The Riverside Walk Scheme 1949-1955
“Let us never forget that he tried to do what many others had only talked about.”
Memory’s Reliability?
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After World War II, Tewkesbury was still blighted by the economic difficulties of the Depression and by the structural decline of its role as a market and self-sufficient manufacturing town. The War had provided a form of stimulus in the arrival at nearby Ashchurch of American troops who turned Ashchurch Camp into one of the major logistical bases for the preparation for D-Day. However, the Americans moved out leaving but a fond memory in the hearts of many who had experienced the war years in Tewkesbury.
It is all to the credit of one Mayor, Councillor John Martin, who developed the vision to harness that abiding memory – and the labour of the under-employed – to a bold plan to regenerate Tewkesbury into a centre more suited to welcoming visitors and residents. The aim was to sweep away the vestiges of Tewkesbury’s industrial past which cluttered up the eastern banks of the Mill Avon. As so often, the dream was only partially realised but its successes had had a positive effect on Tewkesbury of the 21st century.
Nevertheless, as a relative newcomer to Tewkesbury, I have been made aware how deeply felt is their desire, by many ‘old Tewkesburians’, for the completion of this most ambitious of schemes. Added to it was a firm belief that the Americans had bequeathed a sizable amount of money for this purpose and they wondered what had become of the bequest. Tewkesburians recall that their parents also contributed to the appeal for funds. I was therefore very keen to undertake the research to reveal the scheme for improving Tewkesbury’s important Riverside and to ascertain how accurate ‘Old’ Tewkesbury’s memory was. The scope of this article is to focus upon today’s Back of Avon which was the heart of the original scheme and which has bequeathed John Osborne Martin’s most enduring legacy.
The ‘Big Idea’
The idea of a walk on the eastern side of the Mill Avon from the Abbey Mill to King John’s Bridge has waxed and waned in the past 100 years.
It was discussed in 1925 and again in 1931 as a public works scheme for the benefit of the unemployed. After World War II, however, it took on a sense of importance when it was rumoured that the American forces donated a sum of money for this scheme in appreciation for hospitality shown during the War.
After the War the only other impetus seemed to come from a concept of volunteering which proved both its strength and weakness. In 1956 the then Town Clerk stated that the scheme had received a “considerable fillip in 1949 when the Mayor, Councillor J.O. Martin, conceived a scheme for the provision of a riverside walk the main feature of which would be an Anglo-American Garden of Remembrance.” What seems a radical part of the plan was to remove the War memorial from its current position and make it a central feature of the Riverside development. Had it come to pass then I feel that we might well have been pleased with the result.
In 1949 the Birmingham Mail published an article with the comprehensive headline:
Malaise
by a new development (Author 2010)Click Image
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In addition it published a photograph of the Mill Avon, south of Healings, which revealed the sad state of the riverbank (illustration 2). Cllr. Martin appreciated that an act of remembrance for the past could actually improve the economic and aesthetic future of Tewkesbury.
This evocative picture encapsulates Tewkesbury’s post-industrial economic malaise. The whole of the riverbank had been colonised with a myriad of buildings housing different types of commerce and industry. The background is dominated by the works of Collins and Godfrey, then the Town’s biggest employer, but whose business was soon to fail. The second building of two storeys from the front was the works of Samuel Osborne the cycle dealer and one of the buildings beyond was the Town Mortuary. Behind that is the horizontal shed which housed Bill Shakespeare’s boat-building industry which was to become significant in the 1960s until the owner’s untimely death in 1971. The only buildings that remain are Rebane’s boathouse and the mysterious ‘Gazebo’ at the bottom of Post Office Lane.
Cllr. Martin’s clever plan was to regenerate part of Tewkesbury using voluntary labour but appealing for financial help from the world’s richest and most powerful nation. There is no evidence to believe, however, that the US funding was already in place.
