Longwell Green, situated almost midway between Bristol and Bath - five miles to Bristol - seven miles to Bath. Some historical buildings of note still stand and many events of historical interest have taken place in the surrounding neighbourhood. In 1645 it is said that Cromwell stopped at Long Wells (Longwell Green) for his horses to be watered after he had spent the night at the Hams (Keynsham). Some people say that at this time Cromwell made the Blue Bowl, at Stonehill, his headquarters before laying siege to Bristol.

More of this and the fascinating history of the surrounding area can be read in Abraham Braine's, - History of Kingswood Forest' and Rev. Henry T. Ellacombe's 'History of the Parish of Bitton'. Braine wrote his book in London and, while it does contain many errors, it is a comprehensive work. Both books cover the history of the area in great detail, although since much of Ellacombe's book is written in Latin one needs to be quite a scholar to get the best out of it. Braine and Ellacombe were local people: Braine was born in Warmley and Ellacombe was vicar of Bitton in the late 19th Century. Braine's book was written just over 100 years ago in 1891 and, to celebrate the anniversary, in 1991 Kingswood History Society had the book reprinted. In the book Braine refers to our mini town, Longwell Green, as an 'ancient hamlet'. Times have changed! Ellacombe will be mentioned again shortly for another contribution he made to the region.

The village of Longwell Green lies across both sides of the main upper road from Bristol to Bath
(The A431) and was until 1842 part of the ancient parish of Bitton, when East Hanham became the parish of Oldland and West Hanham became Hanham Abbots. It derives it's name from one of six common lands in the parish of Bitton known as Westfield, Redfield, Longwell Green, Cadbury Heath, Oldland and North Common all of which were enclosed during the reign of George III by an Act of Parliament of 1819.

The modem spelling of Longwell Green was not officially determined until 1906 when the Bristol Postmaster wrote to enquire the correct spelling, and Hanham Abbots Parish Council settled on Longwell Green and so it has officially remained. Previously in 1813 the Rev. Charles Wayland used the spelling Longways Green in the Baptism Register of Hanham Abbots Church. A year later the Rev. John Pring described the village as Longhurst Green and other reverend gentlemen as Longmans Green, Longhams Green, plus Longwell, Longswells and Longwells Green successively followed. Whilst the latter has continued to be used throughout the first half of this century, it is somewhat surprising that there have been as many spelling variations for a village which has so short a history, however we must bear in mind that a universal standard of spelling did not exist until the latter half of the nineteenth century.

It is a frequently held belief in the original part of the village, commonly termed ~'The Green' that the name is derived from the existence of a number of springs or wells in the area. The original 'long' well is in the front garden of Mr. C Pomeroy's house between the church and the garage. It was bricked up in 1902 and its position was marked on a stone in the wall bordering the footpath.

All those who had no well or cistern in their own garden drew water from the long well. There was another well under a path leading up to LONGWELL HOUSE on the opposite side of the road. An account has been given by Mr. H Gully of his father's early morning trek some 80 years ago up the lower slopes of Stonehill via Watery Lane (now Field Lane) to fetch drinking water from a spring near Mount Pleasant farm. Quite often when he arrived, both tired and hot at the spring around 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning, having carried up his wooden yoke and two buckets, he would find two or three other water carriers ahead of him, which would cause him to have to wait for some time before he was able to fill both buckets.

His wait could be especially long during the summer months when the spring was little more than a mere trickle, and very often a number of hours would pass before he returned home. At other times when the water was scarce people would go to the top of the hill near Sally on the Barn (this well has only recently been filled in c1957) or to the Goldwell on the hill near Willsbridge House. In Shellards Road, where Mr. H Gully (a builder) still lives there used to be quite a number of cisterns which trapped rain water-from the roof tops. - It could be said that the Land Enclosure Act marked the beginning of the true village.

image above: A view of the Bath Road at Stone Hill 1930's - looking towards Longwell Green from Hanham - back to a time when there was open green space between the two villages.

The 'village' begins at Stonehill and stretches for a mile to the top of Willsbridge Hill. It has grown from a few buildings which were erected on or near the Green during the latter half of the nineteenth Century. Both Shellards Road and Watsons Road branch out on the left and meet to form a triangle that encloses the original Green. These once mud tracks led to the California Pit, but now carry on to Cadbury Heath and Parkwall housing estates.

