Laburnum Terrace

Cyril Williams of Selwood, 22 Gloucester Road, Thornbury

Cyril Williams and his wife Hilda moved in to the house after the Dennis family in 1965.  There was no connection between Cyril and the family of John & Emma Williams who had owned the property earlier.

Cyril Mark Williams was born in Thornbury on 11th January 1911.  He was the son of Alfred and Ruth Williams.  The family were living in Castle Street when Cyril started at the Council Upper School in 1919. 

Cyril married Hilda Clarice Allen in Thornbury in 1933.  Hilda was born in 1913, the daughter of Luke Allen and his wife, Kate Ellen Day.

George was a  builder who had worked as an apprentice with Jack Hodges in Castle Street.  He later set up his own business in conjunction with a friend, before branching out on his own.

Before moving to Gloucester Road, Cyril and Hilda lived at 27 St Mary Street, a property which they owned from about 1938 until it was acquired by the Council for the town centre re-development in 1968.   Cyril and Hilda lived in 27 St Mary Street until they moved to Selwood about 1965/6.  After buying the house, Cyril set out about a number of changes.  It is interesting to note that all the applications to local council to obtain approval were made in Hilda's name.  We can't explain this.

In January 1966, they made an application for major changes to the internal layout of the house.  This included moving the staircase.  Cyril and Hilda seem to have continued living in St Mary Street whilst this work was done.  Cyril had a reputation for collecting bits of old buildings he had worked on and he tried to incorporate these into his own properties.  A Thornbury man, Ken Worsley, who did some work for Cyril, remembered that he was asked to design alterations to Cyril's properties at Millpond Cottage when Cyril moved there.

In November 1967, they were granted a right of way allowing vehicle access to the rear of the property where they had recently built a garage. 

In December 1968 approval was granted for the erection of a bay window and porch on the front of the property.

Cyril and Hilda acquired several other properties in Thornbury, including number 16 Gloucester Road.  Around 1972, Cyril and Hilda moved down the Gloucester Road to live in one of his two properties at Millpond Cottages, Morton.  Cyril died on 26 December 1995 aged 84 years, and Hilda on 7th April 2004 aged 90 years.  Both are buried in Thornbury Cemetery.

This page was last updated: 21/03/2012