RIP Albert William Tarr

Albert William Tarr was born in East Anstey in 1880.  At the time of his death in 1935, he was living in East Anstey with his widowed mother Harriet.  He had been deaf and unable to speak since birth.  He became a tailor's assistant.  

On January 8th 1935 Albert Tarr was at Dulverton Railway Station in Brushford, waiting for a train to East Anstey.  Mrs Ivy Ellen Thomas of Coombe Head Cottage, Dulverton, was also at the station with her 4 year old son Robert John Thomas.  She and her son were crossing the railway line using the trolley crossing, rather than the footbridge at the other end of the station.  Mrs Thomas was laden with parcels, as she had just returned from a shopping trip to Tiverton.  Robert was dawdling behind her.  

The porter on the platform heard the whistle of an incoming train from Barnstaple and shouted at Mrs Thomas to hurry up. She turned to grab Robert, but then hesitated for a moment.  Albert Tarr realised that Mrs Thomas and Robert were about to be hit by the train, so he tried to save them. The train driver braked, but hit and killed all three of them instantly. 

Mr Leslie Sloman, who had returned from Tiverton on the same train as Mrs Thomas, also tried to grab Mrs Thomas, but he was able to jump back just in time and so wasn't hit by the train.

An inquest into the accident, was held in Dulverton on 10th January.  The verdict was Death by Misadventure.  The coroner was Mr G.P. Clarke. Both the train driver and the railway company were exonerated from blame.  However, the coroner recommended that the footbridge be moved nearer to the station entrance.

Copy of the memorial plaque in East Anstey Church

Shurton: village of many footbridges

The small village of Shurton near Stogursey has five interesting stone footbridges over Bayley's Brook, which runs through the village.  The bridges are close together.  The one leading to Ashforde House is definitely private.  I think the one next to Thatch End is too.  The other three are definitely public.  Two have single spans and one has a double span.

Single-span footbridge

Double-span footbridge

Another single-span footbridge

This private bridge leads to Ashforde House

I think this 18th century bridge next to a house called Thatch End is private.

Bandstands

Bandstands are usually located in parks or on seafronts.  They are designed to provide shelter from the sun and rain for performing bands.  Most of them are circular, semi-circular or polygonal in shape.  They are usually raised up above ground level and the roof acts as a sounding board, so that the music being played can be heard more widely.  

The first cast iron bandstands to be erected in Britain were at the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens in South Kensington, London in 1861. They became popular during the later Victorian period, when many public parks opened in towns and cities to provide green open spaces where people could relax.  They were often funded by local authorities or wealthy benefactors.  It was thought that music had a positive influence on moral health.  At their greatest extent, there were more than 1,500 bandstands in Britain.  They flourished until the Second World War, but nearly 600 were demolished between 1945 and 1980.  However, since the 1990s many of the surviving bandstands have been restored.

Somerset's surviving bandstands are located in Taunton, Wellington, Bath, Minehead, Burnham-on-Sea, Shepton Mallet, Wells, Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, Frome, Keynsham and Bridgwater.

Vivary Park, Taunton

This octagonal bandstand was supplied by H. Phillips and Sons in 1895, when Vivary Park became a public park.

Morrison's Bandstand, Taunton

I don't know if this bandstand is ever used for its original purpose, given its rather odd location on the banks of the River Tone and very close to Morrison's Supermarket.

Blenheim Gardens, Minehead

Former bandstand, Jubilee Gardens Café, Minehead

This building started life in 1935 as the Jubilee Bandstand.  It was built on the site of an earlier bandstand.  In 1948 it was converted into a tearoom.

Clevedon

This bandstand is located on Green Beach.  It was erected to celebrate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

Wellington Park

Wellington Park was designed and laid out by the landscape gardener F.W. Meyer.  The park opened in 1903.  The bandstand, which was constructed by Messrs Follett Bros of Wellington, was part of the original design. It originally had a turret on the roof.

Collett Park, Shepton Mallet

Collett Park was given to the town by John Kyte Collett in 1906.

Manor Gardens, Burnham-on-Sea

This bandstand was built by Burnham and Highbridge Town Council in 1995 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of VE Day.

Grove Park, Weston-super-Mare

This cast iron bandstand was built in the late 19th century by Hill Bros, Sun Foundry of Alloa.  It has a lead ogee roof with a weathervane on the top of it.

Blake Gardens, Bridgwater

Blake Gardens opened to the public on 9th August 1902, as part of the town's celebrations for the coronation of King Edward VII.  I think the bandstand was built in 1902.  It was renovated in the summer of 2003 by Bridgwater Prince's Trust Team 12 with help from Chisletts Tool Hire, Bridgwater College Community Service and Sedgemoor District Council.

Royal Victoria Park, Bath

This semi elliptical bandstand was built in around 1887 by Major Charles Davis.  The rear is made from limestone, the columns are made of cast iron and it has a lead fish scale roof.  The interior is timber lined.  The bandstand was designed with acoustics in mind and is aligned with the centre of the Royal Crescent. The park was opened on 23rd October 1830 by the Duchess of Kent and her daughter, Princess Victoria.

Parade Gardens, Bath

The original bandstand in Parade Gardens was designed and built by Henry Goodridge in 1870.  It was replaced in 1925 by the current octagonal bandstand.  The balustrade was replaced in June 2018.  A public forging event was held, which involved a team of blacksmiths from around the United Kingdom.  The musical score shown on the new balustrade is from Hammer & Anvil, which was composed by Jake Garrett.  There are also 8 musical themed panels, which were designed by the blacksmiths.  They feature a gate, big brass, Bridge over Troubled Water, a Celtic harp, tuning forks, a Roman cithara, melody and The Dancing Fiddler. School children from all over Bath forged the treble clefs, which adorn the finial on top of the bandstand.

