April Meeting
Alfred Leete ... Your Country Needs You...1882-1933
We welcomed back Pat Hase, who spoke on the life and works of Alfred Leete, although born in Northamptonshire he spent much of his early life in Weston –Super-Mare, where his Father was an hotelier. In his twenties he moved to London where he gradually became established as a commercial artist and illustrator with a large body of work to his credit he is remembered almost entirely for his iconic poster of Lord Kitchener ‘Your Country Needs You’
Originally Leete produced this for a magazine cover, but it received official backing and was used as a recruitment poster displayed on many billboards around London and elsewhere. The portrait shows Lord Kitchener who served as a senior British Army officer during the First World War. As well as the famous Army recruitment poster, he also produced illustrations for the London Underground system, Punch and Tatler magazines. He produced several advertising posters for Rowntrees chocolates, Guinness and Bovril.
He also designed the paintwork for paddle steamers on the River Thames and his work stretched to advertising cartoons and illustrating children’s magazines.
The February 2018 talk was given by Mrs Christine Billinghurst . It described the escape of King Charles 2nd from the clutches of Oliver Cromwell in the year 1651. King Charles II had come to the throne in January 1649 following the execution of his father, Charles 1st. He was a tall man with strikingly long dark curly hair and was accepted as the rightful king of parts of England, Scotland (from where he had recruited much of his support) and Northern Ireland but rejected in other parts where Oliver Cromwell was effectively the political head of government.
There was a considerable amount of ill will and animosity felt between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. The Royalists were from more upper-class families and were better established and more financially secure. They ridiculed the lower class Parliamentarians for their weaker upbringing and for not having long curly hair like them. It was for that reason that they gave them the nickname of the ‘Roundheads’,
Because of the threat presented by the larger forces of Cromwell, King Charles decided to escape to Brittany, where he gathered strength, until in 1651 he returned to England, entering via the Severn Estuary and landing at Worcester. There he gathered some 16,000 troops, including many from Scotland. This was quite a strong army, but the Royalists under King Charles were only half the strength of the Parliamentarians under Cromwell. Cromwell led his army towards the forces of King Charles, endeavouring to surround them and drive them back into the sea. This led to the Battle of Worcester on 3rd September 1651 when King Charles was defeated. On several occasions the Parliamentarians reported that a number of Royalists had been lost at sea, whereas, in fact, there had been a fight and the Royalists had been killed.
In consequence Charles headed north towards his former supporters in Scotland. To prevent himself being arrested by the parliamentarians Charles often disguised his royal appearance and changed his name. On some occasions, when he interrupted his journey to stop at a pub for rest or refreshment, he was recognised and the proud landlord put up a sign to say King Charles drank (or slept) here.
As he went north one of the places at which he was nearly caught by the chasing parliamentarians was Boscobel, a small town 6 miles north of Wolverhampton. It was there that as his chasers approached, King Charles spotted an oak tree with sufficient foliage to allow him to climb up and hide himself. As you can imagine. the pub was renamed ‘The Royal Oak’, a name that has been copied by many other English pubs.
Eventually, King Charles turned south past Cirencester, Tetbury and Yeovil until he met the south coast at Bridport. There the turned east, passing Hambleton (where cricket was first played) and on to Shoreham. By the end of the journey King Charles had walked 615 miles.
The January 2018 presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Mrs Jane Clark and was entitled “Sister Sunshine – A Wartime Romance”. It was the story of Jane’s mother, who was born as Joy Barber and was in her late teens at the start of the 2nd World War in 1939. This was at a time when the nation was being instructed that all those in the appropriate age groups who were physically capable and not already employed in industries that supported the war effort should enlist in one of the armed services.
As Joy reached her 18th birthday in March 1943 her response was to join the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps and become a nurse become a nurse. She was put on a train to take her to the Teaching hospital in Leeds and given a set of uniforms. The nurses came under the supervision of a matron who ruled with a rod of iron, and did not let them out of the hospital to enjoy themselves. This encouraged the girls to sneak out in the evenings or to make friends with the patients. That was how Joy met Tony Case, an Army Lieutenant who became a patient when had had been injured as he came off his motor bike. It was Joy’s pretty, smiling face, admired by many of the patients as she regularly visited the ward, that earned her the nickname of ‘The Smiling Sister’.