William Bence and Sons

Towards Bitton, on the left hand side of the Bath road, where the Carpet Barn and Auto Save Car Showroom can now be seen today just before the roundabout. From the 1890's a high quality wheelwright and wagon business had been run from here and was owned by William Bence. The Bence family originally lived in a cottage in Kingsfield Lane, later moving to Salisbury House at the bottom of Hoopers Drive. However, when Oldland Hall ceased to be a home for girls the Bence family moved there. In the 1920's Mr. Bence started an omnibus service and the coaches were made on his premises at Longwell Green. These buses were welcomed particularly in Longwell Green as such a long walk was necessary from the end of the tramway at Hanham. In 1897 Hanham Abbots Parish Council had discussed approaching the Tramway Co. with a view to having the tramway (described as a 'light railway') extended to Longwell Green. Plans were drawn up and in 1904 the Parish Council discussed the possibility of requesting two or three lights for the village if the line was extended - but it never happened.

image above: 1920's Bence's Buses on display on the Bath Road. The dogs name was Spot he belonged to Mr Bence

William Bence established his wheelwright and wagon building business at Longwell Green in 1890 but it was at the end of the first world war that his 'bus business came into being.

Realising the need for a public service from the end of the tramway and around the villages on the east side of Bristol he started off with 14 seater coaches but soon expanded to larger vehicles. By 1920 he had thirty 'buses and a number of char-a-bancs which were named 'Queen of the West'.

In 1930 the 'buses were sold to the Bristol Tramways Company but continued to operate as Bence Motor Service from Hanham Depot until the second world war when, they were replaced by Bristol 'buses.

image above: These three cottages once stood adjacent to the main Bath road Longwell Green opposite the Butchers Arms pub and fronted the old Bence's coachworks - The tiny middle dwelling was nicknamed 'The Saltbox' - All three were demolished in the 1960s. To make way for the large traffic roundabout.

THE BUTCHERS ARMS

The Butchers' Arms takes it's named from the buildings original use to slaughter cattle - this building was once part of Mount Pleasant Farm. - It started out as a farm shop - later to become a public house.
1886. George Furber / 1893. ? Collins / 1901 - 39. George Gough.

The Butcher's Arms is the only REAL PUB in Longwell Green. The others mentioned are really just eating houses, it is so named because the first landlord was also a butcher. The building was once part of the farm behind the present building.

The following is a quote from young people living in the village - "Full of old men talking about the war and playing cards. If you walk in the lounge it's like a Wild West Scene because everyone goes quiet and stares till you leave - Eiree!!!".

image above: This aircraft took off from Filton on the 8th March 1935 for handling trials It suffered a mechanical failure and crashed at Mount Pleasant Farm Longwell Green just behind the Butchers Arms the pilot bailed out and landed in Hanham Woods but the plane was badly damaged and had to be towed back to Filton.

image above: Oldland Hall on the Bath Road Longwell Green this house was once the home to Waifs and Strays.

On the main Bath Road which passes through Longwell Green, stands Oldland Hall, a large Georgian style building with a central two storied block and two recessed wings. The main block has a central porch which stands proud from the structure of the building and has been built with its own pediment. On the ground floor, there are, at least, 4 rooms, and a wide open staircase lit by a splendid large window which rises the full height of the building from the porch below, and contrasts in style to the ground floor windows and its two first floor neighbours. Above these windows, the front of the main building rises above the roof level, and helped to create attic space for a number of servants bedrooms.

The two wings are structurally very similar to each other, in both size and appearance, except that the left-hand wing has french doors leading from the Dining Room, out onto a raised terrace, whilst the right-hand wing, has a conservatory built across almost the whole of the ground floor rooms, and out to the building line of the main structure. Both have a stone carved acorn adorning the extreme front corners of the house.

It is believed that Oldland Hall was built around 1800, but so far, it has not been established when, or whether the house was originally built as described above, or whether the wings and/or other items were added at a later stage.

