Calendar of Events - Warmley & Siston - 1894 - 1913

part one of six


1894

The first parish meeting for the administration area of Siston which included Warmley, Webbs Heath, Siston Hill and Common (but not yet Bridgeyate) was held on Tuesday 4th December 1894. The meeting was called following the Local Government Act of October 1894, which allowed anew democratic level of local administration. The meeting was held in the National Schoolrooms at Webbs Heath.

The Reverend W.A.Taylor, Rector, of St. Annes, Siston, was elected to be Chairman of this first meeting. There then followed nominations for the office of Siston's first councillors. The following were duly elected (with votes received in brackets):

George Joseph B. Taylor (45); Herbert John Messenger (38);

Benjamin Exley (32); Joseph Henry Jefferis (32); Isaac Green (30);

Alfred Gibbs (30); William Edwin Hooper Hancock (30);

James Nash (30); Andrew Ody (30).

So ended the first Annual Parish Meeting and two weeks later, on Tuesday 18th December 1894, the newly elected Councillors met for the very first time to serve the electorate of Siston Parish.

1895

The Warmley Congregational Church, in Chapel Lane traces its history back to 1845, when the earliest services were held in an old meeting room situated where the War Memorial now stands. The Warmley Tabernacle, as it was originally known, was the oldest Nonconformist church in the whole district.

It was here in 1845, fifty years earlier, that the first meetings were held, as a result of a new explosion of Christian activity, from the historic Whitfield Tabernacle in Kingswood. This was due mainly to the powerful ministry and evangelistic zeal of the Reverend John Glanville (1833-55). The ageing congregation had found it difficult to travel the long steep hill to Kingswood Tabernacle and resulted in the formation of this off-shoot chapel.

Straight away plans were made and the following year, 1846, the building of the present chapel. The cost of the building was £273. 1s.7d and it was opened practically free of debt.

A new Christian Tabernacle was now in the midst of the people of the village of Warmley, the only one at that time (St. Barnabas was consecrated five years later). The sanctuary was lit by candles with a chandelier in the centre, an oil lamp chandelier followed later, and gas lamps were not installed until 1908.

The 50th anniversary celebrations were marked by the introduction of pews, not much of a luxury you may think, but until then only benches were available for our frail and elderly ancestors. It is worth noting here why it took so long. When Penn Street Tabernacle, Bristol, dared to introduce forms with backs, they were confronted with the wrath of George Whitfield himself who said that people did not come to a place of worship to be made comfortable!

It was also in the year of 1895 when a new means of transport became available in the area. In October 1895 the first electrified tram left Old Market, Bristol, and began its inaugural journey to the Tramway depot at the top of Kingswood Hill. This was watched by an excited crowd of an estimated 100,000 people.

The track did not extend down the hill to Warmley but for only a short walk of about one mile, the people of Warmley and Siston had a cheap means of travel into and out of the City of Bristol and thereby access to work, entertainment and all the good things a city has to offer.

image above: The local Baker poses for the camera 1908

1896


Long before the days of vaccination, epidemics of all the common diseases were rife in the area. In July 1896 Scarlet Fever ravaged the younger members of the community to such an extent that Warmley Church of England School had to be closed for a whole month. This period of self-isolation then probably linked up with the summer holidays to give a fresh start for the Autumn Term.

Two years later it was the turn of Measles and once more the school had to be closed for a fortnight. In 1900 Scarlet Fever reappeared and Measles again in 1905, closing the school for three weeks and four weeks respectively.


1897

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria and with the support of the Siston Parish Council, a fund was started to buy the remains of an old cottage that stood opposite Bridge House. This was the site of the former Tabernacle mentioned earlier.

The building later became a grocer's shop run by William Spicer, and finally was used to rear pigs. The people of the community chose this site as the ideal spot to have a village green as it stood at the cross-roads in the centre of the village.

The fund was begun in June 1897 and by January of the following year nearly all the money was raised, although it wasn't until 1905 when everything was finalised.

The list of subscribers is too long to be included here. However it is interesting to note a few of its supporters which included E. Colston, William and Mrs. Joseph Haskins, George, Philip and Sidney Fussell, Sir John Goldney and The Bristol Tramway Company.