When fit, Tony was posted to Africa. A book written at that time, called “Nurses at war” revealed that many of them requested postings to places where they could keep in touch with their boy-friends. That was how Joy became posted to Gibraltar, to be near Tony in Algiers and where she was able to enjoy bananas which she had not seen in England since the start of the war.
Tony kept in touch with Joy by writing frequently. She carefully kept all his letters along with her diaries and it was these that her daughter Jane told us she had recently discovered. The stamps on the postcards and envelopes enclosing his letters revealed that he was posted to Algiers and other parts of Africa. They gradually grew more fond of each other and were married in July 1943. Unfortunately A book written at that time, called “Nurses at war” revealed that many of them requested postings to places where they could keep in touch with their boy-friends Tony died not long afterwards.
The October 2017 presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Stephen Beggs and described the history of the Clevedon Pier. Stephen is a structural engineer and has been involved with the restoration and upkeep of the pier for many years.
Clevedon lies on the southern coast of the Bristol Channels some 15 miles west of Bristol and midway between Portishead and Weston Super Mare. The seafront has a Victorian bandstand on ornamental gardens that run down to a pebble beach either side of the pier. If one stands at the inshore end of the pier and look out to sea, one can see its pathway it has a width of 5 metres (16 ft) and runs out a distance of 310 metres (1017 feet) into the Bristol Channel. It has 8 spans and is constructed from wrought iron piles - which were screwed into the seabed with clearance of 4.3 metres (14 ft) at high tide). It supports a 2 storey Japanese pagoda with a glass sided restaurant at the seaward end. Beneath that is a flight of steps leading down to a jetty used to accommodate pleasure craft, including the paddle steamer Waver
It was built in the 1860s to take rail passengers who had travelled from the London area across the Severn Estuary to South Wales before the tunnel was dug or the bridges built. It was opened in 1869.
The supports seem slender to take the weight of the platform and sideways thrust from the sea and winds, and it can be seen to move sideways by some 6 inches when ferry vessels come alongside the jetty. The regular spacing and the gentle curves of their arms under the pathway give it a distinguished elegance. It was described by Sir John Betjeman as “the most beautiful pier in England” and was awarded the status of a Grade 2 listed building, a listing that was uplifted to Grade 1 in 2001.
It became popular in the Victorian era when it was frequented by local people who had reached comfortable financial status during the industrial revolution. They used it to go for walks and to enjoy the healthy benefits of breathing the sea air. It was equally convenient for Welsh workmen who could not get a pint of beer in their home towns on Sundays.
Unfortunately the pier suffered from the ravages of storm damage and occasional bumping by the large steam paddle steamers coming alongside the jetty. It suffered corrosion and in 1917 the wrought iron struts were s replaced in steel. When lead based paint became available this was applied regularly.
On 17 October 1970 it was being tested as required for insurance purposes and this involved attaching large tanks to the supporting piles and filling them with water. The procedure went well for the first 6 supports, but unfortunately as the weight increased the pier’s span 7 collapsed, bringing down the 8th and final span and leaving only the pier head and pavilion standing. Parts of the structure were transported to a shipyard at Portishead for repair.
The pier was sold by Clevedon Council to the Clevedon Pier Preservation Society on a 99 year lease for the princely sum of £1. The Society has built a restaurant at the landward end of the pier and holds regular functions to raise funds.
The speaker unselfishly refused to accept his fee for giving the presentation and asked for the money to be given to the Preservation Society.
The October presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Peter Davey and covered the development and use of trams in Bristol. He introduced himself by saying that he had inherited his interest from his father who had been a tram driver and who had taken many of the photographs with which Peter illustrated his talk. One of these was of himself, together with his sister age 5 on a No 31 tram in Bristol in 1939.
The first trams in Bristol, each pulled by a pair of horses, were introduced in 1875 by a Mr George White. He owned a fleet of 6 trams and a stable of 60 horses, numbers that eventually grew to 109 trams and 678 horses. The trams ran on steel rails, necessary because the roads, being cobbled, were uneven and littered with a considerable amount of horse droppings. For this reason, roads incorporated narrow pathways swept clean to allow ladies to cross the road without getting their petticoats dirty.
An additional pair of horse were kept at the approach to steep hills, where they were attached to the front of the tram, with one of them carrying a saddle on which sat another coachman to drive the team up the hill.
