AN ANALYSIS OF THE BEAUCHAMP ESTATE AUCTION CATALOGUE AND MAP 1948 IN THE AREA AROUND SHOSCOMBE[1]
The Beauchamp family owned a great deal of land around Shoscombe and its nearby hamlets. Following the nationalisation of the coal industry, in which the family had been heavily involved, their estates were put up for auction in 1948.
The whole area covered by the auction map was primarily a farming/ small holding community. Paglinch Farmhouse is the oldest known dwelling in the Shoscombe area. It probably had medieval origins but is dated 1632 in the earliest historic record. Similarly Foxcote farm has an inside window dated around 1666 and the nearby Old Rectory was probably built during the 18th century.
When coal mining in and around Radstock began flourish in the 1760s the population increased as miners came into the area. It increased again when the need for transport to deliver coal more widely led to the building of the Somerset Coal Canal and Tramway along the Wellow valley from Radstock to Bath in the early 1800s. This fell into disuse and parts of its line were used by the builders of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway in the 1870s. Construction and maintenance workers were needed and the local population increased at each of these stages as did their housing.
We have little or no information about the dates when the cottages and houses in the Shoscombe area were built. Individual houses are difficult to date unless one has access to the original deeds (of they exist). We know for instance that the two houses on the road to Rose cottage were built in 1824 with stone from the nearby quarry and were associated with the canal. Rose Cottage (also associated with the canal) was put on the market in 1904 when there were eight cottages on the adjacent land. In Single Hill the Magpie Inn was clearly operational in 1895 when the landlord sold the cottage adjacent to it. These cottages then called Chapel Cottages were built along the old canal which had been filled in. One building on “the Street” in Shoscombe is dated 1900 on a centrally placed plaque near the roof.
Most of the cottages built both before and during the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century were probably small; some so badly constructed or maintained that they either fell down or were condemned - as in 1964 when three cottages in Shoscombe were demolished close to the present no. 50; others in the area were condemned after the war in 1945 as being unfit for human habitation.
In 1948 many of the dwellings in the Shoscombe area were privately owned, or rented by landlords other than the Beauchamp Estate. We have little to no information about them and they probably varied in size. Of those properties owned by the Beauchamp Estate, the larger houses, such as Woodborough Farm, Shoscombe Farm, Paglinch Farm, Foxcote Rectory and Foxcote farm were the largest in terms of rooms and facilities. The number of bedrooms in these houses varied from 4 to 6, with 3 to 4 living rooms, They were also generally better served with kitchens, pantries or sculleries than the cottages the Beauchamp Estate. Shoscombe Farm was exceptional in that the kitchen had hot and cold water, the bathroom boasted a fitted bath, washbasin and WC (water closet) and there was a telephone. No other property on the Beauchamp estate (other than Woodborough House where the Beauchamp family lived) had all such facilities. The 18th century Woodborough House was a veritable mansion and those that knew it before it burned down (probably not long after 1948) - said that it was very spacious and beautiful.
The map which came with the auction catalogue shows that there were far fewer houses than there are today. The map may well also represent the situation at the start of the 2nd World War in 1939. Little building took place during the war; and after it, in 1945, as building materials remained in short supply.
The following are some notable changes since the auction map was printed in 1948:
Shoscombe
Most of the Estate dwellings listed in the auction catalogue were small with a maximum of 5 rooms altogether - commonly two up and two down, often with a pantry or scullery and perhaps a separate or shared wash house. Facilities such as we enjoy today - a mains water supply, mains drainage for sewage, and electricity were not universally available. Woodborough House had both electricity and mains water with a secondary supply of water that could be pumped from the lake and to supply Woodborough Farm (privately owned). Mains water could also be accessed from the water mains along roads such as St. Julian’s Road, Shoscombe Vale and Shoscombe itself. Initially it was supplied by shared stand-pipes in the road. The date when the water mains were introduced is uncertain but it was probably in the 1930s.
For many in the Beauchamp estate properties and probably for others water supply was provided by ‘gravity’ - that is a local spring. These are abundant in this area with alternating limestone and clays forming the slopes of the hills. Springs served Foxcote Farm and Foxcote Rectory (no longer a Rectory and divided into two at that time). At Foxcote Rectory they provided themselves with running water by collecting rainwater in the large tanks which were stored in the attics.
