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There were many delays and it wasnt until 1827 that the scheme was revived. The Kennet and Avon Canal Company took over the project and, using their own surveyors, architects and builders, proceeded to construct typical canal type structures down the Line.
By December 1830, Hole Lane Pit was sending coal to Avon Wharf and by January 1831 the line had reached Siston Hill Pit. A little later Crown Colliery was to have its own branch line to the Dram Road. There was an aborted scheme to build another branch line through the centre of the village to connect with Grimsbury Pit, this plan was abandoned when Grimsbury Colliery ceased producing coal in 1832.
On January 16th 1831, the first rail passenger travelled through the area. Robert Bruce, who was chairman of the sub-committee and others, rode in a waggon, from Siston to the backs in less than three quarters of an hour. The line in general progresses by a gentle slope to the river, so horses were used on the upward journey, the downward trip used the force of gravity.
It is interesting to note that the Dram Road was the second oldest overground rail system in the West of England and predates Brunels G.W.R. by ten years. There were plans to introduce steam power but economical factors and the opening of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway through Brunels tunnels at Staple Hill meant the abandonment of the scheme. The line was still used for another twenty years or so but with repair costs mounting and the introduction of the Midland Railway in 1869, there seemed little hope for this early pioneer of the modem rail network.
1932
Electricity is today one of the things we take for granted, its a truly basic commodity. Prior to 1932, electricity in this area was only obtained from batteries or private generators. Warmley district had the disadvantage of a consumer population separated one from another by far greater distances.
Urban Kingswood had the convenience of the switch for decades and was on the Bristol Corporation Rural The Warmley R.D.C., had decided on an 'Electricity For All' policy and with Mr. Charles King-Smith setting the agenda, Warmley was to become one of the best rural electricity distribution systems in the country.
On the 1st March 1932, the great moment had come, the Earl of Plymouth came to Warmley to perform the inauguration ceremony. A crowd of dignitaries assembled in the Council Offices as the Earl pressed a button. This button sent a signal through a temporary cable to Bridge House which had become the headquarters for the electricity operations. On hearing a bell, Dai Jones closed the circuit and power began to flow but only to the lucky 120 who were connected.
The cost of the scheme was 25,000 pounds. Although a trifle at todays prices, this was a huge undertaking for the Warmley R.D.C. The labourers who carried out much of the non-skilled work were paid 2.pounds 4s.0d for a 44 hour week.
As the overhead circuit was expanded and more and more people were connected, the consumer society began. The former stables of Bridge House were then, as today, the Electricity Showroom, with state of the art appliances, 1932 remember! Not every house was connected, there was a connection fee as well as a much higher unit charge and if your income was limited then electricity was considered a luxury that would have to wait.
The Chief Engineer of the project was Mr. William (Bill) Bowler, who had been with the scheme from the beginning and it was mostly due to his experience and drive that the enterprise was such a success.
Within five years 90% of the properties were connected, the benefits not only affecting the householders but also local manufactories, including Haskins Potteries, Carsons, Dalton Young Products and many more.
It is timely to note, that in this year (1994) of the Siston Parish Centenary, the replacement of the original overhead circuit is taking place after providing us with power for 62 years.
image above: Warmley Village 1920's 'Cranes Fireworks' Company had a Factory here between the wars
1933 - 1934
In the mid 30s there were many specialist traders in the local villages. There were four or five butchers, three bakers and, Im sure, someone could turn their hand to a little candlestick making.
In 1933, Fred Bryant moved from Brook Farm, Goose Green, to Crown Farm, Tower Road North, Warmley. His son, Denis, still only 15 years of age and who helped around the farm, was approached by villagers who liked the look of the cows and asked him if he could deliver milk to their homes.
This was the start of the dairy business which spanned the next 53 years of Denis Bryants life. His first customer was Mrs. Nash, in the corner newspaper shop, who received her milk from a gallon churn and a measure. As the number of customers grew, first a ladies bicycle was used, with two churns fixed to the handle bars, and later a B.S.A. tradesmans bike with a small wheel at the front over which was hung a wicker basket. In the early years there were about 36 different milkmen working in Siston and Warmley, many with only one cow, selling to family or friends for a little pocket money.
As time went by, the can and measures gave way to glass milk bottles. Denis was one of the first in the area to use bottles and they came in three sizes, quart, pint and half pint. They all had the same size neck into which a cardboard top was pushed when the bottle was full.
When the war came, Denis Bryant who was in a reserved occupation, working on the land, continued to expand his business, employing many young people as bottle washers and assistants. His milk van, an Austin A33, was used as Troop Transport for the Warmley Home Guard and sometimes, after a night exercise, Denis would go straight to work with a loaded rifle next to the eggs and butter.