The rails had a gauge of 6ft 6in. The track had no provision for turning the trams at the ends of the route. This meant that the trams had to be reversible and, at the end of the line, the horses had to be unshackled, transferred to the other end of the tram and reconnected. In consequence there had to be an entrance, driving controls and steps to the upper deck at both ends. The squabs of the seats were hinged at the base and had padding on both sides so that, on arrival at the terminus, they could be swivelled back to allow passengers to lean back, facing the direction of travel. Because of the consequent openness, the seats were fitted with a modesty panel so that ladies could avoid the risk of others being able to see up the bottom of their skirts!
When, as in 1892, heavy rain caused the track to become flooded, a subsequent problem after electrification, this was not insurmountable for horse drawn vehicles.
However, as the horses required feeding and that involved the expense of transporting and administering their fodder, they were an expensive option. Hence in 1899 it was decided to follow the lead taken in Paris and Blackpool to convert trams to electric propulsion. At this time George White also evaluated steam propelled trams. But the problems of the soot and the inconvenience of a chimney under trees and bridges made them undesirable.
Initially the electric trams for Bristol were made in Birkenhead until suitable workshops were built in Brislington. They sat 24 downstairs and 29 upstairs. Some people may remember seeing the overhead electricity supply cables and the hinged connecting pole mounted on the roof of the trams. The supply was 550 volt DC and this was generated at a coal-fired power station at Pithay Bridge.
By 1939 buses similar to those in use today were beginning to become available and when in 1941 the power station was bombed by Germany it was decided to end the Bristol tram service.
The Paulton History Society meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30pm in the Wesley Hall. Non-members are welcome. Click on Paulton History programme on the side bar for a list of this season's talks.
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The July 2016 presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Mike Rowland, who had served as a policeman from 1969 to 2000. The title of his presentation was "A Fair Cop" and he described some of the amusing incidents that had happened to him during his time as a Constable until he reached the position of Secretary to the Chief Constable.
He set the scene by playing tape recordings of the introductory music to the two television series 'Dixon of Doc Green' and 'Z Cars'.
He then told us that his interest in the police was first aroused when, as a small boy, whilst helping in his father’s butcher shop in Lower Bristol Road, he saw a man walking along the street carrying a gun and shortly afterwards heard shots being fired. He then saw a crowd gathering around the doctor’s surgery, where the man in question had shot a young doctor who he suspected was responsible for having him ‘sectioned’! Obviously the place soon became surrounded by police and thus the seed was sown.
He then pointed out that having served during 5 decades, he had seen many changes in the conduct of community policing. As an example he reminded us that 50 years ago as we walked round the streets we all saw many more policemen 'on the beat' than we do today. Also, one did not have to travel very far before spotting a police box where the patrolling policeman - or, indeed, any member of the public - could ring up the local police station to seek assistance.
He then asked: so why have nearly all these police boxes vanished? And he gave us the answer that the mobile phones that all policemen carry today have rendered them unnecessary.
As a new cadet he was asked whether he had ever seen a dead body. As he had not, he was sent to visit the mortuary at St Martin's Hospital, Combe Down to gain this experience.
This reminded him that one of the duties he had had to perform was of knocking on doors to advise the occupant that their next of kin had passed away. An example of this was one such sad occasion when he had to visit a woman to inform her that her husband had just died at work. Another sad duty was having to go to homes of ‘cot death’ parents – something he could never get used to.
He remembered the days when a policeman walking the beat was viewed as a customary and reassuring sight. Policemen knew where they could interrupt their progress to call in on members of the public and perhaps be offered a cup of tea. This was regarded as a welcome part of the post-war concept known as "Community Policing". When a recently recruited policeman was being shown his new 'beat', it was customary for his colleagues to advise him the whereabouts of such 'tea stops'. He also learned that if the tea wasn’t immediately forthcoming, a gentle “I’m not stopping you from putting the kettle on, am I?” usually did the trick!
The opportunity was also taken at these stops to spend a penny! As his Sergeant used to say ”You never know when the next opportunity may arise”!
At some such tea stops the housewife would often become very talkative when preparing a policeman his cup of tea. She would pass on all the local gossip, such as: "You know Mrs Smith at No. 13? I've heard she's having an affair with Mr Jones from No. 18! And you know Mrs Robinson at No. 17.....!"
On other occasions, when there was little activity, the days could be very dull. At times there was nothing more interesting to do than posting the charges notices. But then there was the time in Bath he espied in a shop doorway a couple – shall we say in flagrante delicto!