The situation with regard to sewage was somewhat unsavoury and there are a number of small buildings or flat stones by the side or over of the little stream that runs down the Shoscombe valley. Some of them still exist today. Outside earth closets were also common often at the end of gardens .These are making a come-back now as the modern version is considered to be environmentally friendly. Those with WCs in the larger houses had cesspits built underground. These are noted in the descriptions of Braysdown Bungalow and Foxcote Farm which shared theirs with Foxcote Rectory, and there is evidence of a cesspit in the garden of the Old Rectory in Shoscombe (1928) before mains drainage was introduced. The date of installation of mains drainage in the area as a whole is not known, but must be related to the date of the installation of the sewage works. A deed to allow a sewer to cross land near Rose Cottage in 1967 was one of the items originally collected when the Shoscombe Local History Society started. Before then it is rumoured that the WCs in the wash-houses associated with Railway Cottages ran straight down into Wellow Brook. Probably other streamlets contributed to waste drainage in the same way.
It would seem that electricity was not widely availalble until the 1950s. Woodborough House had access to it, of course, and electric light is specifically mentioned in Bridge Farm at Camerton and in some of the houses in Peasedown. During the war peopl22e who wanted to listen to the radio had to take the batteries to Peasedown to get them charged. So most people would have relied on paraffin lamps and candles, coal or wood ranges and open fires for heat and the cooking of food. Access to a wash house where water could be heated in a large container was something to be desired. Fortunately the wash-houses at the Colliery were available to service the miners’ immediate needs.
Since 1948, the number of dwellings has increased; electricity, water and drainage facilities have been made available. Many of the dwellings have increased in size by added extensions and occasionally by amalgamating two cottages into one. Two churches have become private dwellings, the school which played such an important life in the village has also increased in size and facilities, but unfortunately we have lost the railway.
Acknowledgements:
My sincere thanks to all those who responded the the Shoscombe Local History Group’s call for documents about the history of our area, and to Bob Freeman, Graham Hunter, Sibil Perham, Ruby Rice, Carolyn & Alan Keating, and Jackie & Derek Withers.
Jean Shaw
There are a couple of copies of the Auction map and Catalogue held by local people. If you would like a copy of the section of the map covered here, please send your e-mail address to [email protected] or your postal address.
[1] Shoscombe, Shoscombe Vale, Single Hill, White Hill, and Foxcote
The Beauchamp family owned a great deal of land around Shoscombe and its nearby hamlets. Following the nationalisation of the coal industry, in which the family had been heavily involved, their estates were put up for auction in 1948.
The whole area covered by the auction map was primarily a farming/ small holding community. Paglinch Farmhouse is the oldest known dwelling in the Shoscombe area. It probably had medieval origins but is dated 1632 in the earliest historic record. Similarly Foxcote farm has an inside window dated around 1666 and the nearby Old Rectory was probably built during the 18th century.
When coal mining in and around Radstock began flourish in the 1760s the population increased as miners came into the area. It increased again when the need for transport to deliver coal more widely led to the building of the Somerset Coal Canal and Tramway along the Wellow valley from Radstock to Bath in the early 1800s. This fell into disuse and parts of its line were used by the builders of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway in the 1870s. Construction and maintenance workers were needed and the local population increased at each of these stages as did their housing.
We have little or no information about the dates when the cottages and houses in the Shoscombe area were built. Individual houses are difficult to date unless one has access to the original deeds (of they exist). We know for instance that the two houses on the road to Rose cottage were built in 1824 with stone from the nearby quarry and were associated with the canal. Rose Cottage (also associated with the canal) was put on the market in 1904 when there were eight cottages on the adjacent land. In Single Hill the Magpie Inn was clearly operational in 1895 when the landlord sold the cottage adjacent to it. These cottages then called Chapel Cottages were built along the old canal which had been filled in. One building on “the Street” in Shoscombe is dated 1900 on a centrally placed plaque near the roof.
Most of the cottages built both before and during the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century were probably small; some so badly constructed or maintained that they either fell down or were condemned - as in 1964 when three cottages in Shoscombe were demolished close to the present no. 50; others in the area were condemned after the war in 1945 as being unfit for human habitation.
In 1948 many of the dwellings in the Shoscombe area were privately owned, or rented by landlords other than the Beauchamp Estate. We have little to no information about them and they probably varied in size. Of those properties owned by the Beauchamp Estate, the larger houses, such as Woodborough Farm, Shoscombe Farm, Paglinch Farm, Foxcote Rectory and Foxcote farm were the largest in terms of rooms and facilities. The number of bedrooms in these houses varied from 4 to 6, with 3 to 4 living rooms, They were also generally better served with kitchens, pantries or sculleries than the cottages the Beauchamp Estate. Shoscombe Farm was exceptional in that the kitchen had hot and cold water, the bathroom boasted a fitted bath, washbasin and WC (water closet) and there was a telephone. No other property on the Beauchamp estate (other than Woodborough House where the Beauchamp family lived) had all such facilities. The 18th century Woodborough House was a veritable mansion and those that knew it before it burned down (probably not long after 1948) - said that it was very spacious and beautiful.
