Contents:

1. Edithmead
2. Middle Burnham
3. Berrow Rd
4. Berrow
5. Brean
6. Brean Sands Holiday Park
7. Stoddens Rd
8. Rectory Rd
9. The Grove
10. St Ann’s Villa
11. The Colony
12. Love Lane
13. Harvest Home
14. Deliveries
15. West Huntspill
16. P.C. Hillman
17. Bob’s Ices

If you wanted to get out and about:

Unfortunately those on a tight budget might have to make do with being pulled by a goat.

 

Here is a miscellany of local places and people

 

1. EDITHMEAD

Photo at top of page, and below, dates unknown.

 

2. MIDDLE BURNHAM

Middle Burnham Farm with K. Knight (L) & C. Butt (R).

3. BERROW RD

Above: Brunswick Terrace.

‘The Hall’, now the Community Centre

Oakover Girls School (below), at the bottom of Sea View Rd.

Above, entrance to Ellen’s Cottages & High Lighthouse, note benches opposite.

Below: The Golf Hotel, later to become Kathleen Chambers House an RNIB establishment. This was opened for its new purpose in 1953 by  Mrs kathleen Chambers, ex Lord Mayor of Bradford and campaigner for women and for the deaf-blind. Now rebuilt.

4. BERROW

Post Office, dates unknown.

Old cottage and church

Charles Pearson card, date unknown.

Paradise Farm and Dairy

Paradise Stores

 

5. BREAN

From Tucker’s Farm by the entrance to the beach at Brean, to Brean Down, the road was at one time privately owned and gated. Until the 1960’s a toll had to be paid to gain access to Brean Down and the ferry (cyclists could go free if they walked.). Landowners later discovered that charging for parking was more lucrative that charging a road toll (information from notes by Evan Strickland).

6. BREAN SANDS HOLIDAY RESORT

Brean Sands Holiday Camp was first known as ‘Dean’s’. Holiday makers arriving in Burnham by train were bussed by Gratton’s, Harding’s and Burnell’s coach companies. The camp was regularly patronised by parties of workers from a number of large companies (Wills Tobacco, Harris’s Sausages of Colne, Frys of Keynsham and Spiers of Bath). At one time the camp was the major single user of water from the Berrow Water Company, an independent  farmers’ co-operative, and so paid 50% of the cost. The camp was used by the military during World War 2. It subsequently became Fred Pontin’s first camp. Much of the land on the seaward side of the coast road was never purchased, people erected wooden bungalows or holiday chalets and fenced in the land and after 12 years could claim statutory squatter’s rights. (information from notes by Evan Strickland)

7. STODDEN’S RD

 

8. RECTORY RD

Henry Young and his men building Rectory Rd 1904.

 

9. THE GROVE

The large house known as ‘The Grove’ stood in extensive wooded grounds where the road Gardenhurst now runs, north of Rectory Rd. The house later became known as Hart House  and during the early part of the 20th century was enlarged to become the Manor Hotel. The Rectory, to the south, later became known as Gardenhurst and served  as a school. It eventually expanded to take in the Manor Hotel.

Map below is from o.s. 1844-88.

The area was developed for housing during the early years of the 20th century.

POPLE’S BUILDERS

10. ST ANN’S VILLA

One time home of Lord Cave and of John Saunders

The map shows the course of St Ann’s lane, leading between the high and low lighthouses, it is interesting to speculate whether this is a remnant of the course of the ancient River Siger. There is anecdotal evidence that trows would at one time land coal directly onto the beach near the low lighthouse and that it was transported to the road by a narrow gauge horse railway. Was this down St Ann’s Lane?

Low lighthouse from St Ann’s Lane

The Villa

Map (o.s. 1921- 43) showing the relative positions of St Ann’s Villa,  Ellen’s Cottages, The Mount, The Towans and The Colony.

11. THE COLONY

This appears from the engraving to originally have been a handsome building. It is shown, in census information and trade directories from 1848 to 1939,  to have been occupied by a series of families mostly of business owners, clergy, ‘gentry’ or other people of independent means. Occupants included John Prior Estlin (1866) brick manufacturer, merchant  and member of the Local Board Committee (later of ‘Tregunter‘  and Marine House on the Esplanade).

The Colony Lodge, still standing on the Berrow Rd

12. LOVE LANE

At beginning of works for  new road to the A38 (Queens Drive).

13. HARVEST HOME

Farm carts were decorated for the celebrations.

14. DELIVERIES

COX & COX

Cox & Cox had premises at the north end of  Victoria St but their warehouse was near to the brewery on Highbridge Rd. Their wagons would no doubt have been a familiar site on the local roads.

 

BROWN BROTHERS

The Weston grocery company had a shop at No. 51 High St, Burnham during the first half of the 20th century. At one time, probably during World War I fuel shortages,  they operated a fleet of gas powered delivery vehicles (see comment from Des Parsons below).

 

WEARE’S BAKERY

Weare’s shop was in Victoria St. Their delivery van is here seen making a delivery to ‘Osra’, the house on the corner ofGolf Links Road. The date is not known but the vehicle appears to be of 1920’s vintage.

 

DAWSON’S VICTORIA DAIRY

Dawson’s Dairy & Grocery occupied No 41 Victoria St in the early years of the 20th century

 

15. WEST HUNTSPILL

The Globe Hotel (now the Pimpernel, previously the Huntspill Arms and before that the Scarlet Pimpernel). The date is unknown but is sometime after 1916, when the Derham family took over the hotel for Holts Brewery (until 1949). The sign at right has a pendant marked R.A.O.B. which probably indicates a meeting place for the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, a fraternal organisation started in 1822.

Below: charabanc excursion at the Crossways Inn.

 

16. P.C. HILLMAN

Perambulating around and about one might no doubt have come across P.C. Hillman on his beat, but when???

Does anyone know more about this robust looking gentleman?

 

17. BOB’S ICES

This mobile business was run by a member of the Marchent family who ran bakery and tea-room businesses in Burnham for many years. It was the first to start up in Burnham after World War II.