He recalled some of the training courses he had undertaken. The locations of these varied. Some were close, such as his Sergeant's training course that he did at Filton. Others were further afield; such as the one he did 1,300 miles away in Mauritius. The Police provided training to drive all sorts of vehicles. He even had to attend one course at Almondsbury to learn how to ride a push-bike!
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The June presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Adrian Tuddenham, who is a member of the Somersetshire Coal Canal Society (SCCS) and talked about its restoration.
He told us that in the 18th century the number of coal mines in our area had been increasing steadily, but that the only means of transporting the coal to Bath and other markets in Wiltshire and beyond was by packhorse or horse and cart. These could only carry relatively small loads and hence were expensive, thereby detracting from the profit available to the mine owners. In 1792 the engineer John Rennie (1761-1821), who had already gained fame in the planning of the Kennet & Avon Canal, published his concept for a canal running from the adjacent Basins of Timsbury and Paulton a distance of 10 miles down to Combe Down in Bath, where it could link up with the Kennet & Avon Canal that joined Bath to Reading.
His concept was approved by Act of Parliament in 1794; work started at the turn of the century and the Canal was opened in 1805. The detailed planning of the route was undertaken by the geologist William Smith. Smith (1769-1839), the son of an Oxfordshire blacksmith, with a humble education, had raised himself by working hard at his studies to become regarded as the Father of English Geology. In the coal mines of High Littleton and elsewhere he had observed that the height variations of layers of rock formations and fossils formed patterns that allowed him to decide which way the canal should be routed so as to avoid hard rock layers that would be expensive to excavate. His knowledge of rock formations gave him the nickname of ‘Strata Smith!’
The width of the Somersetshire Coal Canal was set at 7ft. This can be compared with that of the Kennet & Avon, which is 14 ft. This was decided in the 1790s by the mine owners of North Somerset when they were planning the expenditure of building barges and wanted to exclude the owners of the wider barges on the K&A coming onto the SCC area and stealing their trade. From Paulton to Bath the canal encounters a fall of 135 ft, which involves a flight of 22 locks at Combe Hay. At its peak the SCC was transporting some 100,000 tons of coal per year. But it was closed in 1898 and replaced by a railway.
With the passage of time soil was gradually washed into the canal and it became overgrown.
In spring 2012, with approval from the Paulton Parish Council the Somersetshire Coal Canal Society, started restoration work. They were aided by local landowners and the Waterways Recovery Group with National Lottery Fund assistance. It has involved clearing foliage to gain access and using a JCB to drag up the clay from the bottom of the Canal to make the sides waterproof. Work started at the Paulton Basin and has so far reached ½ mile towards Radford. A small flow of water has been directed into the Canal from springs in Timsbury and is sufficient to keep the canal water crystal clear.
At the same time, another SCCS team has carefully dug out the silt that had filled the Paulton Dry Dock. This runs from the southeastern corner of Paulton Basin and overflows via a culvert into the Cam Brook. The excavation revealed its full width to be sufficient to allow 3 barges to be docked simultaneously alongside each other. 200 years ago this made it the largest dry-dock in England.
An additional part of the restoration is the rebuilding of the stone bridge at the eastern end of the Paulton basin. It was under this bridge that barges were towed to enter the dry-dock. The re-build involved making a wooden ‘centring’ assembly to span the canal and take the weight of the stonework as it was carefully assembled.
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The most recent presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Charles Martin who told us about the history of Man and Birds on the Somerset Levels. It was more in the nature of natural history than the pure history normally presented to the Society, but was well received by Society members.
He set the scene by describing that 10,000 years ago the sea level was some 40 meters lower than today. But, as the ice-caps melted, the sea level rose until 8000 years ago it had reached present day levels. By 6000 years ago the Levels were covered with silt and mud and as the temperature was somewhat warmer than today, they hosted reed beds and these encouraged the ingress of pelicans, the remains of which have been found recently. The local inhabitants obviously collected pelican skeletons, because some of their bones have been found that had been carved to manufacture instruments. While pelicans no longer exist on the Somerset Levels, the conditions would still suit them: so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that they could return.
Much of the ground consisted of peat, in some areas reaching down as far as 6 to 8 ft deep. Most buildings were made of wattle and daub. The wattle comprised thin wooden branches woven between supporting upright stakes surrounded by the daub – which was usually a mixture of clay and cattle dung, although sand and straw were sometimes added to improve the insulation.
The names of some of the villages end in ‘ing’. This stems from Saxon times (that is to say before the Battle of Hastings in 1066) and indicates that they were originally the sites of islands. On one of these, near Glastonbury, can be found the last resting place of King Arthur.
