We promised a monthly theme. So, for this month we're telling the story of the Bowyer House and the tale of the Charity School at which education was provided for “poor children“ of the parish from 1721 until 1857 - with some stories from the present owners of Bowyer House, the longest residents in Village Road.
For a long read we're covering the history of the Bowyer family, Baronets of Denham Court and the history of Denham Court to modern times
But whilst we’re preparing the material, here attached is a charming letter sent in 1990 to the then editor of The Countryman magazine, Christopher Hall.
Stanley Hoffman, latterly Church of England Canon Hoffman, Queen’s Chaplain, was born and raised in the house in Village Road now known as Ashby’s. His father was variously a greengrocer, wholesaler and, by the time of Stanley’s birth in 1917, a successful coal merchant. He might be remembered by older Denham residents for his coal store on Cheapside Lane close to what is now The King restaurant. Stanley’s mother, born Charlotte Harris belonged to an established farmworker Denham family.
Click here or on the above image to read Stanley Hoffman’s letter in full on a new website page. You’ll be able to return to this page by selecting it in your web browser when you’re done.