Langport & District History Society
PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES
March 2012 - Bagehot at home
There was standing room only at Hurd’s Hill on Monday night, 5th March, for the Langport & District History Society’s talk on Walter Bagehot. For most people it was their first opportunity for decades to see the inside of the house where Bagehot lived and died. It had been a nursing home for many years until it was bought in 2011 by Clifford Lee and David Holmes. As soon as Clifford saw that the History Society had scheduled a talk on Bagehot, he offered Hurd’s Hill as the venue. They weren’t to know that the day of the talk would, sadly, also be the day that the death was announced of Norman St John Stevas, Lord St John of Fawsley, who did so much to keep Bagehot’s name and writings alive.
Barry Winetrobe, former lecturer in constitutional law who now lives near All Saints Church, where Bagehot is buried, gave an illustrated talk far removed from the constitutional theory he used to teach to his students. The packed audience, including many non-members of the Society, were treated to a new perspective on Bagehot which explained why he is so famous in some circles, such as economists and constitutional experts, and so little known among the general public. In particular, Barry showed why there should be more information and memorials to commemorate Bagehot in his home town. There is even an asteroid named after him, which makes him more famous in the universe than in Langport. A recent BBC Somerset vox-pop demonstrated that even those local residents who have heard of him are not sure whether his name is pronounced ‘Bag-got’ or ‘Badge-ot’ (the latter is the more accepted now).
Born in the Bank House, Cheapside, Langport, Bagehot was a clever and eager student, although he never enjoyed good health, and was particularly frightened of exams. He passed everything with flying colours, and studied for the bar. However, he gave up a career in the law to return to Langport to work in the family banking business, Stuckey & Co. Here he learned about finance at first hand, and became such an expert over the years that he was consulted by Chancellors of the Exchequer like Gladstone. He was introduced to James Wilson, an MP who had founded the Economist, and more to the point, had a daughter, Eliza, who became the love of Bagehot’s life. They married in 1858.
After Wilson’s death, Bagehot later became Editor of the Economist, a position he held for 16 years, until his death in 1877.
In his most famous work, The English Constitution, Bagehot’s observation and analysis of the Victorian constitution remains to this day the definitive account of how our political system works. His chapter on the monarchy has been used to teach successive British monarchs the duties of a constitutional monarch. Bagehot’s analysis of the behaviour of the money market, Lombard Street, has come back to prominence in the era of the credit crunch. It is still regarded as the most acute analysis of the financial markets. In a recent lecture in the USA, Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, has quoted Bagehot in this context.
US President Woodrow Wilson, when he was a Professor at Princeton University, made a pilgrimage to Bagehot’s grave in 1896, and Norman St John Stevas followed in his footsteps in the 1950s, when he was writing his definitive collected works. Robert Peston often quotes Bagehot – perhaps it’s time he also made the pilgrimage to Langport.
Contrary to the impression given by his few portraits, Bagehot was no stolid Victorian worthy, but a precocious and energetic individual who wrote with such wit that his sayings are much quoted. In a letter to his mother after visiting the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Crystal Palace, he described it succinctly as “a great fair under a cucumber frame”. One oft-quoted and always relevant saying of his is “The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” Barry also updated the audience on the progress in Langport setting up a Bagehot Memorial Fund, to repair and maintain Bagehot’s gravesite and to commemorate the man and his work in his home town.
February 2012 – Glastonbury Abbey
Peter Poyntz Wright gave a very informative presentation about the architecture of Glastonbury Abbey to the Langport & District History Society on Monday 6 February at Langport Library.
He took the audience through the building’s extraordinary history from its Saxon origins to its present day remains. It’s hard to believe, looking at the few fragments that are still standing, how vast and important the Abbey was in its heyday. The first stone church was built by the Saxon King Ine of Wessex, and it seemed that every Abbot thereafter either extended or entirely rebuilt the Abbey to their liking.
In the 12th century Abbot Herlewin tore down the Norman church and replaced it with a grander building which, sadly, was destroyed by fire less than a hundred years later. A layer of burned remains, known as the ‘fire line’ is still evident in the soil. Later reconstructions reused much of the original building materials. However, the lias pillars that adorned some of the outer walls have all now gone, some say to prop up farmers’ mantelpieces.
Drawings showing accurate reconstructions of how the Abbey would have looked were essential to understanding the grandeur of the medieval architecture. They clearly showed the use of ‘scissor arches’ to brace the interior structure. Unlike those in Wells Cathedral, these ones were placed parallel to the nave, so as not to obstruct the view.
