Page 36 - Froghall Drive Our Story

01.10.1930 Charles Etwell had a yearly tenancy from James Rolt. Etwell was a farmer who ran
cattle and grew hay in the fields east and west of the drive. His also ran the local milk
delivery business.
James Rolt was a Kings Councillor and made Froghall his retirement home.
He and his wife Grace had a large establishment with as many as eight servants in the
house and a large force of groundsmen. The head gardener lived in the lodge at the top
of the drive (now No 2) whilst his second gardener lived in a cottage on the opposite side
of London Road. He had previously been the coachman for the Rolts but when they
moved to Wokingham they employed a chauffeur who lived with his wife and two sons
in the Cottage. For many years two landaus were kept in the garages although never
used.
(The chauffeurs name was Lane and much of this section of information has been supplied by his
younger son Frank)
During this time the grounds were well kept. The drive up to London Road was gravel
flanked by grassy banks and a profusion of rhododendrons. At this time the cottage had
open fires and no central heating. The study was known as the tack room without
internal access from the dining room. It had a typical split stable door as access from
outside and a metal stove with stack below the window.
In the courtyard against the wall was a brick built metal topped bunker in which were
stored two gallon tins of petrol. In the house the staircase was steeper and commenced
further back with the present cross beam going right across.

1938/9 First Grace and then James Rolt died and are buried in All Saints churchyard - on the
left inside the gate entrance from London Road

30.12.37 Town Planning Agreement between Richard Lowndes, Charles
Medway, Frederick Charles Ihlee and Berkshire C C

14.9.39 Harmar Ltd bought the property and 53 acres for £5500

Mar 1940 Permission was granted to W Timothy DONOVAN to use Froghall as a nursing home

22.4.40 Harmer Ltd sold Froghall and about 10 acres of land to James Cooper
BUDGE and Alice BUDGE with right of way from London Road for £2500. They ran a
nursing home in Froghall.

29.9.40 The yearly tenancy with Etwell terminated after one year's notice.

31.12.40 An agreement between Harmer Ltd and the Budges permitted a sewage discharge
through a pipeline to connect with a public sewer in Waterloo Road.

1944 Ordnance Survey 6 inches to the mile. The extra piece on the extension no longer
exists

7.9.45 Froghall was put up for sale by the Budges but did not reach the reserve price

8.3.46 Sold to James BUZZACOTT for £8000 (for and as a donation to S A E Homes) to be
known as the Nurse Emily Buzzacott Home in the memory of Miss E Buzzacott. He had
renamed it Buzzacott Hall and the Salvation Army ran it as an old peoples home until
they moved out themselves as they found it too expensive.

Somewhere about this time there was an idea to convert Froghall into an hotel but this was
turned down because the drive was considered too narrow if cars were parked in it for a fire
engine in case of emergency to come down it.