Category: Transport: Road

The Last Of A Dying Breed

Tuesday 27th March 2012

Terry Ledbury gives valuable service to the local community, as a “lollipop man” at Silver Street, Warminster.

Terry, in conversation with Danny Howell, said: “I’m told I’m the only person left doing this job in Warminster. The crossing patrols outside Sambourne School and St. John’s School have both been replaced by zebra crossings. And there’s no longer anyone doing this at Portway (showing children from the Avenue School across the road from Bartholomew’s Lane to the Portway Lane housing estate).”

The photograph was taken by Danny Howell on the afternoon of Tuesday 27th March 2012.

Terry, who lives at Deverill Road, told Danny Howell that next month (April 2012) he will have been doing this job for four years. Terry said: “The winters while I’ve been doing this haven’t exactly been kind but I’ve managed. I’m used to working outdoors, having worked on farms in the past. I’m a person who likes to get up in the morning and do something useful every day. But I suppose I’m the last of a dying breed.”

When asked how many children he sees across the road at Silver Street, Terry said: “It varies. Sometimes the parents meet their children as they come out of the Minster School and take them shopping, so then I don’t see so many of them. But other times I can show as many as fifteen children over the road.”

Better Use For The Taxi Rank In The Close, Warminster?

Tuesday 3rd August 2004

A letter from Steve Dunn:

I would like to make a suggestion for improving, maybe, the plight of the traders at High Street, Warminster. They are obviously suffering because of the car parking charges at the Western Car Park. There is in the Close, outside the building used as the Youth Centre, a taxi rank with spaces for four or five taxis. No taxis use it and I can’t remember when they last did. It’s been redundant for years.

Wouldn’t it be beneficial if the spaces could be allocated for public on-street parking, say for a limited period of an hour during the day time, with no waiting limit after say 6.00 p.m. This would give a few more motorists who need to call at the High Street somewhere to park.

It would be very handy for those who need to visit the Athenaeum or the dentist, or any of the businesses in the High Street like the restaurant or the ironmonger’s. The parking bays could even be extended a short distance, making spaces for six cars.

I’m sure my suggestion for public parking in this part of the Close would meet with the approval of High Street traders, and presumably the taxi proprietors wouldn’t mind as they obviously prefer to use the more prominent taxi rank at Station Road.

The little-used taxi rank in The Close, Warminster.
Photographed by Danny Howell during August 2004.

Honda Targets Warminster

From West Wilts Matters magazine, Issue No.9, March 1997, published by West Wiltshire District Council:

Honda Targets Warminster

Following months of talks, Honda (UK) Ltd. submitted a planning application to the District Council in December 1996 for a site at Bath Road, Warminster.

The proposal, submitted after an investigation of 27 other sites, is for the company’s National Vehicle Enhancement and Distribution Centre, and covers a 21 hectare (51 acre) site. If agreed, the Warminster centre would complement Honda’s manufacturing base at Swindon, receiving 35,000 vehicles a year for finishing touches and distribution to dealers.

The proposals allow for the construction of a railhead, and will involve full landscaping and a new roundabout on Bath Road.

The application has been the subject of a thorough consultation, including public meetings with interest groups and residents, and is likely to be considered by the Council’s Planning and Development Committee this Spring.

Albert Inman Bought J. Button & Sons

Albert Sidney Inman bought the business of J. Button & Sons in 1957.

Albert’s parents were Harry and Miriam Alice Inman (nee Weston). Harry was born in 1881. He died in 1944. Miriam was born in 1882. She died in 1966.

Harry and Miriam’s marriage was registered in Poplar, Middlesex, in 1903.

Albert Inman’s birth was registered at Poplar in 1919. He came to Warminster when he was one year old. The 1921 Census shows Harry Inman and his family living at 34 Sambourne, Warminster. Harry’s occupation is recorded as a chargehand at John Hall & Co., the varnish and enamel paint makers at Weymouth Street, Warminster. Harry Inman’s obituary said he was for over 25 years the manager at John Hall & Co. Harry Inman died on 8th February 1944, aged 63.

The 1921 Census records that Albert Inman had two older brothers: Henry G. Inman and Frederick W. Inman, and two older sisters: Miriam K. Inman and Florence L. Inman.

The 1939 Register shows Albert S. Inman, then aged 20, living at 7 Beechwood Avenue, Frome, Somerset. Other household members recorded at that address are: Frederick W. Inman, aged 26; Kathleen E. Inman, aged 25; Gordon Holmes, aged 11; and Ronald Keith, aged 11.

Albert started up a haulage business in 1946. This was taken over in 1949 by British Road Services.

In 1950 Albert Inman started up again as a stone merchant and haulage contractor with a fleet of 18 lorries. Among the contracts he undertook were ones supplying the Hampshire, Berkshire and Essex local authorities; the lorries transporting 55,000 tons of stone per year from the Mendip Quarries to various parts of the country. Mr. Inman disposed of this particulat business in 1950.

Having bought the firm of J. Button & Sons, in 1957, he managed it, continuing to trade under its original name. A partial change of ownership took place on 1st September 1962. Although he retained the haulage side of the business, transporting general goods, furniture and machinery, and acting as shipping agents and removal contractors, Inman disposed of the parcels service to James Express Carriers Ltd.

James Express Carriers Ltd. had a parcels and goods network covering ten counties, delivering goods and parcels to the West Country, Cornwall and Wales. They also operated a limited service to and from Birmingham. Their central offices were at Silverthorne Lane, Bristol 2, and the managing director was Mr. A.J. James.

Albert Inman married Evelyn Dulcie Rutt in 1948.

Evelyn Inman was born in 1922. She died in 1990.

Albert Inman died on 13th November 1995. He was buried at Pine Lawns Cemetery, Warminster, on 22nd November 1995.

Bicycle Stands In The Lake Pleasure Grounds (Town Park), Warminster

This photograph, taken in the Lake Pleasure Grounds (Town Park), off Weymouth Street, Warminster, by Danny Howell, during 1987, shows the bicycle stands which were situated alongside the flower border (seen here with climbing roses, dahlias, antirrhinums, and marigolds) outside the east wall of the open-air swimming bath (between the Park Keeper’s House and the Morgan Memorial Fountain).

error: Content is protected !!