Small properties sold from the Bourton Estate from 1946

Hill Cottage, Bourton

This listing concerns the documents that make up the sale of Hill Cottage to the family of an ex employee of the Bourton Estate, Mr John Baxter. When Lady Louisa Mary Kendall-Butler died on 14th September 1944, it was the end of an era. She was the relict of Sir Cyril Kendall Butler who died on 22nd June 1936. The whole estate was left in the hands of their daughter Daphne Edwards (nee Kendall Butler) who sold it in portions through 1945-46. Ex employees living in estate properties were always offered first choice on purchase, and this is what happened with Hill Cottage. 

To read a precis of the documents that are in this file please go HERE

The Old Post Office

The local Post Office of Bourton was a busy place in the 1940s and as the War was coming to an end in 1945, the opportunity came up for the Post Master, Herbert Rigby Critchley, to buy the property he operated from. It had been brought about by the death of Lady Louisa Mary Kendall Butler the previous year, and her daughter, Daphne Edwards, (nee Kendall Butler), became Heir and Executor of the Bourton Estate. She gave priority to tenants to buy their own properties if they so wished and Herbert Critchley purchased his Post Office building with the garden attached at the rear for £450.

To read a precis of the documents that are in this file please go HERE

The Teacher's House

Directly across the road from the original school is the Teachers House. It was at one time a part of the contract and mandatory for the Head Teacher to reside there. It was a Tucker built cottage and was part of the Bourton Estate up to the death of Lady Louisa Mary Kendall Butler's death in 1944. Her daughter, Daphne Edwards (nee Kendall Butler) offered it to the Trustees of the school which they accepted for the price of £350. 

To see a precis precis of the documents that are in this file pleaae go HERE

Glen Andrea

The cottage known as Glen Andrea is a picturesque property close to the Almshouses. The letters within this file between solicitors show that it's origins are obscure in that there are no real deeds. It has certainly undergone major reconsstruction in it's life with the upper story being built built up on top of a rubblestone base. The 1865 Bourton map does show a property in this position, and evidence that it was occupied. Daphne Edwards (nee Kendall Butler) upon selling up most of the Bourton Estate that she inherited from her parents, made a gift of it to Edith Heath, who was the occupier in 1953.

To read a precis of what is in this file please go HERE

Cottage at Lower Bourton

This is another situation whereby loyal estate workers were given the chance to purchase the cottage that they lived in. William Knapp worked at the Bourton Estate for the Butlers for many years. Daphne Edwards (nee Kendall Butler) instructed her solicitors - Currey & Co, London, to makes the necessary arrangements to transfer the property for the price of £450. William's son Andrew, still lives at the family cottage to the present day (2025).

To read a precis of the documents contained in this file please go HERE