Summer Apple Cottages

Precise architectural dating of the Summer Apple Cottages is not given in the newspaper accounts or our archive; they were simply “old” thatched buildings of the type common in the village from the 17th century onward (timber-framed with brick infill, thatched roofs, open fireplaces and chamfered beams—features noted in the Royal Commission inventory for Church Lane and Church End properties).

“Summer Apple Cottages,” Church Lane (the 1947 fire)

These were a row of four old thatched cottages on Church Lane (frontage about 80 ft, depth about 195 ft), described as one of the most picturesque parts of the village. They stood near The Chequers public house. 

We have a postcard from 1936 sent from a new occupant off one of these cottages that states they have moved into a 400 year old cottage with modern conveniences just installed.

One of the families that lived (at least 1936-1941) there were the Rouse's Frederick and Muriel. Frederick was a General Clerk and shorthand typist with the RAF who also gave shorthand and bookkeeping tuition in Summer Apple Cottages. 

Occupants included the Lonsdale family (Mrs Lonsdale and children John, Jean and others), Miss Susan North (elderly resident at No. 1), the Wrights (who had moved to London), and others; some were war-time evacuees.

On Friday afternoon, 22 August 1947 (reported in The Bucks Herald, 29 August 1947), fire broke out in the thatch. Children raised the alarm after hearing a bump and discovering the bedroom ceiling fallen and flames visible along the roofs. Aylesbury and Wendover National Fire Service crews attended; hydrants were tapped and water drawn from a nearby stream, but the tinder-dry thatch and thick roofs made control difficult. The four cottages were gutted—“gaunt stone skeletons with broken windows, gaping and scorched”—and the occupants rendered homeless. Neighbouring property (including The Chequers) was saved. Villagers and the churchwarden (Mr H. C. Wakefield) quickly offered shelter: Church Hall, private homes, and temporary accommodation. Miss North later publicly thanked neighbours for their help.

A village fund under the Women’s Voluntary Service “Help Your Neighbour” scheme, run by Mrs W. H. Neatherway, raised over £16 within days; the Parish Council kept it open. Some families had lost nearly all clothing and belongings; one mother and children (wartime evacuees from Lewisham) were temporarily separated.

The cleared site was offered for sale by auction (W. Brown & Co.) as a freehold building site on Wednesday 19 January 1949 at the Bull’s Head Hotel, Aylesbury (or earlier by private treaty). Some building materials were included; the sewer connection remained intact. In the event the sale (land adjoining The Chequers, formerly the site of the four cottages) was withdrawn after the highest bid reached only £310 (Bucks Advertiser & Aylesbury News, 21 January 1949).