Kath’s cottage is a slightly unusual name and we are often asked about its origins. So here for those interested is the history.
Kath’s Cottage is named after Kath Thompson who lived in the house that stood on this site until it was demolished in the early 1970’s. Kath was born in Canterbury in 1913 and married Bill Thompson shortly before the outbreak of war in 1939. They moved to the village in 1940 and rented the old 18th century cottage renaming it Number 1 The Bungalow – an odd choice since the house was neither number 1 in the road nor strictly a bungalow as it had upstairs rooms.
Kath and Bill both worked on the local fruit farm and lived on in the house until 1968, raising 5 children during that time. Colin was born in the house in 1943 and was followed over the years by Linda (1951), Elizabeth and Brian (1955) and Wendy (1960). In 1968 the family moved to a larger house in the village. The old house remained unoccupied for several years but when the occupier of the adjoining house died in the early 1970s the two houses were demolished and 3 houses were built on the land – numbers 55 and 57 Shalloak Road and Yew Tree Cottage facing on to Mayton Lane. Colin bought number 55 when it came up for sale in 2008 and, at the suggestion of the family, named it after their mother.
So where are they now?
Kath’s husband Bill died in 1985 at the age of 77 but 4 of their 5 children still live within a few miles of the village and Colin, who lives in the West Midlands, is a regular visitor. Kath died in July 2014 at the age of 101 after a fall in her garden. She went on working on the farm into her 80’s and continued to live in the house to which the family moved in 1968. It was here, in May 2013, that she celebrated her 100th birthday with a garden party for around 100 people. We miss her greatly but we treasure the memory of a lovely lady and a great mum.
Recent Comments