Roundabouts Children's Hotel W-S-M

[AshMash]

Hi,

Just viewed the house photos and what a wonderful job your family made of restoring this house. The archway to Severn Road would have been in the top left hand side of the garden as you used to walk partly through next doors garden then down between the 2 houses at the back, you can see the natural spacing between the 2 houses in the photo taken from one of the back bedroom windows on the estate agents site.
I hope I have been able to fill in a few gaps, it might have been 62 years ago that I was taken there but the memories will never fade. The whole place just looks so much smaller now then when I remember it through a child's eye. I wish you good health in the future

Warm Regards

Ashley

[Saram7009]

Ashley,

Thank you for the kind comments of the restoration we did of Malpas Lodge. We loved the house, ultimately it was way too big for our little family of 3, which seems funny when you say it seems much smaller than you remember! Hearing your memories of a sad time spent there, somehow makes our efforts more worthwhile, I'm so glad we took the coldness and neglect and made it a warm, happy place as it was when it was first built in 1901.

I can see what you mean about the gap between the two houses at the back which actually makes sense as there is still a lane straight ahead on the opposite side of Severn Road. You can no longer walk through the lane between the two houses you refer to on this side of Severn Road though. I'm sorry to be dim but I'm still struggling to understand where the archway was! Did it go straight into the garden of the house at the end of our garden?

On a separate note, do you happen to recall the big detached house next door (number1)?  Was that a hotel then do you know?

Thank you for your memories, I really do appreciate it,

Sara

[AshMash]

Hi Sara,
The entrance was along the top left hand side of the garden and skirted round No1s back garden to the alleyway.
With regards to No1 St Paul's, when I was a resident of No3, next door was a normal home and all I remember then that it was home to a few elderly ladies. During the 1960`s it was bought by a builder from Winscombe called Winston and his Scottish born wife who we all called the Haggis as kids. Winston turned the property into an hotel but I cannot recall its name. It prospered for many years until Winston's sudden death in the late 60`s ( think that's right) but may have been very early 70`s. His wife remained at the property for some years after but sold up and relocated back to Scotland.
As I mentioned, the Roundabouts was bought up by my foster mother when Gabriel and Peggy retired, as such I used to go to and from school from what was now the Roundabouts day nursery. I remember cricket festivals in Clarence Park and all the cars parked in the middle of the road opposite the nursery and I also remember the steam trains on 2 lines at the bottom of the road as in those days you had stations at uphill, Lympsham, Brent Knoll, you changed at Highbridge and caught a train to Burnham, the station was opposite the RNLI station and I believe a supermarket is now where the station once stood.
When I next see my foster mother I will update her on what happened to the old nursery, at 88 she will be so thrilled at what your family did to the building.
Many thanks for your information, it has been a worthwhile find.

Ash