The Abbots’ Kitchen building, with its stone pipe used to give a thermal siphon effect, is still relatively intact. This is thought to be because it was used by the workmen who were dismantling the building.
Before its destruction during the dissolution of the monasteries Glastonbury Abbey was the longest church in the world. After the dissolution its stones were used to lay the road from Glastonbury to Wells – a sad but useful end.
January 2012 – The Jurassic Coast
The first event of 2012 of the Langport & District History Society was held on 9 January at Langport Library. Dr Peter Stanier presented an illustrated talk on the Jurassic Coast, the 95 miles of the East Devon and Dorset coast which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001 by UNESCO, because of its 185 million years of history.
Dr Stanier outlined the geology of the Coast, including the 3 periods from the oldest (Triassic, 200-250 million years), through the Jurassic (140-200 million years), to the youngest (Cretaceous, 65-140 million years), and explained how they appear, not always in regular layers, all along the Coast. Of local Langport interest was the Lias layer of Jurassic rock, commonly used for building.
Starting at the western end of the Heritage Coast, Orcombe Rocks near Exmouth, where the oldest rocks, at 250 million years, appear, Peter took us eastwards along the coast, highlighting each area’s unique geological features, including those parts caused by faults, folds, drift, landslips and other natural events, as well as beaches and cliffs rich in fossils.
As well as pointing out the well-known tourist towns and sites, such as Lyme Regis, Charmouth, Chesil Beach, Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove and Swanage, Peter explained the geological backgrounds to fascinating features like the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds, with their 400 million years-old pebbles originating in what is now Brittany; the huge 200-acre Bindon landslip of 1839, and the amazing Lulworth Crumple, a visual rock fold caused by a collision of continental plates.
December 2011 – History picture quiz
In a change from its talks programme, the History Society held a very successful picture quiz in Langport Library on 5th December 2011. Even people who have lived in the area for years discovered a new angle on some of their local landmarks. The clues were displayed around the library, which encouraged discussion and made for a more sociable occasion than a sit-down quiz.
November 2011 - Kelways: our blooming history
On Monday 7 November, the Langport & District History Society heard a talk by local Langport author, Janet Seaton, on the history of the world-famous Kelways Nursery.
Janet described how, when she moved to Somerset in 2007, she discovered she was very near the famed nursery, and that nobody had published its history. The current owners of Kelways readily cooperated, providing her access to their extensive archive of catalogues. She gradually pieced together the fascinating story of the Kelway family, and of the ups and downs of the business from its beginnings in the 1850s.
Janet illustrated her talk with a presentation showing many items of Kelways family and business interest, such as their coat of arms; a huge local election poster for William Kelway in the 1890s; the 1930s range of peony perfumes, and a selection of the firm’s stunningly illustrated catalogues.
She then described how publication of her book has generated much new and interesting material from those with family members who worked at Kelways.
Janet’s book, Kelways Glorious, was launched at the Kelways gold-medal winning stand at this year’s prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. It is available from Kelways itself; Picts Hill Publishing of Langport; Amazon and from other local outlets, priced £8.99. An ideal Christmas or birthday present!
October 2011 – Langport in pictures
The Langport & District History Society’s AGM was held on 3 October, at Langport Library. The Committee were unanimously re-elected and Janet Seaton was elected Chair, succeeding Chris Jessop. Chris was standing down, and received a hearty vote of thanks for all her work as Chair.
Following the AGM, Janet gave a short presentation of photos collected over recent months showing various scenes in Langport’s history. These included pictures of Langport West Railway Station during various floods; the River Parrett at the Great Bow Bridge during a winter freeze in the 1940s; the Town Band on The Hill; the boxing club in the 1950s, and various scenes at local carnivals and other events.
Janet concluded with a shot of the new Langport Pump exhibit on display in the Town Garden, when she also described the research the Society had done over recent months in preparing the text for an interpretation board and accompanying leaflet for the exhibit’s formal inauguration in the coming months.
The photos in this presentation represented the many illustrations sent in to the Society not just from its members and from other local residents, but from further afield, even from Houston, Texas. Some had been published as ‘mystery photos’ in the Langport Leveller, which had generated an impressive level of response from readers, providing valuable information on the scenes and people depicted in them. Many members of the audience also made useful suggestions about the provenance of some of the pictures, demonstrating the value of photographs in sparking interest in our local history.
June 2011 - Wartime witness
"On a summer's afternoon in wartime, the aircrews were sitting in a briefing room waiting to hear what this evening's target would be. It was a full moon that night, so we were surprised that there was to be a mission, since we'd be in full view, but we were ready for the task. We thought it would probably be Berlin, since that was often raided, but we were wrong. On 17 August 1943 we would be taking part in a raid on Peenemunde, a small village on the Baltic coast."
