Charley Davis was born in Thornbury on March 22nd 1879 and he lived in Thornbury all his life.  Charley went into the building trade after leaving school.  He became a builder and stonemason.  Charley's father had been a builder too and he used to keep Eastwood Park in order.  Charley as a young boy would help his father in the work shop at Eastwood Park.  Lady Jenkinson was holding classes in carving for boys at that time but she was adamant that only Falfield boys were eligible so Charley never got the chance to learn properly.  He was determined that if others had carved without lessons in the art, he could so he began to teach himself.  One of his first jobs was a hatstand  for his brother who was about to get married.

Charley lived in the era of mop fairs in Thornbury and can remember the first motor car appear in the town. He could even recall the last visit Queen Victoria made to Bristol in 1899. He went by train from Thornbury to Bristol to see the Queen and had great difficulty in making his way through the crowds.  He had to make his way through Bristol and climbed a tree near the top of the gorge to get a good view.

Charley's wife was Leah and she died ten years before him.

Charley was very proud of his role in the successive waves of house building in the town. He remembered with particular pride and affection the terraced houses in Gloucester Road opposite the Grammar School.  In 1976 he remarked that he "made all those windows out of Thornbury gravel and cement and there isn't a crack in them after all this time."

He said that he had never had a paid holiday in his life although he had paid for others to have a holiday.

He was annoyed that they took away his driving licence when he was nearly 90 because he couldn't get anyone to insure him. However he was able to renew his firearms certificate right up until his death but said he had never actually fired his 1895 Enfield rifle, which was given to him by his friend.  He was a keen gardener and had a greenhouse at his home in Crossways for his tomatoes.  He was also greatly involved in the Society of Thornbury Folk. 

In his retirement he took up wood carving.  He said "I had been given some old pieces of carved wood and I started copying the patterns.  It is mainly in the Jacobean style because I can't get on with the newer styles like Chippendale."  Charley carved a splendid lectern which was presented to Thornbury Town Council in July 1977 and which appeared in the Armstrong Hall.  He was also famous for an even more conspicuous work.  It was found that the oak pillars which had been a feature of the entrance to the Church Institute in St Mary Street had become badly decayed.  The building bore the date of of 1679 and it was thought that these may have been the original ones.  In 1971 Charles Davis helped to replace the pillars with the assistance of his brother, Alfred Davis and of Mr C Browning and Mr G Wilson. 

He was approached by the vicar to make the replacement Church Institute pillars because the vicar had admired the wooden porch  for a building which at that time was an antiques shop run by Claude Browning and is now an Indian restaurant.  It proved too difficult to sketch the original carvings on the pillars and Mr Davis had to cut out one of the better areas with a saw to make an exact copy of the pillars but the canopy bearing the date 1679 was left in place.

 The photograph on the right hand side is of Charley Davis in 1976 and taken when Charley was 99 years old and working on a four-poster bed.  We believe that the four poster bed which was made by him the same year might be the one he was working one in the photograph.  The bed in question and the chest at the bottom of the bed are shown in the coloured photograph on the left. Charley's 100th birthday party was celebrated at St Mary's School with 100 guests.  The Town Council planted trees to mark the centenary.

This page was last updated: 21/03/2012