Who had the house built and who first lived there has also not yet been established, but what is known, is that some time during the 1840's, the house was acquired by the well known local entre-preneur, Henry Hill Budgett. After his death in 1849, Oldland Hall was put up for sale on the 18 March 1850 and, from the Bill of Sale it is possible to determine that there then existed a large size Dining Room, (the carpet is recorded as being in size 17ft by 12ft.), a Drawing Room in which there was a rosewood drawing room suite, with blue damask coverings, plus a library containing 500 books and stuffed foreign birds, a servants' hall, kitchen, and a cellar (well stocked with a number of 36 and 28 gallon casks and other brewing utensils). Outside, there was a tool house, a workshop, a cart house, a barn, cow and hen houses, pig-sty, plus an orchard, gardens and fields.

The identity of the person who purchased Oldland Hall from the estate of the late Mr.Budgett has not yet been determined, and in fact, there is a gap of 60 years or so before the next owner is positively identified. Around 1910/12, Oldland Hall was acquired by Admiral and Mrs Arden-Close, who then proceeded to open the hall as a residential home for girls. In the 1914 Gloucestershire Directory, the entry reads, 'Diocesan Bristol, Home for girls under the Church of England Society for providing Homes for Waifs and strays,(Miss Mary Humphries matron)' No doubt it was opened with good intent, and with the pious belief that orphaned girls and/or girls from dubious backgrounds needed strict control of their moral and physical upbringing. The staff all wore a nurses style uniform, whilst the girls wore long black dresses, over which they had a white smock.

How successful the Admiral and his wife were in educating and moulding the young girls is not known, but the enterprise probably lasted around 20 years as far as Oldland Hall was concerned for, by 1932/33, the house had reverted to a single family occupancy when, Mr. W. Bence, the local coach-builder and bus proprietor, acquired the Hall. It is believed that he stayed there until his death, and that for a period of time, particularly after the Second World War, the Hall was put to a number of different uses. Nowadays it has a multiple occupancy.

image above: 1950s Bath Road Longwell Green looking towards Bitton note old Ford Popular parked outside No.72 Bath Road
belonging to the Townsend family Two rooms in a house on left of photograph were being used as the doctors surgery.

image above: HIGH STREET - BATH ROAD LONGWELL GREEN 1924 photograph taken from the top of Watson's Road.
Mr. Colston Fry - the former well known Market Gardener of Longwell Green - seen with his fleet of lorries and employees. - these lorries were used to deliver cans of petrol to garages around the local vicinity in the early days of motoring. - It was contract work on the behalf the National Benzole Company.

It is hard to imagine, but there were days when petrol pumps were not a common thing.
The earliest motorist had to rely on supply of petrol by the local chemist.

When motoring became more popular fuel was available in metal exchange cans from your local garage. In England these cans were containing 2 gallons, in Europe usually 5 or 10 litres. Garages in turn were supplied with wooden crates, each containing 5 cans of petrol, usually distributed by trains to depots at or near Railway stations from where further transport usually by horse & cart and lorries later.

The first hand powered roadside petrol pump in England was not installed before 1914.

Petrol was sold in two-gallon cans and there were no petrol filling stations in Britain until 1919 when the Automobile Association opened its first as a service to members near Aldermaston. Over the next decade petrol pumps soon sprung up outside nearly every garage in the country, with most selling a range of competing fuels.

The National Benzole Company was formed in England in 1919 to market motor benzole, a by-product of coal carbonisation. For normal motor car engines it was blended with petrol as National Benzole mixture; by the 1950s there were over 250 benzole plants as associated with gas works or the steel industry. With the decline of coking coal as a fuel, benzole production fell and in 1957 National Benzole was acquired by Shell-Mex & BP Ltd.

National was retained as an independent brand and merged with Power Petroleum, which had been bought in 1934. The 'Benzole' was downplayed in the late 1960s as natural gas replaced town gas and National products sold by over 4,650 garages became simply petrol. When Shell and BP divorced in the 1970s, about 40% of the National stations switched to Shell, but the brand was kept by BP in England only.
Between 1981 and 1988 the name was slowly replaced by BP. However in 1992 the Scottish independent NEF reintroduced the brand under licence from BP and today it is used at over 100 small filling stations across the UK supplied by BP authorised distributors.

image above: 1943 looking along the Bath Road towards Bitton a group of local people pose for the camera outside Pomeroy's shop. The modern Tesco store now stands on this site. The trees were planted in 1907 a gift to the village from Lady Jefferies of Harefield Hall which still stands on left top of Willsbridge Hill.