In due course 233.7s.0d was collected and the site was secured, although there was an incident when the then Lord of the Manor of Warmley tried to enclose the eastern section of the Green, claiming it as his by right Each time a wall was erected around his part, men of the village would come out at night and demolish it again, they in turn claiming their right of access to common land.

Eventually all was resolved and the triangle of land between High Street and Stanley Road became Warmley Green, a permanent open space for the people of Siston for all time.

1898


The Warmley Football Club was founded in 1882 and is recorded as taking part in the very first organised match in the Bristol region against St. George. The following year three more clubs joined the League, Wotton-under-Edge, Clifton and the Black Arabs.

In 1886 the Gloucestershire Football Association was founded. The first four clubs being Clifton, St. George, Warmley and Eastville Rovers. The last club was originally known as the Black Arabs who then changed their name again to Bristol Rovers. (Bristol City Football Club had yet to be formed.)

Warmley, who played in white shirts and blue shorts, are still, even one hundred years later, remembered with some pride in the East Bristol region and quite rightly so. In the season of 1897/8 they actually won the Southern League title against some remarkable opposition. Until this time their home ground was behind the Tennis Court Inn at the bottom of Warmley Hill but with their new found fame they moved to the Chequer's ground behind the public house in Ingleside Road.

This move saw a drastic change of fortune for Warmley and that season they incurred debts of £900 and were losing £22 each playing week. Any hope of saving Warmley F.C. vanished following an F.A. meeting at the Royal Hotel, Bristol, banning the club from using its own ground for four weeks due to an incident against Millwall on 7th January 1899. The last match of this great side was on 21st January that year when the club was disbanded.

A fascinating score list exists of their final season 1898/99, which includes:

Tottenham Hotspurs Home Lost 5-1; Oxford Cyguets Away Won 2-9;

F.A.C., 1st qualifying round Swindon Town Home Won 1-0; F.A.C.,

3rd qualifying round Bristol City Away Lost 4-2 (5,000 crowd);

Southampton Home Won 1-0; Millwall Home Athletic Away Lost 1-0;

Reading Away Draw 1-1 (9,000 crowd).

This should have been Warmleys Home match but they accepted payment to change venue. Brighton United Away Lost 3-2 (3,000 crowd).

image above: A 1910 view of Mill Lane now completely built over with modern housing development

1899

The South African War had begun and Bristol, as a major port, was put on a war footing. There was a hive of activity, particularly with transport to the docks being at a premium and no doubt Crane's Fireworks Factory at Warmley played its role as it did later in the Great War.

It was in this year, perhaps partly due to the additional rail traffic, that Warmley Station saw the construction of the first footbridge. This structure with timber steps was originally of an open lattice work design which, in 1912, was boarded up. As well as making communication possible between both platforms, the bridge was a godsend for pedestrians who could continue their travels if the level crossing gates were closed.

1900

At the end of the 19th century, the Warrnley R.D.C. and the Out-Relief Union had been meeting at their board room in the cramped surroundings of Crown Farm in Tower Road North. This was proving very unsatisfactory and something had to be done.

At a meeting of the Warmley Out-Relief Union in April 1899, a decision was made to purchase a piece of land (not exceeding the sum of 321). This was to enable the erection of a new boardroom and offices for the Guardians of the Poor of Warmley.

In May 1899, Whitehall approved the Warmley plan and authorised the expenditure of £1,500 (including the cost of the land) the amount to be repaid in thirty years. The work of construction was carried out by Messrs. Adams and Jefferies at a cost of £810.15s.5d.

By the 6th March 1900 work was well in hand. Sidney Fussell had been paid for his land and Mr. Haskins, the owner of the old boardrooms, was asked to put them out to let. On the 3rd April 1900 the minutes read, 'This Meeting of the Guardians was held in the New Union Offices.'.

The Union Offices, as they were known, then became the headquarters of the Warmley Rural District and remained so for forty years when larger premises were needed.

1901

The year that saw the death of Queen Victoria, perhaps the greatest and most dynamic Queen the world has ever known, also saw the end of the coal mining industry in Warmley and Webbs Heath. Coal mining had been the staple industry for the population of Siston in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (excluding the Champion Brass Works at Warmley Tower) and coal was dug extensively all around the parish. All of the Heaths and Commons saw colliery activity at one time or another, usually by means of bell pits, one of the earliest forms of mining.

