STRAWBERRY LINE TIMES Looking Back at old Axbridge PART 3: When a three course meal was 1/6d in the town hall, Irish workers caroused in the Old Angel, there were three pubs in the Square and there was a bicycle shop where the chemist is

Axbridge has always changed. From when it was just a Saxon bugh based around the stream that lows under the Square to the Norman French and later the Tudor wool merchants that gave the town its market charter.

When I was researching the post Victorian era of the town for the 2000 pageant I wanted to include aspects of the 20^th century social history to bring the production up to date. Megan Baker (1922-2007) was very helpful in providing anecdotal notes on some of the shops and businesses she could remember reaching back to her childhood in the late 1920s. The only caution I would give is not all memories are exact so some of these memories may not chime exactly with everyone but I am sure 99% are correct.

Megan lived her final years in the flats on Houlgate Way and had been in the town almost all of her life taking part as an enthusiastic member of the Axbridge Players in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a leading figure in the social life of the town for decades with a strong presence in the Guides, the youth club and the Church and thus would have been familiar with all aspects of Axbridge.

She talked me through a walk up the High Street and West Street and back – but in this walk it is The Square that she recalls and the shops and businesses that she knew in her youth.

Beginning at the Cheddar side there was and is the Oakhouse Hotel which was a restaurant in the 1930s run by Bob Farley and Mr Barrington and was taken over by the British Army in the Second World War.

A coal merchant lived at the bottom of the Church Steps called Fred Pethers and he had a coal yard in Cheddar. The shop was also a chemist for a while around 20 years or more ago. If you check out old photos of the Church Steps you will notice there’s an extra house on the corner. Now gone with just a patch of gravel before you arrive up the steps at the Church Rooms. Hopefully someone will tell me what was in the house.

Moving anti clockwise Lloyds Bank that was also a building society at one time while a Mr Morely Ham, a second coal merchant lived at The Old Angel, now a private home. The Old Angel as it sounds was a pub for and dates to around 1550 and has been a shop (and some locals suggest a brothel in the 17^th century) although no witnesses have come forward. It enjoyed a busy time in the 1930s when it was frequented by workers constructing the Cheddar Reservoir – many from the then Irish Free State. At the time it had a reputation for singing and late night carousing.

Next along the line was until the 2000s the Seasons Dress and Fashion shop which had previously been a general store and for a time the Co-operative store. When Phil Reaney moved from the butcher’s shop in the High Street it was for a while a butchers and delicatessen – and a much loved store to boot. Then it was a florist and recently has been the salon of Hair on the Square.

Next door with its yellow brick exterior was the George Inn now Ripley’s Antiques and Bistro. Sadly Axbridge is down to one pub and one hotel bar with the closure of the Crown In in St Mary Street. Next door is an estate agents which ajoins the Lamb Inn which is partly on the site of the Guild Hall now all but swallowed up by the Georgian hotel and inn with is 1830s frontage.

Megan next takes us past the Corner House that has been used as a shop in the past and was the home of the former town crier Mrs Glover before becoming a café, then an art shop and finally a private house.

King John’s Hunting Lodge is of course the town’s most famous building and is now owned by the National Trust and is run as the town’s museum by the Axbridge and District Museum Trust. Despite its name it has nothing to do with King John (1199-1216) who had long been dead before it was built. Megan recalls it being an ironmonger’s store for a time, an also a café and a music shop. In the last war it was taken over by the British army and used as an office and billet for a time. It was Miss Ripley who bought it and restored it in part before leaving it to the National Trust.

A few more notes on the hunting lodge: dating to at least 1500 and possibly earlier the building was originally three shops and a pub with living accommodation above. The king’s head carved on the corner of the exterior is likely to have been a symbol of just what it is when it was an ale house and nothing to do with its name sake. However King John wasn’t such a bad king as history suggests as he granted the town a charter and set it on its way to prosperity.

The Co-op is now the town’s main grocery shop but in previous years has been a Spa and a Local Plus store as well as the Axbridge Wine Vaults.

