Clutton History Archive

The Formation of the Clutton History Group

Source – Clutton Parish News March 1985

Following a meeting of a small group of people interested in the various aspects of Clutton’s past it was generally agreed that a Clutton Local History Group should be formed.

It is intended that the Group should meet on a regular basis thus giving a forum for people interested in sharing memories of the people, buildings and events associated with the history of Clutton. Further aims include the production of a broadsheet, hopefully to be included as a page in the Parish Magazine, exhibitions of local interest and talks by specialists.

Source – Clutton Parish News April 1985

The meeting held on Friday, 8 March was well attended; clearly demonstrating that there is a great deal of interest in the history of the village and its surrounding areas. During the meeting there was much discussion on how the Group should be organised and the type of activities that could be developed. Following the discussion a committee was formed comprising of:

Jake Jeffery - Chairman; Larry Cunningham - Secretary; Eric Watkins - Treasurer. Vic Adie, Dianne McCarthy, Philip Penson, Geoff Stock (School Representative), Stephen Willcox and Alec Wilton.

FOR SALE

44-page booklet providing a History of Clutton up to 2018.
Compiled by the Clutton History Group
£3 - available from Chris Border: ku.oc.evil|redrob.sirhc#ku.oc.evil|redrob.sirhc

Programme 2025/26

9 September Aspects of Redland by Bill Evans
14 October A History of Bristol in nine paintings by Elaine Cook
11 November Bristol in the 1930's and 1940's by Mike Hooper
9 December Recreating the Roman Army by Richard Stone

10 March (2026) - Shepton Mallet Prison by Gervase O'Donohoe
14 April - The History of Trams in Bristol by Brian Vincent
12 May - Bristol and Austrian Jewish Refugees of World War II by Garry Atterton
9 June - Jane Austen and the Engineers - Bath at Work During the Regency Period by Stuart Burroughs

Richard Cossins

Redland Chapel

Redland was a manor in the parish of Westbury on Trym to the north of Bristol. It was rural until the nineteenth century. The manor and its surrounding lands were acquired in 1732 by John Cossins, a London wholesaler. Cossins had erected a mansion for himself, Redland Court, believed to have been designed by John Strachan, an architect to whom some buildings in Bath are attributed. Strachan also designed Redland chapel, initially a chapel of ease for the family and its servants to save them going to Westbury in Trym. Cossins reserved to himself the right to appoint the minister of the chapel, and at first appointed the vicar of Westbury on Trym. In 1778 the estate was inherited by Jeremy Baker, nephew of Cossins’s wife Martha, but he ran up debts and when he died in 1798 most of the estate had to be sold. The mansion house Redland Court went through several owners, including some Bristol bankers, and became a school, Redland High school for girls, in 1882, to serve the middle class families who lived in the houses built on the former estate as Bristol expanded. Both Redland Court and Redland Chapel are of considerable architectural distinction; the chapel contains some interesting items, eg sculptures by Rysbrack, some unexplained.

Cossins also bought land in and around Redland, with which he endowed Redland chapel and to pay for the minister. A dispute arose between Cossins and his successors and the successor to the first minister of the chapel, probably over theological differences, as a result of which the chapel was closed until 1790, when it was consecrated. There seems to have been a deal under which the right to present the minister was given alternately to the low and high church factions. The church is unusual in that it has no dedication. Redland did not become a separate parish until 1942. It is now fairly evangelical, whereas Holy trinity Westbury is high anglican.

By 1813 the remainder of the estate devolved on William Pyndar Baker, who also ran up debts and was an officer in the East India Company’s army in Bengal. When he set sail for England in 1873 he was drowned in a storm off Weymouth with all on board. The lands passed to his toddler daughter Catherine, who was taken by her mother to London and took over the rest of the estate when she came of age. Over time the whole of Redland was developed with housing by various owners and builders, as recounted in Peter Malpass’s ALHA booklet no.10. One early house was Redland Hill House, thought to be the earliest pair of semi-detached houses in Bristol.

Redland High School for girls was founded in 1882 by two congregational ministers. It moved to Redland Court in 1885. It was considered revolutionary in its early years: it taught chemistry to girls. It closed in 2017 and merged with the Red Maids School.

The Old Council House

Paintings in The Old Council House

In the Old Council House, near the site of Bristol’s High Cross, hang nine paintings, each depicting an episode of Bristol’s history. This richly illustrated talk explores each of these paintings, how they came to be commissioned, and the events they portray. I also go back through the history of the area of Bristol in which the paintings now hang, from its position as the centre of the Saxon town of Brycg stowe to the modern day.

The date our November meeting is the 11th,Remembrance Day. To mark the 80th Anniversary of the ending of the Second World War, we will have a look at how Bristol looked in the "quiet years" just before the start. The later part of the presentation will then move onto the 1940s, the war years, and show the effect of the Blitz on the city landscape, and how life went on in the meantime."

What can we learn about the Roman army from reconstructions, reenactments and 'living history'? Recreating Roman military clothing and equipment can teach us a surprising amount about the past, and help us understand some otherwise obscure literary and archaeological sources. This talk uses plenty of illustrations to examine some key factors, and will dispel some long-standing myths about the Roman imperial army.

400 years of imprisonment.

A history of Shepton Mallet prison from 1610 to 2013, understood with reference to the history of penal policy in this country during those centuries.

My talk comes to life with a power point presentation with rare film of a steam winding engine which was used to lower and raise the cage to bring the coal wagons and men to the surface.

Also there is footage of a coal face showing the final effort to keep the Somerset Mines open with the introduction of full automation.

My working life started at age 14 becoming an engineer apprentice with the National Coal Board, it lasted until the pits closed in 1973.

There are many stories about my family and my working life.

Kindertransport of Jewish refugees arriving in London in 1939

An intriguing and chilling aspect of the Second World War that covers racial hatred, refugees, Kindertransport, smuggled paintings, aliens and internment, as well as care and compassion. This presentation discusses the connection of refugee families from the Jewish community in Vienna (Austria) with Barton Hill and other areas of Bristol. It also examines the human kindness played by Hilda Cashmore and Hilda Jennings from the University Settlement Barton Hill in supporting Jewish refugees across the city and beyond.

Whilst Regency Bath is often regarded as a genteel city of inland resort it was also being affected by the economic forces transforming this country into the first industrial nation. Commercial and industrial activity flourished in this period in Bath, leading to the discontent experienced in other parts of the country from food riots to machine breaking! Austen’s literature may have presented England as a green and pleasant land but against a backdrop of war and industrial revolution it, and Bath, were nothing of the sort.