Bitton
Bitton maps (2 available)
Map of Avon
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Bitton books (4 available)
Bitton memories
Read and share memories of Bitton and Avon inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Avon below.
Avon memories
Memories of the Queen's Head Willsbridge
At the bottom of Willsbridge and Brockham hills, on a busy Bath to Bristol road, stands an unassuming little building called The Queen's Head public house.
Unlike other pubs in the vicinity, The Queen's Head has never been wrapped up in all the usual alehouse folklore of highwaymen, cut-throats, and kings, and very little, by way of fact, or fiction, has ever been written about it. What follows is fact, and research reveals a fascinating history that tells the story of an establishment that not only served up ale, but which performed a whole variety of other hamlet, and old Bitton Parish functions.
EARLIEST DAYS
Willsbridge hamlet before The Queen's Head - The name 'Willsbridge' means 'the spring, ...read more here
A memory of Willsbridge contributed by Paul Townsend
frys the factory
I remember when the factory used to be Frys (before it was Cadburys) and Cadburys used to be at the top of the hill. My mum was born in Keynsham in 1951 and spent her childhood there and went to Dapps Hill School. We went to Keynsham a lot when I was younger as my nan lived there and one of my aunties still does!
I visited Keynsham a few months ago and although it has changed, I still recognise it immediately. I remember the church well and the parade of shops.
What memories!
A memory of Keynsham contributed by angie wickett
Southgate Hotel
My Great Great Grandparents were William and Elizabeth Pratt.
In the 1880s William and his family had lived and worked on the Longleat Estate, William was the Head Gardener at that time.
In 1891 they moved to Bath, and sadly William died there in 1892, and on his death certificate it stated that he died at 24 Southgate Street.
Further sadness followed when son Arthur Reginald also died, he was only 14.
Thanks to the Bath Post Office Directories of 1895 I was able to establish that the address was the Southgate Hotel and the Proprietor is stated as William's wife Elizabeth.
The Southgate Hotel can be seen on photo ref 52994 on the right hand side looking up Southgate Street, ...read more here
A memory of Bath contributed by Clive Pratt
Where have the trees gone?
Does anyone know when the trees were felled? I have found a slightly later photo around the turn of the century and this has the trees still. Today there are none, although I think those on Laura Place are still there. If anyone knows about this, I'd love to hear from you: moretrees@live.co.uk
A memory of Bath contributed by Adam Gretton
Extracts From Bitton & Avon books
Now renamed The Abbey Hotel, this terrace of houses became an hotel in 1879. It is part of the elder Wood’s Royal Forum, with its long, formal composition fronting North Parade. In the foreground is the then newly-laid-out area replacing the Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, now all paved and occupied by the water fountain of 1839 relocated from Bath Street.
An extract from from"Bath Photographic Memories".
Towards the edge of the village are former Rural District Council houses, now with lusher gardens, and opposite is a former Nonconformist chapel dated 1898. The tour of some villages around Bath is now finished, and you can head back northwards to the city.
An extract from from"Bath Photographic Memories".
This view looks in the opposite direction, east past the Manor House on the left with cottages and the former Ebenezer United Methodist Chapel of 1869 beside the raised and railinged pavement. On the right is St Julian’s Primary School, built in 1852 as the Wellow National School in the then usual Gothic style.
An extract from from"Bath Photographic Memories".
Climbing out of Limpley Stoke, head west through Hinton Charterhouse with its fascinating remains of the 13th-century Carthusian priory, Hinton Priory, to the village of Wellow, four miles south of Bath. This view looks west along the High Street past the Manor House on the right, a good 17th-century house with a tall gabled three-storey chamber wing.
An extract from from"Bath Photographic Memories".
On the next ‘terrace’ up is Middle Limpley Stoke, its narrow winding lane flanked by dry stone and mortared walls. The right hand cottages are dated 1885, and the village hall beyond was built in 1845.
An extract from from"Bath Photographic Memories".