Sober Appraisal
(P. Finnigan)Click Image
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In 1960 the then Town Clerk, Ernest Penn, wrote a comprehensive report about the scheme.[2] Of the purpose he wrote:
Tewkesbury is a town of historic and architectural interest. … The rivers, particularly the Avon, are important assets to be placed with other assets such as the Abbey and buildings of historical and architectural interest. However, although it has been realised that the River Avon and its surroundings is an asset which can and should be developed and although schemes have been prepared, very little so far has been done.
This scheme was announced to the people of Tewkesbury by an article in the Register. It was bold: the central concept was to move the War Memorial into being the centrepiece of the Riverside development.
The memorial, therefore, would be located in the gardens of the Town Hall and Lloyd’s Bank and it was worth noting that a bridge was planned to lead to the Ham.
It was realised that moving the Memorial would be controversial but the civic dreamers did have an excellent point: the location of the memorial did not aid silent contemplation!
Organisation
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Cllr. John Osborne Martin became the Chairman of the organisation as it had been his grand design for his three terms as Mayor between 1946 and 1949. The Secretary was Cllr. William E. Lane and the treasurer was Rayner Goodwin Vicker. The office at 73 Church Street was loaned for the cause and is today Owen’s Restaurant.
Born in 1897, John Osborne Martin[4] was the son of Francis Martin a corn merchant who owned the firm (later known as ‘Martin and Bennetts’) located at 103 High Street, next to the former Railway Station.[5] He volunteered in May 1915 to serve in the Army Service Corps. From 1918 he owned Pyke House pig farm on the Ashchurch Road. He was elected Mayor three times from 1946 to 1949 while, in 1949, he was elected unopposed as a County Councillor.
The Scheme was administered by the traditional committee which attempted to include a cross section of the population. The Finance and Legal Committee comprised, for example, solicitors along with a bank manager but the Executive Committee included, by July 1949, working men such as B.W. Lucas. In addition, attempts were made to include representatives from town clubs.
It seems, however, that the more prominent found it difficult to be free from other engagements. Indeed the files contain correspondence of the Appeals Committee from 1950, naming “members who have not or seldom attend meetings”.[4] Having persuaded the Town of the principles of the scheme and having established the organisation, perhaps the biggest challenge facing Cllr. Martin and his teams was that of raising sufficient money to purchase properties on the riverbank, to demolish and replace them with the bold architect’s vision. This would all culminate in a grand official opening ceremony.
American Pot of Gold?
of the schemeClick Image
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There was no mention of existing funding: it was announced that there would be an initial appeal for £10,000. That would equate to £227,000 in 20106 and one must remember that post-war Britain had suffered extremes of ‘Austerity’ in the post-war years. Tewkesbury was no exception. In fact, subsequent correspondence reveals that the ultimate appeal might be for £30,000.[7]
The Duke of Beaufort agreed to be the President and letters were sent to potential patrons. The organising committee was determined to undertake the publicity for the scheme in as professional way as possible, engaging Edgley Studios of Cheltenham to produce a brochure which would help raise money, not only in this country, but also in the USA. Three drafts were produced until the committee was satisfied to order this brochure. The Travel Association of London reported in June 1950 that 10,000 copies had been despatched by rail from the printers in Ipswich but that they had retained the same amount for national publicity. How successful was this campaign to raise the first £10,000?
Not all were even sympathetic to the cause. Sir Walter M. Craddock, DSO, MC, of Amberley Court, was willing but wrote that “I am afraid that I am not one of those who greatly believes in Anglo-American Friendship . ” However, because he was impressed not only by the ambition but also by “your own keenness and those who are prepared to back the Scheme”, he agreed to be a patron.
When the first appeal fund was wound up in 1951, the total donated was only £455. The largest donations of £100 came from the instigator, Cllr. Martin, the Cheltenham and Hereford breweries (which owned the Shakespeare Inn) and , perhaps strangely, the Tewkesbury Nursing Institute. Some people donated their 35p proceeds from the distribution of Ham profits while 120 of the 139 donors paid in 50p or less.
