Meridian House story started in 1906 when William Tinmouth found a perfect piece of land on which to build his house.
The land was on a hill and at that time it was known as Mount Pleasant, the house would look over the village and William would be able to see the beautiful St Michael and All Angels Church, the big woods behind which seemed to hug the village and to the east, he would see Eastbury, there was even a Railway Station.
William employed some local builders, Messrs W Brain & Son, to build the house and what a house it would be.
When it was completed, he called the house ‘Meridian’. William was a ship’s Captain and one of his ships had been called ‘Meridian’
During the building of Meridian, the family were possibly living in Bockhampton Road, the houses at that time were known as ‘Station View’ (Number 2 Bockhampton Road) William’s daughter Caroline Lily is seen in the photograph outside of the said house. Whether they were living there is not confirmed but highly likely.
What was William doing in a remote area of Berkshire miles away from the sea? …we can only guess…but not only was he far from the sea but also from his home in South Shields, Newcastle. I would imagine that the locals found his/their accents fascinating, not to mention incomprehensible! but perhaps they also found the same with the Berkshire accent
William’s eldest daughter Sallie (1890-1979) is seen in the 1911 census as living and working in Ewelme, Wallingford, which is about 28miles from Lambourn, perhaps the reason the family moved here, or did she live at Meridian before she went to Ewelme? another mystery which will remain so.
The family settled into Meridian and village life, the two youngest daughters, Hessie 1895-1936) and Caroline Lily (1895-1994) attended Lambourn School, as seen in the registers.
George William (1891-1981) known as ‘Bill’ (William’s eldest son) joined the Lambourn Football Team known as the ‘Linnets’. He can be seen in the following photo of the team in 1911
Lambourn Football Team (Possibly called The Linnets) 1910-11
The next photo’s are of Bill Snr (left) taken some years later and his son William (Bill) uncannily very alike, both photos being kindly sent from Bill Snr’s Granddaughter, Elaine. (Many thanks to her) Bill joined the Royal Engineers and fought in France during WW1. Bill reached a wonderful age of 90 when he died in 1981, in Stockport, Cheshire.
Youngest son Thomas (1894-1965) remained in the North East when the family moved south, as at the young age of 16 he became a British Mercantile Marine Apprentice eventually becoming Capt Thomas W.Tinmouth. Thomas died in Canada.
The family are seen in Lambourn in the 1911 census and the following years 1912-1915 in the ‘ownership electors’ lists but no doubt due to to WW1 they returned to the North East. With the outbreak of the war, William went off to ‘do his duty’ therefore, it was not surprising that Sarah wanted to be in her own surroundings, they were frightening times.
After the war, Sarah Jane remained in South Shields while William continued to sail to and from Canada until 1921.
William died at Westoe, South Shields on December 9th 1923 age 60. Buried at Westoe Cemetery, Plot: Section A, Grave No.177.
Capt. William Tinmouth DSC was to be admired and he was awarded the Lloyd’s Silver Medal for Meritorious Service aboard the Trevisa: Distinguished Service Cross – (Gazette: 2305, 22/02/1918) in recognition of zeal and devotion to duty in carrying on the trade of the country during the war: Awarded the British War and Mercantile Marine Medals.
I wonder if William ever thought that his legacy of ‘Meridian’ would still be here as a reminder 115 years later.
Sarah, who had no doubt, a hard and sometimes lonely life of a Sailors wife, died on the 24th May 1930 at the age of 67
During this research I contacted a family member, Stu Cox, via Ancestry.co.uk who was surprised to hear from me and certainly about Meridian! but not as surprised as William’s Great Granddaughter, Nikki in the USA who Stu put me in touch with and Nikki put me in touch with cousin Elaine (Bill Jnr Daughter) in Canada. My sincere thanks them. Special thanks to Nikki and Elaine for allowing the use of their personal photos and the constant emails back and forth from the USA and Canada. This has been a fascinating, interesting and heartwarming history to compile, and it only scratches the surface for Meridian!
The story of Meridian hasn’t finished yet and will continue with the fascinating life of Fred Templeman………………….
Liz Beard 2021
If anyone has any photos or memories of Meridian, I will always be pleased to hear from you.
