Family Notes

Harrow Green, Waltham Forest, Essex.

Family memory from Clive John Locks:
Gainsborough lodge was in Leytonstone. It was an old Victorian house that was a bit draughty and John George Locks used to sit with a screen behind him as he used to feel the draft. It had stables, servant quarters etc. The house was compulsory purchased by the council to make way for road widening at about the time of WW1. They then moved to their other house on the east coast.

Family memory from Ian Locks (son of J. Leonard Locks):
Gainsborough Lodge, Leytonstone was a wonderful house - dark, Victorian - in which "JG" sat on a throne-like chair, surrounded by a glass screen facing the fire while his (amazingly masculine-looking) wife sat beside the fire.  Visitors (from my memory aged around four I guess) sat out in the cold alternately studiously ignored or shouted at by the redoubtable Victorian-left-over figure in the middle.  This was, after all 1945.
However this fierce old man could also be extremely kind and I remember walking round the garden with him collecting conkers.  The highlight was to perch on the wall and look over at the trains going in and out of London (now the Central Line).  Sadly the house and grounds are now subsumed into a new road into London.  

Family memory from Teresa Gallagher:
Dooney and Darney also had a house in Deal and then a house in Felpham (Nr. Bognor Regis) - which later belonged to my grandparents - Lilly and Frederick Rowett. Gainsborough Lodge was in Leytonstone not Leyton and is now unfortunately a car park.
According to my Mother (Barbara Rowett) the nickname Darney came from my Father (Raymond Rowett) not being able to pronounce the word Darling properly which presumably he was called by Dooney.

Family memory from Muriel Bevan Jones:  
Muriel Bevan Jones was the first grandchild of John George and he didn't want to be called Grandad or Grandpa as it would make him feel old.  So he wanted to be known as "Darling" by his grandchildren.  When his grandchild Raymond Rowett came along he couldn't say "darling" easily so he called him Darney instead. Dooney's name followed on afterwards.


Family memory from a woman called Jacqueline (whose connection comes through the Locks side, but very far away):
"In 1891 they were living in a house called Twistdale, Lemna Road, Leyton, Walthamstow. In 1901 they were living in Gainsborough Lodge, Leytonstone. John was a newspaper proprietor, so they were quite well off I would imagine, indeed they had 2 servants in 1891 and 1 in 1901."