The War Years

Prisoners of war were brought to Longwell Green to help with the market garden belonging to Colston Fry. Eddie Fry, his son, helped to run the business but labour was in short supply as most able bodied men had been called up. Eddie had a good relationship with the P.O.W's and the results of this could be seen when he was in trouble. The market garden was on a hilly site and on one occasion when a vehicle fell over injuring Eddie's leg it was quickly lifted off by the P.O.W.'s although it weighed several tons and, since the ground was soft, Eddie was not too badly hurt. On another occasion, a vehicle broke down when it was transporting produce from the market garden to the packing shed in Watsons Road so that wheelbarrows were having to be used - a laborious, time consuming task. Eddie bought the new clutch which was needed and told the men he would fit it after his dinner break. When he returned after his meal he found the P.O.W.'s had done all the work for him and the vehicle was once more in working order. This must have been a heart warming surprise.

When the first buses started to operate there were no definite bus stops and the covered porch, which was the entrance to the Hut, was a very convenient place to wait as it provided shelter from the wind and rain. This was the place where the P.O.W.'s had waited for their transport back to their camps and at a later date a small swastika badge was found on the floor of the porch: a reminder of a very unhappy time for the country.

Local Shops

Shops and businesses were few in Longwell Green but most needs could be met. In one house there was a police station and next door to that Mr. Evans had a butcher's shop. (Kingsway Garden and Leisure Building Centre now display their conservatories, etc, in front of the houses that were used for these.) Many of the businesses were run by relatives of the same families: for example on the left hand side looking towards Hanham there was a Post Office owned by Eddie Fry's aunt, Mrs. Gray, and this shop also sold bread and sweets. The shop was beyond the Crown Pub (now the Harvester), next to a Nursery where young plants were raised and fruit and vegetables sold.(now Longwell green House) Further up the road, a boot and shoe shop was run by Mr. Adams where repairs could also be undertaken.

image above: 1920s looking towards Bristol Crown Inn on the left - The Gentleman in the apron is Mr. Pomeroy of the local village store - Gentleman in the middle is Mr. Carpenter - the third person is unknown. not a car insight - back to a time before tarmac was used on the roads and the horse was still the main transport

Henry Fry owned a great deal of land in Longwell Green and had cultivated a large market garden. One business was started unexpectedly when his son, Colston Fry, bought an ex-army building to be used as a packing shed for the market garden produce. At the time he bought it he was told that anything inside the building was included in the sale. To his surprise the building contained a fleet of ex World War I vehicles. Being an enterprising person he started a new business by obtaining the sole distribution agency for National Benzole Petrol Co. and this, in the early days of motor transport, must have been a good move.

Opposite the Crown Pub (now the Harvester), where J.C.R. and the Pizza bar now stand, was Pomeroy's, the biggest village shop, which sold virtually everything from groceries to hardware. When tidying in front of his shop Mr. Pomeroy could often be seen talking to the landlord of the Crown, Mr. Davies, with no need, as nowadays, to cross the road to be heard. Young trees were planted at the roadside in 1907, another gift from Lady Jefferies. For many years All Saints Church had a Church Hall on the Hanham side of the building but this was demolished to make way for the extended church.

In Watsons Road was a much smaller shop than Pomeroy's which sold fish and chips at the back and an assortment of goods at the front: from cigarettes to potatoes and paraffin. Mrs. lies ran this shop keeping several tins of money for the different goods she sold and leaving these tins in full view of her customers whom she obviously trusted. It was a close knit community, as were most villages, so that houses were often left unlocked, something which few of us would do today. Mrs. lies was a kindly lady who cared about the needs of her customers often neglecting to take the necessary coupons for the sugar she sold. 'What can I do?' she'd ask when admonished by her husband. 'The poor dears haven't got no tokens. You can't let them go without none can you?' On one occasion a little boy came into the shop and put some money on the counter saying, 'Mrs. lies, my mum said you didn't charge enough for the potatoes.' She picked up the money and put it back into his hand saying, 'You go back and tell your mother I know what I'm doing.' She certainly did and many of the villagers were extremely grateful to her.

