LOCAL LEGENDS (13)
WILLIAM JEFFERIES COLLINS 1856 - 1939

William Jefferies Collins was born in London in 1856, the son of a successful businessman Benjamin Collins, who ran the bookbinding business of Benjamin Collins & Sons of London. He married a music teacher, Mary Martin, and they had a total of six children; Ada, William, Herbert, Ethel, Martyn and Ralph. The Collins building firm seems to be traced back to 1900 when W.J.Collins demolished their original family home at Fortis Green in North London and prepared the grounds for building development. Of  his sons, Herbert became the well known architect (who was also responsible for our museum building, once the village Fire Station), William also became an architect, whilst Ralph became a builder and tragically Martyn was killed in Flanders during the Great War.

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