershire. |
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| The Pines, Butt Lane, Wymondham, Leicestershire. A private residence converted
from the former railway station offices of the Edmondthorpe and Wymondham branch line
(so-named to avoid confusion with Wymondham in Norfolk). Villagers were able to travel
by rail to Nottingham, Leicester, Spalding, Yarmouth and Cromer until the line was closed
in March, 1959. There's a page devoted to railway photos, past
and present. |
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| The Windmill, of ironstone topped with brick, is a five-storey tower mill circa 1813, with an
ogee cap and fantail, originally with six patent sails. It ceased grinding corn in 1952 (by then, powered
by an engine) but continued with cattle feed until 1960. Partially restored and providing a superb view of
the village and surrounding countryside, the Windmill together with the Tea Room (opened in 1990) and
six craft workshops is a unique visitor attraction. In the Gallery you'll find sketches of Wymondham
Windmill by Steve Wallhead and
David Millard. |
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| On the southern side of Main Street, opposite Butt Lane, Wymondham. North View, The
Bottom Shop, 48 Main Street and The Studio Gallery, 46 Main Street, Wymondham. The Bottom Shop
ceased trading as the village newsagents in the autumn of 2000. It had been the Post Office until the
1930s. The Studio Gallery, formerly the village butcher's shop, is on the earliest known site of the
chapel-proper of the Wesleyans. |
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| The Public Telephone Kiosk and Telephone Exchange, between the allotments and the
former Bottom Shop, Main Street. The traditional `phone-box has been specially retained in Wymondham.
The nearby village of Teigh is allowed to paint theirs grey. At the beginning of 2001, planning permission
for a 15m communications mast atop the telephone exchange was disallowed. |
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| The Manor House, 61 Main Street, Wymondham, looking north-west towards the Berkeley
Arms. Dating from about 1840, The Manor House was built to a similar design as Stilton House, Stilton, for William Mann, farmer and stilton cheese maker. Stilton House also had a mansard (birdcage) roof, but it was removed to reduce the weight on the building, which was constructed on fenland. All to no avail, it "broke its back" and was demolished in the 1980s. There's
now available a 750x500 99kB photo taken just before sunset towards the end of October 2002. |
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| Park Cottages: Attys Cottage, 71 and 73-75-77, Jubilee Terrace, Main Street, Wymondham,
with 95-97-99, Main Street on the right. The mid-19th century row, Park Cottages, all of which at various
times have been renovated and modernised, are the final buildings on the east end of Main Street's north
side. They were named after the large field to the east, known as "The Park". This view is from the junction
with Edmondthorpe Road. |
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| Horseshoe Cottage, 85 Main Street, Park Cottages, Wymondham, Leicestershire.
A glimpse through the front garden of one of the homes in this popular part of the village. Park Cottages
were built for the navvies constructing the nearby railway embankments. |
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| Blea Moor Cottage, 62, and Kerrybale Cottage, 64 Main Street, Wymondham. Opposite
Park Cottages on the south side of Main Street, at its east end just past the turning to Edmondthorpe.
As with other houses in the village, this view illustrates the sensible use of small windows facing north. |
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| Three small cottages: 1, 3, 5, Edmondthorpe Road, Wymondham, just off Main Street. |
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| Early 17th century barns in the grounds of Space Foods, at the junction of Edmondthorpe
Road and Main Street, Wymondham, Leicestershire. These are the two oldest complete buildings in the
village. Space Foods, which ceased operations at the end of December 2000, was sited facing Main
Street, between Edmondthorpe Road and Nurses Lane. Known for the stuffings and sauces it produced,
it was the site of the former Wymondham Dairy and, centuries earlier, the Manor of the Berkeley family. |
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| A view of the Space Foods factory buildings, from Edmondthorpe Road. These date from
the 1930s, when the site was operated as a stilton cheese manufacturing dairy by Beva Mead Dairies.
Prior to that the Old Manor House Dairy continued the 800 year tradition of cheese production on this
site. |
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| The home of the late W.O.Towndrow, whose vision led to the development of the
Windmill as a visitor attraction. Bill Towndrow's housebuilding skill is in evidence at the far end of
Chapel Lane. |
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| Woodwell House, a newly built home in the former carpark of the Hunters Arms,
Edmondthorpe Road, Wymondham. |
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| High Banks House, 27 Edmondthorpe Road, Wymondham. The striking red brick of this
home is now tempered by a covering of ivy. |
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| Formerly the Hunters Arms Hotel, 4 Edmondthorpe Road, Wymondham, Leicestershire.
Now once more a private house, this was the home of Frances Pawlett from 1742 to 1797, from where
she marketed stilton, establishing it as "the king of cheeses". The house had been occupied by her
great-grandfather, Henry Thorne, and Edmondthorpe Road was known then as Thorne Lane. There's a
19th century Wymondham saying: "Drink a pot of ale, eat a scoop of stilton, every day, you will make old
bones." Frances Pawlett lived to the age of 88, outliving all but one of her potential beneficiaries. |
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| Intake Cottage and Mill Cottage, 33 and 35 Edmondthorpe Road, on the outskirts of
Wymondham. Mill Cottage once had an additional storey and a tall chimney for its steam-powered
corn mill. In the Gallery we have a sketch from a different angle. |
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