One wonders why the committee of the Gloucester Co-operative “could not see their way clear to donating at present.” The only obvious contribution from the USA was from Mrs. E.C. Padgett, of Kansas City, who donated $5 as she had visited with a group of students in 1949 and had met Canon Purefoy! It seems, therefore, that Tewkesbury people – alone – were unable or unwilling to raise the funds for this ambitious scheme. Nor were the Americans inclined to help their former hosts.
‘Open Heartedness’?
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A crucial foundation of the scheme was to acquire and then demolish the buildings that were cluttering the riverside. Looking back from 1960, the Town Clerk’s report concluded that, “although there has been little progress with the scheme as a whole, there has nevertheless been some progress in the acquisition of various plots of land which will be necessary for [its] completion.”[8]
Initially, there was confidence that the necessary land would be presented to the scheme as, by 1949, it was claimed that 50% of properties had already been donated.[9]
In October 1949, the Town Council set the spirit of self-sacrifice by agreeing to give land at the back of the Town Hall which included the Town mortuary.[10] It was evident that at this period the burgage plots of High Street properties, such as the Town Hall, had originally reached the banks of the Mill Avon but a road (now Back of Avon) had subsequently split the plots with the riverside segment often being converted to industrial or commercial use such as with the mortuary. One of the most generous donations appeared to be that of Lloyds Bank for “a piece of land at the back of their premises ‘free of charge’, on the understanding that it is used as part of the Promenade and part of the War Memorial ”.[11] It was this piece of land, when joined to that of the Town Hall, which would accommodate the War Memorial.[12]
However, other owners needed persuasion. Letters had been written such as to butcher H. Cresswell of 16 High Street simply asking for a strip of land on Back of Avon. On the other hand, Miss Mary Attwood, whose general dealership was located in 62 Barton Street, was asked for more detail of what she required in return for her property. Mr. Fowler, the High Street grocer, was required to give up his garage as it was noted that he wanted to build another (more conveniently) at the back of his stores on Oldbury Road.[13]
It was not a total case of open-heartedness. Healings posed a problem in 1949. The Town Clerk had received a letter from the Chairman Martin that “Messrs Healings [are] agreeable to deal with the transfer of the plot of land adjacent to the Iron Bridge”. However, three months later the Chairman complained about delays concerning “Healings’ Gift”. A week later the deal was struck.[14]
Not surprisingly some riparian owners demurred: a letter of objection was received from 2 Back of Avon objecting to what they had read in the newspaper of their loss of land and “the right of way to the water”.[15]
Problems with Evans Bros. (a boot and shoe dealer) led to a redesign of the area to accommodate the Memorial. Whilst they would put their deeds at their service “when we have satisfactorily settled” and whilst they accepted the loss of half garden but not the whole: this “clearly this cannot be conceded”. Furthermore they required an “entrance that will admit a car shall be provided from the ring road”. Consequently the architect provided an “alternative siting of the War Memorial 494/3” on 23 May 1950.
However, resistance was evidently stronger than that admitted in the early days and in 1959 the County Planning Officer produced his report, adjudicating on appeals from landowners. For example, he sympathised with Cresswell’s reluctance to part with land since it was “necessary for him to have room to pen animals waiting for slaughter”. He suggested that only twenty feet be taken from his land amongst others.[16] It was to be his intervention that would eventually truncate the original plans for the whole waterfront.
‘Labour of Love’?
If the desire to obtain redundant buildings and land as cheaply as possible had been ambitious so also was the novel idea of declaring a dependence on voluntary labour. The ideal, as expressed in the Register in 1949, was certainly lofty: “What more fitting memorial could we give [to those who died in the War] than to make it a labour of love?”17
In the document portfolio is a handwritten Register of Voluntary Workers that was left at the office for people to drop in and sign. It may well be the total list. It asked for the address of each and the nature of work they were willing to undertake as well as an indication of when they could be available. We must assume this exercise was undertaken in the first flush of enthusiasm but it is still interesting. It contains the signatures of 75 volunteers of which 23 were females.
