Daventry, Recreation Ground c.1965
Photo ref: D83084
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More about this scene

This view of the Rec shows the steam engine hiding the terrace of houses known as Mount Pleasant. The building on the extreme left is Stead & Simpson's shoe factory, one of the last shoe manufacturers to survive in Daventry, once home to many factories and craftsman. Steads's factory has now disappeared, to be replaced by Tesco's supermarket and obligatory car park. Fortunately, the Rec still survives.

A Selection of Memories from Daventry

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Daventry

Sparked a Memory for you?

If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?

I remember a sunny day in 1940 a 10 year old London kid alone nervous scared alone except for a bunch of other kids, We had been scurried away from war torn London having gone through the Battle of Britain German airraids. The British goverment had devised a plan given the secret name "Pied Piper" the ide to protect Britain's future generation . So here I m swinging on a garden gate leading up the path to a Red door, the ...see more
Reading some of the uses that this grand old building has been put to over the decades, brought back memories of my earlier years in the 1960's where the Abbey buildings frequently featured. Probably the first visit I was not aware of, because in the late '50's the post natal clinic was held there. I do remember tagging along with my mum and new baby brother to pick up the tins of powered baby milk. I've ...see more
Currently researching the history of the building which now houses First Light Photographic & Dawn Branigan Photography at 3 & 3A High Street. Have traced it back as far as 1836, when Leigh's Bakery was founded by one John Leigh. His son, Samuel George Leigh carried the tradition on well into the 20th Century. Does anyone know when Leigh's closed and the Danetre Fancy Bakery was opened? According to the ...see more
A short distance north-west of Daventry is Braunston. The village lies on a hill overlooking the Grand Union Canal, one of Britain’s most famous inland waterways, and is a hub of the canal network. This photograph (D83014) shows the Welton end (just north of Daventry) of the long Braunston Tunnel, which was built to connect the Grand Union Canal from London to the Oxford Canal at Braunston. The house over the ...see more