The remains of the Crown Colliery are one of the best examples of later mining activity in the Kingswood coal fields. Coal mining here was probably started centuries before and the ancient field name of 'Pickpocked' described very poor, disturbed ground. This gives credence to the industry which scoured the upper seams for its coal and deposited waste material on top of the soil.

When horse and then steam winding engines were introduced, multiple pits gave way to deep shafts and long galleries which followed the seams of coal. William Champion's demand for coal in the mid 18th century saw a surge of activity locally and Crown Colliery, with its close proximity to Warmley Tower, would have provided much of its supplies.

In the early 19th century there were three horse gin pits at Crown Colliery and by the middle of the last century they had been replaced by a single Engine House working two pits, one to the rear of Hembrough's yard and the other across the road.

A variety of owners controlled Crown Colliery throughout the 19th century including George Davidson of Warmley House and Gabriel Goldney. The pit closed in 1888 removing employment for upward of 100 local people. It reopened briefly at the turn of the century.

An attempt was made to drain the flooded shafts at the lower end using the new engine house and stack to power the pumps. The plan was also to drive a drift mine from Webbs Heath to work the seams from both ends. Unfortunately the Webbs Heath shaft was driven in at the wrong angle and in the wrong place so the project had to be abandoned in January 1901.

Attempts were made to reopen the Warmley pits in 1912/13 and again in 1919 but the seam stretched under Midland Railway property, making the project unfeasible. It must be noted that thousands of tons of unclaimed coal still remain where it was formed millions of years ago.

1902

The new Edwardian era saw the beginning of a family business which still continues today. William (Bill) Webb was born in 1874 and whilst in his twenties started repairing cycles in a garden shed at the rear of the family home in Tower Road North (opposite Crown Gardens). In 1902 trade was good and he opened his first cycle shop in No.3 High Street, Warmley.

1902

The new Edwardian era saw the beginning of a family business which still continues today. William (Bill) Webb was born in 1874 and whilst in his twenties started repairing cycles in a garden shed at the rear of the family home in Tower Road North (opposite Crown Gardens). In 1902 trade was good and he opened his first cycle shop in No.3 High Street, Warmley.

Trade continued to flourish, despite the advent of the Great War, and in 1920 with a growing family Bill Webb moved to new premises which had been recently vacated by Brizil's the grocers, at 14 High Street.

Bill's eldest son, Harry, had just returned from the First World War and went into business with his father, trading as W.J. Webb and Son. Webb's not only sold and repaired cycles, they also sold records and electrical appliances which were powered by large rechargeable battery cells. Harry also found time to repair shoes.

Webbs were also one of the first places in the district to sell petrol. In the early days of motoring, petrol was sold as much by canisters as it was through the hand operated pumps. The rubber pipe then had to be swung out into the main road to reach the petrol tank.

1903

Warmley has seen more than its fair share of musicians over the years and at the turn of the century the Brass Band was at its zenith. First, there was the Warmley Excelsior Brass Band, then in 1903 the Warmley Mission Reed and Brass Band was founded, eventually to be re-named The Warmley Military Band. The Band was formed by the men of the Warmley Independent Methodist Church, predominantly from the Mill Lane and Cadbury Heath area, many of whom were from the Lovell Family.

The Band had a membership of about twenty men, one of whom was George Webb, father of Bill Webb the cycle shop owner. The Warmley Military Band achieved a great deal in the world of music, a small dedicated band of men, whose fame spread to Minehead, Hereford and Berkeley, where they had regular engagements and the fact that the Band existed for 33 years is an achievement in itself. Perhaps their most frequent and enjoyable engagement was to lead the annual Whitsuntide parades through surrounding villages.

1904

In this year the West of England Ochre and Oxide Company opened a purpose built factory behind Station Road, Warmley. Ochre comes from oxides iron which is quarried or mined near the surface from iron bearing ores. The Warmley works were not connected to the Golden Valley Ochre and Oxide Company at Wick Rocks although the process use and distribution were similar.

