Shrublands farmhouse (GOSH plaque)

The Shrublands Farmhouse was built by Thomas Thurtell between 1807 and 1814 and remained a private residence until 1947. Amongst its notable tenants were Rear-Admiral Sir Eaton Stannard Travers and William Danby Palmer. At one time it stood in six acres of landscaped grounds.

After the Second World War, in 1947, the Borough Council acquired land that belonged to Magdalen College, Oxford, in order to promote the building of a large housing estate to re- house families that were bombed out, living in temporary accommodation or returning home when they were de-mobilised from the forces. It was inspired forward social thinking to acquire the Shrublands farmstead and land to create open space for recreation and buildings to be developed as a community centre for residents of all ages.

So began the Shrublands Youth and Adult Centre which opened in 1949. In June 1949 the education committee appointed Julian Macey as its warden with the task of developing social and recreational activities. He served at the centre from 1949 until 1980, and is widely-credited with pioneering the centre’s success.

For its time it was a bold new experiment, to have activities for all ages at the same centre. Local people and businesses were trusted to undertake a great deal of voluntary work to convert the farm buildings to a theatre, sports hall, changing rooms and utilise every room in the farmhouse, including the cellar, for activities of almost every imaginable sort for everyone from toddlers via youth to elderly. So successful was the centre that 80,000 attendances were recorded in the 1960s.

Today, many of the original community buildings are still in place and extensively used, together with the original farmhouse and the cottage plus some new more modern dedicated buildings.

The farmhouse is listed Grade II.