Arthur Spencer, a navigator with Bomber Command, gave a vivid first-hand account of the operation to destroy Peenemunde, the location of the German development of the deadly V1 and V2 rockets. Very few people knew of its existence, despite an anonymous letter in 1939 giving a detailed account, which was passed to the intelligence service in London. They decided that it was a hoax, and although there were rumours about rockets being tested, they were discounted until two captured German officers were overheard discussing them in 1943. Finally the threat was understood, and Bomber Command was tasked with neutralising it.
Just under 600 planes took part. A diversionary raid was carried out on Berlin, which succeeded in delaying the enemy's discovery of their real target. Later waves of attack on Peenemunde suffered heavier losses than the early ones, but they managed to destroy the plant. The Germans moved the production of V1&2 rockets further east, to Poland. Although they later used V2s to attack allied targets, they were unable to manufacture the huge quantities they had originally planned. Arthur Spencer's eye-witness account gave a real sense of what it was like to be part of Bomber Command.
The next Langport & District History Society meeting will be the AGM on Monday 3rd October, at the earlier time of 7.15 pm in Langport Library. At 8 pm Janet Seaton will present a slide show of some of the photographs that have been donated to the Society. All welcome. Talks are free to members; £2 per talk for visitors.
May 2011 - The price is right
The Brendon Hills were known to be a source of iron ore from Roman times, so it was not surprising that a landowner with an eye for profit should try to mine it again when its price began to rise. As Peter Jessop explained, in his talk on the West Somerset Mineral Railway, Sir Thomas Lethbridge, who also had interests in the South Wales iron industry, issued a lease for a mine on his land, and the Brendon Hill Mining Company was formed in 1849. He had proposed a railway to transport the iron ore to Watchet Harbour so that it could be shipped to South Wales, but it was not until 1855 that a private Act of Parliament paved the way for its construction. Sadly, he had died, almost bankrupt, in 1849.
The line opened in April 1857. Whereas the rest of Somerset was broad gauge, the West Somerset Mineral Railway, like the railway at its destination in South Wales, was standard gauge. Its most unusual feature was a steep incline, which had a gradient of 1 in 4 for part of its 11 mile length. The line was extended in the 1860s and opened to passenger traffic.
The Ebbw Vale Company, who leased the mine, needed iron ore to produce wrought iron rails for the expanding railway system. Unfortunately, iron ore in the Brendon Hills proved to be both expensive to extract and of disappointing quality. In the 1870s imports of foreign ore made production increasingly uneconomic, and the mines closed in 1879. Less than a year later the price of iron ore rose, and the mines re-opened, but in 1883 they closed again. The railway line continued to operate for passengers and goods, but closed down in 1898, when the equipment was moved to Ebbw Vale.
Rising steel prices in 1907 lured another enterprising mineral syndicate into reopening part of the mine and installing a new locomotive on the railway to transport the iron ore. However, this too fell victim to falling prices, and the business failed. A few years later, taking advantage of the fact that the railway tracks were still in place, an enterprising Australian, Arthur Angus, demonstrated his invention of an automated train safety system. Despite its success, he was unable to persuade railway companies to buy the system. Eventually, in 1917, the tracks of the West Somerset Mineral Railway were taken up to help with the war effort. This presumably meant that they were returned, with some poetic justice, to the form of the very goods that they had been built to transport.
For more information see www.westsomersetmineralrailway.org.uk
April 2011 - The Silent Servant
That's what electricity used to be called in its early days. Martin Roundell Greene, who has written a book about the coming of electricity to Lyme Regis, brought back electrifying memories to many at the Langport & District History Society at their April meeting, describing how something so vital, but so taken for granted in our everyday lives, arrived gradually in our part of the world.
In its early days, electric power was most commonly used for lighting. In 1862 Dungeness became the first lighthouse to be powered by arc lights, and in the 1870s electric lights were used at football matches, theatres - and at Blackpool. In 1881 Godalming installed electric street lighting driven by a dynamo at a watermill.
Lyme Regis became the first town in Dorset to get electricity, in 1909, thanks to the efforts of local landowner and entrepreneur Alban Woodroffe, who established the Lyme Regis Electric Power and Light Company and persuaded other investors to join. The street lighting was dim by modern standards, varying between 25 and 60 watts. Some places in Somerset had had electricity for many years - Taunton since 1886 and Bristol since 1893. A member of the audience volunteered the information that it had not reached High Ham until 1954!
