Our History
All villages have a history, Charlton Musgrove has more than most. Few are lucky enough to have it written down in such an amusing way.
Over a hundred people came to hear Kevin and Claudes illustrated talk on 11/11/11 and more than 100 copies of the book were sold on the night.
The village book: Charlton Musgrove: History, People and Places was launched. Priced at £14.00 to cover costs and now available in Wincanton at Papertrees, Wincanton Post Office and Devine Wines and in Charlton Musgrove at the The Kimber Farm Shop.
The highly professionally produced book was researched and written by Claude Teague and Kevin Flint with photographs by Tony Cole. This collection of memories and stories is a great read.
A run of 200 copies have been printed. Cheques should be made payable to Charlton Musgrove Memorial Hall which hosted the launch event.
Enquires to Kevin Flint (01963 31002) kevandlizflint@aol.com or Sue Parroy sue@parroy.co.uk.
At the launch Kevin did a History Tour of the Village, below is the tour!
History Talk
The new village hall stands on land donated by Sir Christopher Lighton in the late 1940s and replaces the older hall opened on 18 February 1958. The original hall on this site was built by Bayford Builders of Wincanton with much of the almost £3000 cost being raised by the village over a period of about 12 years from the original idea to actual building, much of the delay was due to the ban on public building just after the war due to shortage of materials. As the hall was nearing completion electricity finally came to the village and the new hall was able to take advantage as it had been wired already. In the field behind the hall is one of the oldest oak trees in Somerset, it is at least 700 years old. An oak spends 350 years growing then 350 years maturing and then slowly dies during the next 350 years, our tree is probably in the last 350 year phase
From the village hall we go down Shalford Lane and the first house on the left is Higher Shalford Farm, which was the Coggan family home for many years before being demolished and rebuilt very recently albeit further back from the road. Opposite this is Maggs Mead built by the Council in 1952 and where Rose Foote lived for many years from 1953. Rose played the organ in both churches for almost 58 years. She had been drafted into the ATS during the war and realized what a sheltered life she had lead in Charlton Musgrove as soon as she started to mix with women from city and town backgrounds. Next on the right is Lower Shalford built in the early 19th century which is Grade 2 listed and where the White’s lived and farmed for many years. Herbert and his parents moved into the farm in 1910 and after the death of his parents Herbert farmed there on his own until 1983. Opposite this is Shalford farmhouse again built in the early 19th century and which is also Grade 2 listed and was the home of the Perry family for many years. Just beyond this is the small bridge over the stream which gives Shalford its name as this used to be a ford hence shallow ford then Shalford. To the left of the bridge is where the village watercress beds used to be – not extensive but it shows how good the water quality was.
At the top of the lane straight ahead is Elm Lane. The first house on the left used to be called The Elms but is now known as Hardwick House. Go up the lane a little further skirting the racecourse and you can see the remains of the old Somerset and Dorset Railway which terminated in Wincanton. It was colloquially known as the old S&D or slow and dirty or slow and delightful.
From the top of Shalford Lane to the right we head towards Overdene farm which has been farmed by the Apsey family since the 1920s. Pat Apsey was born at the farm in July 1958 and as a teenager got into trouble on many occasions not only from trying to do things he had always wanted to try (like driving a car along the bridle paths from the farm to Knowle Rock) but also by riding his moped without a licence and passing a police car as he did so. Just beyond this on the right hand side is the old entrance to Roundhill Grange which descends to the house through an avenue of trees which are still in evidence today.
Returning to Shalford Lane and turning left we come to the Nursery. Opposite this is the old village cricket field. It was unusual for such a small village to have a cricket field but Tom Sweet had donated the field for this purpose. The old cricket pavilion used to stand on the left just inside the gate. Next to this field is Gooselands which is Grade 2 listed and built around 1829 but more than likely adjoining a much older building, this was farmed by Bertie Dyke for many years. Opposite Gooselands is Ivy Bars which was also known as Gooselands Cottage for many years. It was very easy to hit a six onto the roof of Ivy Bars across the road from the cricket pitch, which was owned by Bertie Dyke who thankfully played cricket for the village, or onto the roof of the milking sheds at Gooselands, but it was quite hard to get the ball back from Roger Apsey who at that time farmed at Gooselands.