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The Chairman signed first as expected but also revealed a sense of humour; the nature of the work which he could offer ranged “from breaking up battleships to taking down skyscrapers”!
All but one of the lady volunteers offered ‘office’ work except one: Mrs. N.J. Griffiths of Smiths Lane offered her car “anytime”. Thirty-four responded that they would do “anything” but only eight offered manual work which was what was really required. Only Mr. J. Walker of Oldbury Road offered “demolition” and Mr. R.F. Sayers of Bushley and Mr. W.A. Walker of Foresters Road offered “haulage”. The committee did not reveal then what it thought about the numbers and quality of the volunteers. Judging by the photographs below, two who promised to do “anything” evidently included manual work: Mr. B.W. Lucas (in trilby) and Mr. George E. Jenks revealing his strong forearms.
Photograph right: Chairman Martin exhorts his volunteers and Councillors. Front left is Secretary Lane along with the indispensable Cllr. Mrs. Wyatt while Col. Hattrell is relaxed far right. Also pictured behind Cllrs. Lane and Wyatt are volunteer leaders, B.W. Lucas and Frank Walker, surrounding Cllr. Moulder; H. Bourton separated the Chairman and Mayor whilst G.E. Jenks revealed his arm muscles. Behind him are Cllrs. W.W. Baker and W. Linnell.
The Chairman himself, however, set a good example of manual labour for the press when work started in June 1949, demolishing redundant buildings. Because of the nature of the Mayoral system, J.O. Martin was no longer Mayor but it appeared that his successor Frank H. Knight shared some of his predecessor’s enthusiasm.
One amusing episode today, but which must have been very exasperating to organisers and volunteers, was the attitude of bureaucrats to a request to alleviate problems caused by soap rationing. Rationing, a legacy of the war, was very much an irritating feature of life in the ‘Austerity years’. Extra rations had been requested for volunteer workers in 1949 and they were indeed granted but only for three months and on condition that “no soap should be given to any worker to take home.” In addition, “It is regretted no allowance can be given for clothing.”[18]
Perhaps predictably, dependence on volunteer labour proved over-idealistic and, a year later, it was reported that the scheme was held up, partly because “members of voluntary labour squad ... began to slacken off and today it is non-existent”.
To keep going, it was admitted that the committee would have to pay “jobbing men”.[19] It was also admitted that things were not going well: “the old Development Committee [was] being replaced by a Management Committee, a properly constituted body, incorporating the Borough Council”.
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Nevertheless an official opening ceremony was still to continue on 1 July 1950. A week before, the Register was used to prepare the public for the opening, including the radical concept of moving the war memorial to be part of the Riverside Development: the headline heralded “Tewkesbury ‘Corner of America’ will take shape soon: War Memorial plans ready for action” (illustration 1).
Unfortunately, the portfolio, or the Register, did not contain details of the public reaction to the unveiling and the opening ceremony.
Gradually we can infer that the committee was struggling with the immensity of the task. In October 1950 there was only a credit balance of £6.8s.7d. and it was resolved to hand over “the whole responsibility for the future of the scheme”. At least, Cllr. J.O. Martin was praised “for his courage in starting the scheme”. [22]
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In 1951, in a letter to the US Consulate, the Chairman admitted: “we have made a modest start in Tewkesbury and the townspeople have responded in some small measure. The rising cost of living and unsettled affairs generally have been the main cause of the lack of financial support”.23 He was referring to the disappointment of raising only £455 from the public appeal when the target was £10,000.