Private enterprise, however, led to hundreds of different electricity supply companies. London alone had 70 suppliers. There were different voltages; some were AC, others were DC, and prices varied in different places. By the 1930s a National Grid was established at a single voltage. Lyme Regis remained independent of the grid until the malt house housing its generator burned down, leaving them no alternative. The all-too familiar electricity pylons began marching across the countryside. Interestingly, most other countries call them 'transmission towers', but ours were specially designed and were called 'pylons' after the name of the entrance to an Egyptian temple, to give them an air of ancient grandeur. There is even a Pylon Appreciation Society - how times change.
For more information see Electric Lyme: the coming of electricity to an English seaside town, by Martin Roundell Greene (2006).
March 2011 - The English Moustache
You may not have realised that the way you can tell which army is which in the Bayeux Tapestry is to look for the moustaches. The Normans are shown as clean shaven, but the English characters have moustaches. Sandy Michell had several such handy tips for the Langport and District History Society in her talk about the Bayeux Tapestry on 6th March.
It's not a tapestry at all, but a piece (or rather, many pieces) of embroidered cloth, stretching to 231ft long by 20 inches wide. Originally it was probably longer, since the final panel appears to be missing. It was made in the 1070s for Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half brother of William the Conqueror, in honour of William's victory over the English. Perhaps surprisingly, it is also thought to have been made in England, probably at Canterbury, where there was a famous school of needlework at the time.
As we watched slides of panel after panel, it was easy to follow the story depicted on the tapestry. When it came to the famous scene of Harold getting shot in the eye with an arrow, we learned that Harold fought in a square formation of shields, which was why the archers had to fire their arrows so high into the air. There were other rather gruesome battle scenes of injuries and dismembered bodies.
Sandy's best tip was that you don't need to go to Bayeux unless you really want to see the original tapestry. A faithful replica was made in 1885-6 by 35 ladies of the Leek Embroidery Society, in Staffordshire, from drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, as they put it, "so that England should have a copy of our own". After going on tour, it was bought by the Mayor of Reading in 1895 and donated to the town. It is now on display in Reading Museum, where admission is free (www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk ).
February 2011 - Buried treasure
We're used to recognizing Roman roads (straight because chariots had difficulty going round corners), and the Fosse Way is a particularly important one. It was built about AD 49 between Exeter and Lincoln, and for some time formed the westernmost boundary of Roman controlled Britain. In the West Country it linked a number of military forts, including ones at Wiveliscombe, South Cadbury, Ham Hill, Bath and Charterhouse. David Elkington gave us an intriguing insight into Roman Somerset in his talk on 7 February.
Vespasian, who later became Emperor, commanded the Second Legion, comprising 5-6,000 men, which was active in the south-west of the country. One of the legion's tasks was to defend and protect the lead and silver mines in the Mendips. Although the Romans could get silver elsewhere, in Somerset it was near to the surface, and therefore much easier to extract.
Both lead and silver were used to make currency. Last year a huge hoard of 52,503 Roman silver coins was found buried in a pottery urn in a field in Frome. Lead was made into oblong lead ingots, and dozens of these have been found in the West Country, dated between AD49 and AD211. Some can be seen in Wells Museum. Money also took the form of long iron bars of fixed weights, some of which have been found at Ham Hill.
The Romans were also famous for constructing baths, and Bath itself has a fine example. However, in Roman times the real attraction at Bath was not the baths but the Temple of Sulis Minerva, a classical style building dedicated tactfully to the local goddess, Sulis, as well as to the Roman Minerva.
Somerset is fortunate to have a number of fine Roman floor mosaics, mainly in the Ilchester area. The Villa of Pitney had a mosaic which told the rather raunchy story of Dido and Aeneas. It is one of the most important objects in the Museum of Somerset, where it will be on display when the Museum reopens later this
year.
So, as David Elkington amply demonstrated, using many of his own photographs, there is a wealth of Roman remains buried under our feet, showing not only the importance of Somerset in the Roman era, but its connections with many parts of the wider Roman Empire.
January 2011 - Seen any strange chimneys?
Have you ever driven past a chimney standing abandoned in a field and wondered what it was doing there? Here in the West Country we are well aware of our heritage of stately homes, manor houses and gardens, but far less aware of our industrial past. Behind that chimney may lie a fascinating story of a long forgotten activity, and that's what Dr Peter Stanier brought to life with his illustrated talk about Somerset's industrial heritage to the Langport & District History Society on 10 January. Dr Stanier is a well-known industrial archaeologist and author of Somerset in the age of steam (2003), on which his talk was based.