Everyone knows Suman at the Axbridge Chemist over the road but it has only been a pharmacy comparatively recently. Before it was the Spinning Wheel Restaurant for several years and also a gift shop. It is one of the town’s oldest buildings at its core despite its more modern make-over and dates to the early 15^th century and has even been a bicycle shop in the past as well as Filers and Warners and also a grocery shop in the past.

Over the road is the Almshouse Tea Shop run by Nicky Frewin but was known as the Bistro before that and was a restaurant. Going back in time it was also an undertakers Megan said  called Swearse & Son. The almshouse was as it is called a named a place for the elderly to be housed before the birth of work houses, hospitals, geriatric wards or the modern care homes.

Next door to the town hall Megan said there was a sweet shop. How ridiculous the town no longer has specialist confectioners, undertakers and wine vaults – let alone an iron mongers. Perhaps these retail establishments will return in the future as shopping habits change again.

The Town Hall completed in 1830 replace the Guild Hall and was a dining hall, a panier market, a court room and a council chamber – and still performs some of those roles. Megan can recall the building being used as a British Restaurant for troops and others involved in the war effort. A three course meal would set you back 1/6d in 1944. It is worth remembering that D-Day and Victory over the Nazis was partly fuelled by those meals in our own town hall.

Next time we travell up St Mary Street and down Moorland Street with Megan discovering more surprising businesses that are now very expensive private homes but were once shops, garages and even factories.

If any of these notes are incorrect or you have added information then do email me at harryfmottram@gmail.com so I can update the article.

For more features, reviews, news and views on a variety of subjects visit www.harrymottram.co.uk

Follow Harry on Facebook, Twitter as @harrythespiv, Instagram, Blogspot, YouTube and LinkedIn as well as Harry Speed and Harry Mottram Creative Services on Facebook.

STRAWBERRY LINE TIMES Looking Back at old Axbridge PART 2: When Axbridge had a petrol station in the High Street, a slaughterhouse and an undertakers (and the rural district council had offices next to the Roxy)

In the first part of this series we walked up the left hand side of the High Street picking out the shops that Megan Baker could remember from her childhood – now nearly all private homes.

It was when I was researching the post Victorian era of the town for the 2000 pageant I wanted to include aspects of the 20^th century social history to bring the production up to date. Megan Baker (1922-2007) was very helpful in providing anecdotal notes on some of the shops and businesses she could remember reaching back to her childhood in the late 1920s. The only caution I would give is not all memories are exact so some of these memories may not chime exactly with everyone but I am sure 99% are correct.

Megan lived her final years in the flats on Houlgate Way and had been in the town almost all of her life taking part as an enthusiastic member of the Axbridge Players in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a leading figure in the social life of the town for decades with a strong presence in the Guides, the youth club and the Church and thus would have been familiar with all aspects of Axbridge.

She talked me through a walk up the High Street and West Street and back – as well as Moorland Street and the Square picking out the properties and what businesses had previously in her memory had occupied the now mainly residential homes.

In the first part we walked up the left hand side of the High Street and now we move on up the road into West Street keeping to the left where we find the Old Post Office which was run by Arthur Lane and B Phelps before they moved to the PO to the Square. Next door to the Methodist Chapel was the Food Office during the Second World War and was later occupied by Simmons Mapping who as late as the 1990s employed quite a workforce.

Next up was Burch the Cobbler’s shop while the red brick house was which I think she meant the one at the top of the street and set back off the road now the former mayor’s home of Barbara wells was built by Dorothy Newell’s dads home who had previously been the clerk to Axbridge Rural District Council. The council had offices in Choate House – the house next to Horn’s Lane which is now flats.

Next door is the house with two bay windows was Teek the Solicitors, now a town house. Further up on the same side, the right hand side, there was a model shop, and a grocery and a long time back before Megan’s time The Bell Inn which was later turned into a sweet shop.

I’m not totally sure of which businesses Megan meant were in some of the properties and so many of the houses have been modernised and stripped of their exterior signage and commercial trappings so there is some confusion in which house was which shop. Never mind, perhaps somebody may help with more notes.

