Meridian House History continues:
After William Tinmouth (who had Meridian built in 1906) and his family returned to the Northeast in 1915/16, the occupancy of Meridian during 1917 is yet unknown. Due to WW1 there are no records but from 1918 according to records, Fred Templeman and family were living there. It was widely stated that he bought it in 1920 but he was there in 1918.
Fred Templeman was born in 1892, son of William and Emma. He had 5 siblings, Mary Ann 1884, Clark 1886, Arthur Spurr 1888, Hettie Miriam 1889, and Florence 1898. Sadly, their mother died before 1901 leaving their father to bring up the youngest children.
Their father, William, had been a jockey some years previously and had been living in Lambourn in 1881 at the age of 21 and residing in the High Street with the Jarvis Family. William eventually became a Farm Bailiff. Fred’s Great Uncle, Simeon b 1805 was a jockey. (Simeon Templeman was a famous Jockey who won the Epsom Derby three times. In 1839 he won with Bloomsbury, followed by an 1847 victory with Cossack and the following year won again on Surpice. Other notable victories included the Oaks in 1847 on Cymba, and repeated it in 1855 aboard Marchioness. He won another classic race, The St. Leger, in 1851 on the horse Newminster owned by a bloodstock Newcastle chemist Anthony Nichols. He built Burnby House with the proceeds of his wins and died in 1884)
Nb: It is said in some information that Simeon was Great Grandfather of Fred Templeman but extra research into the family points to him being ‘William’s’ fathers, brother ie William’s uncle and Fred’s Great Uncle.
In 1901, age 9 Fred was living in Great Bradley, Suffolk with his widowed father and sisters Mary Ann b 1884 and Florence b 1898. Arthur(Fred’s brother) was in Lambourn as apprentice to the Trainer William Grey and John Hallick who trained at Park Farm, Upper Lambourn. Freddie was to join him a couple of years later in 1904 at the age of 12. He had his first ride on September 22nd 1905 age 13.
1909 Jockey, Arthur Smith, rejected the 100/9 shot ‘Grand Parade’ for the Epsom Derby, he chose to ride Dominion and Fred stepped in to ride ‘Grand Parade’, he went on to win and ‘Grand Parade’ was the first black horse to win the Derby in 106 years. Incredibly, the very next season, Arthur Smith made the same mistake again, choosing to ride another horse instead of the winner.
1911 age 20 Fred was living in Marlborough House, Station Road Newmarket, with his brother Arthur, wife, and youngest sister Florence. Both Arthur and Fred are stated as Jockey’s
On February 25th 1915 Fred married Beatrice Maria Hervey Bathurst in London. Beatrice was 19 and Fred was 24 and she had to obtain permission from her father Claude Hervey Bathurst of Brighton.
From 1918 Fred and Beatrice were living at Meridian House and occasionally his brother Clark appears on the census
Beatrice was living at Meridian until 1934 and she did not appear again. Her death is recorded in 1983 at Heston House, Old Peoples Home, Hounslow, Middlesex and appears that she never remarried. She left £25,000
June 18th 1919 was one of Fred Templeman’s notable successes and came on Irish Elegance in the Royal Hunt Cup, at 7/1 joint favourite and leading all the way in a field of 26 set the present weight-carrying record of 9st 11lb for the race and in the same year the Liverpool Summer Cup on Arion. He was 7th in the jockeys championship of 1919 too. For this sterling effort he was given 100 shares in the Beecham Trust, which owned valuable property in Covent Garden, by the horse’s owner, financier Mr James White. Soon afterwards Fred – struggling to make ends meet – sold them. He was reprimanded by White’s regular rider, Steve Donoghue, for his ingratitude. Fred remarked ‘I’m hard up and need the money!’
Fred turned to training and sometime in 1920/21 he bought the land in Station Road called Elmfield. He had 30 boxes built and he also purchased Lambourn Place and the gallops at Faringdon Road.
