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Walnut Tree House


Walnut Tree House was built in the first decade of the 20th century, in a field near Cwm farm off Wern Lane. In the early OS maps, it was described as Walnut Tree farm.


The first residents, as far as I can tell were the Knight family - William and Elizabeth Knight. William appeared on the 1909 Register of Electors at Walnut Tree farm, although died in September 1909, being buried at Llanfihangel Pontymoile churchyard on 28th September 1909.

His widow Elizabeth was from Cheddar, in Somerset. According to the 1911 census, they had been married 48 years, so she must have married young - being a 68 yr old widow at the time of the census. She had taken over as the farmer - and two of their children, Ernest and Blanche were with her, working on the farm. Two of their grandchildren were living at Walnut Trees: 10 year old Donald (born at Tredegar) and 2 year old Aubrey Grainger (born at Glanaman in Carmarthenshire).


The Registers of Electors show Alfred and Mary Curnow in residence in 1922 and again in 1929.


The 1939 National Register tells us that Mary was widowed by the time the Register was collated; 29th September 1939. Alfred is likely to have died in the Oct-Dec Quarter of 1938, since this is the only entry for a death of an Alfred Curnow in the Death Registers between 1929 and 1939 in Monmouthshire.


Mary’s birth date is given as 17th January 1865. She was an “unpaid Domestic”. Also at Walnut Trees was Dennis R. Davies, born 20th November 1922. His occupation was listed as “General work on Holding”.