Andrew purchased a vintage map off e-bay and on it was written F.Burdett, Risdene, Finedon Road, Irthlingborough. Who was he and where was Risdene? Never heard of it.
After much scratching of heads it turns out that F. Burdett was Frances, son of Claude Burdett the High Street tailor and father of the late Roy Burdett. Mary Burdett then confirmed to Andrew that Mr & Mrs Frances Burdett had moved into Risdene in Finedon Road in 1929 – and then comes the punch-line…….. Risdene was 157, Finedon Road, the house of the YORKS!
According to Alan Pack, when Finedon Road was being developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s it was a bit spasmodic and the authorities were not keen to risk numbering, so the Post Office required every house to be given a name.
Just to add to the story, when Meg & I moved here in 1980 we decided we wanted an old fashioned bedstead, not a modern divan. Meg advertised in the Church magazine and Mrs Francis Burdett said she had one to sell. We saw it and it was a bargain at £8. We carried the bedstead up from her then house in College Street, purchased a bespoke mattress from a specialist shop in Kettering and to cut a long story short, replaced the bed in the same position, in the same bedroom.
Recounting this story to Roy Burdett, he added to it by telling us that he had been born in that same bed, in the front bedroom at 157 Finedon Road!