Retreat

17 November, 2011 Retreat

Tetbury Families

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In 1842 Deborah Smith, ‘lately of London’ was living in The Retreat.

In 1851 John Gale Goodwyn, bookseller, printer & stationer living there with his family and three servants. In 1861 he was still employing three servants. He died in 1876 leaving his widow, Maria in the house with the family. She died in 1891. Son John who was living there in 1891 died in 1893.

In 1901 Elizabeth Selman Fowler, widow of John Fowler of Cranham Farm, was the head of the household and had sister Mary Pope Fowler, sister in law Mary Eliza Fowler, widow of a farmer, Samuel Selman Fowler, along with one of Mary Eliza's sons and her youngest daughter. They were all living on their own means.

In 1910 at the time of the Land Valuation Survey Miss Mary Pope Fowler [sister in law of Mary Eliza above] of Grange Farm was the owner and it was rented by Matthias John Baker Driver who paid £40 per year. His tenancy began in March 1909.

The property was described as a brick built stucco and slated house buildings and lands. The house contained three reception rooms, kitchen, scullery, larder, pantry with five bedrooms, one attic and two lumber rooms. There were two WC's, one inside and one outside which was disused. Water supply was satisfactory. In the yard there was a washhouse with boiler, stone built and stone tiled stabling, two stall coach house with loft over. There were two garden buildings, a small greenhouse, woodshed, walled inkitchen garden, lawn and flower garden. It was of a fair structural repair but poor decorative condition.

The house and grounds eventually passed into the hands of the Fosseway Housing Association but in 2007 the modern care home addition was empty and looking very scruffy. Plans are sited with Cotswold District Council for a new development on the site.

Tina Robins wrote the following report in the Wiltshire & Gloucestershire Standard on 15 November 2006:

New social centre possibility for Tetbury

A NEW social centre for the elderly could be on the cards for Tetbury as a result of Fosseway Housing Association's decision to turf users out of the Retreat.
Town councillors, disgusted by the organisation's action, are to look at creating a new "community campus" for the town at the Dolphins Hall.
Fosseway wants to develop the Retreat as social housing and has moved elderly tenants out over the past months.
But users of the day centre thought they had until Christmas to find new meeting places, until last week when they were suddenly told they had to go after the association was told its insurance company would o longer provide cover. Mayor Stephen Hirst said: "While they had known for some time the building was going to be vacated, when the crunch came they were given seven days to quit, which is ridiculous."
Another base had been sought, but the only viable alternative was to use the St Mary's day centre on Wednesdays and Fridays if the Probus Two group agreed to change its Wednesday meetings.
He said the council contacted the housing association some time ago offering to take over St Mary's, which housed a meeting room downstairs and a vacant flat upstairs.
"They have agreed to seriously consider letting us lease the bottom of the building and keep the flat for themselves," he told colleagues on Monday.
The flat would be sealed off and disabled toilets installed in the centre. They would also look at changing the layout of the ground floor.
Cllr Tony Walsh said: "Fosseway should be shot. They have said time and time again that they were not going to sell the Retreat. They were not going to redevelop it without approaching us."
He said several years ago the council had looked at the possibility of extending the Dolphins Hall. He suggested approaching the hall's management committee and reviving the idea. "We can raise the money."
Also unhappy with Fosseway's decision Cllr John Dearnley said: "We found out by accident." It was only with a major effort by the mayor that a disastrous situation had been retrieved.
Cllr Peter Martin agreed. "This is a disgrace," he stated. "This is a final wake up call for us. We cannot rely on these people to make social provision for this town.
"We should be looking at finding a property where we can have a centre for the elderly that the town owns and has control over.
"The Dolphins Hall site could be a new community campus. It could even provide a new home for the town council."




	1890s map showing location off Back Lane.

SOURCES:

GLOUCESTERSHIRE ARCHIVES

D1388/SL/7/61 Sales Particulars - Mullings, Ellett and Company, Cirencester, solicitors had The Retreat Estate, with plan of Highgrove Estate ref. - date: 1892
Bruton, Knowles and Co, Gloucester, estate agents, auctioneers and valuers D2299/1803 - date: 1892, 1919 The Retreat, Tetbury, Sales Particulars

COTSWOLD DISTRICT COUNCIL

2007 planning application by Fosseway Housing Association

Map reproduced with permission of Gloucestershire Archives,

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