Hughes Family

1850s map of the land between The Folly and Hill End Farm

Gate below The Folly

Gate below Hill End Farm

We can only speculate on the courtship between ‘TP’ and the fair Kate, eldest daughter of the strait-laced looking Uncle David Hughes. I like to think they caught each other’s eye, as they stole a sideways glance whilst kneeling at church prayers once a week. Maybe at a festive family get together they hatched a plan to ‘bump’ into each other at the Mill House on the Onny. Then disaster struck; the Hughes family moved lock stock and barrel to Lower Wood Farm near Albrighton. However, this census from 1891 suggests they had a cunning plan…

Once their romantic plan had succeeded they never looked back; from housekeeper in 1891, by the 1901 census they had firmly laid the genetic foundations for our future selves – hoorah!

And the rest is truly history. Many of you have fond memories of The Folly which perhaps we can capture in a research post at some point. Today the original barns to the right of the farmhouse are sadly gone. When my parents knocked on the front door in 2020 they discovered that the current occupants are a welcoming group of three or four Mennonites families and their eleven children. They import oak from America with which to make and sell shaker-style kitchens, as well as running a bakery in Craven Arms. They were rather pleased to hear that TP Davies, in his spare time, was a lay preacher who would travel the Clun district on Sundays to preach at Wesleyan Methodist chapels.

David Hughes (1826-1897)

Kate Hughes (1867-1935)

‘TP’ Davies (1862-1952)

The Folly Farm taken with TP’s box camera early 1900’s

And the rest is truly history. Many of you have fond memories of The Folly which perhaps we can capture in a research post at some point. Today the original barns to the right of the farmhouse are sadly gone. When my parents knocked on the front door in 2020 they discovered that the current occupants are a welcoming group of three or four Mennonites families and their eleven children. They import oak from America with which to make and sell shaker-style kitchens, as well as running a bakery in Craven Arms. They were rather pleased to hear that TP Davies, in his spare time, was a lay preacher who would travel the Clun district on Sundays to preach at Wesleyan Methodist chapels.