At the beginning of the 1960's changes took place in the village which were to escalate over the following thirty years, eventually transforming it into the makings of a small town. The market garden mentioned earlier (part of the land known as Fry's fields) was sold and began to be developed for housing. The first houses to be built were in Ellacombe Road, Pearsall Road and Larksleaze Road and formed a pleasantly designed estate built by Wimpey. Houses with good-sized gardens were fairly well spaced having grass verges at the front which made the roads seem wide by today's standards. A new primary school was built in Ellacombe Road alongside a rank of shops and opposite was a pleasant green planted with trees. Roses were planted outside the shops but it was soon found necessary to pave the whole area since people did not keep to the paths. Within a few years other houses were built by Lovell homes in the area between Ellacombe Road and Court Farm Road.

Apart from this development the village was relatively unchanged. When walking from Hanham there were still green fields and farms to be seen before reaching Longwell Green. The little shop in Shellards Road run by Mrs. lies had become a newsagents and sweet shop by this time, and Mr. Evans butcher's shop in Bath Road was run by Mr. Painter. Pomeroy's shop was still thriving and continued to do so as the population increased. Both Pomeroy's and Blackmore's, (a little shop on the other side of the road), sold almost anything that might be needed and supplied goods 'On tick' if required. Both shops delivered groceries/greengrocery if required thus saving the new residents on the hill the trudge back up with their shopping. Blackmore's was a tiny little shop packed solidly with goods for sale: every nook and cranny was filled with boxes, sacks, etc. piled on top of one another and with still more things hanging up. It was amazing that anything asked for could be found almost immediately. As well as delivering the goods selected in the shop, Mr. Blackmore also came around with his van filled with greengrocery, etc. which mothers at home with toddlers found very useful indeed. In the early days of the shop, long before the new houses were built, Mr. Blackmore had delivered goods by three wheeled bicycle with a big carrier on the front rather like Granville's (played by David Jason) in the T.V. series 'Open all Hours'.

Pomeroy's was the biggest shop in Longwell Green and also housed the Post Office by this time. It was a fascinating 'old world' shop which had a long wooden counter down either side - the Post Office being on one side and groceries on the other. Behind the grocery counter stood the assistants ready to serve you, and behind them the shelves of goods for sale were neatly arranged. Here you could come for a nice chat with the assistant while she walked up and down behind the long counter fetching one item at a time from the shelves. While it didn't do to be in a hurry it was a vast improvement on the impersonal supermarket shopping of today where customers are not known personally. Generally speaking, assistants these days seem not to care about satisfying our shopping needs and have no time to get to know us, although they are not solely to blame since we, too, are often in too much of a hurry. In Pomeroy's, as well as pleasantries and groceries, you could ask for anything from a ball of string to a roll of wallpaper and assistants would do their best to help - wallpaper books could be taken home for browsing, for example.

In Bath Road, where Longwell House has been built, stood an attractive house which not only housed a friendly couple and their daughter, but also many caged birds. Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs ran a Nursery next door to their house but in his spare time Mr. Gibbs enjoyed his hobby and was an authorised judge of canaries. Les Garland remembers one occasion when he had bought from the Nursery some forced rhubarb coloured with the usual bright pink stems and having crinkly leaves at the top. He was just getting into his car when the works bus went by. At work the following Monday one of the men commented on the daffodils he thought Les had bought for his wife saying, 'It seemed such a nice thought of yours I stopped at Hanham and bought some for my wife too.' Les hadn't the heart to tell him it wasn't daffodils but rhubarb his work mate had seen from the bus!

Towards Hanham, on the other side of the road from the Nursery, what had been Bence's Motors became Longwell Green Coachworks run by Mr. Clifford Harding. Behind it, in Kingsfield Lane, L.G. Plastics was run by Mr. Harding's son, Paul.

The Wheatsheaf Inn

Not far from The Crown Inn, on the corner of Shellards Road, stands a rank of modern shops, which today includes a Building Society, a Hairdressers and a Fish & Chip establishment. At the turn of the century, these buildings would have been more recognised by the locals as The Wheatsheaf Inn which, together with its off sales shop, occupied the whole of that terrace. Very little is known of The Wheatsheaf, its Landlord, Frank Holder appearing in just the 1905 Directory. He was followed in 1909 by Walter H. Bristow who stayed until the start of the First World War.

