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Coles Lane lost buildings and features: | Old building behind New Close Farm | Vine Cottage |
The following is taken from an article written for the February/March 2024 edition of the Oakington & Westwick Journal.
The lane was probably named after William Coles, a Methodist lay preacher who was on the Cottenham Circuit which included Oakington, from the 1880s to the 1940s.
In the early days there were no houses on either side of the road from the High Street until Oakington House on one side and Vine Cottage, a smallholding on the other side. The entrance to Barkers Bakery was on Coles Lane, but the front door to the house was on the High Street, with the granary backing onto Coles Lane. The land on the left looking down from the High Street belonged to Jonah Dellar who also owned the bakery until 1950. The field had cattle and pigs in it and high bank with a hedge. Edgar Stearn remembers the bad winter in 1947 when the snow had built up on the bank. It was cleared by a villager with a snow plough and tractor. The snow plough, shown in the photo (with Ruth Nicolas), was for many years left at the side of Coles Lane to be used again.
Oakington House was originally owned by Colonel McCall; his daughter had stables and a field where the entrance to Days Meadow is now. The next owner Mr Trott was the manager of the Milk Marketing Board; much to everyone’s amusement his son was called Graham George (ie G.G. Trott). Mr and Mrs Few bought the house in the 1960s and in 1989 built another house in the driveway. There was also a small bungalow next to the entrance, which at one time might have been connected to the main house. Opposite was the second bakery at East View, run by Bert Smith and son Eric. When Bert retired (mid 1950s) Eric went to work at Barkers Bakery.
George Barker, assisted by Frank Cannon, 1971.
Eric lived in Providence House, shown on the left in this picture looking down Coles Lane towards The Croft. It was next door to East View which later became an electricians where Albert and Sheila Miller set up a business with a shop, which proved very popular.
Starting from Longstanton Road on the other side was Wellington House which was owned by the Papworths, who at the time owned much of the village. When Richard Barker was a boy two elderly sisters lived there. He befriended one, Lottie, who gave him two hats: a bowler and top hat. On the box of one, the label reads “John Lewis 1937”.
Next is the Primitive Methodist Chapel, known in the village as “The Little Chapel”. It was used in the 1980s as a Youth Club. Next door was a cottage where “Deafy” Butler and his family lived, but this was demolished and new houses built by local architect and builder, Neil Cook. Mr and Mrs Chapman lived in New Close Farm, as did his parents before; they had a smallholding to the back and side. Where the passageway leads to Water Lane and facing Coles Lane itself are some Council houses. Richard and Edgar remember a farm worker called Titty Whitehead, who was a village character, living in one of them. Titty moved Richard and his parents from Station Road to the Bakehouse, in the Farm’s horse and cart in 1950.
Next on Coles Lane was Vine Cottage where Edgar’s grandparents lived. It got its name from two vines growing at the front of the house. Edgar and Mary bought land nearby from an uncle and built their own home in the 1960s, the rest of the land becoming Vine Close. Gerald Dellar and his wife Eileen were given land by his father Jonah and theirs was one of the first new homes on Coles Lane, built in 1957. The remaining bungalows up that side to the High Street were built in the 1960s.
On the other side of the road, the new bungalows were built from 1977 to 1978. The houses in the new cul-de-sac and the two adjacent on Coles Lane itself were built by Charlie Caufield. He lived in the end one until about 1964.
Richard & Sally Barker, Edgar Stearn
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