Next we come to Wincanton Racecourse. This is the site of what was Kingwell farm and which was purchased in 1926 to relocate the racecourse from Hatherleigh near Anchor Hill. The first race meeting on this site was held in 1927. Racing has been taking place in Wincanton since about 1760, but it was not until 1893 that Wincanton chose to adopt the National Hunt rules and the first prize at the next meeting under the new rules was £20. The racecourse on its current site has been voted best small racecourse for 19 out of the last 20 years. Carrying on past the racecourse and going down Old Hill or Racecourse Hill as it is known locally we find Burton’s Mill on the left which was first mentioned in 1436 but was not known as Burton’s Mill until 1661, by 1871 it had gone out of use. There were 3 types of mill wheels, overshot, breastshot and undershot the mill at Burton’s had a breastshot wheel, the remains of which can still be seen today in its pit and housing. The other workings are still also in the mill. The water to turn the mill wheel came through a leat that was diverted from the River Cale. The mill was used mainly to grind corn for cattle feed.
At the bottom of Old Hill you can turn right into Verrington Lane which leads to Cuttlesham Farm which is 18th century and Grade 2 listed, Cutts Close and Moorhays where the very popular Keens Cheese is made, where the old S&D Railway line used to dissect the farm yard. Moorhays probably dates back to the 11th century and is Grade 2 listed. Land at Moorhays was sold for the Bath to Bournemouth railway line with the first train passing through the farm yard on August 7th 1862. Since John and Sarah Bridle moved into the farm in September 1899, 5 generations of Keens have been involved in the cheese making process. Although this area is still part of the parish of Charlton Musgrove it is much closer to Shepton Montague. Indeed the old parish used to include Holbrook House and Abergavenney cottage just beyond which was a toll house as well as Lawrence Hill (which is beyond Morrison’s supermarket) where there was a very successful brick works. Interestingly Brickhouse Farm, Stavordale Priory and Bitwood Lodge were all classed as being part of Wincanton until the 1891 census, when Holbrook House and Lawrence Hill then became part of Wincanton
Turning back to the Racecorse we now head down Rectory Lane. The first building we come to on the right hand side is Grade 2 listed Charlton House built around 1810 by Thomas Bastard on the site of an old manor house dating from the 13th century. During the run up to the D Day landings it was requisitioned by the War Office for officers to be billeted as the whole of Charlton Musgrove was under military occupation at this time. Opposite Charlton House is Grade 2 listed St Stephens’s church built early in the 13th century with the first recorded rector being appointed in 1322 with each subsequent rector being recorded in the church register. The nave was added in the 14th century and the tower in the 15th century. Behind the church is Grade 2 listed Lower Church Farm (formally known as Lower Living Farm) the home of Claude Teague which has a plaque dated 1738 inside, although the farmhouse is built on much older foundations. To the west of the farmhouse is a Grade 2 listed 18th century barn which has been converted into a house known as Monks Mead. This is the area where the medieval village would have been centered around the church, Claude has found pottery shards in his fields and also patches of rich and fertile soil which must have been the gardens of these medieval cottages.
Further down Rectory Lane is The Coach House, which is Grade 2 listed and is the original coach house belonging to the old Rectory built by the Leir family in 1806 and which burnt down in 1938 just as a major refurbishment was completed. The Leir family had been rectors in the village for around 300 years, at the time of the fire Reverend Wilson who was the first reverend to succeed the Leirs had moved out of the Rectory due to ill health and the renovations were being done for Canon Moxley who was due to move in. One of the earlier Rectories (which was opposite The Oaks) had extensive water gardens which are still visible today although you do need to know what it is you are looking for to realize what you are seeing. That piece of Rectory Lane between the Coach House and the corner by The Oaks has not always been a road and was only made into one in the late 1800s, you can see this by the size of the hedges along that stretch.
Next on the left are the converted out buildings from Rectory farmhouse next door to the farmhouse itself. This is where Alan Osborne’s family farmed from 1916 and where Alan was born and where he farmed until his retirement. Opposite this is the site of the original 14th century parsonage in the field known as Singers. If you look carefully you can see a small stone wall on the opposite side of the road to the farmhouse which is a sign of something of importance being behind it. Articles and coins found on the site would suggest it was built in the 14th century. A Henry VI half grout (1422 – 1461) and an Edward III half groat (1327 – 1377) have been found. After the second rectory was built in 1806 other finds such as a George III shilling (1817) and Victorian farthing and halfpennies (1861 – 1899) would suggest it was occupied for many years after it was no longer the home of the priest and most likely it was used as a farmhouse.
