The first 4 canal side villas built for clerks at Wolverton Station were built by Messrs Guyther & Co. They cost £393 10s each. They were let for £18 per annum.

The remaining villas were built by James Andrews of Tring. They cost £1,045 for the pair.

The tenants paid rates and taxes but the Railway Company awarded an allowance of £5 to these first tenants. This was intended to cover the expenses involved in putting the gardens in order.

The villas were very roomy and substantial. The ground floor consisted of dining room, parlour, large hall (with open staircase), large kitchen and scullery. There was also a large cellar and an outside toilet. Upstairs consisted of 4 bedrooms, bathroom and toilet.

The tenant of The Stationmaster's Villa was Mr Alfred D. Blott. The London & Birmingham Railway appointed him on 18th September 1838. This was the day after the final section of the railway opened. He was firstly referred to as "the senior clerk" but was described as "stationmaster" by the time of a census in the 1850's. His wife, Cornelia, was Swiss born and they had 4 sons. The boys were all born in Wolverton. The family employed a housemaid and nursery maid.

John Webster was considered to be a rather colourful character with a fiery temper. One typical incident he was involved in features in Bill West's book "Remember Wolverton , Stratford and Bradwell".

Under the heading "Webster's downfall" the following anecdote is recorded. One of the fields at Stacey Hill Farm contained plants of a special seed pea, some of which were 8 or 9 feet high. One of the Webster sons brought home a handfull of these special pods to show his father. John Webster decided that these had seed potential as they contained 12 to 14 peas per pod! He made a couple of forays to the field but got caught on the second trip. The farmer siezed him, called for the police and locked Webster in the stable tackroom. Webster then flew into such a temper that he started slashing the harnesses. Consequently he was charged and convicted both with damaging harnesses and pea stealing. The peas were grown throughout the area and were known as "Webster's downfall".

"Remember Wolverton, Stratford and Bradwell" by Bill West is published by Barracuda Books of Buckingham. It is usually available at St. Andrew's Bookshop, Church St, Wolverton. It is available for borrowing from the local history reference section at Wolverton and Stony Stratford libraries. ISBN 0 86023 474 6

The following information and photos were kindly provided by Karen Puryer, Great grand-daughter of John William Webster.

Thank you to Karen and Lewis Puryer.

Click on a photo to see a larger picture, but they might take a long time to load.

Sitting on Bench. Back: John Webster, William Robinson, Fred Webster. Front: Alice, Martha holding Bert, John William Webster, Gert Webster	Digging Potatoes. William Robinson, Fred, Gert and John, John William and Martha

Born 20th July 1856 in Haydock, Lancs. In 1878 he was a Master Blacksmith.

In 1881 a census showed him living in Skelmersdale, Lancs with his wife Elizabeth, daughter Edith, a 19 year old Blacksmith's apprentice and a 14 year old servant.

In 1895 he was living in Newton-le Willows. His 7th child was born here.

In 1902 he was living at 96 Cambridge Street, Wolverton. While living here his wife died.

In 1907 he was living at Yew Tree Villa, Wolverton Station. He married for a second time and his wife Martha gave birth to their son Bert at the villa.

In 1934 he died at 22 Western Road, Wolverton.