When he was succeeded by William Briggs for two years and then, in 1917 by Mrs. Elizabeth Richardson. No record of this public house appears to exist after the end of that war, it is presumed that it must have ceased to be a pub around 1918/1919.

The Crown Inn

The Crown Inn or, Hotel, as it was originally known. Exactly when this house was built is not known, but it is believed to have been around the 1850's or later, and may have replaced an older building on the site. Nothing is known of it's early years the first information available being the identity, in the 1882 Directory, of its landlord as Gaius Short, the local Carpenter. Not long after the turn of the century, the tenancy of The Crown Inn was taken over by Mr. Ernest Pomeroy, before he subsequently moved across the road and started his successful grocery and provision business some time during 1910/1912.

image above: 1925 view of Longwell Green with The Crown Inn on left - and Blackmore's Shop next door the modern petrol station now stands on this site

There were only two gas lamp-stands in the village and these had to be tended every day. These lamps had been donated by Lady Jefferies of Harefield Hall: one was at Stonehill and the other towards Willsbridge Hill. Walking from Hanham to Longwell Green must have been hazardous at these times with no light and few pavements although there was a local road-sweeper, Mr. Musty, who did his best to keep it spick and span. In 1901 the disgraceful state of the open ditch opposite the Wheatsheaf Inn had been a subject of discussion at a Parish Council meeting, since sewage from houses on the south side was draining into it. We can't generally complain of this sort of thing nowadays.

image above: A peaceful view of The Bath Road Longwell Green Looking towards Bristol 1930's - on right of photograph is where the modern petrol station now stands (now demolished)

1980's - Progress in the Village?

The village of Longwell Green by the 1980's had changed enormously. Farmland had been sold for development and three new roads developed off the Bath Road; one with a large roundabout suggesting that this was needed for a lot more than a route to a housing development and a new Asda store. Houses here were screened by sculptured land and shrubs. However, no longer was there a barrier of countryside between Bristol and the village for the beautiful fields had been desecrated: in one spot in particular by an ugly industrial estate near Stonehill. The stark modern buildings of Texas and Wickes right on the main road near Stonehill were completely out of keeping with buildings in the neighbourhood and attempts at softening them with trees totally inadequate.

The peeling paintwork on the Wickes building made the site even more of an eye-sore in the early 1990's. One area of the village, however, is likely to be a peaceful oasis for a long time to come. Willsbridge Mill and the twenty acres of land around it were donated to Kingswood District Council by Wimpey and agreement was reached with Avon Wild Life Trust to restore the mill. This was successfully carried out. Farmland was still keeping the village rural on one side of Court Farm Road towards St. George's Church and Hanham but constant attempts have been made to develop on Hanham Hills.

How long this will remain so beautiful now the ring road has been built across it in the 1990's remains to be seen - it certainly isn't as tranquil.

With the new Asda supermarket as well as 'Do it Yourself' stores on the new Industrial Estate it was, perhaps, inevitable that the demise of Pomeroy's shop should occur. Blackmore's had gone long before but Pomeroy's had expanded beyond all recognition becoming, over twenty years, a fully modernised self-service shop.

Its disappearance, therefore, was like removing the heart of Longwell Green. The shop was sold, as was the land on which the Hut had stood, and for many it was painful to see the dismantling of places that held many memories. Bill Pomeroy would hardly have believed his eyes looking across the road to the Crown Pub of today tarted up beyond belief to become the Harvester Pub.

The phoenix, they say, rose from the ashes and certainly new buildings rose from the old on Pomeroy's site - new style facilities for all the new residents: a pizza parlour, new Post Office and Tesco shop (open all hours), and an estate agent, (the second in the area indicating where and how, in the 1980's there was money to be made). The shops in Ellacombe Road had changed hands many times.

With most people owning their own cars the necessity for a local doctors' surgery had waned so that all had to travel to Hanham for this service, and with mini buses being introduced this reflected the reduced need for public transport. Fares to Bristol, which were nine old pence in the late 1950's, became by the late 1980's in the region of 1.

