Most National Trust properties inspire thoughts of historic mansions, wealth and grandeur. However, tucked away in a Worksop cul-de-sac, at 7 Blyth Grove, you’ll find Mr Straw’s House; the National Trust’s first small domestic property, acquired in 1990.
The early days
To understand how this apparently normal red-brick Edwardian house became one of the Trust’s quirkiest properties, you need to go back more than 100 years.
The head of the family, William Straw, moved to Worksop in 1886 to work for his brother, Benjamin, at his grocers. Three years later, William bought his brother out and ran the business alone.
In 1896, aged 32, William married Florence, the daughter of David Wall Winks, a butcher and local councillor whose shop stood opposite William’s on the Market Place. The couple had three sons: William Jr in 1898, Walter in 1899 and David who died in infancy in 1903.
Moving to Blyth Grove
William’s business continued to thrive, and in 1923 the family moved from a flat above the shop to the semi-detached house in Blyth Grove. This was being developed as a residential area for professionals on the outskirts of the town. To avoid being overlooked by neighbours, the Straws bought the vacant plot opposite which became an extension to the family garden with an orchard.
Florence chose wallpaper, curtains and an Egyptian-inspired carpet, fashionable for the time, alongside ornaments, elegant glassware and new French doors that completed the family home.
Two sudden deaths
William Straw Sr died suddenly in 1932 and from that day little changed at number 7. In a show of mourning and respect the family kept William’s personal belongings
in place including his coats and hats. The 1932 calendar in the front room was never removed, and William’s pipes and tobacco are still seen hanging by the fireplace in the dining room.
Life for the younger Straws changed forever when their mother died in 1939. William returned to the family home from London and he and Walter settled into a way of life that was not to change for the next 40 years.
Pillars of the community
Both brothers were pillars of the local community and every Sunday put on their blue suits and black bowler hats to sit in the same pew in nearby St John’s Church.
This was followed by their Sunday routine of a walk-up Market Street after lunch to check on the shop and their other properties in the town. Walter had joined the family’s grocer’s business in his twenties and ran it until 1962, when the shop closed on 3 March after 76 years of trading.
Gardeners and history lovers
The brothers were keen gardeners and outside the garden
and orchard remained lovingly tended. Walter specialised in cacti which he grew in his greenhouse, and the orchard contained various fruit trees once used by the family to make preserves and
other recipes.
Florence’s recipe collection contains several dishes to make use of the produce including apple pudding, apple jelly and apple chutney.
Both brothers were also interested in local history, with William being actively involved in the Thoroton Society, a Nottinghamshire historical and archaeological group.
The great outdoors
The brothers had many pastimes and interests, walking being one of them. In 1949, the House of Commons introduced a National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, part of which was to give responsibility to each local council ‘to show upon all maps all footpaths, bridle paths and roads used as public paths therein’.
The Borough of Worksop formed a Public Rights of Way Committee holding their inaugural meeting on 19 February 1951, where it was decided that a team of volunteers would need to carry out the works. On 6 March 1951, William Jr received a letter from the committee, alongside a ‘green memorandum on the subject’, and a ‘typed schedule of information’. The brothers were now part of the town’s new volunteer team.
Frozen in time
William and Walter threw little away and chose to live without many modern comforts taken for granted today. Walter died in 1976, leaving William Jr alone for the final 14 years of his life.
When William died in 1990, he left the contents of the house to the National Trust who then purchased the building to display the house as it had been left by the brothers.
Mr Straw's House provides an important social document, capturing everyday life in the Midlands in the mid-20th century.
Podcast
Mr Straw’s House has become the focus of a new episode of the National Trust’s Back When History Podcast. Titled, The House Where Time Stood Still, listeners are guided through the house and given a real insight into why this ordinary looking home is anything but ordinary. Available on all major podcast platforms now.
From greenhouse to wallpaper
The cactus-filled greenhouse at Mr Straw’s House has inspired a brand-new National Trust wallpaper. Launched in January, Mr Straw’s Greenhouse is part of Little Greene’s new In the Garden collection. The design celebrates Walter Straw’s love of succulents and cacti, inspired by the modest greenhouse still standing at the end of the garden today. A contribution from the sale of every roll of wallpaper supports the National Trust’s work caring for historic places like Mr Straw’s House.
Visiting the house
The house is open on Thursdays and Fridays, with Saturday openings during September and October. Bookings can be made four weeks in advance by calling 0344 249 1895 or through the website at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/mrstrawshouse
Images:
Straw family photo on mantle, courtesy Tammy Herd.
Mr Straw's coats hanging in the hallway, NT Images, Geoffrey Frosh.
Straw's shop, courtesy of the National Trust.
The front view of Mr Straw's House, courtesy Chris Lacey.
A selection of family and cleaning items, courtesy Tammy Herd.
Cacti in the greenhouse (Little Greene wallpaper inspiration), courtesy Johanna Mather.
Mr Straws Greenhouse wallpaper, courtesy Little Greene.
