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Southwood

Southwood maps

Historic maps of Southwood and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all Southwood maps

Southwood photos

We have no photos of Southwood, although we do have photos of these nearby places:

Keinton Mandeville| Butleigh| East Pennard| Charlton Mackrell| Compton Dundon| Ditcheat| Dundon| Glastonbury| Street| Pilton| Castle Cary| Sparkford| Somerton| Queen Camel| Sharpham| Long Sutton

Southwood area books

Displaying 1 of 11 books about Southwood and the local area.   View all books for this area

Memories of Southwood

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Somerset memories

My Sister's Village

My sister moved from Manchester in 1990 to Keinton as her husband was working in Shepton Mallet. We have been visiting the village at least 3 times a year, Easter, Summer and usually Christmas. Our children say they can smell Somerset - they mean fresh air, fires burning etc. Keinton has shown us a different way of life, we love to go to the local church on Christmas Eve and a walk on Christmas Day. We love the quiet and the peaceful streets and the smell of people's fires burning. We would love to move to Keinton and hope one day we will. We are really thankful that it has become such a big part of our lives. I love Keinton.

An Important Place!

The Hospital c1955
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We lived in Sparkford, but 4 of us were born at this hospital (the last one was born at home in 1956).  I am not sure how Dad managed to visit Mum as he certainly did not have a car!
We visit Somerset annually but this year we stayed at Barton St David. The small villages with narrow streets were quiet and picturesque, it reminded me of when we lived here in the 1950s. I remember the bread van coming round almost daily, and before milk deliveries my mum used to walk into the village with her sister-in-law to collect mild in a small churn. We only went to Sunday School in good weather because then we could take a short cut of about a mile across the field and railway line to church.

Childhood

I was born in London, and my family moved to Culberry Cottage in East Pennard when I was about 8yrs or 9yrs old.  That was a short but happy stay in the area amongst the farm lands, animals and walks in the fields picking wild daffodils and bluebells. I loved to help the farmers with the dairy cows and picked the cider apples.  Will never forget the wonderful taste of the fresh milk/cream, but  especially the taste after the cows had eaten some of the cider apples (cider and milk do not mix well!). Culberry Cottage was at that time a 700 year old stone cottage with no electric and a well for water at the bottom of the lane with many frogs living in it which I loved to play with and freaked out my mother.  I am now in my mid-sixties and have over the past several months been dreaming of the cottage, I searched on the internet and found the people who are now living in the... Read more

School

As a 13-year old lad freshly returned from the United States (to which my Dad had been posted for oil shipment duties), I found myself one September day a little teary-eyed at the doors of Edgarley Hall. I did not know then that I was about to start the most wonderful experience of all my school days. The Hall was then the junior school for Millfield in Street. It was also a mini-heaven for boys who were as ready to learn as much as they wanted to scramble up and down the Tor, fish in the Brue, go to the flicks in Glastonbury, play cricket and soccer throughout Somerset, and just generally wake up to a world of woods, wildlife, and a kind of singular wonderment.

Living With Grandpa

Abbey House c1960
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I spent a year living in the Abbey House from Sept 1967 to July 1968 with my dad, mum, and younger sister. My grandfather, Hugh Leir, owned the house and lived in the older/original part of it for that year too. I was 11 years old at the time and it was a magic year. My sister and I had a wonderful time exploring the old house and grounds, especially when Grandpa wasn't around, and we were Robin Hood and Maid Marian for a good part of that year we lived there too. The attic was a wonderful place to explore. I remember the chicken bones that held the stone tiles in place. I have fond memories of Walter Higgins who was the gardener/grounds keeper there at the time and neighbours, the Barbers, who had giant hunting horses in the stables next door.

Brian Salter
Mar 2011

The Roman Way

We moved to Glastonbury in 1994 and left in 2000.
We loved our time there and have wonderful memories of walking our dogs along Wearyall Hill and across the fields at the back of our house then along the banks of the River Brue. We were able to sit up in bed with a cup of tea in the morning and look at the sunrise over Glastonbury Tor. A very special place that we go back and visit often.

REAL & HOLTON - SPARKES OF CARY IN CASTLE CARY

My great uncle Mr Arthur Real who was born at Axmouth Devon in 1886 and grew up there, started a business in Castle Cary Somerset with Mr Walter Holton from Trowbridge Wiltshire in the 1930s. They named their bakery business Real & Holton. Mr Holton was a master baker and confectioner and worked in the bakehouse in Fore Street from 4am in the morning until he finished his day. The first batch of bread would be ready by 8am. Mr Holton would then cycle to his home in Torbay Road to have his breakfast while the staff would take the hot bread from the bakehouse into the shop, ready, when the shop opened at 9am. My great uncle ran the business side and lived above the shop and cafe with his wife Clara. Above the shop and cafe there was a large grand front room with two windows, one a bay.  These two windows overlooked Fore Street. The view was beyond the Market House up the road, and down to... Read more

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