Monthly Archives: March 2014

Landermere: the pre-Henderson days

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Frederick Kempster English Giant

Jo has reminded me that Landermere did actually exist (!) before the advent of the Henderson era in 1954, with previous inhabitants including:

  • The quay was purchased by Richard Rigby in 1781, who built Gull Cottages and the King’s Head.
  • Sir William Withey Gull, physician to Queen Victoria and at one time suspected of being Jack the Ripper – the cottages are named after him, and there’s a placard on the end cottage showing that it once belonged to him. He is buried in the village churchyard.
  • There was also Sir Basil Spence, architect of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral; and Frederick Kempster, also known as the English Giant, who stood 7’9″ tall, regularly visited Landermere and in fact one of the best-known photographs of him (above) shows him shaking hands with someone at the first floor window of the King’s Head (now Steve & Lis’ bedroom!)

Thanks Jo – does anyone know of any other previous Landermereites?

Nigel and the terrifying devil puppet

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My grandfather Nigel Henderson died at Landermere, of a heart attack, in May 1985, when I was eight.  I remember Mum telling me when she came to collect me from the school gate.  I recognised that she was very sad, but I didn’t fully realise at the time what it meant, or that such a character had completely gone.  Because “Grandad” was a character, no doubt about it.

One of his favourite tricks when Lillie (two years younger than I) and I were little was to hide behind the bushes and wait for us to come close, before roaring and brandishing his terrifying devil puppet in our paths.  I think Steve still has the puppet actually, and I promise I’m not scared of it any more; but at the time we would invariably scream and run for our lives.  It was made of papier-mache, based I imagine on Punch; but all its joints were mobile, linked with eye bolts.

Does anyone else remember it?  I’m pretty sure I remember Mum saying Grandad had terrified her and Jo in the same way when they were little.  I’ll try to find a picture somewhere.