The map which came with the auction catalogue shows that there were far fewer houses than there are today. The map may well also represent the situation at the start of the 2nd World War in 1939. Little building took place during the war; and after it, in 1945, as building materials remained in short supply.
The following are some notable changes since the auction map was printed in 1948:
Shoscombe
- There were far fewer buildings on the northern side of Rag Hill (The Street) between Shoscombe Farm and its junction with what is now Apple Croft. Possibly the earliest building on the Street was a dwelling with a barn which has been incorporated into the present house about half way along.. At the Apple Croft site a building that is no longer there is marked in the centre. The Methodist Chapel (c.1983) is now a private residence.
- Montague Road did not exist though there are buildings (probably barns) and a quarry at that level.
- On St. Julian’s road only the cottages now known as Montague Cottage and Braeside, and Filer’s Farm and Post Office (now a private residence) were in existence.
- A. small cottage marked on the road almost opposite Rose Cottage.has disappeared within the last 50 years or so - nettles seem to mark the spot and I am told that it often flooded during the winter. Maybe that is the reason that it was abandoned.
- There was a reservoir for the supply of water on the corner with Barn Hill - the site is grassed over as it is no longer used.
- There are fewer buildings in Single Hill, but it hosted the Magpie Inn and the Primitive Methodist Church (1931) which are now private residences. When originally built, the Church was on the top floor and the ground floor was designed as one-floor ‘cottage’. In 1920 no. 7 was a dairy farm.
Most of the Estate dwellings listed in the auction catalogue were small with a maximum of 5 rooms altogether - commonly two up and two down, often with a pantry or scullery and perhaps a separate or shared wash house. Facilities such as we enjoy today - a mains water supply, mains drainage for sewage, and electricity were not universally available. Woodborough House had both electricity and mains water with a secondary supply of water that could be pumped from the lake and to supply Woodborough Farm (privately owned). Mains water could also be accessed from the water mains along roads such as St. Julian’s Road, Shoscombe Vale and Shoscombe itself. Initially it was supplied by shared stand-pipes in the road. The date when the water mains were introduced is uncertain but it was probably in the 1930s.
For many in the Beauchamp estate properties and probably for others water supply was provided by ‘gravity’ - that is a local spring. These are abundant in this area with alternating limestone and clays forming the slopes of the hills. Springs served Foxcote Farm and Foxcote Rectory (no longer a Rectory and divided into two at that time). At Foxcote Rectory they provided themselves with running water by collecting rainwater in the large tanks which were stored in the attics.
The situation with regard to sewage was somewhat unsavoury and there are a number of small buildings or flat stones by the side or over of the little stream that runs down the Shoscombe valley. Some of them still exist today. Outside earth closets were also common often at the end of gardens .These are making a come-back now as the modern version is considered to be environmentally friendly. Those with WCs in the larger houses had cesspits built underground. These are noted in the descriptions of Braysdown Bungalow and Foxcote Farm which shared theirs with Foxcote Rectory, and there is evidence of a cesspit in the garden of the Old Rectory in Shoscombe (1928) before mains drainage was introduced. The date of installation of mains drainage in the area as a whole is not known, but must be related to the date of the installation of the sewage works. A deed to allow a sewer to cross land near Rose Cottage in 1967 was one of the items originally collected when the Shoscombe Local History Society started. Before then it is rumoured that the WCs in the wash-houses associated with Railway Cottages ran straight down into Wellow Brook. Probably other streamlets contributed to waste drainage in the same way.
It would seem that electricity was not widely availalble until the 1950s. Woodborough House had access to it, of course, and electric light is specifically mentioned in Bridge Farm at Camerton and in some of the houses in Peasedown. During the war peopl22e who wanted to listen to the radio had to take the batteries to Peasedown to get them charged. So most people would have relied on paraffin lamps and candles, coal or wood ranges and open fires for heat and the cooking of food. Access to a wash house where water could be heated in a large container was something to be desired. Fortunately the wash-houses at the Colliery were available to service the miners’ immediate needs.
Since 1948, the number of dwellings has increased; electricity, water and drainage facilities have been made available. Many of the dwellings have increased in size by added extensions and occasionally by amalgamating two cottages into one. Two churches have become private dwellings, the school which played such an important life in the village has also increased in size and facilities, but unfortunately we have lost the railway.
Acknowledgements:
My sincere thanks to all those who responded the the Shoscombe Local History Group’s call for documents about the history of our area, and to Bob Freeman, Graham Hunter, Sibil Perham, Ruby Rice, Carolyn & Alan Keating, and Jackie & Derek Withers.
Jean Shaw
There are a couple of copies of the Auction map and Catalogue held by local people. If you would like a copy of the section of the map covered here, please send your e-mail address to [email protected] or your postal address.
[1] Shoscombe, Shoscombe Vale, Single Hill, White Hill, and Foxcote
