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owl pen manor evacuees

C

chestnutmare

New Member
hi my mom was evacuated to owl pen manor gloucestershire in 1939, with her brother bernard . bernard thought he was going on a picnic. the lady of the manor was mrs braye i think.have looked up the history of the manor ,but cant find any mention of chilren from birmingham,only from london.mom recognised a photo of the lady of the manor.we went to look at the church which is next to it when i was a child' i would love to find out more, as mom who is 84 now, tells me about it.if any one has idea,s to find more information about evacuees please let me know. thank you
 
I have visited Owlpen Manor but was not aware of it connection with Refugees. May be a letter to the owners may shed some light?

https://www.owlpen.com/

Mention here of evacuees from Birmingham. https://cotswold.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/sir-nicholas-mander-historian-businessman-11970/

"It's this room that the elegant and kindly ghost of Queen Margaret is said to haunt. During the war, Owlpen's then-owner, Barbara Bray, took in evacuees from Birmingham. One night, she found them awake in bed, excitedly discussing their visitor, 'a lovely lady with long sleeves and dress all trimmed with fur, and with a funny peaked hat that had a long veil hanging down behind'. Though the children wouldn't have known it, it's a perfect description of the sort of costume she would have worn".
 
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I don't know much about the Brum evacuees staying at Owlpen Manor during WW2, The manor seems to be well known for being haunted.
In the early 1960's our family often drove around the Cotswold villages mainly for entertainment and exploring. Never managed to get inside
Owlpen Manor. Hopefully, it will be opened up next year after being closed last year. Here is a good description by Sir. Nicholas Mander
present owner of Owlpen Manor. Very interesting read. My father's family history is from around this area being Ascott-under=Wychwood
https://cotswold.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/sir-nicholas-mander-historian-businessman-11970/
 
Jenny we visited a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We stayed at 'The Bell Hotel' in Malmesbury and the weekend included tickets for the Manor and another garden.
 
hi its been a long time since Ive posted on the forum .I did get in touch with owlpen manor ,as suggested by Bernard R and was amazed to receive an email from sir Nicholas manders . a lady who was at the manor had visited a few days earlier remembered my uncle & better still she had photos, she said she would send them to sir Nicholas & that he could email them to me. sir Nicholas said my uncle had been to visit many times. sadly she didn,t have photos of mum . there were photos of mrs bray,& my uncle bernard .mum enjoyed looking at them & recalling many memories .
 
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