In West Street numbers 11 (Sheridan House) and 13 date to the 17^th century, Rockholme the tall 19^th century house slightly dwarfs the other homes and look out for the Georgian fanlight and frontage of number 6 which dates to just before the French Revolution.

The house that Megan didn’t list was Compton House at the very top which is early 17^th century built before the English Civil Wars but has had later additions. If you get a chance to visit do so – there is usually an outdoor theatre production in the gardens in the summer and other events indoors – and as you know is a guest house.

Numbers 22 and 24 are also of note as a mid 15^th century wall painting was discovered at 24 in the 1950s depicting St Christopher which gives an idea of the age of the home and of the street. Number 22 is a 17^th century property noted for the sculptured stonework around the door and windows. If you are wondering where this knowledge comes from then Sedgemoor District Council published a guide book to the town’s notable buildings a few years ago – so I’m afraid I’ve cheated as Megan didn’t include such notes!

I’ll cover the Axbridge Union Workhouse another time as Megan didn’t give my any thoughts on the famous institution or indeed the Methodist Chapel with its fine stained glass window and neat pews.

Back into the High Street going down on the left hand side towards the Square was the Red Lion pub, now the Roxy Cinema and the home of Gemma and Sebastian ‘Bash’ Lloyd, formerly the home of Juliet and David Maclay who now live in North Devon. Going down next door was The National Westminster Bank, and then two more doors down Oliver’s the Printers. Then there was Day’s the Undertakers who had a workshop in Cross and that house later became the Chemist for those who recall that time – not so long ago.

Mrs Phillips ran a toy shop further down which Megan described as an Aladdin’s Cave as it had so much inside it and was later changed to an art gallery. Then we come to Chard’s the Butcher who also had a small slaughterhouse at the back. Megan said only one cow would enter at a time. What with a bank, an undertakers, a toy shop, pub and a slaughterhouse it reveals what an incredibly busy and vibrant street it was back in the 1930s up to the late 1960s while all the time it was a through road with lorries, buses and holiday traffic passing by.

Many will recall Scott’s newsagents which closed less than 20 years ago which also had toys and other gifts for sale – and Megan is sure it had been a newsagents ever since she could recall. Then we come to the Party Shop – not closed that many years ago and Lanes the Ironmongers. The family also had the greengrocer shop opposite. The Party Shop you may notice has a wide garage door by it, well this was in fact just that at one time – a garage with petrol pumps. Yes the High Street also had a petrol station – but then it was a busy main street as well.

Finally there’s the Old Drug Store now beautifully restored and looking very much the medieval building and is now a photographic studio and gallery. And so we come to the Corner House and onto the Square which we’ll cover next time.

If any of these notes are incorrect or you have added information then do email me at harryfmottram@gmail.com so I can update the article.

For more features, reviews, news and views on a variety of subjects visit www.harrymottram.co.uk

Follow Harry on Facebook, Twitter as @harrythespiv, Instagram, Blogspot, YouTube and LinkedIn as well as Harry Speed and Harry Mottram Creative Services on Facebook.

A walk through part of Axbridge with the memories of shops and businesses of the late Megan Baker by Harry Mottram

Axbridge has always changed. From the Saxon bugh when old English was spoken by the residents as they sharpened swords to fight the Danes, to the 21^st century when their inheritors texted each other and posted videos of what they were having for dinner, the town has never stood still.

When I was researching the post Victorian era of the town for the 2000 pageant I wanted to include aspects of the 20^th century social history to bring the production up to date. Megan Baker (1922-2007) was very helpful in providing anecdotal notes on some of the shops and businesses she could remember reaching back to her childhood in the late 1920s. The only caution I would give is not all memories are exact so some of these memories may not chime exactly with everyone but I am sure 99% are correct.

Megan lived her final years in the flats on Houlgate Way and had been in the town almost all of her life taking part as an enthusiastic member of the Axbridge Players in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a leading figure in the social life of the town for decades with a strong presence in the Guides, the youth club and the Church and thus would have been familiar with all aspects of Axbridge.