The next turning on the right is Parsonage Lane leading down to Home Farm which was the home of Miss Rabbetts who was a well-known village character. She was a spinster and had been left the farm by her very well respected father and lived to a very good age but was rather eccentric. She kept 3 cows for milking and Alan Osborne’s father would take her milk, she would also bring the cows to Osborne’s farm for servicing by the bull and refused A.I. as she felt her cows should always have the ‘real thing’. She never paid her water rates and was forever having her water cut off, but it never worried her because she used her well water instead. One day Mr Ray Brake was taking straw for thatching to farmer Stoper and saw Ms Rabbetts was trying to attract his attention as she was lying on the ground, on the way back he stopped and discovered that she had broken her leg. He tried to have a look at the injury but was told in no uncertain terms to keep his hands off her, so he went to Osborne’s farm and phoned for an ambulance. Continuing along Rectory Lane we come to Rose Cottage (formerly Primrose Cottage) which was once one of the village shops and was run by Mrs Lumbard who was rather eccentric and always dressed in black. It sold batteries as well as bikes and was sold for about £6,000 in 1965. Next we come to Pillar Box Cottage which used to be known as Bloomfield and was originally 2 cottages, then Yew Tree Cottage which in 1754 was sold for 20 pounds 11 shillings and sixpence and a pair of shoes and Pear Tree Cottage which used to be 2 cottages. The converted cowshed to the left of Pear Tree cottage is where Granny Pound used to live and where school children would pass just to see her sat outside in odd wellingtons smoking her clay pipe. The bungalows at the end of the lane were built by Captain Leslie from Discove House in the early 1960s to house his retired staff.
The village of Southmarsh was traditionally the largest settlement within Charlton Musgrove and would have stretched from Brickhouse Farm (which was once part of the Redlynch Estate and was sold on 16 May 1912 when the estate was broken up and sold off) to Rectory Farmhouse. The cottage called White Lodge which sits next to the little bridge was once a toll house which came to light in the 1851 census when the inhabitant (Elizabeth Cox) was listed as toll collector. It appears that Southmarsh probably benefitted from the issue of building licences in the mid 17th century at a time when the village was looking to expand beyond its medieval roots centered around St Steven’s church.
Turning right at the end of Rectory Lane we pass over the old toll bridge and head towards Riding Gate and Ball Common. Sunny Hill Farm at Riding Gate was owned by the Leir’s and was used by the Reverend Leir as a Rectory at some point.
Returning the way we came and heading back past the end of Rectory Lane we head towards Barrow Lane. The whole area from the village hall to the corner where you turn up towards Stavordale Priory was known as Charlton Common. As you turn into Barrow Lane the newish house behind you called Dibben’s Ash is on the site of one of the farmhouses owned by the Coggan family. The row of houses on Barrow Lane known as Dibbens Row is on the left where Ray Buckingham has lived in number 6 since 1939. The Reverend Wilson based himself at numbers 1 and 2 Dibbens Row for a while in the late 1930s after moving out of the Rectory due to ill health. The village shop and post office was run by Mrs Cook from number 3 for many years. The 2 newer houses just next to these were built in 1976 on what was the garden of the Old Rectory. The Old Rectory, as it is now known, became the Rectory in 1939 after the Rectory in Rectory Lane burnt down. Mrs Street who lived at Stavordale Priory sold the house and gardens to the benefice for £3,500. This was originally a row of perhaps 4 cottages which were owned at one point by the Leir family. They were built around the mid-18th century and the date stone of 1822 probably refers to when they were refurbished. The Old Rectory is now occupied by Reverend Wilson’s granddaughter. Opposite the Old Rectory is Common Farm taking its name from the Common land. Next door to the Old Rectory is Beverly Cottage and Sunnyside, now converted into one house. They were built in the early 17th century and bought by Mathew Cannon, who was the village blacksmith, in 1920 from the Leir family and it was from here that his wife ran the village shop, who just like Mrs Lumbard in the other village shop on Rectory Lane insisted on dressing in black..
