Up Your End is a living document, and as such is in perpetual refresh and development
Up Your End is a living document, and as such is in perpetual refresh and development
Beatrix’s grandparents lived at Camfield Place in Essendon. Beatrix described Camfield as the “place I love best in the world”; some of the happiest periods of her childhood were spent there. Camfield inspired many of her books. Mr McGregor’s garden was based on one of the estate cottage gardens, and Nanny Netticoat in Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes (1922) was based on her nanny at Camfield.
For longer stays in Hertfordshire, Beatrix’s father, Rupert, rented houses close by. In the summer of 1883, he rented Woodfield in Essendon. During her stay there Beatrix sketched local wildlife and fished in local ponds. She thought the local area was picturesque and praised its “select society” and close proximity to London. Beatrix learned to drive a pony carriage, fished trout in the River Lea.
In 1891, the Potters rented Bedwell Lodge in Essendon, which inspired Beatrix’s later drawings, The Mice in their Storehouse and The Cat and the Fiddle. When Beatrix’s grandmother died in September, Camfield was put up for sale and later became the home of Dame Barbara Cartland.
Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, DStJ (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) published as Barbara Cartland was an English writer, best known as a prolific publisher of both contemporary and historical romance novels, the latter set primarily during the Victorian or Edwardian period.
Cartland is, with her contemporary Agatha Christie, commercially one of the best-selling authors worldwide of the 20th century.
Many of her novels have been adapted to media including films for television, most notably A Hazard of Hearts and Duel of Hearts.
Her English language novels have been translated to numerous dialects, and that Cartland is the fifth most translated author worldwide, her prolific output of some 723 novels and records her to be referenced in the Guinness World Records for the most novels published in a single year (1977).
Although best known for her romantic novels, she also wrote non-fiction titles including biographies, plays, music, verse, drama, operettas, and several health and cook books. She also contributed advice to TV audiences and newspaper magazine articles.
She reportedly sold more than 750 million copies of her books, though other sources estimate her total sales at more than two billion. The covers of her novels featured portrait-style artwork, usually designed by Francis Marshall (1901–1980).
Cartland was also a businesswoman who was head of Cartland Promotions. She became one of London's most prominent society figures. Often dressed in a pink chiffon gown, a plumed hat, blonde wig, and heavy make-up, she became one of Britain's most popular media personalities.
West End Lane and the 'J' shaped swimming pool...
Legend had it that this famed Film and TV couple had a place in West End Lane where they hosted glamourous parties, attended by the stars of the era...
John Norman Hulbert (24 April 1892 – 25 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge.
Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, appeared in many shows and revues, mainly with the Cambridge Footlights. He was one of the earliest famous alumni of the comedy club.
Hulbert made his film debut in Elstree Calling (1930); appearing opposite his wife and frequent stage and screen co-star Cicely Courtneidge. His career went through a successful period during the 1930s when he appeared in several films, including The Ghost Train (1931), Love on Wheels (1932) and Bulldog Jack (1935), a tongue-in-cheek homage to the popular Bulldog Drummond films in which Jack was supported by his brother Claude.
Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, DBE (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West End by the age of 16, and was quickly promoted from minor to major roles in his Edwardian musical comedies.
After the outbreak of the First World War, her father had a series of failures and temporarily withdrew from production. No other producers offered the young Courtneidge leading roles in musical comedies, and she turned instead to the music hall, learning her craft as a comedian. In 1916 she married the actor and dancer Jack Hulbert, with whom she formed a professional as well as a matrimonial partnership that lasted until his death 62 years later. They acted together on stage and screen, initially in a series of revues, with Hulbert frequently producing as well as performing.
Courtneidge appeared in 12 British films in the 1930s, and one in Hollywood, finding this work to be very lucrative. She and Hulbert also recorded for Columbia and HMV, returning to the stage in the late 1930s. During the Second World War, Courtneidge entertained the armed forces and raised funds for the troops. She then had a long run in Under the Counter, a comedy in which she received glowing notices. Notable among her other successes was Courtneidge's performance in Ivor Novello's musical Gay's the Word in 1951–52. During the rest of the decade, she focused on revues and straight plays.
After the mid-1960s, Courtneidge concentrated on the non-musical theatre, appearing in the West End and on tour in a range of plays, both serious and comic. While appearing in her last West End run in 1971, she celebrated 70 years on the stage. Afterwards, she continued to work for a further five years before retiring.
And on to their neighbours on West End Lane...
Sally Ann Howes (20 July 1930 – 19 December 2021) was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1963, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance in Brigadoon.