The process at Warmley would be to crush and heat the coloured ores until they became a powder then, mixed with other chemicals, it would be used for red lead paints and also used to colour linoleum. The fine red powder got everywhere and the workers were even said to have red sweat, or was that sweating blood?

The proximity of the factory to the railway station was the main advantage in moving to Warmley but, probably due to the great depression, it ceased to operate sometime between the two world wars.

Many of the miners who had previously been employed in the Siston Hill and Crown Collieries found themselves working below ground in the Cowhom Hill Pit. The colliery was connected by coal seams to Coronation Pit at Cadbury Heath Road, and to California Pit at Longwell Green.

In 1904, whilst working close to some ancient flooded workings, a miner unfortunately broke through, allowing a tremendous volume of water to course through and flood all three pits. The miners barely escaped with their lives having to leave their tools and even their clothing behind in the rush to evade the fast rising water level.

image above: 49 Stanley Road Jefferis & Tanner shop 1900s

1905

In April of this year Warmley C. of E. School was closed for a month to stem the contagious effects of an epidemic of Measles.

Later that summer the sport of cricket was given a boost locally when the school established its own cricket club.

From this time on Webbs Heath and Bridgeyate Commons as well as the football pitches would have an additional group of young sportsmen to cater for. Pictures from this period show it was not only the men and boys who participated but the Warmley Ladies Cricket Team was also something to contemplate.

In October 1905 the Reverend William Augustus Scott passed away at the age of 62. He had served as the vicar of St. Barnabas Church for almost twenty faithful years.

The church owes a great debt of thanks to Reverend Scott and his family who presented the church with a freestone pulpit to replace the original wooden one, and also all the stained glass windows in the north aisle and another in the south wall of the chancel, which are memorials to various members of the Scott family.

Four years earlier, in 1901, during the 50th celebration of the consecration of St. Barnabas Church, the Reverend Scott officially installed the window at the west end of the north aisle.

1906

St Barnabas was without an incumbent until the arrival of Reverend Fredrick Rogers, MA, who took over the mantle left by Reverend Scott. During the eighteen years that passed under the guidance of Reverend Rogers, 'modernisation' occurred with the replacement of the oil lamps by gas lamps and the removal of the organ to its present position in the organ chamber adjoining the vestry.

It was also during the tenure of the Reverend Rogers that the area of land between the vicarage and the school was designated for use as a church hall. For many years this area was used as the tennis courts and school gardens. All former pupils of the school will recall these names with fond memories of their long departed youth.

Two years after the flooding of the nearby Cowhorn Hill and California Collieries the owner, Sidney Fussell, made arrangements for the selling of the water that caused him so much trouble. Mr Fussell was on the board of the West Gloucestershire Water Company and was in a position to utilise this new found resource.

A mammoth steam-operated pump was installed in 1906, made by Messrs Summers and Stott of Gloucester. This machine used 3 tons of coal per day to power the massive 15 foot diameter flywheel. The flywheel rotated twenty times a minute, or 10,380 revolutions a day (8am-5pm) driving the water from the flooded pits to the reservoir in Soundwell Road, the highest point in Bristol.

From there the water was treated with various filters and softeners to return once more to Warmley via the tap. The red brick engine house still stands today, used by the local authority for storage. This remarkable engine was removed in the summer of 1965.

1907

The 1st of June saw a major advance in the medical health of the people of this area, with the opening of Cossham Hospital. Handel Cossham was a man who came from a humble background and, although he eventually gained great wealth and esteem, he didn't forget his roots. In his Will he pledged to help the poor of the district.

Born in Thornbury in 1824, Handel (who was named after the composer of The Messiah) was an avid non-conformist. He became a Lay Preacher and in 1862 performed a baptismal service at the Bethel Chapel which once stood on Warmley Green.

Handel Cossham was one of the country's leading geologists. With his knowledge and connections by marriage he soon became the principal colliery owner in the Kingswood Coalfields. He became involved in politics as a radical Liberal. In 1879 he became a member of the St. George Local Board and later became Mayor of Bath and M.P. for East Bristol.

His energies were boundless but eventually the strain took its toll on his health. In 1890, whilst in the library of the Houses of Parliament, he was taken ill and shortly afterwards died. At his funeral an estimated 50,000 people lined the streets and many attended the ceremony.