Next is Grade 2 listed St Johns church which was built in 1878 by Mrs Davies as a memorial to her husband who was Rector from 1864 to 1876, incidentally Mrs Davies was the sister of Reverend C M Leir who was Rector from 1845 to 1864. St John’s is built of stone in a 13th century style designed by C. E. Davis of Bath and comprises a chancel and nave with a southern bell tower. A font was added to the church in 1952. When St John’s was originally built, stone tiles that came from the priory were used for the roof of the church. In the 1930s a report from the architect who had recently examined St John’s showed that the building was in a very unfortunate state, the roof certainly needed some major repairs and the heavy weight of the stone tiles was probably the cause of many of the other repairs that were needed. It was felt that it would be a pity to replace the stone with a lighter clay tile, for that was robbing the church of its main beauty.
The original wooden village hall was next to St Johns (where the house called Hawthornes is) and was dismantled and sold to Cucklington in 1955 once the predecessor of this hall was opened and was subsequently sold to Buckhorn Weston. This was built in 1924 and was creosoted every year by volunteers, it still had the old coke burning stove and paraffin lamps which were later changed for Tilly lamps and today would have been considered a serious fire hazard. It was double skinned and stood raised off the ground so that the floor would bounce rather a lot. All village meetings were either held there or in the old school. It also had a rather good ¾ size billiard table. There were many social evenings and dances in the hall as well as whist drives which would start around 7.30 and end in a social evening about 10.00. The entry fee was normally 2/6 (12.5p). All events were very well supported not only from Charlton Musgrove but also surrounding villages as very few had a village hall. People from the other villages would come either by bike or tractor. Across the road from here is the children’s play area. Next to the hall was the village school now called The Old School which was built in 1853 after a fire badly damaged the existing school which was housed in the poor house. During the war evacuees were educated at the school and as numbers had risen to over 30 then a second teacher was employed. By 1959 numbers had dwindled to 26 and the school closed in 1960/61 when all pupils and the teacher were transferred to Wincanton. The old gate which divided the girls and boys playground was preserved and still stands today at the entrance to Higher Stavordale Farm. The Old School House would have housed the head teacher and this is on the left as you get to the corner on Barrow Lane.
Turning right at this point we head towards Stavordale Priory. On the left as you turn in is a patch of land colloquially known as Humpty Dumpty ground due to it being very uneven, this is the site of an 11th century mill and up to 60 years ago the mill head and outlet could still be traced. Stavordale Stud is the next building on the right and buried under the concrete of the farmyard is an old stone cross that used to stand in the yard but became a hazard. It was pulled down in 1945 and as far as we know is still there today. Its use is not very well known but it has a scooped out bowl and could have been used to pay worker’s wages or even money changing hands at the cheese fair which took place under the large fair oak tree still standing today at the back of the farmyard. Paul Kimber’s father who was born in 1906 could remember the cheese fair still taking place but it died out during the First World War as the young men of the village went to war.
Opposite this is Grade 1 listed Stavordale Priory which is first mentioned in 1243, with earliest recorded friar being Robert de Cerlton who was appointed in 1263. By 1400 the buildings had fallen into decay but under the will of John Stourton, who died in 1439, the priory was able to undertake a rebuilding programme. The priory church and all that remained above ground was rebuilt and completed by 1443. In 1490 a north chapel of Jesus was added by John Lord Zouch who lost most of his lands after the Battle of Bosworth Field. The priory again suffered from poverty and was unable to keep up with routine maintenance. In 1533 it was in such a bad state of repair that it was taken over by Taunton Priory. Thankfully Stavordale escaped demolition during the dissolution of the monasteries and became a farm for 350 years. At the end of the 19th century it was purchased by a Mr Sage who had it converted into a Gentleman’s Residence.
Carrying on past the Priory we head towards New Park Farm which was originally a red bricked bungalow until it was demolished and the current house rebuilt on the site. The old bungalow was owned by Mr Davis during the 1930s and he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself from one of the beams, unfortunately he misjudged the length of rope required and when he pushed the chair away he stood on tiptoe. The baker found him the following morning and cut him down and he had nothing more than a very sore neck.