1951 must have been a frustrating year. We should remember that in the optimism of the 1949 statement: “it will site a ‘Corner of America in England’ and be completed in 1951, Britain's Festival Year, when a prominent American will be invited to lay a foundation stone”. No famous American appeared and in January 1951 the chairman admitted “two or three setbacks” to the BBC in Birmingham “with the result that it unfortunately will not be ready for the official opening during the Festival week in June next”. He added that “I think it is quite possible that the scheme may be finished by GI Labour by the way things are going at the present time ... treat the information as confidential ...” [24]
Planning Officer, after objectionsClick Image
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To be completed by “GI Labour” might have proved an unacceptable irony in 1951. The Festival of Britain was designed to be a revival of faith in Britain and celebrate all that was modern. Martin was very conscious of the national event and, indeed, it was his initial thinking to use the regenerative inspiration of the festival to introduce his own scheme to Tewkesbury. It could well be that, rather than be an inspiration, it proved a distraction in Tewkesbury.
December 1952 was a time of crisis. The Chairman wrote to his architect explaining why the scheme had been delayed: “two small children drowned the very week of the ceremony [and there had been an] outcry for a swimming pool”. [25]
In the same week the Minutes of the Town Council reveal that the General Purposes Committee had recommended that a children’s swimming pool be built on rising ground at Vineyards for £2,500. A week later the Council declared that it was interested in taking over Riverside Walk from the managing committee.[26]
By 1953 the council had taken over responsibility for the scheme which gradually seemed to expand in concept to one which included the buying and demolition of property which was of a decaying industrial and commercial nature.[27] However, by January 1953 the Chairman admitted in a letter to the architect that there was “very little hope of progress through voluntary channels”.[28] Furthermore it was evident that more reliance was being placed on “jobbing builders”: there is correspondence with professional builders such as Heath of Quay Street or Raggatt of ‘Oldbury Works’.[29]
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1954 was an empty year in the portfolio but in January 1955 the Housing Committee of the Council stated that the “riverside walk has not been abandoned”.[30]
By 1955 controversy about the viability of the scheme was raging in the Town and an inquiry was held.[31] It was stated that £30,000 was available for the scheme: in 1955, £30,000 would be today’s £522,600.[32] Although much has been achieved over the years, it was claimed that much of the available capital had been, according to a Mr. Bishton, “exhausted on fees for architects, surveyors and clearing the site.” Furthermore, the completion of the stretch to King John’s Bridge would mean the acquisition of more properties. In 1955 “Mr. Shill, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, thought people born and bred in town had no great sentiment for the Riverside Scheme”.[33] If substantiated, that sentiment would disappoint their children today.
The shadow which cooled somewhat the ardour of the opening ceremony for the scheme seemed to have extended by 1955 when the Register reported:
DEMAND FOR LIDO One of the consequences of the recent heat wave was that attention was once again focused on the necessity for adequate bathing facilities in Tewkesbury ... One result has been the revival of that much-discussed and hoary topic, the provision of a Tewkesbury Lido … It is to be built at the rear of the municipal car park in Gloucester Road facing the Mill Avon ... Voluntary contributions and voluntary labour could help to reduce the cost of a Lido, but the pessimists are mindful of the ‘first careless rapture’ that greeted the Riverside Walk scheme and shake their heads.[34]
A Council meeting of 1955 must have been interesting since the minutes reveal the conflict between the scheme and the demand for a swimming pool: “Cllr. Martin expressed the hope that Council would reconsider its attitude ... as ..uncertainty is unfair .. and tends to stifle development”. However, “Collins and Godfrey [are] to start building the pool on 10/10/1955”. [35]
Perhaps the death-knell of the ambitious scheme came in December 1955 when its political architect, Borough and County Councillor John Osborne Martin died, at the Royal Masonic Hospital in London, at the early age of 58. In its editorial, the Register considered his death “A Loss to the Borough”.[36]
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After that, the scheme was subject to much more serious scrutiny. In December 1959 the County Planning Officer published a report which had been inspired by an adjudication of appeals against the scheme of land and property purchases.[37]
You will recall that when the idea of a River Side Walk was first put forward there was a great deal of enthusiasm on all sides ... Some buildings have indeed been cleared on both sides of back of Avon but it has, I think, now become apparent that the only chance of achieving the walk lies in acquiring the land needed for it – or possibly for some slightly less ambitious scheme – as and when it comes into the market.
