Philip Morant - one of the five actors who played John Tregorran - in 1969
Carol and John Tregorran were stalwarts of Ambridge for over 30 years. Here’s a reminder of them for long-standing listeners, and an introduction for more recent converts.
Carol – the capable businesswoman
Carol Grey came to Ambridge in 1954 as a young woman, to look at buying Dan Archer’s smallholding. She already had another smallholding in Surrey. She was good looking and extremely well dressed. When she decided to stay in Ambridge, the Archer family was pleased.
As Carol concentrated on her market garden and business interests, her relationship with John Tregorran waxed and waned over the next few years (see below). John soon found he had a rival for Carol’s affections in local landowner Charles Grenville. Charles wooed Carol with flowers and expensive dinners.
Not long after telling Charles that her parents were both dead, Carol called to see John at his antiques shop. She saw a painting which shocked her terribly. She told John that she knew the room in the picture, but she didn’t know how, or where it was.
After some detective work, John discovered that Carol’s mother and father were unmarried artists who had parted when Carol was two. She was then adopted by her mother’s cousin James Grey and his wife Marjorie. They brought her up until they were both killed in the Blitz.
Carol was shocked to learn that her mother Beatrice had painted the picture of the room, which was in the house where they lived.
When she told Grenville the whole story of her background, he was understanding, and remained interested in her. She fell for his sensitivity and they married in 1961. They had a son Richard on 16 December 1962.
In October 1963, Charles was badly injured in a car crash, ending up with an artificial leg. He left for America the following year. Before Carol could join him, he died suddenly, in January 1965.
John Tregorran – the mysterious stranger
In December 1953, Christine Barford (then Archer), her brother Phil and their uncle Tom Forrest were on Heydon Berrow. They were surprised to come across a bearded young wanderer in a green gypsy caravan. It was John Tregorran.
Keen to stay in Ambridge, John asked if he could put up at the Bull. But the landlords Jack and Peggy Archer (now Woolley) were distrustful and refused. Eventually ramshackle farmer Walter Gabriel allowed him to stay in his rickyard.
In the early days, people were suspicious of John. When money went missing from the Bull, Jack accused him of stealing. And when a horse vanished from the stables, Clive Lawson-Hope jumped to the conclusion that John must have had something to do with it. It turned out to be gypsies, and in the event John was instrumental in getting the horse back.
As time went by, it transpired that John used to be a university lecturer. A large win on the football pools had enabled him to enjoy the life he now lived. John had a soft spot for Christine, and once not long after his arrival he tried to kiss her.
A keen historian, John went round the village trying to trace the histories of some of the old established families.
John bumps into Carol – literally
In April 1954, John collided with Carol Grey on his motorbike. He was immediately taken with her, and it wasn’t long before he proposed. Half thinking it was a joke, Carol refused. She eventually married local landowner Charles Grenville (see above).
In June 1963, John married the Ambridge district nurse Janet Sheldon. But Janet was killed in a car crash in October of that year – the same crash in which Charles Grenville was injured.
The Tregorrans
In December 1966, John proposed again. After some thought, Carol accepted. They married quietly on 1 February 1967.
In 1968, John was offered a lecture tour of America. He wasn’t impressed when Carol said she had too many commitments to join him. She in turn was hurt that he was intending to go without her, and that John accused Carol of putting her ‘hobby’ before him. He was away for six weeks.
John turned down a second tour the following year, as Carol was pregnant. On 23 September 1969, they had a daughter Anna-Louise (known as Ann). Jill Archer is one of her godparents. Ann moved to Cardiff in 2007.
In October 1974, John took another lecture tour. He wrote enthusiastically to Carol of life in America. But Carol’s son Richard had just admitted petty pilfering at school. Carol wanted John to come home and support her. John eventually returned six months later. Richard’s behaviour settled down once his stepfather was back in the UK.
Between 1979 and 1981, John worked with Jennifer Aldridge on a local history project – and there were suspicions that it went further than that.
John and Carol left Ambridge for Bristol in 1990, in order to make a fresh start. They returned for Jill and Phil Archer’s golden wedding celebrations in 2007, and at Phil's funeral in 2010.
For a time, Carol was president of Ambridge WI. She shared John’s interest in wine growing.
Carol and John are godparents to Lilian’s son James Bellamy.
Keri Davies is an Archers scriptwriter and web producer
Read about John's closesness with Jennifer Aldridge
Learn more about Christine Barford, Peggy Woolley, Jill Archer, James Bellamy, Jennifer Aldridge – and the actors who play them – in our Who’s Who.
