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Kingston St Mary
Kingston St Mary photos
Displaying the first of 2 old photos of Kingston St Mary. View all Kingston St Mary photos
Kingston St Mary maps
Historic maps of Kingston St Mary and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Kingston St Mary maps
Kingston St Mary area books
Displaying 1 of 11 books about Kingston St Mary and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Kingston St Mary
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Kingston St Mary.
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Meeting my Great Grandparents
My name is Margret Russell. My maiden name was Margret Lewis. I live in Australia.
My father Wilfred Charles Lewis was born in Taunton Somerset. His maternal grandparents were Martha (nee Harris) and Samuel Critchard who were from Kingston St Mary where they raised a family of eight daughters and one son.
Martha and Samuel operated the Norton Fitzwarren Post Office for many years. When the death of Samuel occurred, Martha with the help of some of her daughters continued running the Post Office for a few years. Samuel also operated a shoe making business in a room of their home above the Post Office. Last year I was very fortunate to be able to come to the UK to meet my father's family of whom there are many still alive and many more of my 2nd cousins. It was such a surreal time for me as my father passed away when I was very young and I never had the oppourtunity to inquire of his family in the... Read more
Maternal Family History And Onwards Dictated by my Mum Age 84
My name is Hilda Mary Fenn nee Hurman. I was born at Yarford in 1924. My father was William Thomas Hurman, my mother Caroline Elizabeth nee Tucker. They are buried in the village churchyard. My two sisters and I were all married in the village church in 1952 and had receptions in the village hall. As children we attended the village school - Mr Hawkins was the headmaster - we attended youth club, brownies, guides, choir, Kingston players drama group. My best friend was Margaret Mead of The Bungalow, Fulford, she lives there still. We spent our days roaming the fields, collecting milk, harvesting, riding on the hay carts. When it was the Silver Jubilee of George V and Queen Mary, the village held a carnival and all the children and adults dressed up for a parade and a tea was held where prizes were given. All the children received a mug. When the Coronation of George 6th happened there was a similar event and another mug was given. In... Read more
Somerset memories
Monkton House
I lived with my family in this house for a few months when we first arrived in England from Northern Ireland, it was being renovated by one "Gassy" Harris and was full of the smell of sawn timber. A few years back I revisited the house briefly and met with someone who I think was doing some temporary gardning, though his main profession was thatching, and had worked on that very renovation; now I have lost his name. I attended West Monkton School and got befriended by Johnny Curry, whom I subsequently met up with again at Taunton School, but then lost contact with. There was a boss-eyed stallion in the field behind the house which bit me on the bottom.
Post Office West Monkton
I lived here from around 1952 until the late 1960s with my parents RF and WM Marsh who ran the Post Office and Stores. My father used to deliver groceries to customers over quite a wide area, some of whom lived in Coombe (in another photo) and some lived across fields further into the hills where geese used to try to attack the car wheels! My father passed away at home in 1974 and my mother kept the shop going by herself (with helpers) until around 1977/8. I understand that it kept going until the Post Office cuts in 2008. Earlier there was a butchers shop further up the Street and possibly another shop of some sort.
Narrow Escape (probably Between 1958 And 1961)
a few years after this photo was taken WH Smiths which was located to the bottom left of this photo completely collapsed following a prolonged spell of wet weather. This happened very early one saturday morning in the run up to christmas, prior to staff arriving for work. I don't think anyone was injured - a few hours later and the store would have been crowded with christmas shoppers!
Army Barracks Overlooking Vivary Park.
I lived in the Army Barracks [Jelelahbad] from around 1960-61 and went to Mary Magdalene School which is now closed and used as an auctions room. One teacher I recall was a Mr Oak and pupils were Margaret Harvey, John & Jane Scott, Paul Hacker, and Marilyne Littlejohn. We spent a lot of time playing in Vivary Park and bought our sweets from Jarvis Sweet shop across the road from the iron gates last I heard it was turned into a Tatoo Shop in the 1980/90s. Tutor Tavern back then was run by Mr & Mrs Hacker who had sons called Paul and Clifford we often played in the tavern in the cellar area it was very spooky. My father was stationed at nearby Norton Manor Camp and mother worked at Woolworths.
Lost Friends
My memories of Taunton don't go back too far. I'd arrived one summer evening in 1970 on the back of Tony's chopper, and stayed with friends for a while at 5 Cannon Street. Amongst the friends I eventually made were: The Colonel, Jake and Ricky, Busking Battersea Bill Smith, Colena, Angie, Ally, Sharon, Big John the biker...to name but a few. Those were really carefree days. Mornings we'd usually meet up in the Merlin for a coffee, then maybe nip across the road into the park, play some music or whatever... In the evenings I remember we'd either nip down a tiny passage way into a great little pub The Full Moon, with its lethal scrumpy on tap, or to that other great pub The Mirtle Tree, selling the same elixir. I have very fond memories of my short stay in the Taunton area, and I've certainly made-up for my bout of inactivity ever since. After that epic Glastonbury festival of 1971 that most of us went to, all those friends just... Read more
