Woman steps down after 50 years with housing trust

Margaret Spratley, 89, from Remenham Row, joined the trust in 1975.

At the trust’s annual meeting, held in Henley town hall, she was presented with a plant and a hand-crafted glass ornament, which now sits above her fireplace.

“I felt quite tearful”, she said. “I’ve enjoyed life with the Henley Housing Trust but there comes a time when enough is enough and the new chief executive is doing a good job. Quite simply, I did my best and I put a lot into it.”

The trust has provided affordable rented accommodation for 97 years and currently owns 76 properties, providing homes to more than 150 people.

Nearly a quarter of all tenancies began more than 25 years ago and eight new tenants have joined the trust in the last 12 months.

Mrs Spratley was born in Liverpool and lived there for three years before moving to North Wales during the Blitz.

She worked as a reporter at the Rhyl Journal before marrying her husband, John, an architect, when she was 19.

The couple moved to Watlington Park and later Fawley during their 67 years of marriage before Mr Spratley died in 2022, aged 93.

Mrs Spratley gained her building knowledge from her husband, who had a practice in London and Dorchester, before she joined the trust.

She said: “I picked his brains and occasionally when there was a problem I would ask, ‘What do I do?’ and he would tell me.”

She said her biggest achievement was refurbishing  nine homes in Henley, which took two years.

Mrs Spratley said: “I realised they all needed doing when I took over, so I gradually got to know all the tenants and assured them that everything would be okay.

“The houses were so old-fashioned and had outside loos, so we had to as we had to rip everything out, which was the biggest nightmare, and rehouse the tenants.

“It all worked out and they were all happy with the new houses that we gave them. It was a big and incredible effort.”

When the cottages in Rotherfield Greys were refurbished, the tenants were re-homed in caravans.

Mrs Spratley said: “I managed to persuade them that it was going to be fun for two months while the houses were done. In fact, they enjoyed the experience and we had a laugh about it quite often.”

During her time at the trust, she has seen seven chairmen and women.

Mrs Spratley said: “The trustees were always co-operative and I usually managed to persuade them that something needed doing, so we had a rolling programme of improvements, which was nice.”

She said the best part of her job was rehousing people, particularly couples.

Mrs Spratley said: “When a couple hadn’t had a home together and they got a cottage, they were absolutely thrilled and the families went on to grow up in our homes.

“In fact, some of the children are still there. A couple of older people have died and their children are still there.”

She said the worst part of her role was when tenants didn’t look after their properties properly.

She is looking forward to the trust’s centenary celebrations in 2028.

Mrs Spratley said: “The housing trust is a very good organisation. In three years’ time, it will be 100, so I hope I’m still around and will be able to go to the party.”