Compulsory purchase was ruled out. The officer produced a plan (illustration 11) for Back of Avon:
However, I feel it would be useful for us to have a ‘first stage’ plan for our own use . I think the aims initially should be:- (a) To remove all buildings between the road and the river from Healings Bridge to Shakespeare’s Boathouse. (b) To widen the road say, 20 feet. (c) To add to the interest of the river-side walk by making the eastern side irregular with a fairly large but not too formal, open area at the back of the Town Hall and Lloyds Bank and another, possibly smaller, open space to the south of Smiths Lane where some demolition has already taken place.
In 1960 Ernest Wilfred Penn, the Town Clerk since 1956, produced a report about the property it had purchased:
although there has been little progress with the scheme as a whole there has nevertheless been some progress in the acquisition of various plots of land which will be necessary ...
These acquisitions took place between 1941 and 1957 and mainly focused upon the Back of Avon area between Smith’s Lane and Tolsey Lane. By 1960, £1,170 had been spent by the council on these acquisitions.[38] Today the joined garden land comprises the American Garden of Remembrance while the riverside yards provide free car parking.
The main features of the remaining scheme have been maintained. Today someone enjoying a walk from the rear of the Town hall along the promenade, completed by the Town Council in 1979, to Healings Bridges or parking their car – at no charge – in Back of Avon will be benefiting from the vision and actions of Cllr. John O. Martin and his fellow citizens.
In 1949 it had been stated that “Tewkesbury ‘Corner of America’ will take shape soon: War Memorial plans ready for action”.[39] The plans might have been ready but the lack of action to secure the focal point of the whole scheme – the moving of the War Memorial to the Riverside – must have been a bitter disappointment to the instigators of the project. The absence of that pot of golden dollars will also serve as a great disappointment to folk-memory. Sadly the cynicism of Sir Walter Craddock proved most accurate.
However, much had been achieved: the Anglo American Garden of Remembrance at the rear of the Town Hall, the clearing of derelict property at Back of Avon to provide reasonably tasteful housing and a new road, Back of Avon. For once Tewkesbury Town Council found the right words to mourn the passing of Cllr. John Osborne Martin: “let us never forget that [he] tried to do what many others had only talked about”.[40]
‘Missing Links’?
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However, despite the fear expressed by residents as long ago as 1952,[41] little progress has been made in completing a walk from Red Lane to King John’s Bridge. A careful study – which excessive vegetation requires making from the river – will reveal that, for the most part, the walk is still marked out.[42]
There remains, in addition, the infuriating deviation via Church Street between Post Office Lane and the St. Mary’s Lane car park. When Elliott Court was built around 2000, provision was made for an extension of the walk. The tarmac was laid but, to date, this has still to be achieved. The cause of the problem is still a mystery.
The other physical barrier is the garden of Wetherspoons, current owners of the historic Royal Hop Pole Hotel. The company has, however, granted permission for development including the cession of land at the bottom of the garden for the Borough to complete the ‘missing link’.
Why were the plans to build the Riverside Walk between the Hop Pole and St. Mary’s Road abandoned when the council had bought all of the properties? Answering this vital question requires much more time in our excellent County Archives.
References
- Gloucestershire Archives [GA] is the repository of the records of the former Tewkesbury Borough Council which was ‘dissolved’ in 1974 when many of its powers and assets were transferred to the new District Authority, confusingly called Tewkesbury Borough Council, based in Gloucester Road. The Town Hall of the High Street remained the seat of Tewkesbury Town Council, which now enjoys only Parish Council status. Documents are in D11625/1/1-17, Boxes TBR/B/150-151. The Minutes of the Town [Old Borough] Council are found in TBR-A1/1-20.