On a church near Newport one can see the high tide mark 6ft above ground level dated 1607. This was caused during the flood that drove several ships ashore and left them stranded on the Levels. During the Battle of Sedgemoor, near Bridgwater on 6 July 1685, over 1000 soldiers got stuck in the mud and were slain.
For many years peat digging continued on the Levels and some of us will have bought it as a component in Grow-Bags. When extraction ceased in 1961, the garden fertilizer Fisons combined forces with the RSPB to reshape the Levels, allowing rivers to support birdlife. Some 8 million starlings migrate annually from Russia and Northern Europe to breed. At times clusters of over a million birds, drawn from the surrounding 50 miles with the males in the middle, can be seen rising together.
The Paulton History Society meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30pm in the Wesley Hall. Non-members are welcome with a charge of £2 per meeting. Further details are available from the secretary Dr Anne Miall on 01761-412051.
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The latest presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Robin Thornes on the 15 October, when he told us about The Fussell Family – otherwise known as The Men of Iron.
James Fussell was born in 1710 and lived in Mells on the western side of Frome and 10 miles south east of Paulton. He was aware that traces of iron had been found in the area before he had been born and, being an astute businessman, he developed mills to convert the iron to good quality steel from which he made farming tool
The Fussell family eventually built 6 mills located within a 5 mile circle centered on Whatley, some 2 miles west of Frome and spreading from Wadbury to the north down to Nunney in the south and out to Chantry in the west. At their peak they employed some 250 men
Typical of the products made by the Fussell family was an edging tool shaped like a crescent with a handle at one end. It was used by famers and gardeners for trimming hedges and similar jobs. They also made scythes used for trimming lawns and harvesting corn, wheat and hay. The tools they sold throughout England made them rich and famous so that eventually Fussell tools were sold widely abroad.
Initially, the manufacturing process consisted solely of beating the steel tools into shape by men using sledgehammers. However, the Fussell family invested their profits wisely to divert local streams and build water mills to forge the tools. By 1850 they had 9 working water wheels. The family went on to build a gas-works and rows of cottages to house the work force.
The second James Fussell, great grandson of the first, was ordained and became a vicar from 1848 to 1927 as well as serving with HM Inspector of Schools. It was Fussell wealth that funded the building of a church in 1846 and a girl’s school. This school was known to boast a successful cricket team and for sending girls to Cambridge University. The Fussell finances were also deployed in excavating land to develop a lake to beautify the surrounding terraces of the family’s landowner, Lord Horner.
The Reverend Fussell went into partnership with his son, also a James, to build a steam hammer and gas plant. He also wrote a book called ‘How to look after your scythe’. But, unfortunately the Fussell iron works failed to diversify very much beyond their successful range of edging tools and similar farming hand tools. Consequently, they eventually they found that they had satisfied the needs of the market, and by 1870 were loosing money and became bankrupt. They were eventually taken over and, in 1882 a limited company, the Mells Iron Works was formed and managed in London with experienced staff recruited from Birmingham. It functioned spasmodically for 10 years until it went into receivership in 1900.
Those interested in this subject may wish to buy the book published by Robin Thornes, ‘Men of Iron’. which is available from the shop at Radstock Museum.
The Paulton History Society meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30pm in the Wesley Hall. Non-members are welcome with a charge of £2 per meeting. Further details are available from the secretary Dr Anne Miall on 01761-412051.
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In September 2014 Paulton History Society heard Alan Jocelyn tell the story of the riots that shattered Bristol in 18
These came at a time when the British population had been rising rapidly. It had gone from 8.3 million in 1801 to 16.5 million in 1830. The population of Bristol, like that of several other major cities such as Birmingham and Manchester, had grown even faster because of the onset of the Industrial Revolution, resulting in factories attracting labour to man them. Additionally, being a port, Bristol’s population had increased by the growth of international trade.
