Your letters
NATS
Fighting FundTo the Editor
Could you kindly thank those people who have generously contributed towards the cost of opinions from leading counsel on the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) proposals. With a contribution from Chiltern Conservation Board, plus my own, these have covered both the fees and the inevitable VAT payable.
We are now awaiting the result of the further considerations by NATS following its feedback report, but we are also shortly to hear about the third runway at Heathrow. If that gets the go-ahead, then apart from further objections to that, we need to bring pressure to bear on NATS to move the Bovingdon stack, as an earlier NATS report on Heathrow said that this would have to be done if there is to be a third runway.
Michael Jepson
St Leonards
Post boxes on the move?
To the Editor
Now that we have a ‘permanent’ Shop, is it not time we had a post box to go with it? I seem to recall the Parish Council consulting on this some months ago… but what was the outcome? The residents of lower (upper?) Oxford Street must be fed up with me and many others stopping outside their houses to drop something in the box!
Colin Sully
Swan Bottom
The Parish Clerk writes: This letter galvanised me into trying to get back in touch with the Parish Council’s contact at the Royal Mail, but alas I was unable to do so before the Newsletter deadline. Discussions with him on this topic about a year ago centred on whether the box at Sly Corner could be moved to the shop, but this had met with what one might call a negative reaction from Sly Corner residents. I hope to bring you an update in the February Newsletter.
To the Editor
I wonder if you could help answer a query?
I’m currently researching my family history (the Timberlake family) and an old marriage settlement document from 1785 mentions The Lee Estate and a messuage (dwelling including orchard and outbuildings) called ‘Timberlakes’. It sounds as though it’s either near or on the Manor House’s land. I have made some enquiries of a couple of the village ‘historians’ but they have not been able to shed any specific light on my enquiry.
They have confirmed that there is no house in the parish currently called Timberlake, although there are still a number of houses named after previous, or even current occupants: Daffodil Cottage, Rose Cottage, Rodwells, Crocketts, Nantons.
Sir Arthur Liberty took down some cottages to form the green in The Lee in about 1910, and probably some others as well, but we don't know their names.
Is there anyone in the village who may have knowledge of this building called ‘Timberlakes’? My family history is firmly embedded in the Chilterns; it would be great to find hard evidence of their existence in The Lee.
Howard Timberlake
htimberlake@gmail.com