In 1930 he had 37 horses in training and the number varied through the years with Fred having 64 in training in 1938. In 1940 he had 55 and the numbers fluctuated between 1941-1956
Between 1921-1956 he had a total of 674 flat winners and 2 National Hunt. Clark Templeman trained at Meridian between 1940-1942 and had 1 National Hunt winner.
Fred travelled extensively on cruise ships from 1938-1952 and travelling with him was Henry and Olga Thurston. Fred lived with them prior to his marriage and is seen in many census’s as being at Wantage and at Meridian! The trips included many visits to Buenos Aires, Durban, Bombay, West Indies. When his brother retired from riding, he moved to South Africa to train, therefore it is probable that the trips to South Africa were to visit him. During this time Meridian was mostly occupied by his brother-in-Law, Thomas Spurr (his sister Mary Ann’s husband) and Clark Templeman.
In 1939 Fred purchased 400 acres of Land in Mildenhall, near Marlborough, Wilts. He wanted to help the war effort and produce crops of wheat, oats etc and the dairy farm producing milk with 60 head of cattle. Part of the farm was for a stud farm. He employed Bill Purver to manage the farm and in the later part of the 50’s Bill and his wife Nancy lived at Meridian until they moved to USA in 1956 when Bill trained in his own right. At this point, Fred had 23 horses in training and retired from training, although remained at Meridian.
Some of Fred’s horses were:
Lambert Simnel (1938-1952) raced during WW11. He won the 2000 guineas in 1941. As a 2yr old he won and then finished 2nd in the Dewhurst Stakes, the following spring won the 2000 guineas beating a field which included subsequent classic winner Owen Tudor and Sun Castle, beaten when favourite for the Derby and finished unplaced in the St Ledger. He retired to stud and stood as a breeding stallion in England and Argentina.Diolite (1927-1951) won Coventry Stakes, Molecomb Stakes and the following year the 2000 guineas and 3rd in the Derby. He became a successful breeding stallion in Japan.
Chatelaine (1930-1937) A 25/1 victory in the Epsom Oaks in 1933 also won Scarborough Stakes and dead heated for Champion Stakes, 2nd Jockey Club Stakes and 3rd in Coronation Cup. She retired to stud but died in 1937 only producing 2 foals, neither of which survived.
‘Radiotherapy’ won Sussex Stakes at Goodwood in 1942
Templeman’s favourite horse was Cotoneaster, who won 14 races for the stable including the Hardwicke Stakes and the Great Jubilee Handicap.
Fred died at Meridian, on 17th May 1973 aged 82. He left £455,096 (death duties were £72,827.00) He left various monies to his niece and great nephews, the residue went to Olga Thurston, her husband had since died in 1971 and she had moved from her Wantage home into Meridian House.
After Fred’s death, the Faringdon Road gallops at Lambourn, which he had privately owned, came up for auction (at the Red Lion Hotel). The gallops, which covered distances up to a mile, amounted to 47 acres and they were bought by the Lambourn trainer, Major Peter Nelson for £22,500 after an initial bid of £14,000 had been rejected.
In 1971 Olga Thurston was subjected to a jewellery theft.
Olga Thurston continued to live at Meridian House (until her death in 1991)and the property became Meridian Stud, she was actively part of the racing fraternity owning many horses including Lover’s Fate, North Lodge and Matinale who won the Ascot Stakes in 1977 (7/1) and trained by Barry Hill’s. (ridden by Ernie Johnson)
Olga Isabelle Thurston died on 10th August 1991 and left £1,665,931.
Meridian has had various owners since Olga Thurston and it is now in the hands of the ‘Honey’ family
https://www.katehoneyeventing.co.uk/facilities-and-services/
And so the Meridian story continues over one hundred years later, and long may it continue to do so…….if walls could talk it could really tell so much history.
Liz Beard
(always happy to hear of any further information regarding Meridian House)