The movement of people from rural areas into the towns led to an imbalance in the size of parliamentary constituencies. While those of urban conurbations had risen, those in rural areas had slumped. Typical of the latter was Plympton which, in the Middle Ages, had been a prosperous market town, but by 1800 had declined to the level of a country village. Similarly, Newtown on the Isle of Wight had once been a thriving market town, but by 1830 had been reduced to a village of only 23 voters in 14 house
Many such towns were left with empty houses. For example, Callington had 225 houses but only 42 voters. Yet they still retained their original number of MPs. Similarly, Old Sarum had only 3 houses occupied by 11 voters, but nevertheless boasted 2 MPs. Such towns became known as “Rotten Boroughs” because, with only few voters coming at a time before the introduction of the secret ballot, it was easy for parliamentary candidates to buy their way to victory
By comparison, cities such as Derby, Nottingham and Bristol, where numbers had grown, were under-represented in Parliament. Bristol, with a population of 100,000 had only 2 MPs. The fact that these cities had become overcrowded with unsavory living conditions (such as 4 families living in a single room with no sanitation) lead to increasing discontentment with city life. People asked how they could get out of this poverty trap
Because of inadequate representation, the public held little faith in the Government. Only 5% of men (on higher pay) and no women were entitled to vote in Parliamentary Elections. These factors lead to the drafting of the Reform Bill, which set out to amend the representation of the people in England and Wales. It called for secret ballots, controlled pay for MPs, annual elections, extension of the franchise and redefinition of the constituencie
This was popular in Bristol and a petition supporting it gathered 17,000 signatures. However, Sir Charles Wetherell, a senior judge in Bristol but resident in and the MP for the Yorkshire ‘Rotten Borough’ of Boroughbridge told Parliament that the people of Bristol did not want it and gave the death penalty to 2 who argued in its favour. In fact, the Reform Bill scraped through in the House of Commons but was rejected by the House of Lord
This increased the disquiet and lead to public demonstrations in Bristol’s Queen Square on 10th, 11th & 12th October 1831. When Wetherell came from Boroughbridge to Bristol on 29th October to open the Assize Court he was met by large crowds of angry demonstrators who chased him to the Mansion House. In an attempt to quell the rioting, the mayor of Bristol, Charles Pinney, read the Riot Act - which stated that those found guilty of causing a riot could be sentenced to death. This inflamed the situation, aggravated by the fact that the crowds had taken over the 37 alehouses in Marsh Street bordering Queen Square. They broke into the Mansion House, ransacked several public buildings and released prisoners from the goal
Wetherell escaped dressed as a woman while the crowd looted the wine cellar of the Mansion House, becoming drunk and reckless. They set fire to several public buildings, which burnt so fiercely that the flames could be seen from as far as Frome and Cardiff. Pinney reacted by swearing in several special constables – including Isambard Kingdom Brunel who was building the Clifton Suspension Bridge - to control the crowd of some 500 rioters. He also called in Lt Col Thomas Brereton of the Dragoon Guards to suppress the uprising. Brereton arrived at the scene with 2 troops of 98 mounted guards, each wielding their curved twin-edged sabre. The crowd had continued to grow, reaching some 20,000, when they were ordered to charge
It was reported that 500 men were killed, but the number was probably higher as the Bristol Royal Infirmary refused to treat the wounded rioters since it was evident how they had received their injuries. Lt Col Brereton, at one point had ordered his staff to withdraw and in consequence was court-martialled for leniency. He shot himself before the conclusion of his trial.
In conclusion, of the 102 rioters arrested and sent to court, 87 were convicted, 5 hanged and one transported to Tasmania. However, despite that, it could be argued that the riots contributed to The Reform Act becoming law.
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Paulton History Society was given by Veronica Bowerman, in February 2014,who described the history of facilities in Bristol for the visually impaired. She started by pointing out that The Asylum for the Industrious Blind was opened in Westbury on Trim, on the northern outskirts of Bristol in 1793. At the same time a similar organization was opened in Edinburgh, while in 1800 a third was opened in London. In those days poor vision affected larger numbers than today. The schools aimed to help them prepare for employment.
The location of the Bristol blind school moved several times in the 19th and 20th centuries and benefitted from more than one philanthropist. These included the Quakers and the Wills family of tobacco fame who donated an organ for the chapel. The pupils assembled there weekly to sing hymns. Construction was started on its fourth and final location in 1907 and the site was opened in 1911 by King George V.
The three-story building housed some 120 pupils and had large windows affording good lighting to help inmates find their way around and undertake work. On joining the School, one of the first things blind children had to do was to learn how to read documents written in Braille. This process took 3 months. Some of the children found that spending several hours per day reading Braille made their fingertips feel strange. Accordingly a model of the Severn Road Bridge was installed and they fingered that instead to compensate.
