16 Down View

You are in

You are in [Places] [Other Roads in Hungerford] [Cow Lane (Park Street)]

Summary:

The history of this property has not been fully researched. However, the following notes may be of help to future researchers.

The three storey property stands on the north side of Park Street near the Down Gate, overlooking Hungerford Common Port Down.

Between the property and Park Street is a line of small cottages.

Timeline:

1814 and 1819 (Enclosure Award maps) show no dwellings on the site of the future cottages nor large house. The field was owned by George Bathe Cundell.

1819 Enclosure Award Map - Down Gate area
showing no sign of the property, 

In 1847 the railway opened from Newbury to Hungerford, ending in a terminus station and goods yard. The railway property is immediately north of the 16 Down View garden.

1849 Tithe Award map shows a line of dwellings possibly matching the terrace of small cottages, but no sign of the large house. Mr Cundell's field has been divided.

The 1849 Tithe Map  - Down Gate Area
showing probably terrace of cottages

1861 (Census #140) records William Pontin and his wife as retailers of beer at "The Spotted Cow". It is unclear whether the adjacent entries refer to 16 Down View. None seems to fit.

1871 (Census #136) records William & Sarah Dyke as publicans at the Down Gate. 

1871 (Census #137) records the adjacent property as being called "Down Villa", occupied by Moses Reeson, a draper formerly (in 1861 census) in Ely Cambridgeshire, and his wife Ann Goddard Reeson, along with two sons and three daughters, as well as house servant Harriett Lovelock. This strongly suggests that this relates to the large newly built 16 Down View.

1881 (Census) records William & Sarah Dyke as living in the High Street, William is described as "Out of business, formerly innkeeper".
1881 (Census #140) records Thomas Jessett as Publican ("Bricklayer" was crossed out!), his wife, three daughters, one son, mother and father-in-law (the Ruddles) and a lodger.
1881 (Census #139) , (which may be 16 Down View?) records John Watmore and his wife, three daughters and two lodgers.

1882 (OS map) shows the property is named "Downend House".

The 1882 OS map showing "Downend House"

1891 (Census) records John Watmore (a Telegraph lineman), his wife, three daughters and two adult lodgers at (what we believe is) 16 Down View.

1901 (Census) shows no record of John nor Sophia Watmore. The records adjacent to the Royal Exchange are inconclusive.

The Mills family: Sometime in the 20th century, the house was bought by the Mills family. There were many members of the Mills family in Hungerford and Ramsbury. Several branches were local butchers. (A search on the Virtual Museum for "Mills" finds around 100 matching pages).

Miss Jenny Mills was owner and occupier of 16 Down View for many years before her death in May 2025. A tribute to her included "To some local people, Jenny was named “Jenny the Sheep” as she loved her sheep and sometimes would take one of them for a walk in the town!

In her early twenties, she emigrated to Australia and went to work on a sheep station. Sadly, after about eighteen months, she was thrown from her horse and was in a coma for two weeks. Her father asked her to come home after that, which she did, but she retained a love for the country and her time spent there became an idyllic memory for her.

In later life, she became a secretary to one of the top researchers at Harwell and later worked for the C.I.D. at the police station in Newbury.

Jenny had a shorthand speed of 180 words per minute, an incredible speed, and it was suggested that she became a Hansard reporter – an official recorder of proceedings and debates in Parliament – but she did not follow this up.

Jenny was a regular church attender."

Conclusion about the date of the building:

These various references suggest that what is now 16 Down View was built between 1862-1871. The terrace of cottages was built prior to 1849.