- Ernest Wilfred Penn 2 Jan 1960; Town Clerk of the ‘old’ Borough of Tewkesbury since 1 Apr 1956.
- The Architects were Bridgwater and Shepheard, 42 Bruton Place, Berkeley Square, London W1 and it seems that Mr. Shepheard was not demanding full professional fees.
- Miscellaneous Correspondence 7 Jun 1950.
- In 2010, the former Martin and Bennett, Corn millers, was located in the car park behind the Cookshop premises.
- National Archives Currency Converter [NA-CC]
- Letter of 7 Nov 1949 from E. Holland Martin.
- Penn see above.
- Tewkesbury Register 5 Mar 1949.
- TBR-A1/13: Minutes Of The Town Council 1949.
- Letter of thanks to C.R. Leach, Manager in reply to their letter 14 Oct 1949 & 26 Sep 1949.
- Today it comprises the American Garden of Remembrance.
- Letters dated 19 May 1948 and Letter Assistant Borough Engineer to the Ministry of Works 3 Mar 1949.
- Letters between Town Clerk (Emlyn Davies) and Healing’s Chairman 13 Sep 1949, 21 Dec 1949 & 22 Dec 1949.
- H. Thorne and N. Bartlett 10 Mar 1949.
- Letter Gloucestershire County Planning Officer, 18 Dec 1959.
- Tewkesbury Register 5 March 1949.
- Letter from Mrs J. Dunkley of the Borough Food Office, The Old Hospital, Oldbury Road, dated 6 Jul 1949.
- Letter to Treasurer 15 Jun 1950.
- Tewkesbury Register 25 Jun 1949.
- Also pictured behind Cllrs. Lane and Wyatt are volunteer leaders, B.W. Lucas and Frank Walker, surrounding Cllr. Moulder; H. Bourton separated the Chairman and Mayor whilst G.E. Jenks revealed his arm muscles. Behind him are Cllrs. W.W. Baker and W. Linnell.
- Tewkesbury Register 26 Jun 1950 & Minutes of Meeting of Appeals Committee 16 Oct 1950.
- Letter from Chairman to US Consul, Mr. Hubbard 14 Feb 1951.
- Letters From Chairman J.O. Martin 16 Jan 1951 & 23 Jan 1951.
- Tewkesbury Register 3 Dec 1952.
- General Purposes Committee 08 Dec 1952 & Council 15 Dec 1952 in GA: TBR-A1/16.
- Minutes 16 Nov 1953.
- Letter to Architect from J.O. Martin 13 Jan 1953.
- Documents dated 22 Nov 1950 and 23 Jan 1951 respectively.
- Minutes of the Town Council Housing Committee 10 Jan 1955, Minute 189: GA: TBR-A1/18.
- Tewkesbury Register 9 Jul 1955.
- NA-CC.
- Tewkesbury Register 26 Feb 1955 and 17 Sep 1955
- Tewkesbury’s first purpose-built swimming pool was known as the ‘bird-bath’.
- GA TBR-A1/18: Minute 73.
- Tewkesbury Register 17 Dec 1955.
- Tewkesbury Town Map: Suggestions For Change After Objections prepared by County Planning Officer, Eric L. Higgins 1 Dec 1959 in preparation for the formal enquiry of 5 Jan 1960.
- NA-CC: this would have the same spending worth of 2010’s £17,901.00.
- Tewkesbury Register 26 Jun 1950.
- Minutes Of The Town Council: GA TBR-A1/19.
- Hammerton Court No. 2: Deeds 7 Nov 1952.
- Email from Corporate Head of Borough Development to Cllr. John Dixon, dated 13 Sep 2010, confirmed that any developments requiring planning permission must not intrude upon the line of the Riverside Walk
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