She talked me through a walk up the High Street and West Street and back – as well as Moorland Street and the Square picking out the properties and what businesses had previously in her memory had occupied the now mainly residential homes. First of all we walked up the left hand side of the High Street.

Beginning at the bottom of the High Street where Acutabove is now there was an electrical shop and later a dress hop, then a café and a store called Class Creations. Next door at number was a sweet shop before it became a greengrocers while the butcher’s next again (now homes) had been there ever since she could recall. Number 9 dates to pre 1500 and is as old as King John’s Hunting Lodge or even older in its core construction. Its famous 16^th century door with its Elizabethan carved dragons over the door and celebrated by the poet Sir John Betjeman is still there of course. About 20 years ago there were extensive rooms to the rear of the property used for the meat trade which had at one time been one of the largest centres of the industry in Somerset with cold rooms and later large freezers.

The traditional looking homes complete with courtyard on Old Church Road to the rear of the former butchers replace the outhouses used by the butcher and the former freezer centre. Back to the High Street and next going up on the left was a shoe shop in the 1930s before becoming a clothes shop and after the war a hairdressers a clothes shop and then a hairdressers as Kelibe – becoming an accountant’s after Kelly moved to Spain.

I’m unsure now as to which buildings these were in – Raymond Court or St Jude’s amongst the candidates. St Jude’s was for a time around 20 years ago a fine art gallery while back in the 1990s the greengrocers was still in business. Raymond’s Court has a chunky 17^th century door and has a passage that affords access to a row of cottages to the rear – accessed from Old Church Road – which the local historian John Page believes may have marked an edge to the original pre-Tudor Square.

There is a 1940s photo doing the rounds of the fish and chip shop at the next property showing a classic car parked outside while the driver had presumably dashed inside to buy a fish and chip supper wrapped in newspaper. A print of the scene hangs on the wall of Tom Nugent’s barbers over the road. Today parking there might cause a traffic jam but then despite it being a main road, cars were much smaller. The chippy later became a craft shop. Next door was Jack Todd’s drapery store which held on into the 1970s before finally becoming a private home. Jack Todd was a single man who left a large amount of money to the town when he died as the Jack Todd fund which has helped out many a local charity. He was the mayor and a long standing town councillor as well and his memory continues with the name of the changing rooms on the Furlong Field. Wags will remind residents of his sense of humour. When the D fell off his shop sign Drapist he didn’t immediately replace it allowing it to describe a very different activity.

Next door is and still is The Old Manor House (dating to the 17^th century at least) a three storey Georgian fronted town house (added in 1804) with a well preserved Victorian living room and an unusual roof-top belvedere fish scale style slate roof and a wind vane dating to 1752. The tower was according to locals built so the ladies of the house could retreat there to gain from its light for their needlework and afford views of the hill and on occasion the hunt. It was open to the public until around 20 years ago was unusual due to its unchanged interiors.

We now move up the High Street on the left hand side with Megan where she listed Lane’s the Grocer, a baker’s store (with baking taking place in a property in Cheddar Road) and then a chemist. Near the top of the High Street was Mayer’s General Store and Grocery which later became a hair salon managed by Marianne Mayer. Finally before West Street was Bill Salway’s shoe repair shop – another business now gone leaving the town all the poorer.

That’s the end of part one of this series – next time we’ll travel up West Street on the left hand side before returning to the Square passing believe it or not a slaughterhouse – and an undertakers.

If any of these notes are incorrect or you have added information then do email me at harryfmottram@gmail.com so I can update the article.

For more features, reviews, news and views on a variety of subjects visit www.harrymottram.co.uk

Follow Harry on Facebook, Twitter as @harrythespiv, Instagram, Blogspot, YouTube and LinkedIn as well as Harry Speed and Harry Mottram Creative Services on Facebook.