Cossham Hospital is a memorial to this great man who bequeathed much of his fortune so the people of the district would remember him when they were in need of help and medical treatment.

1908

The Parker family of Upton Cheyney has for centuries had connections with property in this area. Evidence of this appears on an early map in the form of names for the fields which were part of the old Crown Farm estate, including Great Parkers, Middle and Lesser Parkers.

In due course, a part of this property became known as the Tilly Estates following the marriage of William Stone and Grace Tilly in 1759. The tithe map of 1841 for the parish of Siston gives different names for many of these fields.

A group of about five covering thirty acres bears the name of Tilleys. The Tilley Fields were on the eastern edge of the parish, from North Common to Church Avenue, and it was on one of these fields that St. Barnabas Church was built, giving rise to the nick-name Tilleys Church'.

Getting back to the Parker family, it was on a dark night in September 1908 when the Diocesan inspector for the district, Canon Parker, whilst returning home, took a wrong turning at the top of Naishcombe Hill, Wick, and was fatally injured when he fell over an unmarked section of an old quarry.

Garden parties at Warmley House have been going on for as long as anyone can remember, putting on display many of the unique curios and follies created by the great William Champion back in the 1750's.

The Warmley Grottoes are the largest man made grottoes in the country and date back to this period but little documentary evidence or illustrations have survived to show exactly what they were like originally. The first written evidence of their existence appeared 150 years after they were constructed in the Free Church Monthly Magazine for 1908:

'Mrs. and Miss Haskins, President and Hon. Secretary of the Warmley Branch of our Guild, threw open the lovely grounds of Warmley House on Saturday afternoon, July 4th. A large group of friends gathered on the lawn under the shade of the fine trees. A most enjoyable time was spent in the gardens and grounds during the afternoon and evening. A concert was given and there was boating on the lake, games of various kinds, coconut shies and illuminated grottoes. These extensive grottoes were constructed early in the eighteenth century and are very interesting.'

In this year, gas replaced the oil lamps in Warmley Congregational Chapel. This was a red letter day and was recorded in the chapel Minutes in red ink.

Coal gas had been in the area for many years and a pumping station is still in use opposite the Tenniscourt Inn to increase the pressure in the mains. There was also a small gasworks just over the parish boundaries near Mangotsfield Station of which only the remains of the furnaces still exist. There was also a storage gasometer at the edge of the Glebe Field behind St. Barnabas Church.

1909


The last of the coal pits in the vicinity were closed down this year. Gabriel Goldney owned the Crown Colliery in 1878 and twelve years later purchased the Mill Lane Pit opposite Warmley Tower Chapel. The pits in this area have had a variety of names including Babel's Pit, Stubbs Pit, Haul Lane, Hole Lane and, finally, after the new owner Goldney Pit.

There were ancient bell pits here in addition to the later workings. The miners were working the 'New Smith' seam at 260 feet but much deeper coal was sought when the mine was extended in 1906, only to close three years later.

One of the last miners to be killed in a coal pit locally met his death here a year before the pit closed. William Henry Ettle's job, one Sunday morning in July 1908, was to go down alone to oil and regulate the water pump. It would seem that Henry (as he was known) slipped and plunged all the way to the bottom of the shaft and was either killed on impact or drowned in the nine feet of water at the bottom of the shaft. An inquest was held at the King William IV Inn and was conducted by the Coroner for this area, Dr. Edwin Mills Grace, brother of W.G. the famous cricketer.

1910

In October, the social life of the area underwent a considerable improvement with the inauguration of the Warmley District Club and Reading Room, the fore-runner of the Community Centre. The first President was Mr. J.E. Rawlins of Siston Court, and the Duke of Beaufort, Sir John Goldney, Mr. Joseph Storrs Fry (of Fry's chocolate fame) and other citizens associated themselves with the Institute.

The whole scheme needed an outlay of over £1,000, some of which was raised by organising whist drives. In addition to a reading room a swimming pool was built which was fed by freezing spring water, channelled underground from the drainage levels of coalpits around Cock Road.

The first caretakers were Mr. and Mrs. Cousins whose job it was to keep the pool tidy and give the green baize of the billiard tables a weekly iron. At that time they lived in the property and as well as caring for the books they also sold newspapers. The water was changed fortnightly and the pool, being the only one in the district, attracted school children from Hanham Road, Kingswood and Staple Hill.

