The Refreshment Rooms

There were refreshment rooms at Ashchurch Station which were staffed by a manageress and assistant, both unmarried women, with servants in 1901 and 1911. The staff lived on the premises. Their names have not been found in railway staffing records, the details here being from the national censuses and Kelly Directories for Ashchurch. In the latter Miss Brown, the manager, is listed among the private residents of the village, an indication of status. It has not been possible to find continuities of these people, especially as they have very common surnames. There is no information as to whether they are railway employees or whether they were employed by a separate company. None of them appears to have been recruited locally, their birthplaces showing a very widespread range across England.