A walk through part of Axbridge with the memories of shops and businesses of the late Megan Baker by Harry Mottram

Axbridge has always changed. From the Saxon bugh when old English was spoken by the residents as they sharpened swords to fight the Danes, to the 21^st century when their inheritors texted each other and posted videos of what they were having for dinner, the town has never stood still.

When I was researching the post Victorian era of the town for the 2000 pageant I wanted to include aspects of the 20^th century social history to bring the production up to date. Megan Baker (1922-2007) was very helpful in providing anecdotal notes on some of the shops and businesses she could remember reaching back to her childhood in the late 1920s. The only caution I would give is not all memories are exact so some of these memories may not chime exactly with everyone but I am sure 99% are correct.

Megan lived her final years in the flats on Houlgate Way and had been in the town almost all of her life taking part as an enthusiastic member of the Axbridge Players in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a leading figure in the social life of the town for decades with a strong presence in the Guides, the youth club and the Church and thus would have been familiar with all aspects of Axbridge.

She talked me through a walk up the High Street and West Street and back – as well as Moorland Street and the Square picking out the properties and what businesses had previously in her memory had occupied the now mainly residential homes. First of all we walked up the left hand side of the High Street.

Beginning at the bottom of the High Street where Acutabove is now there was an electrical shop and later a dress hop, then a café and a store called Class Creations. Next door at number was a sweet shop before it became a greengrocers while the butcher’s next again (now homes) had been there ever since she could recall. Number 9 dates to pre 1500 and is as old as King John’s Hunting Lodge or even older in its core construction. Its famous 16^th century door with its Elizabethan carved dragons over the door and celebrated by the poet Sir John Betjeman is still there of course. About 20 years ago there were extensive rooms to the rear of the property used for the meat trade which had at one time been one of the largest centres of the industry in Somerset with cold rooms and later large freezers.

The traditional looking homes complete with courtyard on Old Church Road to the rear of the former butchers replace the outhouses used by the butcher and the former freezer centre. Back to the High Street and next going up on the left was a shoe shop in the 1930s before becoming a clothes shop and after the war a hairdressers a clothes shop and then a hairdressers as Kelibe – becoming an accountant’s after Kelly moved to Spain.

I’m unsure now as to which buildings these were in – Raymond Court or St Jude’s amongst the candidates. St Jude’s was for a time around 20 years ago a fine art gallery while back in the 1990s the greengrocers was still in business. Raymond’s Court has a chunky 17^th century door and has a passage that affords access to a row of cottages to the rear – accessed from Old Church Road – which the local historian John Page believes may have marked an edge to the original pre-Tudor Square.

There is a 1940s photo doing the rounds of the fish and chip shop at the next property showing a classic car parked outside while the driver had presumably dashed inside to buy a fish and chip supper wrapped in newspaper. A print of the scene hangs on the wall of Tom Nugent’s barbers over the road. Today parking there might cause a traffic jam but then despite it being a main road, cars were much smaller. The chippy later became a craft shop. Next door was Jack Todd’s drapery store which held on into the 1970s before finally becoming a private home. Jack Todd was a single man who left a large amount of money to the town when he died as the Jack Todd fund which has helped out many a local charity. He was the mayor and a long standing town councillor as well and his memory continues with the name of the changing rooms on the Furlong Field. Wags will remind residents of his sense of humour. When the D fell off his shop sign Drapist he didn’t immediately replace it allowing it to describe a very different activity.

Next door is and still is The Old Manor House (dating to the 17^th century at least) a three storey Georgian fronted town house (added in 1804) with a well preserved Victorian living room and an unusual roof-top belvedere fish scale style slate roof and a wind vane dating to 1752. The tower was according to locals built so the ladies of the house could retreat there to gain from its light for their needlework and afford views of the hill and on occasion the hunt. It was open to the public until around 20 years ago was unusual due to its unchanged interiors.

We now move up the High Street on the left hand side with Megan where she listed Lane’s the Grocer, a baker’s store (with baking taking place in a property in Cheddar Road) and then a chemist. Near the top of the High Street was Mayer’s General Store and Grocery which later became a hair salon managed by Marianne Mayer. Finally before West Street was Bill Salway’s shoe repair shop – another business now gone leaving the town all the poorer.