You may remember that a local Bobby, patrolled Longwell Green in the 1920's and 1930's but police are rarely seen these days except in a motor car. Police houses and a small police station were built at the bottom of Ellacombe Road but sadly there is no longer a local police presence due to the inevitable 'rationalisation'. Vandalism does occur here as elsewhere and in 1986 a group of 'hippies' broke into and occupied the boarded up house of Oldbury Chase. Some eleven tattered vehicles were finally evicted from the grounds and it was found that the house had been stripped of its fittings. What had once been a beautiful house was demolished soon after.

The Memorial Hall, much enlarged and a valuable place for the community, had for some time been referred to as the Community Centre which it had become. It seems a shame, though, that people might not remember why it was originally built. It had grown considerably and an attempt was always made by the Management to cater for every need. At the Centre one can listen to music or learn to dance to it (old-time, disco or modern), exercise to music or be entertained by it in the bar.

image above: 1904 A view of the newly-built church All Saint's Church on the Bath Road Longwell Green

The presence of churches in the region tends to give the impression of order and peacefulness so it was sad to see their numbers reduce from four to one during this time. However, things were not quite what they seemed for the Methodists and the Church of England members had, in fact, begun to worship together in All Saints United Church which had been tastefully extended. The Methodist Chapel building, made empty because of this, looked forlorn with a For Sale' notice posted in its window but change was inevitable. While reduced numbers in their congregations may have been one reason for the amalgamation of the Methodist and All Saints churches, there was also a great desire for unity within the different denominations.

The Mission in Watsons Road, though closed for a while, did come into use again for religious purposes and one of the Methodist Chapels has been used by a ladies Freemason group in recent years. We must be thankful that these interesting buildings are still standing.

image above: The Norman Barn of Hanham Court 'Sally on the Barn' At the top of Court Farm Road 1900's This road was once named Stouts Hill, a small lane that ran down to Hanham Abbots

'Sally on the Barn'

At the top of Willsbridge Hill there is a turning off left (now a modern mini roundabout) this was previously known as Stouts Hill. - Now named Court Farm Road at the top of this road is Court Farm.

Old maps show this to be Hanham Court Farm. - Sally was placed on the Barn by John Couch's men on the 5th January 1839, at the cost of seven shillings (35p) for the men and a shilling for the boy (5p).

It is thought she originated from the ruins of Keynsham Abbey, and represents Ceros. the godess of Harvest.

It is thought that the Barn was once a tithe barn as used by the monks of Keynsham.

image above: 1930 Looking along the Bath Road towards Bristol when it was safe to stand in the road - Ellacombe Road yet to be built on Colston Fry's land.

The Local Postman

For many years which straddled 1900, letters were delivered on foot by a local character by the name 'snuffy' Jenkins who walked in all winds and weathers, and whose nickname was much more prevalent when those winds blew from a cold direction. Despite Mr. Jenkins' impediment he rarely failed to deliver all of the mail before breakfast. After snuffy Jenkins retired, his round was taken over by Walter Jefferies, who carried out his duties with the aid of a bicycle and, as previously mentioned, assisted the Parish Council in identifying the houses when the roads were officially named and the houses officially numbered.

There was one delivery daily until after 1945, and for many years up to 1936 only one collection of mail from the sole collecting box situated at the Post Office. Later in that year, a collecting box was erected in the wall of the Longwell Green Coachwork's and was one of the few in the country, which had the Edward VIII cipher, embossed upon it. This was replaced just after 1945 with a George VI ciphered box and, at the same time, other boxes were fitted in the wall of Harefield Hall and at Parkwall.

First Telephone

One of the first telephones to be installed in the village was rented by William J Bence, on a party line, which he had to share with five other subscribers. Anyone wishing to use the 'phone had to take off the receiver, leaving the mouth piece in a fixed position, either on a table or fixed to a wall, and if they could hear someone talking they knew that the line was not clear and had to wait before they were able to call the Exchange and ask for the number they required. This 'phone was not fitted with a dial and to call the Exchange they had to ring a bell by turning a handle at the side of the instrument. In those days only the Exchange had a means of dialling out numbers.

