Nailsea & District Local History Society
Members Newsletter

Published by the Society for its members

email: <editor@ndlhs.org.uk>

Peter Wright recently attended a gathering of the Young family at the Ring o’Bells [see group photograph at which the novel, “No Return” was made available. The Society had agreed to distribute this in the UK on behalf of the author, Allan Jamieson, who lives in Tasmania.

In the book Allan describes the life of his great, great grandmother, Rachel Newton [nee Young]. The bare facts of Rachel’s life are as follows:-

Rachel YOUNG and John NEWTON, both of Nailsea, were married in 1824. The Newtons were well known builders, sawmillers and carpenters at Nailsea, and the Youngs were also “established” with a strong farming background around Bath. John Newton took up farming, first near Nailsea and later at Ashton Waters west of Long Ashton. Rachel and John had nine children. In 1851, the parents and the three youngest children migrated to Australia, settling in Geelong [Victoria] where the eldest son had preceded them. Another son followed a year later and the family took up farming in the vicinity of Geelong.

Rachel Newton died of “apoplexy” in Geelong gaol in 1855, aged 52. She had been charged with being “an idle and disorderly person, using no visible lawful means for her support. For the last six months, Rachel has employed herself in begging about from house to house in South Geelong”. More out of compassion than for punishment, Rachel was sent to gaol for six months.

Rachel was mentioned twice in the Geelong newspaper but there was not a single mention of any “family” in this - nor in the police, court and gaol records. Seemingly she was wholly alone in Geelong. Nor is there any hint in these records that Rachel was insane, an alcoholic, or had been abused in any way.

Allan wrote the novella to seek a plausible explanation based on the upbringing of Rachel and her husband John Newton.

Allan Jamieson AOK Innovations Pty. Ltd.

Copies of the book [70 pages] are available from Peter priced £6 [plus £1 p&p]

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David Cains will be relieved to see that the latest version of the book he prepared in 1982 with Margaret Thomas, has finally hit the shelves! The original bore the title, “Nailsea Then and Now”, but with so much additional information, it was decided to put the “Now” picture at the start of each chapter followed by the many “Thens”. A late alteration renamed the book, “Nailsea - Today and Yesterday”.

Lavishly illustrated, it’s priced at £5 and makes a very suitable Christmas present. It is available from the usual outlets, but we hope local members will buy from the Society bookstall.

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At the time of writing, we are reliably informed that this will go ahead following last years cancellation. The Society will have all its books, videos, cider mugs and ephemera on sale, so please come along and check for any gaps in your collection. We can usually be found in the general area of Boots the Chemists. Friday December 7th is the date.

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To Mr & Mrs John Brown who this year are celebrating the 50th year of trading in the High Street. Theirs is the only shop in Nailsea to have remained in the same location for anything like that length of time.

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Unfotunately we cannot tell you any more than has appeared in the media, ie. that North Somerset Council has agreed to sell its portion of the site to Edward Ware Homes, nominated by Hobbs Holdings Ltd., who will take the lead in developing the area of the 1826/7 New House Cone with, it is suggested, a mix of retail and domestic buildings. Since it is a scheduled site, English Heritage will ensure that any development safeguards the underlying archaeology. Media reports indicate that the cone foundations will be retained as a central feature. We shall be mindful that English Heritage require an interpretation room to be included.

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NEAT [Nailsea Environment & Archaeological Team] Led by Cllr. Phil Barclay, the team is currently engaged in field-walking and geophysical surveying in the Tickenham area, guided by Vince Russett the North Somerset Council Archaeologist. Meetings are generally held fortnightly on a Friday. If you are interested in joining the team, please contact Phil, Tony or Betty for details [see Programme Card for telephone numbers].

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We have moved to the Conference Room [in the refurbished former 6th Form / Adult Education Block to the left of Nailsea School drive]. However, please note that for the DECEMBER 07 and FEBRUARY 08 meetings we shall be returning to the Assembly Hall in the main building.

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The Nailsea Historic Monuments Trust, to which many of our members belong, has written to North Somerset Council and made it clear that any further procrastination may end any hope of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are told that from next March there will be a moratorium on grants for at least five months, and thereafter the money available for projects will be significantly curtailed [due to the Olympics]. In 2001, NSC indicated that it saw no problem in providing a simple management agreement and insurance to allow the Avon Industrial Buildings Trust to submit an HLF application on its behalf. Despite meetings and almost weekly e-mails and telephone calls since then, the agreement is still with the NSC Legal Department. MEP is a scheduled monument on the Buildings at Risk Register, and NSC will be liable for essential maintenance, whatever the outcome of the grant.

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NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER Our apologies that this was not available as promised, along with “Pennant”, the 2008 Programme Card, and your Membership Renewal Form. Our latest publication, “Nailsea Today and Yesterday” should also have been on sale, but this had to be reprinted when it was discovered that one page was missing and another inserted twice! Fortunately it was not our error, but it did mean that the printers could not produce “Pennant” within the normal time schedule.

“Nailsea Today and Yesterday” is already on sale locally in A5 paperback. With 56 pages and many photographs, it is a good read at £5 [£5.50 including p & p]

CHANGE OF NUMBER Tony Targett has recently changed his home telephone number. It is now 01275 +REDACTED+ so please amend your Programme Card accordingly.

NAILSEA COURT Some months ago the Society bought a watercolour original of the Court, dated 1833, and initialled J&R or JER – possibly a Rowbotham.

The Bristol Museum could not vouch for its provenance, so Mike Phillis offered to take the painting to the Antiques Road Show to be held in Exmouth last September. Hopefully we can include a full account of the day in the next issue of “Pennant”, but Mike and Julia set off on a cold but sunny day with the said painting safely wrapped and protected by a backing board and several layers of soft tissue. They joined the long queue around 10.15am and eventually entered the Pavilion three and a half hours later! The wait had been enlivened with street entertainers, snacks and coffee, as well as the comings and goings of Michael Aspel and the film crew. After a further ninety minutes they found themselves in front of paintings expert Philip Mount.

Without going into too much detail, Mr Mount did not believe that there was likely to be any significant gain to the Society’s funds - so subscriptions as usual unfortunately - but as Mike reflects, it is not the worth that is important. It is the fact that this is a beautiful and genuine piece of our local history.

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