Howes was born in St John's Wood, London, the daughter of British comedian/actor/singer/variety star Bobby Howes (1895–1972) and actress/singer Patricia Malone (1899–1971). She was the granddaughter of Capt. J.A.E. Malone (died 1928), London theatrical director of musicals, and she had an older brother, Peter Howes, a professional musician and music professor. Her great-grandfather, Captain Joseph Malone, was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1854 at the Charge of the Light Brigade. Her uncle, Pat Malone, was an actor on stage, films, and television.
Howes moved to the family's country house in Essendon, Hertfordshire, for the duration of World War II. She was a show-business baby who lived a quiet, orderly childhood, where she grew up with a nanny and was surrounded by a variety of pets and her parents' theatrical peers, including actor/writer Jack Hulbert and his wife, actress Cicely Courtneidge, who had an adjoining house.
Meet the parents...
Bobby Howes (4 August 1895 – 27 April 1972) was a British entertainer who was a leading musical comedy performer in London's West End theatres in the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Battersea, Surrey, his parents were Robert William Howes and Rose Marie Butler. He started his career in revues, but his career was interrupted for the First World War where he soldiered on the Western Front. He suffered a German mustard gas attack but recovered and returned to the stage. He gained a career break-through with the role-reversal comedy Mr. Cinders, based on the Cinderella pantomime, also featuring Binnie Hale, with whom he appeared on many occasions subsequently. He reprised his title role in Mr. Cinders in several different productions.
In the 1930s, he was with Van Phillips' Four Bright Sparks whose vocalists included Billy Milton. Four Bright Sparks recorded at least 60 sides. He was a leading musical comedy performer on the West End in the 1930s and 1940s.
He continued onstage, including Broadway, and in films until he retired in the late 1960s. One of his most acclaimed roles was as the eponymous lead in Finian's Rainbow when it was revived on Broadway in 1960.
He was the father of actress/singer Sally Ann Howes and of Peter Howes, by his marriage to Patricia Malone.[7] He died on 27 April 1972, aged 76, in London, England.
Patricia Malone (1899 – 1971) was an English stage actress.
Pat Malone was the daughter of a London theatrical director, Captain J.A.E. Malone (died 1928) and she began acting at an early age. She married actor/comedian/singer Bobby Howes and they had two children, the actress Sally Ann Howes and the musician Peter Howes. Her brother, Pat Malone, was also an actor and appeared on stage, TV, and film. Her grandfather, Joseph Malone, was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1854 during the Crimean War.
She was a musical performer who appeared in André Charlot's Charlot's Revue, which also included Beatrice Lillie and Gertrude Lawrence.
Frances Bamford was 26 years old, her sister Eleanor was just 12, when the Zeppelin dropped its bombs over Essendon village. The sisters were daughters of the village blacksmith living in a house and foundry opposite the church. Frances died instantly, while Eleanor passed away later on the morning of the 3rd.
Their graves lie within the grounds of St Mary the Virgin Church in Essendon Village. A stone set in the south wall of the vestry commemorates the re-opening of the areas restored after the bombing.
A recurring nightmare for some, a fantastical work of fictional horror to others - being buried alive can cause people to make some exceptional plans...
The Rev. Richard Orme, rector of Essendon and Bayford, died in 1845 and his instructions for burial were very explicit. He was to be interred in a tomb above ground that had a door with a lock. A key was to be buried with him, along with a loaf of bread and jug of wine to revive him before he made his escape, should he wake up.
The tomb (with metal door) remain in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin today, although there has been no sign of the Reverend...yet.
If you are a fan of nostalgia and all things subterfuge and espionage - then you may find some familiar places popping up in those old TV series of the pre-millenium. The Avengers was a classic example, featuring numerous locations across Hertfordshire and even within our own little inner circle.
Here we see John Steed and Tara King heading into what was then the Salisbury Arms on West End Lane - being watched by some nefarious characters in a Land Rover.
(Invasion of the Earth Men - No. 144, Series 6, Episode 16 - 1969)
Apparently, an employee at Bentley Motors used to race the cars from the entrance gate of the old quarry, to Essendon Country Club. This distance was an exact mile and he timed the run for each model.
TRUTH or FICTION?
It is rumoured that 80's pop group Five Star used to live in a mansion on Wildhill Road...can you confirm...hurry! We can't wait...can't wait another minute!
TRUTH or FICTION?
Did Sam Fox really own a pink pad not a million miles away in Grubbs Lane...?
TRUTH or FICTION?
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