Keepers cottage

                If you go down to the woods today........

You may be surprised to know that there was once a house in Harpford Woods.
You may have walked past it many times without ever realising that it was ever there. Sadly, long gone now but there are still signs of its foundations if you look closely.  In the 1970's I remember  playing in the woods and seeing the remains of the cottage walls and the crumbled outbuildings.  Other members of my family recall the house lying abandoned for many years before that, making it a very spooky and exciting place to investigate when growing up. Not long after this the house was demolished due to it being unsafe. With memories of the ruins of the house in my mind I decided to find out more about what stories the cottage had to tell.
I began asking around and a friends mother remembered that 'Keepers Cottage' was the name of the house, and by the power of the mighty Internet I was able to find the name of someone who had lived there, Alfred and Clara Daniells.
Alfred was from a Sidbury family and he was under gamekeeper at Sidbury Manor. When he marries Clara they move to Keepers Cottage where he begins the job of Gamekeeper for Clinton Estates, around the beginning of the 1900's.
I was lucky enough to make contact with the great granddaughter of the couple . She lives in Canada and was very pleased to hear from someone who came from the area that Alfred had lived in. And most exciting of all, she had a photograph of the couple and the cottage.

Sometime after they left, the cottage was run as a tea room. Childrens parties were often catered for, with a campfire, swing and seesaw.  What an exciting place for a child to have a birthday party!
Tony and Valerie Reed who lived at Woods Farm , not far from Keepers Cottage remembered the house being open for refreshments. There would have been no running water or electricity so catering for teas would have been quite challenging. Imagine being able to take a Sunday walk and stop off for a cup of tea and a slice of cake in such an idyllic setting.
The Berry family from Southerton showed me a wonderful photograph of ladies from the local area having tea on benches in front of the cottage with chickens scratching the woodland floor around them. They remember a Mrs Searle running the tea shop, whom I believe was Clara Daniells widowed sister, Caroline, who was a cook.
They also told me of the Parson family who was probably the last family to live there. They remember the daughters who went to the local school, and that buying their Christmas trees from the cottage was an annual event.
It's easy for me to romantisice about living in this perfect cottage in its idyllic setting, yet I fear that for those who lived there at the time, it was likely to make for very harsh living, as did most cottages in those days. It would be hard work keeping the cottage warm and clean, and a little scary on a dark wintry night.

This picture shows Alfred, Clara and their son.      Clara, Caroline (her sister) and Alfred.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about Keepers Cottage as much as I have enjoyed researching  about it. Maybe you remember the cottage or the people who lived their, if you do I would love to hear from you.
Judith Taylor
Vennottery@hotmail.co.uk This is Alfred the gamekeeper, looking very proud, with Fire beacon hill behind him. He worked for Clinton Estates for 30 years before retiring to live in Otterton.