Hello again Jean, Although my interest in all this is really only to do with the area where I lived from 1964 to 1983 some of it may be of interest to you. Bolton Cottage can be located on Goggle Earth by ‘Bolton Cottage 299 Stoops Lane DN4 7PS’. It even has the name above the front door. It is now somewhat different from the original having been altered in the 70’s. It didn’t before this time have the garage and room(s) above such or the extension by the kitchen. It mirrored a child’s drawing of a house ie a rectangle with a door dead centre, four windows symmetrically positioned, no porch, but a canopy/roof running the front width of the property just above the front windows/door. It did not have the imitation external wood frame or beige wall colour, it was just attractive brick with simple tiled/slate roof/canopy. As you entered, the staircase was immediately in front of you, to the left a small front room with no other access, to the right a lounge running full depth of the house and giving access to the kitchen behind the left hand front room. The kitchen had a door leading to the giant garden. Upstairs on the right was a bedroom as per the lounge below. To the left was the other bedroom which extended over the stairs. The bathroom would have been directly over the kitchen, but I have no recollection of it. In the attic there were two pieces of full scale rail track ( as per British Rail ). It always intrigued me how and why they were there (30/40 ft long 8in W/D), but now finding that John was associated with the sand/gravel pits and there had been a railway line running into one of the quarrys ( along what is now ‘Long Close’ )maybe the company built the Cottage and used some spare rails in its construction. In the simple kitchen there were three large draws beside the sink each approx 10”x2ftx2ft, I acquired these to make a bookcase and upon my Mother’s death last year was surprised to find them in the summerhouse 46 years later. I note in one of the entries in this thread that John Fredrick Bailey lived in Long Close and died in 1966. Long Close was basically a long field containing only one bungalow, this bungalow was incorporated in a later large housing development and I believe has recently been demolished and replaced with 2 large houses, but if you Goggle Earth 35 Long Close the satellite view will show the new houses, but street level will show a hedge and the roof and part of the bungalow. In 1965 or 1966 the Gardener to this property was murdered there by two youths who had absconded from borstal. Many years later I learnt the gardener had been shot with his own gun after refusing to give the youths money and his body hidden in the coal house. As John Fredrick seems to have left £50,000 in his will in 1966 and houses in Broughton Road at this time we’re selling for £4000 he was probably a man of substantial means and may have owned the bungalow and surrounding land. Anyway this may all be of no interest to you, but if you have any desire for any other information please let me know. Regards Dave
