NEPCOTE INHABITANTS OF 1907

Copyright Valerie Martin 2008

Here is a delightful photograph of children from Nepcote early in the twentieth century.....an absolutely delightful picture from the past....who are they?   Ron Cowell in Rayleigh, Essex asks...

"hello Valerie I hope you will be able to put this photo and query on your really excellent Findon website.

I am trying to identify the people in the attached photo inherited from my mother. The one in front on the left is said to be my mother but this is not certain.

She was Minnie Bentley born in Arundel in 1903.

click on image to enlarge

The Bentleys (William and Louisa plus children) later moved to Nepcote and were definitely living there in 1914 but had moved to Angmering by 1920.

I know the photo is too old for anyone to have a direct knowledge of it but if anyone in the village has any thoughts on it or any knowledge of the Bentleys in Findon then I would be pleased to hear from them.  Ron Cowell"

I went through my records and found that one named William Bentley was residing in a cottage of Hugh R.P. Wyatt of the Cissbury Estate in 1914 (not sure which cottage or exactly where).   His gross estimated rental on this property was £8.    The Rateable Value of buildings and other hereditaments not being agricultural land was £6.10s.0d.

I then heard from Ron again....."Hello Valerie......Thank you for posting my email and photograph and your additional comments about the cottages. I can remember my mother showing me the house where she lived which was by the green on what I think is the west side, but I can't remember exactly which house it was. Perhaps the 1911 census will reveal all.

I see you have on your website a picture of the Findon cricket team in 1909 with a Bentley included. If there were no other Bentleys living in the village then that could well be my grandfather. He had a moustache as does the character in the photo but perhaps that doesn't prove much as I think they were quite common in those days. The problem is that I
don't know exactly when the family arrived in Nepcote and when they left so I don't know if they were around in 1909.    Ron".

Ron wrote further in March..."Hello Valerie.....I see my emails about the Bentleys have now got a page of their own as
Nepcote around 1914.

My cousin has had a look at the photo of the 1909 cricket team and we are fairly sure that the Bentleys in it are our grandfather William Bentley and his son Henry Bentley (more commonly known as Harry) who would have been about 7 years old at the time. I would love to know where the photo came from and how the people in it were identified. As
only some are named I presume there was no caption but someone knew some of the people.

I would like to add a question about an aunt I never knew. She was May Bentley who was born in 1898 and died young, probably around the age of 13. I have not found any registration of her death. It seems probable that she died when the family were living in Nepcote and therefore is probably buried at Findon. Is there anyone in the village with a
knowledge of the churchyard or access to the parish register who can tell me if May is there?"

I replied that I could find no memorial tablets in the churchyard for the name of "Bentley".   That does not mean May is not buried there as there may not have been a tablet or it may have been removed.

Lynne Trimmer wrote to me at East 2008 saying "The photo on the Nepcote Inhabitants we believe to be of the Bentley children in about 1907.

The boy in the front is Harry - who was my father in law. Harry was born in 1901 (?)   

We think the older boy is Jack Bentley who was killed during the second world war and the older girl is possibly Dolly."

Then Lynne added a bit later...."Just wanted to clarify Harry Bentley was Rene Bentleys father in law and my Grandfather. I was e-mailing on my mums behalf. Perhaps you could amend that for us. Many thanks. We have looked at the 1909 Cricket photo as well and are sure that Bentley junior is Harry as well. Regards Lynne Trimmer "

A MYSTERY TO BE SOLVED....CONCERNING THE BEACH GIRLS........  

click on postage stamp to enlarge

"Dear Valerie....I was wondering if any one knew who the girls are in this photo,3rd from the left is my mother Ivy Ockenden and i think the 1st on the left is her sister but who are the other two.

Could one of them be her friend Minnie Bentley?   Christine Young."

FROM RON COWELL....."Valerie........I have been looking at the beach girls on the Nepcote 1907 page and I think I can be fairly certain that not one of them is my mother Minnie Bentley.

If Christine Young has any more photos that she thinks might include my mother then I would be very pleased to see them as I have no pictures from that time period.   Ron"

ANOTHER ONE FROM RON..... "Hello Valerie....You know from previous correspondence that my grandfather William
Bentley lived in Findon, in Nepcote, around the time of the first world war and that the family later moved to Angmering.

The attached photograph dates from after they left the village but may well have been taken in Findon.

William Bentley is on the right. The question is - can anyone identify the other two? It may help to jog people's memories to know that he was a gamekeeper.   Ron"

CLICK ON IMAGE IF WISHING TO ENLARGE

Continue if you would like to read about "Wakey" — Frank Wakeham of the Wattle House.
 

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THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.