With six subscribers to the one line, lengthy telephone calls had to be avoided at all cost if the relationship between these subscribers was to be kept as friendly as possible. Subsequently, the first all-in-one hand set appeared on the scene which was a great improvement over the earlier model, even though it was necessary for the caller to keep his/her fingers firmly on the bar in the middle for the connection to remain open.

The use of a telephone right up to the late 1930s was very much the privilege of a few, especially in the village, which did not have its first public telephone kiosk until 1936, and this was only erected outside of the Post Office after considerable pressure by the District and Parish councils.

Newspapers - Green'Un and the Pink'Un

As this century developed the availability of newspapers for the general public increased and over the years the demand for more news quickly introduced a number of daily papers either published for morning consumption or evening consumption. As far as the residents of Longwell Green and Hanham Green were concerned, the absence of a newsagent trading in the area meant that their newspapers needed to be delivered either from Hanham or from Bitton.

From around 1926 to just prior to the start of the Second World War, Mr. Payne was the local agent. He had formerly been a collier at Hanham Pit but having retired from that job he set about delivering papers even though he did not own a shop. By all accounts Mr. Payne was quite a character as, whilst delivering the papers, he would very often shout in a loud voice to let people know he was coming and, later, when his rheumatism made it difficult for him to get around, he would whilst standing at the customer's gateway shout out that he was there and wait for the householder to fetch the paper.

Saturday sports fans are catered for by a Bristol newsagent who brings the edition of the Green'Un and the Pink'Un to the village where little groups of people would wait for him at appointed places such as the corner of Watson Road and by the Church. This practice has been going on for the past ten or eleven years.

Television & Radio

The inhabitants of Longwell Green have never been afraid of trying out new inventions, especially with each phase of the aerial entertainment, starting with the old cats whiskers wireless crystal set and gradually moving on through the radio to commercial television. This has been evident from the outward signs since the early 1920's when radio aerials, some resembling multiple clotheslines, first began to appear.

These have now been taken over by the more modern forest of complicated aerials which began to appear in 1948 for the reception of BBC television and which have thickened over the past year or so following the opening, in 1957, of commercial television. Even before the latest transmitter at Wenvoe opened, television aerials appeared above the chimneystacks, with most owners claiming that the reception was very good.

image above: 1938 recently constructed houses in Shellards Road looking towards Cadbury Heath - and open countryside - Photograph showing local builder Mr. Musty working on the stretch of unmade footpath - The car parked further down the road is close to the junction with Pitt Lane - The fields are now occupied by a large housing estate - Parkwall - Banjo Island etc. - The overspill of Bristol from the 1950s.

image above: 1925 view of the top Willsbridge Hill Court Farm Road off to the left - Lady Jefferies house Harefield Hall stands on right behind the trees.

The Future
Longwell Green has changed radically in the last 20 years.

The Ring Road
The Avon Ring Road extends from the A38 at Filton around the northern and eastern fringes of the built-up area and through south Bristol to the A370 at County Gates. The Ring Road also provides a link to the motorway network via the M32.

Plans for a Ring Road serving the Bristol area have been in existence since the 1930's and a number of transportation studies have been carried out. The present strategy for the Ring Road was formulated as a result of the Bristol Area Land Use Transportation Study carried out in 1976 and 1977. This concluded that the Avon Ring Road strategy would achieve the best operating conditions in the Bristol area highway network as a whole.

In the autumn of 1984, the County Council published a number of alternative routes for the Ring Road A4174 Bromley Heath to A4 Bath Road for public consultation. The comments arising from the public consultation were considered and the County Council adopted a preferred route for this eastern section of the road in 1985.

Housing
Longwell green was once a small sleepy village in the old county of Gloucestershire - Its now a mini town.
Most of the housing was built during the 70s & 80s. - There are now concerns that more green areas might be developed and lost forever. - The Ring Road is the only boundary between Longwell Green and Hanham. - It was once divided by green fields. - No one can tell how much longer the green areas will remain green.?

Retail & Leisure
Longwell Green now hosts a large retail park containing: Wickes, Homebase, Great Mills, one of the south's largest B&Qs, Comet, Allied Carpets, Asda and others. A leisure park contains a Multiplex Cinema, 10-pin bowling, MacDonalds etc. There are also a number of local shops and takeaway outlets in the community. And now a swimming pool is being built.

what will the village be like in another 50 years?

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