Celtic harp panel, Parade Gardens, Bath

This panel was made by Gerard Loughran.

Wells Recreation Ground

Thatched bandstand, Victoria Park, Frome

A wooden bandstand was erected in Sidney Gardens in Yeovil in 1898.  It was paid for by James Bazeley Petter.  It was burnt down by vandals in 1972 and not replaced.

Hunky Punks

Hunky punks are grotesque carvings found on the outside walls of buildings, usually churches.  They differ from gargoyles because they are purely decorative: gargoyles drain water off roofs through their mouths.  The purpose of hunky punks seems to have been to break up long straight sections of stone walls and to ornament corners.

Hunky punks are particularly numerous in Somerset.  The term hunky punk is thought to have originated from the words hunkers and punchy.  Hunkers means "squatting on haunches" and punchy means having "short legs and a thick set body". 

Most hunky punks were carved between 1450 and 1550, during the second half of the Perpendicular period.  Parapets, pinnacles and window tracery were also often decoratively carved at this time.  The church towers built in Somerset in this period were mainly funded by the wealth generated by the wool trade.  The carving of hunky punks would have taken place on the ground (probably in the carvers' workshops) and not in situ.  They were carved using chisels and mallets.  The hunky punks on a particular church may not all have been carved by the same stone mason.

The subjects carved were rarely Christian symbols.  They were often mythological or heraldic creatures and occasionally humans.  Dragons, goats, dogs and griffins are the most common subjects.  Life in medieval times was greatly influenced by the Christian church, but also by superstition and folklore.  This may explain why so many hunky punks depict mythological and heraldic creatures.

My thanks to Nigel Stone for allowing me to use some of his photographs.

All Saints' Church, Langport

Lion, All Saints' Church, Langport

Three faces, All Saints' Church, Langport

Lion, Church of St Peter & St Paul, Kilmersdon

The north aisle of the St Peter & St Paul's Church was added in the 15th century and almost certainly paid for by William, Lord Botreaux. The hunky punks are thought to have been carved at the same time.

Antelope, Church of St Peter & St Paul, Kilmersdon

Toad and monk (or angel?) 

Church of St Peter & St Paul, Kilmersdon

Holy Trinity Church, Chantry

This church was built 1844-1846, so the hunky punks on it are not medieval.

Holy Trinity Church, Chantry

Toothache, All Saints Church, Monksilver

Cat, Kingston St Mary

Woman giving birth, Kingston St Mary

Griffin/dragon, Norton-sub-Hamdon

Devil, North Curry

Dog, All Saints Church, Curry Mallet

Goat, All Saints Church, Curry Mallet

Bagpipe player, Isle Abbotts

Further reading: 

Hunky Punks: A Study in Somerset Stone Carving by Peter Poyntz-Wright, first published 1982, revised edition 2004, Heart of Albion Press

Hedgehogs and Squirrels

Artistic representations of hedgehogs and squirrels aren't very common in Somerset.  Here are the ones I have come across painted on glass or walls, carved in wood, set in concrete and stitched onto church kneelers

Hedgehog, west door, Norton-sub-Hamdon Church

Mural, Priorswood, Taunton

Hedgehog, Church of St John the Baptist, Axbridge

Hedgehog on a carved seat in the churchyard of St Bartholomew's Church in Oake

Stained glass window, Churchstanton Church

Red squirrel on a kneeler in the Church of St Peter & St Paul, North Curry

Red squirrel set into the pavement outside the former Squirrel pub, High Street, Wellington

Squirrel chainsaw carving, Croydon Hill

Grey squirrel, Lamyatt bus shelter

Faded squirrel, Spray Point, Watchet

Victoria Park, Frome

This animal themed bench, which features three squirrels, was made from a 140 year old Norway maple, which had to be felled in 2025, as it was diseased.  The bench was made by Graham Derham.

Mounting Blocks

Mounting blocks are used to assist people in mounting and dismounting from horses or carts.  They were very common in Britain until the late 18th century, when the roads were improved enough to allow carriages to be used on them.  Carriages had their own steps and so the need for mounting blocks decreased.  Mounting blocks were especially useful for women, who were riding side saddle or pillion, as they allowed them to mount and dismount without any loss of modesty.  Use of a mounting block puts less strain on the stirrup leather and reduces the chance of the saddle slipping to one side.  It also reduces the strain on the spines of horses.

Most mounting blocks were made from stone or wood and usually had 2, 3 or 4 steps leading to a platform.  Mounting blocks were often located outside churches, public houses, inns, country houses, farms and along the main streets of market towns.

Outside St Gregory's Church, Weare

Old Church Road, Clevedon

B3227, Norton Fitzwarren

This mounting block came from Morse Farm.  It was rescued from the old cider site by John Rendall, who was a former chairman and parish councillor 1993-2015.

Quaker Meeting House in Long Sutton with mounting block in front

Torre House, Torre near Washford

Gatchells Lane, Bicknoller

Former stables at Dunster Castle

Double-ended mounting block

Church Street, Wedmore

Outside Bishop's Farm, Shurton

Former stables, All Saints' Church, Kingston Seymour

United Reformed Church, Mid Lambrook