Laburnum Terrace

The notes of Ken & Kate Wilkins on the history of Gloucester House

In January 1972 Ken and Kate Wilkins acquired the house from a Mr Till who lived in Didmarton.  Mr and Mrs Wilkins were told that a Mrs Williams had been a recent occupant and she had taken in lodgers.  These were mainly young police cadets attached to Thornbury police station, who left lots of bottles in the garden.

When Ken was redecorating the house and stripping the wallpaper, it became clear that many changes had been made to the house over the years and there were outlines of doors on the plaster work and other things had changed shape - an archway had become a door and so on.  There was a fireplace in the attic, and in both attics there were the remains of exterior walls and dormer windows in what had been number 4.  There were also the remains of the foundations of walls in the garden at the rear of the house.  Mr Wilkins saw an aerial photograph taken about 1925 which showed what the rear of the house looked like then.  He also traced a local man who had acted as agent for the Williams family.  This man was Mr Fudge who he lived in Castle Street and he told them a little of the history of the house.  He said that Mr Williams was a tailor whose workshops were based in Gloucester House.  He added that Mr Williams made clothes for both civilians and soldiers.  The shop on the corner of The Plain, now Owens the florist was the place where his work was displayed (we now believe this was John Hodges Williams’ shop).  Mr Fudge reckoned that he could remember the time when suits were hung outside the shop on a rail.  He recalled that at some time (1940’s) a quantity of trimmings and buttons for the Gloucestershire Regiment had been found in the house and given to Bristol Museum.

The layout of the house as Mr Fudge recalled it was different in the old days with both living quarters for the family and rooms for offices and workshops, which extended back towards the garden wall.  The tall window on the landing was once a doorway which had lead to the workshops and the rooms in the attic were accessible by a staircase.  According to Mr Fudge, significant changes to the structure of the house occurred in 1936.  Ken thought this might have been confirmed by some scribblings on the upstairs walls found when he was redecorating but he did not realise the significance at the time.  Ken also thought that the attic provided proof that tailoring or sewing had taken place as under the floor boards it was possible to find pins, press studs, buttons and other small items associated with the trade.

Ken also describes seeing a map which appeared to show the garage with two bedrooms above was once number 4.

The Hole in the Wall - the wall by the garage door has also been the subject of some speculation.  One person said that the round hole in it used to hold a clock and wondered if it was the clock that was the subject of a discussion for the Jubilee.  Arthur Neale said he could not remember a clock there and the clock in Worthington’s was the Jubilee clock.

Ken Wilkins in November 2005 told us he enlarged the hole himself by clearing away loose stones but feels that it was a window or ventilation hole for the outside privy which was on the other side of the wall in the garden.

Ken's theory is that the outline of a small door can be seen in the wall at ground level directly below the hole.  The toilet in the garden was above the door.  This meant  the bucket underneath the toilet was accessible from the door and could be emptied by the night soil man. 

We have heard about the night soil man whose job it was to empty these buckets in Thornbury and have been told that a man whose name was "Muppa Webb" did this job at one time.  We would like to hear from anyone who has more information on this point.

The Wilkins sold the house in June 2000.

This page was last updated: 23/04/2007