Pool House and the Dower House (23 & 25 High Street)
These two houses were once part of the same late Georgian House. Pool House was named after the roadside pool nearby where village animals would come and drink. In 1858 it passed into the ownership of Thomas Byrd, a prominent local landowner, and remained in the Byrd family’s possession until at least the time of the 1912 Valuation Survey.
Pool House was also famous for the 116-foot tall Wellingtonia tree that was planted in the garden during the 1850s. It was a focal point in the village and could be seen for miles around and was used during the Second World War by pilots as a marker. It began to rot in 1978 because of prolonged drought and was felled in November 1980.
On several occasions local men had climbed the tree, usually under the cover of darkness, to attach a flagpole to the crown of the tree. On Jubilee Eve, May 5, 1935, Phil Sparrow and ‘Buster’ Mustoe climbed up to fix a flag to the tree-top to mark the Silver Jubilee of George V.
On Saturday 27th July 1935, Sir Oswald Mosley, the Blackshirt leader, was the speaker at a garden party held at Pool House, which was opened by his mother, Maud, Lady Mosley. There was an attendance of about 200 at the party, which consisted mainly of women. The previous evening Phil Sparrow and Steve Crisp once again fixed a Union Jack to the top of the tree “to confuse Harry Johns and his son Lance who had Mosley connections”.
In 1953 Les Williams ascended the giant tree to tie a broomstick holding the flag to the top branch to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, while Reg Welch and Bert Evans stood watch below. And finally in 1977, for the Queen's Silver Jubilee, Lol Bindoff, Clint Evans and Mick Williams fixed a 37ft pole holding the flag to the tree, with David Caswell in attendance at the base of the tree.
The house was divided into two in1950, with No. 23 retaining the name Pool House, but No. 25 becoming Brakesmere. There was a private tennis club and swimming pool at Brakesmere until the 1980s. When the house was sold in 1999 it was renamed the Dower House.