28 & 28A Castle Street 1984
Number 28 Castle Street in Thornbury is the smaller building to the right of this photograph. At the time the photograph was taken it was owned by the Mills family and part of it was used as workshops by the house decorating firm known as Mills and Phillips. The house with dormer windows adjoining number 28 is now number 28A. Although the two are now completely separate houses they share much of their earlier history.
Read about the owners of 28 and 28A Castle Street
Using the indentures that we have found so far and a number of Land Tax and other records we have been able to trace some of the occupants of the house that is now 28 Castle Street.
John Ffaires – an indenture of 17th March 1684 describes the property as a messuage occupied by John Ffaires. At this stage we don’t know any more about John, except there was a John Ffayres who was listed as living at ‘ye Parsonage’ (now known Glebe Cottage) from 1679 to 1683.
Sarah Pride – an indenture dated 18th December 1685 mentions that Sarah was a tenant of William and Margaret Smith. We don’t know any more about Sarah.
John Mabbett – when the owner of the property Joseph Cannings wrote his will in 1711 he left his house where John Mabbett now dwells to be sold. John had been adopted by Joseph and his wife following the early death of his parents. Click here to read more about John
Thomas Neal – an indenture dated 7th April 1759 shows the property was then occupied by Thomas Neal. We suspect that he could be the Thomas Neal baptised on 16th October 1710. He was the son of Arthur Neal. We note that Thomas and Arthur Neal (possibly Thomas’s brother born in 1713) were fined in 1761 twenty shillings for not appearing to be sworn Searchers and Sealers of Leather. Thomas married Mary Morgan in 1735. Mary died 3rdApril 1767 and Thomas died 3rd February 1789 aged 79.
George Longden. The Land Tax records from 1780 show that this house was occupied by George Longden, and that he rented it from William Tayler of Almondsbury and then Abraham Riddiford.
We believe that George was born in 1745 and that he was the son of a Quaker couple John and Martha Longden. His brother John seems to have lived in the neighbouring property that later became 30 Castle St
George married Rose Flyde in April 1771. Their daughter Sarah was baptised in Thornbury on 11th December 1774.
Rose Longden nee Flyde died September 1809 aged 70 years.
By 1821 the land tax record says “late George Longden.” The parish records of St Mary’s Church in Thornbury show that George Longden died aged 81 in March 1821.
Thomas Landsdown. By 1822 the land tax records show that this house was occupied by Thomas Landsdown.
The will of Abraham Riddiford shows that he left the properties that became 28 and 28A Castle Street to his daughter Ann. In 1827 the will described them as follows;
“all that my freehold messuage or dwellinghouse in three tenements in the several occupations of William Liddiatt John Longden and Mary Hopkins widow as my tenants thereof with the gardens and appurtenances thereto adjoining and belonging and which said I bought and purchased of Mark Nash and also all that messuage or dwelling house in two tenements in the several occupations of Richard Lansdown (sic) and (left blank) Carter as my tenants thereof with the garden and appurtenances thereto adjoining and belonging which I bought and purchased of William Taylor all which said messuages tenements or dwelling houses gardens and premises are lying and adjoining on the East side of the …street of the town and borough of Thornbury aforesaid.”
The will is therefore indicating that in 1827 one house was divided into two and these properties occupied by Richard Landsdown (rather than Thomas) and someone called Carter as tenants. On the 1840 Tithe Map (which was drawn up some time between 1837 and 1840) one property is shown as number 277 and it is occupied by two tenants; Joseph Carter and Edward Trayherne. This appears to correspond to what is now number 28 Castle Street.
This is somewhat confusing as the land tax records up to 1832 continue to show “Thomas Landsdown” rather than Richard Lansdown as the tenant. At the moment we have no information about Richard. He may however have married Hannah Wisse 10th April 1788.
Joseph Carter died in Thornbury on 17th April 1840. He was 56 years old. Read about Joseph Fletcher Carter
Edward Trayherne (or Trayhurn) seems to be the tenant who replaced Richard or Thomas Lansdown. Edward married Eliza the daughter of Joseph Birt who was living in the adjoining property which became 28A. Read more
William Howard. An indenture of 1843 says that the property was “then or late” occupied by William Howard and John Luce. The first of these, William Howard was living in what later became 10 Chapel Street by the 1851 census. He was aged 59 and an agricultural labourer born in Oldbury. His wife, Hannah Howard, was 56 and a charwoman, and of their sons Stephen was also an agricultural labourer and aged 16. Another son, George, was a scholar aged 12. In 1861 the family was living in what is now Upper Bath Road. Read more about William Howard
John Luce. The second tenant mentioned was called John Luce. He was a master butcher aged 42 living in 17 St John Street by the 1851 census. By the 1870s they were living in Pullins Green. Read more about John Luce
Henry Withers. The 1851 census seems to show that a shopkeeper was living in the house which is now 28 Castle Street. This was a grocer called Henry Withers aged 46. His wife was a school mistress called Sarah aged 46. Their children were Henry aged 14, Frederick aged 12, Ann aged 8 Joseph aged 7 and Isabella aged 4. Read more
The 1851 census also shows three other households in this area; James Moxham, Joseph Birt and Sarah Webb. In the absence of further information we have assumed that these families were living in parts of what is now 28A Castle Street.
After 1861 this property was occupied by the owners of both 28 and 28A beginning with the Eddington family