Returning to Barrow Lane this would have been where the old hamlet of Barrow started and stretched to Higher Stavordale Farm. On the left hand side we come to Cannon’s Farm which was the old smithy run by Mathew Cannon and then Ted Buckingham (Ray’s husband) after Mathew’s death. Opposite is St John’s Cottages where Curly Weeks lived for some 60 years before his death in 2011. Just along the road on the right is Paradise Cottage. This is built on the site of the old alms houses. A single poor house was in use by 1796 and by 1839 a row of 6 houses had been built and were owned by the Leir family. The census of 1851 records 6 families living here. They gradually fell into disrepair and were demolished around 1980 and the current house was built from the original stone. Further along the road on the left we come to the Old Bakery. This was the site of the bakery run by Roger Trim and his father. This was originally 3 cottages with the one furthest from the road being converted by Roger’s father into a bakery while they lived across the road in Fir Tree Cottage (now Cherry Tree Cottage), incidentally Fir Tree Farm is where Jack Kimber (Paul’s father) was born. Next door to the Old Bakery is Barrow Corner Farm which has been dated to the 14th century and was a very high status dwelling as shown by the number and style of the inglenook fireplaces, which can be dated by little marks made in the wood. The original farmhouse was thatched but this was removed during the war and the then owners decided to have a bonfire to burn it, the air raid warden from Wincanton was quickly on the scene and told them to put out the fire as it was a beacon for the Germans. At the end of Barrow Lane we come to Higher Stavordale Farm. As you turn right up towards the farm on the right hand side where Dale Cottage is today there used to be a Methodist Chapel, this fell into disrepair. In the census of 1871 2 cottages called Chapel No1 and No 2 are listed as being uninhabited and were later demolished.
The site of Higher Stavordale Farmhouse used to be closer to the road but the original house burnt down in about 1880 and the current building dates from 1884. Turning away from Higher Stavordale we continue along Barrow Lane and if you turn right just past Barrow Lane Farm you head towards Walk Farm which used to be part of the Redlynch Estate. It was sold at auction when Redlynch Estate was sold off on 16 May 1912 for £4060. Returning to Barrow Lane we head down Barrow Water Lane with the Butt’s farm on the right. Stan Butt farmed here from 1952 for 50 years until his retirement. When the Butt family moved into the farm it had no electricity or running water. All the water came from a freshwater spring in the top field at the farm and the village would use this for drinking water, Stan can never remember this drying up and it is still running today.
At the end of Barrow Lane as we turn left to head back to the village on the corner was another beer house which was still in business in the early 20th century. As we come down the road the Grade 2 listed 19th century Roundhill Farmhouse is on the left. On the opposite side of the road is Grade 2 listed Roundhill Grange first mentioned in 1544 when it was the grange for the Priory at Stavordale. In 1701 James Laurence Churchey built Round Hill Grange as you see it today, in a square edifice of brick containing some good apartments ornamented with paneling and inlaid work. In 1775 a one bayed addition was made along the south front and at a later date, presumably to maintain the symmetry of the principal fronts , a similar addition was built on the north side. Round Hill was renovated by Judge Dier during the reign of James I. Some ruins of farm buildings were still remaining in 1832 and were removed during alterations then in progress, also some of the brick walls that surrounded the gardens and court were removed to give an open view overlooking the Vale of Stavordale. It was the home of Lady Dunphie (formerly Mrs Wright) from 1955 until her death in 2011.
Just down the road on the left is Grade 2 listed Somerlea Farm (formerly Lower Living Farm) which is opposite Shalford Lane and was built in the mid-17th century,behind it lies a Grade 2 listed former malthouse built in the 19th century. Doug Castle and his father farmed at Somerlea for a number of years. On the corner on the left is the former Baptist Chapel now called Chantry Cottage which was built in 1830 and which was converted into a house in the 1950s. Allan Osborne can remember as many as 50 people attending church services there. Built sideways on to the road is the Old Post Office which is recorded for the first time in the 1901 census when Jabez Gaisford was listed as Post master. Next door is The Smithy pub built round 1720 as a beer house when it was called the Red Lion. Next door is a house called The Barrows which is where I live and which we had built in the early 1980s in what used to be the beer garden of the pub. Opposite me are 4 houses which stand where an orchard once stood where Joan Dodge can remember pigs being let loose to feed off the fallen apples.
Do you live in Charlton Musgrove? Did you or your family live in Charlton Musgrove? Do you remember what it was like? We would love to hear from you.
Can you remember a flood worse than 13th December 2008?
Lady Dunphie certainly couldn’t in the last 50 years! At Lower Shalford Farm benches were carried a 1/2 mile, the barn flooring lifted and 20Kg stones were dislodged. Take a look at these pictures:
Did you have your camera with you on that memorable day? Do please send photos.
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