Bridgeyate Chapel celebrated its centenary this year. It is reputed that John Wesley and his fellow Methodists from Kingswood School would come out to Bridgeyate and preach on the Common. Local traditions have it that he tethered his horse to the old Chestnut tree.

Prior to the building of the Chapel worship took place in nearby houses. John Trubody, a name much associated with Bridgeyate, announced on 10th February 1810 that he would let the congregation have a small plot of land above the Common to build their chapel. So 'The Chapel on the Common', the oldest in the Kingswood circuit, was founded.

image above:Horse Trading on the corner of Stanley Road 1900s

1911

This year saw a general period of growth and prosperity in the area. There was plenty of work to feed a hungry empire and the country had never had it so good, although there was industrial unrest in other parts of the country. The Edwardian era had just ended with the death of the King in 1910 and there were celebrations in June to mark the coronation of King George V.

In September this year Samuel Loxton, the talented newspaper illustrator, came to Siston Church and captured some wonderful images for a Bristol Observer article. The paper tells how St. Annes Church had recently received a great deal of patronage from the Rawlings family of Siston Court.

The panelling in the church had been lowered and the floor relaid, the pulpit had been moved from the chancel to a new pedestal in the nave. The erection of an organ chamber in the north side of the church had also been completed with the inscription 'To the ever dear memory of all those we long to see again'. Behind the pulpit is arcading of carved oak, designed by Miss E.K. Rawlings and executed by Miss G.M. Heeley.

The most spectacular legacy left behind by the Rawlings family is undoubtedly the massive wall painting above the chancel arch. It is based on a scene from a fresco in the Palazzo Ricardi in Florence and also on a design by the great Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones, it depicts a host of angels. The artist, Mrs. Rawlings, used her daughters as models for several of the kneeling angels in the scenes.

1912

Warmley Tower Pottery had now been in production for over half a century. The change the manufacture of metal products from the time of William Champion to the manufacturing of stoneware and clay goods began in about 1847 by the son of the owner of the site, Alfred Davidson. - Davidson, like Champion before him, brought skilled artisans from other areas to Warmley to continue using their skill for his benefit.

As the years passed more furnaces were built and it was tradition at the Tower Pottery to number the kilns as they were built, but to keep the same number or name if it was rebuilt.

In 1890 Joseph Haskins took control of the Pottery and gave the works his name. Joseph died the following year and the business passed to his wife, Louise, and son, Herbert.

By 1912, Herbert Haskins who, like his father, had patented many developments and innovations of his own, particularly in the design of chimney pots, commissioned a new much larger bee-hive style kiln to be built. This was the fifth to be built and due to its great dimensions and the time of its construction, number five kiln was christened 'Titanic' Fortunately the kiln had a much longer history than the prestigious liner.

image above: 1910 young lady employees of C. Bayer & Co's corset factory pose for the camera this building stands opposite the modern-day Dolphin pub

1913

This was an era of great heroes, people to look up to and admire. It was in this year that Capt. Scott and his party perished in their attempt to be the first men to reach the South Pole. A Memorial Service was held in the school commemorating this heroic failure. Little did the people know that in one year's time a different kind of heroism would be called for and many would, like Scott, not return.

In recent times we have followed the adventures of Ranulph Fiennes, the intrepid explorer of both Arctic and Antarctic poles. It is a little known fact that Ranulph Fiennes is related to the Trotman family who lived at Siston Court about the time of the English Civil War.

Also in 1913 the largest single building in our parish was nearing completion. Carson's factory near Mangotsfield Station, is described as being at Shortwood when it is, in fact, in Siston. The building of the factory took several years and was built from the familiar red Shortwood or Cattybrook brick.

The huge factory transformed the quiet rural setting and its six floors covered an area of over three acres. Many of the workers, mostly women and girls, were employed there making high quality chocolates and other confectionery.

The raw materials as well as workers would arrive at Mangotsfleld Station and the finished goods left via the station for delivery to customers. During the Second World War the greater part of production was given over to making large quantities of chocolates under government contracts, for home and abroad.