Page 8 - Jigsaw June 2021

END OF AN ERA
DENFORD
GARAGE
Part of village life past...
Denford is a peaceful, tranquil village: an oasis of calm with ducks and moorhens and beautiful meadows. For the last 57 years, Denford Garage has sat at the centre of this haven – the sounds of the workshop, and previously the petrol pumps, punctuating the rhythm of village life.
On the 1st June, Denford Garage will shut up shop for the last time, drawing the curtain over the end of an era.
Opened in 1961 by Terry and Sybil Leonard, a newly married couple, the Garage started out as one petrol pump and a ‘workshop’ shed. A larger-than-life Cumbrian who had a natural talent for engines and anything and everything to do with cars, Terry set about building the business and quickly grew a very loyal customer base. At the time, the Garage site was also host to the village shop (‘Denford Stores’) and post office, and Sybil signed the Official Secrets Act to become Post Mistress.
thriving little hub in the centre of Denford. A new workshop was built looking out on Front Street, and a showroom was added in the 80s.
Very much part of village life, Terry and Sybil loved Denford. When Terry died suddenly in 2004, it was shocking to the whole village and
a memorial bench sits proudly in front of the Cock Inn remembering him as “everyone’s friend”. Sybil continued to run the business with dogged determination for a further 13 years until she died at 78 in 2017.
Four years on, and the combination of Covid and the retirement of our wonderful mechanic John Kemp who has been with us as a family
Over the years, the business grew to be a
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