Coal mining was still taking place in North Somerset as recently as the 1970s, but the hills were alive with all sorts of other mines too in earlier times. There were iron mines in the Brendon Hills, lead mines in the Mendips and copper mines in the Quantocks. At Kilve there is still a brick-built oil retort from an experiment in extracting oil from the shale at the beach, and an information board to explain the process.
Many other industries have flourished and then declined in this part of the world. You can still see the chimneys of withy boilers in places along the Parrett. There were also long open barns known as rope walks where rope was made, now mostly disappeared.
Any gardener will tell you that you could make bricks from the clay around here, and Barham Brothers had a large works at Bridgwater until the 1960s, making bricks and tiles. They also made 'bath bricks' from a particularly fine stretch of silt from the River Parrett, which were used like soap for cleaning and scouring. Their building now houses the Somerset Brick and Tile Museum.
This is an exception, however. One of Peter Stanier's main themes was the question, 'what can you do with a redundant industrial building?'. Anyone going past the derelict Morlands factory on the outskirts of Glastonbury knows what a sad sight they can be. His photographs told the sorry tale of all too many abandoned relics of our industrial heritage for which no new use could be found. A few have been restored. Near Langport we are fortunate in having the Stembridge Tower Mill at High Ham, recently restored by the National Trust. The original buildings of Kelway's Nurseries in Huish Episcopi now house a pub and office spaces. In Westonzoyland volunteers operate the original steam pumping engine, the centrepiece of their museum.
So next time you pass an abandoned chimney or a derelict factory, give some thought to its importance to our regional economic history.
November 2010 - No knickers!
On Monday 1st November members and visitors were treated to a highly entertaining talk by Jenny Peet. She called it 'No knickers', and it was a light-hearted but very informative look at the basics of life in Tudor households rich and poor, giving perspectives few of the audience will have had before, from school or since.
She began with a description of childbirth customs, presenting a graphic contrast between the pampered, lengthy confinement of mothers-to-be in wealthy households with the much more practical necessities of mothers in poorer circumstances. Tight swaddling of babies was common to both, including the seven nappies separated by sphagnum moss that only needed changing every third day. Interestingly, poorer children had a better chance of survival, partly because they were breast-fed.
The talk also covered washing habits, strange remedies for aches and pains, and the unsavoury work that poor children were forced to do, including the 'piddle boy', who collected urine to sell to the clothmakers.
Jenny then let us into some of the mysteries behind Tudor clothing, starting with underwear (but before knickers were invented), and working up to the lavish outerwear that you can see in famous portraits such as those of Henry VII and Elizabeth I. Her description of how calls of nature were answered during lengthy banquets was not for the squeamish.
October 2010 - Make the most of your local history
At its AGM on 5th October, members were invited to consider extending the Society's activities by becoming more active in collecting, researching and presenting local historical information for the benefit of the local community, as well as for visitors to the area. The History Society has already agreed to prepare some information as part of an exhibition to be held at the end of November at Great Bow Wharf, and has in the past contributed photographs to the local calendar that features historical scenes.
However, there is great potential for the Society to do much more to research and write about different aspects of the local area. Langport is, after all, 'flooded' with history. In terms of historic buildings, there are 3 buildings that are listed Grade 1 (the Hanging Chapel and All Saints Church in Langport, and St Mary's Church in Huish), one Grade 2* (the Langport Arms), and over 80 listed Grade 2 (about 60 of which are in Langport, the rest in Huish). Langport has been home to people with national reputations, like Walter Bagehot, Vincent Stuckey and Charles Sissons. It has a rich history of interesting events, such as the Battle of Langport, floods and carnivals. Many features have already gone - Langport's two railway stations, pubs such as the Dolphin and the Angel, businesses like Webb's bakery, Chard's shoe shop, and the Country Stores. It even had its own newspaper, the Langport Herald, later the Langport and Somerton Herald, for over 70 years. And yet, even with the resources in the Information Centre, the Visitor Centre and the library, as well as the streetplan boards, there is comparatively little detailed information available in the town to interest residents and visitors alike. How many of these notable people, places and events are commemorated by plaques or street names? - very few.
As a first step the History Society is creating a digital collection of photographs and postcards of old Langport, Huish Episcopi, and surrounding villages. If anyone would like to share their collection with the History Society, please let Janet Seaton know at the following email address: janetseaton@fastmail.fm. We only need to borrow your items for a few days so that we can scan them to make electronic copies, then we will give you back the originals. When we can review what we've collected, including as much detail as possible on what they depict, we can decide how best to make them available to others.
If you would like to get more involved in finding out about your local history and helping to publicise it, please let Janet know. Suggestions for projects and other activities would also be very welcome.
|