That’s the end of part one of this series – next time we’ll travel up West Street on the left hand side before returning to the Square passing believe it or not a slaughterhouse – and an undertakers.

If any of these notes are incorrect or you have added information then do email me at harryfmottram@gmail.com so I can update the article.

A report on the Swiss Air Disaster 50th Anniversary Memorial Service at St John The Baptist Parish Church on April 10, 2023

By Harry Mottram: A packed church with standing room only for the 50th Anniversary Memorial commemoration for the Swiss Air Disaster witnessed a dignified and reflective service led by the Reverend Ken Brown.

On April 10th, 1973, the Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 flight from Bristol Lulsgate (as it was known then) crashed into a forested and snow-covered hillside near Hochwald, Switzerland, while on its way to Basle-Mulhouse Airport. It had onboard 139 passengers and six crew members with a large portion of the passengers from Axbridge, Cheddar, Winscombe, Wrington, Yatton and Congresbury. Only 37 people survived with many suffering injuries while 108 died. The passengers included members of the Axbridge Ladies Guild, women from the Cheddar Mums’ Night Out group, skittles players from Wrington and Congresbury, plus friends and relatives.

The service was introduced by the former Vicar of Axbridge Ken Brown who welcomed the congregation with these words: “It is appropriate we remember those who died and for those who survived today.” His brief reminder of why the service was held was followed by the hymn O God, our help in ages past.

The Mayor of Axbridge and town councillor Pauline Ham spoke (at times with emotion in her voice) about the way the disaster had socially ‘impacted on Axbridge and the surrounding villages.’ She said: “It was supposed to be a happy day out but in fact turned to a tragedy when the aircraft crashed. Many children were left motherless, and husbands left without their wives. Only 39 survivors came home and some of them had a sense of guilt having survived but they were welcomed back. Local businesses, local people and social groups came forward to give them their support. Many were buried here in Abridge which serves as an important memorial to those who died.”

Soloist musician Bob Foster then played on his clarinet Pie Jesu (Pious Jesus) by Andrew Llyod Webber in what was a haunting and evocative performance – with many in the audience clearly moved. The hymn Judge eternal throne in splendour followed with the former mayor and current town councillor Mike Taylor reading Psalm 23 the Psalm of David, The Lord is my Shepherd, with the lines, ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’

The Rev Ken Brown then addressed the congregation saying that despite the tragedy that some good had come out of the disaster by creating a greater sense of community in the town. The hymn Guide me, O thou great Jehovah followed with the famous lines Bread of heaven, feed me now and evermore, sung with a gathering volume by the family, friends, relatives, survivors and those like me who are new to the town but can vividly remember the disaster.

To give a sense of the magnitude of the affect the plane crash had on the collective national conscience you need to consider the way the Aberfan coal tip disaster or the Grenfell fire tragedy has had on people across the country and the world. As the Rev Ken Brown said the scars of 50 years ago are still raw but we need to keep the story alive and not let the memories fade so future generations can understand what happened.

Almost every family in the town knew someone who had died or was injured 50 years ago as well as those in Westbury-sub-Mendip, Claverham, Draycott, Uphill, Redhill, Wedmore, Weston-super-Mare and Bristol. The combination of young women and a wide catchment area of the passengers have led to the tragedy being so personal to those in Somerset in particular.

Cllr and Mayor Pauline Ham then unveiled a brass plaque memorial erected by the Axbridge PCC and the Town Council at the rear of the church to mark the anniversary. The words engraved included: “Many who died were members and friends of the Axbridge Ladies Guild with others from surrounding villages. Some are buried here in the churchyard.

There was then a touching moment as members of the congregation came forward to light a number of tea-lights or small candles in memory of those who lost their lives. From Axbridge some of the women who died were in their early 20s with several children amongst the dead including a boy of 7. A full if unofficial list of those who died was published by Peter Forrester in his book on the subject Wings over Somerset, with his list on this website http://swissairdisaster.uk/passengers-and-crew/.