Prior to 1952, all the milk sold came from Crown Farm or other local farmers and being untreated the cream line came half way down the bottle. Skimmed milk in those days was frowned upon.
After 1952, all milk was taken away to be pasteurised and was returned ready bottled for delivery. With the post war building of housing estates at Cadbury Heath and Mangotsfleld the business expanded to three rounds with around 1,500 customers between them.
In 1986 Denis retired after over a half of a century of deliveries to customers who could boast three generations of loyal and courteous service. The firm was passed to Denis son, Alan, who is continuing the tradition for the next generations.
The Gloucestershire Constabulary has maintained a high standard of law and order in the area from its formation. At the end ofthe last century there was a policy of housing the local policeman in the community and giving the constable discretionary powers to act as judge and jury in trivial matters concerning young offenders.
This saved Magistrates time and also meted out instant justice which the majority of the population respected.
Early in 1934, Police Constable 306 Charles Gowing was transferred from Staple Hill Police Station to 148 Tower Road North, as Officer in Charge of the Warmley area. For Charlie Gowing it was not so much a job but more of a vocation. The police house, with its small cell at the rear had to be available 24 hours a day and if P.C. Gowing was out on patrol then his wife, Norah, had to be on call.
Charlie was awarded the D.M.C. during the Great War, and being a large man was afraid of very little. Confronted by this solid representative of the law the local villain might give himself up. The work of the village Constable was not always involved with criminal acts, a policeman had to be all things to all people.
Some of the most distressing work involved the recovery of children who had drowned in the nearby clay pits. He was also in charge of the disposal of animal carcasses during out-breaks of foot and mouth and even anthrax. The latter involved a fire which took two tons of wood and coal and lasted 36 hours, P.C. Gowing being on duty the whole time.
During the Second World War the police house became a centre for a wide range of activities including the recording of all air raids, be they red, amber or green, and the notification of Magnals to sound the All Clear with their siren, when the raid was over.
In 1948, after 34 years in service, 14 of which were in Warmley, P.C. 306 Charles Gowing hung up his boots and helmet for the last time and with Norah retired to Goldney Avenue.
image above: Driver Mr.Gay and his old Ford delivery van Warmley 1921
1935
This was an eventful year in the district. A fatal fire occurred at Cranes Fireworks Factory and Siston Court, the finest architectural building in the whole district, was sold at auction.
On 16th September 1935, an explosion at Cranes in one of the finishing rooms shook the area. With such a volatile substance as gunpowder there was bound to be a good deal of danger and although many precautions were taken, the normally good safety record of the factory was shattered.
The finishing room was a small wooden hut with a door at each end as emergency exits and a bench in front of the windows. Without warning a small quantity of gunpowder suddenly burst into flames in one corner.
Kitty Brokenbrow, the leader of the small team of five, instantly gave the alarm and as the young women dashed to the nearest door there was a great flash as more powder ignited and four of the girls were enveloped in a sheet of flame.
The fire spread to a box of sky rockets which went off like a machine gun, blowing out all the windows.
Luckily, a passing police patrol car was flagged down and instantly rushed the girls to Cossham Hospital. The girls all suffered burns to the hands and head, two relatively minor, two more were detained in hospital overnight, but Nellie Brewer, aged only 18, who took the full blast protecting the others from a similar fate, died three days later.
On the other side of the parish, Siston Court and its owners, the Rawlings Family, were suffering from the effects of the Wall Street Crash. Siston Court was built by Walter Dennys in 1598. This was probably to replace a crumbling medieval manor house somewhere nearby in the parish.
The Siston Estate once accounted for approximately 878 acres, including five farms and fourteen cottages as well as the splendid Elizabethan mansion.
The Court has been described as one of the most perfect specimens of Tudor architecture and where many country mansions were swept away after World War II, we are fortunate that Siston did not suffer a similar fate.
An early owner of the Court was Henry Billingsley who is said to have entertained Queen Anne of Denmark at the Court in 1614. Later the Trotmans who were related by marriage to the Fiennes family and therefore the Viscount Saye and Sele also owned the Court. It is interesting to note that Nathaniel Fiennes, the Governor of Bristol during the English Civil War, was a relation and when Oliver Cromwell was in the area, he chose to stay at Siston Court as it was out of the way.
The Trotmans were a house divided, with some members fighting for Parliament, other for the King. Legend has it that St. Annes Church was fired at by Parliamentary Forces, leaving musket shot holes in the doors, and the naive was used to stable the horses of Roundhead Cavalry. With such great history behind it, it was a sad day in 1935 when the Court and contents of the Estate had to be disposed of.
