Wisteria Cottage has had a dominating appearance at the Three Mile Cross crossroads for well over a century. In the 1990s, I remember looking over at it as I walked past it on the way to and from secondary school. I was usually on the opposite side of the road as my friends lived in Grazeley Road around the corner, and it was usually easier to cross the main road on the south side of the roundabout than it was on the north.

In the summer, on the rare occasion I walked on the north side, you'd have to walk right along the edge of the pavement as the wisteria flowers billowed over the fence.

This photo, taken #OnThisDay 13 May 1998, shows Wisteria Cottage and neighbouring Wheelwright Cottage, and the purple-pink blossoms covering most of the red brick wall.

Also amongst the #JackAndMaryArchive photos are two postcards of the village as seen in the early 1900s, the wisteria consuming the front of the cottage as it was in 1998.

The last photograph is of Jack's sister, Christine, as a young girl dating it to the late 1920s. Behind her, Wisteria Cottage can be seen but the plants are no more than thick, woody stems meaning it's most likely late autumn or winter.

Comparing the old photos with the newer, I noticed that the little picket fence and the gate with the distinctive arch, although replaced, has kept the same design throughout.

#ThreeMileCross #RDGUK