There were also words of comfort from the current priest in charge of the church the Reverend Alistair Forster while the organ was played by John Bodiley. The Lord’s Prayer followed with the final hymn I vow to thee, my country. As the congregation numbering several hundred slowly made their way out a collection was made for a fund to plant a memorial tree while single daffodils were available to lay on the row of graves of the victims in the churchyard. A reception was held in the town hall afterwards for friends and families to further talk and swap memories and news.

On a bright spring day with sunshine and sudden showers it was a moving and beautiful service with a great deal of thought put in by the organisers from the church and town council to ensure the right and authentic notes of remembrance were sounded. A sad day but also a day when the community of the town came together in solidarity for those who died and those who were affected. In good days and bad, Axbridge seems to always to be able to do the right thing.

The tragedy meant many families in the town no longer had a mother. As funds came in across the UK money was put aside to create a freezer centre in Meadow Street to provide meals for families and also a pre-school for families was set up – one of the first in the country. Much has been written about the tragic events since with TV and radio documentaries with this video giving some information about the tragedy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-22077051

Note: I’ve tried to quote the speakers but have also paraphrased them in the spirit of their words.

For more details about how and why the accident occurred there is plenty on this Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invicta_International_Airlines_Flight_435#:~:text=Invicta%20International%20Airlines%20Flight%20435%20(IM435)%20was%20a%20Vickers%20Vanguard,108%20people%2C%20with%2037%20survivors.

For more on the church in Axbridge and for a list of the services visit http://www.stjohnthebaptistaxbridge.org.uk/

To join the Friends of Axbridge Church who raise money to protect and restore the 13^th century historic building visit http://www.stjohnthebaptistaxbridge.org.uk/foacmembership.asp

Axbridge Square pictured in the 1970s before all the changes took place and an earlier photo of the Oakhouse Hotel (where you could buy petrol back in the day)

Axbridge Square has been a the site of a Saxon fort or burh, essentially a fortified town with its own mint and garrison in pre-Norman Britain and a car park in the 1970s. Images of the town’s square reveal one of its less glorious moments when Vauxhalls, Fords and Bedford vans filled every spare inch. A few years earlier it had been part of the main road from Wells to Cross with the Square a celebrated bottleneck for traffic in the mid 1960s when the railway was still in place.

The shop on the corner is still there – now the Cooperative – while the Lamb in one of the pictures has no seats and tables outside the front. The layout for parking has changed considerably from what was then something of a free for all. There was a heated debate in the town council in the 1980s about the laying of the new surface – now all but forgotten. And of course the Square is much more than a car park with seating, cycle spaces and occasional public events such as the Pageant and national celebrations.

The photo of the Oakhouse Hotel is a real eyeopener. After World War One it was part of a row of houses and was given over as a hardware shop come garage with fuel for sale to the early motor cars. Later in the 20th century the building now used as a Post Office was the place to get your car repaired. And with all that traffic it wasn’t short of passing trade.

If you’ve unusual photos of the area you’d like to share with a story contact harryfmottram@gmail.com

For more visit www.harrymottram.co.uk

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This short article was written by Harry Mottram in 2013

An unusual view of Axbridge Square has come to light thanks to Australian resident Terence Watkins. It shows crowds on Coronation Day in 1952 some 67 years or so ago. It reveals how the square was decked out with bunting and the residents of the town celebrating the coronation of Elizabeth II. It’s the detail as always that’s so interesting. There’s the old Weston bus outside what is now the post office but was then a garage. And the houses the front the Square are shops – stationers amongst them – a street alive with retail activity.

Another fascinating aspect are the clothing of those in the photo. Hats were far more common than they are now. In fact for women hats are rarely worn today outside of special events such as weddings – but then they were worn by many every day – especially for older women. Suits and jackets were more commonly worn by men in their free time – with not a single sweat shirt or hoody in sight.

Email harryfmottram@gmail.com with your memories of the time.

For more reviews, news and views on theatre and much else visit www.harrymottram.co.uk

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