The students, aged between 11 and 19, were taught basket weaving and how to make mats, chairs and hosiery. Some went on to be trained in light engineering including operation of capstan lathes. Others learned music and some how to tune pianos. This was an example of where loss of one physical capability allowed others to develop preferentially in compensation. They were also taught to cook and manage a gas cooker. The school grounds extended to 11 acres, which was set mainly to grass, but included gardens and greenhouses used by the inmates to grow fruit and vegetables. Along with the produce they manufactured in the workshops, they sold crops, so that the organization became virtually self-sufficient. The area included two playgrounds separated by a row of trees. One of these was for the girls and the other for the boys – with the strict ruling that “Never the twain shall meet!”
The daily routine consisted of Breakfast at 8am before Classes from 10 – 12, Lunch until 1pm, followed by Classes from 2 - 4. They lived in dormitories, which for the girls had curtains and mirrors. In the dining rooms they sat at tables for 6, which they had to keep meticulously neat. The kitchens employed sighted staff.
School facilities included a gymnasium and the pupils went to a swimming pool at Henleaze, a mile northward. This proved popular; so the pupils wanted their own pool. However it was just after the Second World War and funding was difficult. Hence, undaunted, the boys set to and dug the hole for a pool, which they were then able to get builders in to finish off. The pool became a popular benefit to the local community and pupils from nearby schools were allowed to share its use.
In the early 20th century a Boy Scout Group was formed. Blind and partially sighted boys learned the skills of camping including chopping firewood. This was obviously somewhat hazardous for blind boys and indeed there was at least one case of a boy badly cutting himself. Other forms of recreation included riding a pet donkey that had graduated to the role on a nearby beach. They also made use of the landscape to learn about looking after livestock by keeping goats and sheep.
During the Second World War the site was taken over by the RAF for training recruits. In consequence, between 1941 and 1946 the Asylum was relocated to Templecombe, 5 miles south of Wincanton. In recent years, better medical care and diet meant the incidence of blindness was fortunately reduced and the School was closed in 1968.
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The March 2016 presentation to the Paulton History Society was given by Yvonne Bell who told us about the history of wigs and amusingly entitled her talk “Keep Your Hair On!”
Yvonne Bell has gained popularity with the Paulton History Society where she has presented several times in the past and her lectures are regularly very amusing and delivered with a twinkle in her eye! Her subjects are usually focused on the Edwardian era, which started after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 and covers the reign of King Edward VII to 1910, but was generally extended beyond Edward's death to include the four years leading up to World War I.
She told us that she became interested in the Edwardian era when studying to play the cello at Bristol University where she noticed on that many of the portraits on the walls dating from two hundred years ago showed people wearing long wigs with elaborate curls. The practice was known to have started in Egyptian times as early as 3000 years BC and became fashionable because both men and women went bald when younger than today and earlier than they would have wished. Those who could afford it wore lavish wigs to bolster their status. These were expensive to buy as they relied on human hair. So some people profited from selling the hair of their children to wig makers.
The Egyptians used bee’s wax to hold their curls in place. This prevented them from falling into their soup whilst eating. Perfume was applied to cover the smell of perspiration. Most people think that powder rooms in hotels were for use by ladies to powder their noses. However they were in fact used just as much by gentlemen needing to powder their wigs.
In Roman times it became popular to have tall wigs as a way of boasting one’s importance. This subsequently led to the saying that upper class people becoming known as highbrow. The desire to have tall wigs fostered the crime of robbers attacking long-haired victims in the street to cut off their hair so they could sell it to wig makers. Some women wore wigs that incorporated wire and wool to make them taller. Such tall wigs led to the doors in rich house needing additional height to allow women to walkthrough the opening without ducking. Ladies doing their make-up before going out to a smart function would expect to spend as much as 5 hours preparing their wigs. The cheaper wigs were usually dark brown or black: so those who could afford it paid higher prices to get blonde
If, as happened not infrequently in past times, an argument arose, possibly at an ale-house and it seemed likely to lead to a fight, it was customary for men to take off their wig and hang them up on a peg so it would not provide a target for the opposition to pull off or to fall to the ground and get dirty. This lead to the expression “Keep your hair on” uttered by those trying to preserve peace!
Men’s clothes were first fitted with pockets to provide convenient locations to carry one’s comb. In 1660 King Charles II was reported to have accidentally set fire to his wig when using a candle to apply sealing wax to a letter. The wigs worn by lawyers in Court today were originally styled on that worn by Queen Elizabeth the 1st in the 16th century.