Streets through time - Trotters Lane
No 7 formerly The Poppins
Also known as Church View Cottage
Above: Originally the rear of the property now used as the front entrance
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Above: The original front of the property facing the churchyard
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In the Estate sale of 1937, the tenancy is that of a Mr E. A Gibson.
The 1921 census show that the Gibson family from Grantham are in residence. Ernest A Gibson (37) is a postman and lives here with his wife Kate E (37) , daughters Ada B (11) and Katie E (5), and son Frederick W (9). The family are still living here in 1939 and Frederick is an ARP warden.
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Census records also show that at the at the beginning of the 20th century, the Asher family are in residence and the area is known as Church Yard with no reference to Trotters Lane (although this may be a clerical reference by the census enumerator). In 1901, Thomas Asher ( aged 69) a labourer, and his wife Mary (68) lived here. By 1911, Mary was widowed and living here with her son William Asher (35) and his family - wife Jane (42) and sons William H (11), George H (8), Albert E (5), Frederick (3) and daughter Ethel M (7).
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In more recent times in the 1980's and 90's, this house was famously home to the Poppins bird sanctuary run by Mrs Doreen Cubitt and her husband Michael. They tirelessly rescued birds (and hedgehogs) of all kinds and funded this all from their own savings or donations. They had owls who lived in the house with them which had roosts in some of the rooms.
Above: An article taken from the Grantham Journal 28th Feb 1990
Above: image taken in late 1960's of the front of the property from the church yard.
There is a mystery regarding this house and its plot of land. The current owners - Janet and Brian Hannah - discovered an old gravestone in their garden (originally the front garden) next to the old well pictured right. The inscription is still legible and reads:
Here Lyeth (the) Body of Tho: (Thomas) Wright. (the) Son of William (and) Mary Wright who Departed this life June 26 1709 aged 9 months.
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nb the words in brackets are the English equivalent of period symbols used for these words inscribed on the stone.
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The questions posed are:
Why is the grave of the infant not in the main churchyard and what is known of the Wright family. As the stone was found next to the well, is this the scene of a tragic accident? It would be appreciated if anyone who could throw any light on this to contact the History Society.