About this time Ernest Haycock returned from Kansas City U.SA, where he had learned the new process of dry cleaning. With his father, Joseph, who was a tailor and sister Florence, Ernest Haycock founded the ABC Cleaners near Siston Common. The business flourished and during the second world war ABC Cleaners acquired contracts with the American forces in the Bristol area, so increasing trade. Later the firm expanded into dyers and were known as Beaumont Dyers.
The company is now called Conway Cleaners and is owned by Richard Haycock. The firm was forced to leave Siston Common as the buildings were on the line of the new ring road. The family still continue to live in the area as they have for over one hundred years.
image above: A view of the village 1921 looking towards Bridgeyate
1937
Only two years after the terrible explosion at Cranes, another huge fire broke out resulting in the ending of the manufacture of fireworks at Warmley. In October of this year, Bill Osbourn raised the alarm and almost instantly the fire brigades from Warmley, Kingswood and Staple Hill were on the scene.
The firemen put a wall of water between the three blazing buildings and a site magazine, which contained a large amount of gunpowder.
The area was evacuated, as the buildings continued to burn fiercely well into the evening. This gave onlookers a marvellous spectacle as many boxes of fireworks were set off. To add to the scene, powerful searchlights were brought in to aid the fire fighters.
By 10 oclock the following morning, the firemen had left, leaving behind the ruins of the Fireworks Factory. The previous day over eighty employees had been hard at work, despatching their boxes of delights for the Guy Fawkes celebrations only a week away. It was fortunate that no one was hurt on this occasion and that the fire did not occur one week earlier when the majority of the stock had yet to be despatched. The devastation and cost would have been terrific.
This event came on the 50th anniversary of the firm founded by Isaac Crane in 1887. Isaac lived over the head office and showrooms at 3 St. James Parade, Bristol, but his son, George Crane, moved to Ivy-Dene on the corner of Station Road and High Street, while he managed the works at Warmley.
image above: The Neptune Statue still stands in the grounds of Warmley House this statue once in the middle of a great lake in the former Champions Brass Works
1938
In this year, war was looking inevitable and although there was a general pacifist tendency against being drawn into another catastrophic conflict, a number of politicians and businessmen took a more realistic view and prepared for war.
Parnells already had a successful foundry at Yate and had drawn up plans for a subsidiary company at Warmley. A factory was built next to Crown Farm in Tower Road North and became known at the Magnal Works. This was a far-sighted operation for in the following year production was in full swing, with the production of aluminium parts for aircraft and other items for the war effort. However, in 1938, the forthcoming war was still on the horizon.
Closer to home a touch of Hollywood was in the air. On Saturday, March 26th, Kingswood went mad, with the opening of the new Ambassador Cinema. Siston and Warmley were unlikely to have their own Picture Palace, so the Ambassador was the local cinema.
At the opening ceremony, huge crowds flocked to see the pipers of the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders, the blazing lights and the profusion of flowers, made it a truly gala affair. The vast theatre offered comfort and spaciousness as well as top entertainment. There was seating for nearly 2,000, making it one of the largest on the Bristol circuit.
A number of personal appearances were made by the stars over the years, Margaret Lockwood was the most popular. During the war celebrities would adopt a cinema and it was the Ambassador's good fortune to have the cockney character actor, Bill Owen, as their celebrity. He was a favourite for fans of war films and seemed to turn up in every British war film ever made. Bill Owen is now better known as Compo in Last of the Summer Wine.
image above: Warmley House home to the Champion family for many years
1939
Once again the young men of the area had to march away, me never to return. This was a very different war from the first Great War, with a higher proportion of casualties coming from the Air Force, Navy and civilian population.
At the beginning of the Phoney War, there was a brief period for preparation. People who were not called up for overseas service could find themselves in the Auxiliary Fire Service (A.F.S.) at their base in the Council Yard in Stanley Road. Others, usually older men, joined the Land Defence Volunteers (L.D.V.), later to be renamed The Home Guard. Their H.Q. was at Warmley School in London Road.
The third major home force was the Air Raid Protection Service (KR.P.). Young girls and women worked in munitions factories like Magnals, Douglas or Carsons.
image above: Warmley Grotto a complex system of chambers made of clinker and mortar the grotto stands in the grounds of Champion's former brass works
Another group of women found themselves in the Land Army. These were usually townspeople coming to this area to work in the fields and many a Land Girl made her permanent home in Siston or Warmley
The most innocent group to be affected were the young evacuees who were torn away from family and homes and transported to the countryside. One such group came to Warmley from Birmingham and sixteen little infants were educated by two of their own teachers in the School Handicraft Room.
Another group of toddlers found sanctuary in the empty Siston Court Mansion, where dozens of tiny tots with their nannies had to practice gas mask exercises in case of air raids.
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