Lingfield Road - No 9 of an Occasional Series

Today's visit to Lingfield Road highlights what was originally known as "Knowle Villa" and more recently "Knowle House."

The first recorded occupant in the 1891 Census was Henry Osborne; his occupation is shown as "Builder" and it would appear that as a noted local builder he probably built the house and the 4 adjacent.

By 1901 the house is occupied by Arthur Gurney and his wife Jane. He is a solicitor. The marriage was perhaps an unhappy one since they divorced in 1915.

The 1911 Census shows the house to be occupied by the newly married Leslie Stuart Wood and his wife Constance. We know that by the time of the 1939 Register they're living further up Lingfield Road in Moor Place. Miss Jane Murray is then living in Knowle House; her death is recorded in Exmouth during 1952

In the 1960s it was extended to became a Boarding House for the Senior Girls at the Bush Davis School. After the school closed in 1989 the house became a Nursing Home, a role it continues to fulfil today.

The previous item (No 8) is here