Contents:
- Edithmead
- Middle Burnham
- Berrow Rd
- Berrow (moved to Berrow)
- Brean (moved to Brean & Brean Down)
- Brean Sands Holiday Park (moved to Brean & Brean Down)
- Stoddens Rd
- Rectory Rd
- The Grove
- St Ann’s Villa
- The Colony
- Love Lane
- Harvest Home
- Deliveries
- West Huntspill
- P.C. Hillman (moved to Law & Order)
- Bob’s Ices
- Battleborough Grange
- Cheddar to Burnham Bus Service 1905
- Watchfield Windmill
- East Brent
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.
However, if you arrived at Highbridge Station you might be lucky enough to find this conveyance awaiting to transport you to Burnham:

Here is a miscellany of local places and people
- 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
SEE ALSO ‘PARADISE’
5. BREAN
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. The building still stands, much expanded, as the care home ‘Beaufort House’.
Map below is from o.s. 1844-88.
The area was developed for housing during the early years of the 20th century.
See also Paradise House.
POPLE’S BUILDERS

10. ST ANN’S VILLA
One time home of Lord Cave and of John Saunders, the Villa dates to at least 1841 when it was owned and occupied by Edward Harwood. By 1863 it was known as St Ann’s, at which time it was owned and occupied by Robert Boyd.
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 along what was then known as Trinity Lane (between the lighthouses) . The line of this is probably what is marked as ‘Tramway’ on the map above.
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 have been a sizeable handsome building. However, Sam Nash’s records tell us that it was originally built by Henry Dod in 1836 as “Two tasteful houses…in the cottage style”. By 1841 it was known as Dod’s Cottages and by the 1860’s as ‘The Colony’. It appears by that time that it may have constituted a small number of separate residences. 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
Burnham Star 1901:

Farm carts were decorated for the celebrations.
See also press report from 1859 at bottom of George Reed page.
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.

MARCHENT’S BAKERY

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

LAWRENCE’S BUTCHERS 31 College St.

We have been informed by members of the Lawrence family that the picture above is of William Bertram Lawrence, who was probably about 12 at the time, which would date it around 1911.

Even as late as 1986 some deliveries were being made by bicycle in Burnham
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 (moved to Law & Order)
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.



18. BATTLEBOROUGH GRANGE
Francis Farr-Cox recalls:
“One of my favourite childhood memories is of going to Battleborough Grange for a cream tea. I have a suspicion that we probably only went there two or three times possibly when relatives came to visit us at Burnham. In those days Battleborough was a working farm and as you went up the drive I seem to recall both the sound and smell of what I now suspect was a working Lister or similar stationary engine plus a glimpse of the cows that were responsible for the cream we were about to enjoy.
Teas were served in a large dining room which felt like part of the home rather than a room specially for visitors. My recollection is that the delicious cream made on the farm and the jam were served with bread and butter. Battleborough was known as the place to have a cream tea. I think I was told when I was a bit older that Battleborough was known far and wide for its cream teas partly because the owners had been prosecuted for serving cream teas during rationing when this was not permitted. Searching the British Newspaper Archive bears this out. A case heard in 1949 when the married couple who owned the farm were each fined £25 plus three guineas costs was reported not just in local papers but also in Exeter, Birmingham and even Dundee! There were probably many other reports that are not in the Archive! One of the papers reported that the Ministry of Food enforcement officer said that when she called at the Grange there were about 40 people having tea and they all had cream. A saucer of cream was placed on her table but she did not have any. She took samples of the cream and had it analysed. It was cow’s cream.
Scones in a cream tea appear to be a modern idea possibly because they can be made quickly to suit demand. The Foods of England website has a section on cream teas. The earliest reference to a cream tea the authors of the website could find was from 1931 when a disgruntled correspondent wrote about the price he had had to pay for a cream tea, served with a “splashing of cream”, bread and butter and two “anemic” rolls in Cornwall. The same website also includes a case paralleling the one at Battleborough when a farmer at Bickleigh in Devon was fined in 1942 following a visit by a Food Enforcement Officer. He had been served “tea, milk ,sugar, bread and butter, plain bread, jam and a glass with three or four ounces of cream.
In my opinion scones are fine but a cream tea with brown bread and butter is delicious and clearly much more traditional!”
19. CHEDDAR TO BURNHAM BUS SERVICE 1905

20. WATCHFIELD WINDMILL
Photo above taken in 1904. A local press report from 1979 tells us that the mill was worked more or less throughout the 19th century, largely by the Spearing family, and ceased activities just before WWI. It was 26ft high, 12ft in diameter at the ground and at one time had a thatched roof. A beam engine was installed in the 1890’s.
21 EAST BRENT
The photo above appears to have been taken in the early 20th century during the height of the cycle touring fashion. Any information about this pub would be appreciated (Please comment on at bottom of page).
The Brown Brothers Gas vans were converted to run on uncompressed “Town” or “Street” gas. This gas was available as a by product from turning coal into coke. Our local Burnham Gas Company (and Weston) probably supplied the gas for these vehicles, making the conversion worthwhile. Fuel was often in short supply during the war periods for obvious reasons. Vans and buses were more suited for the conversion because of the size of their roof. Cars were often converted but looked hideous with the large balloon on the roof, but what did it matter, there was a war on. These look like WW1 vehicles but many more were also converted and used during WW2. The Dutch, French and German’s also had their versions of gas vehicles. I am led to believe that 1 litre of fuel had to be replaced with 2-3 cubic metres of gas? Petrol engines would run easily on gas but Diesel engines still need diesel to start, then switch over to gas.
Thanks for the information Des. I have signposted in the text by the picture.