Notes by Danny Howell, first published in Warminster And District Archive, Issue No.3, July 1989:
Charles Dewey was born at Chitterne (a village about five miles north east of Warminster) in 1858. He was the son of Daniel Dewey and Sabina Dewey, and was baptised at All Saints Church, Church, on 23rd May 1858. His father’s occupation was listed in the baptism register as “labourer.”
On leaving school at an early age Charles Dewey began work as an apprentice smith and millwright on Messrs Hitchcocks’ farm at Chitterne. The trade of millwright was once in great demand due to the large number of water-driven flour mills common throughout England, but by the time Charles Dewey had completed his apprenticeship the flour mills were in decline.
In 1879, at All Saints Church, Chitterne, Charles Dewey married Henrietta Ann Titt, of the famous Titt family from Chitterne. She was the last surviving child of James Titt and she worked as a teacher at Chitterne School for a few years under the headmastership of Mr Brown.
Charles and Henrietta’s first child, Albert Charles Dewey, was born on 4th June 1880 and was baptised at All Saints Church, Chitterne, on 8th August 1880. Charles and Henrietta’s second son, Harold Nelson Dewey, was born on 12th June 1888.
Complete with new born baby Albert, Charles and Henrietta moved to Great Cheverell, near Devizes, Wiltshire, where Charles had found temporary work. Foreseeing the demise of the mills and the coming lack of work for millwrights, Charles decided in 1884 to move to Warminster, where he knew there were three flourishing iron foundries.
The family lived first at Boreham Road, Warminster, but later moved to East Street, Warminster, Charles having found work at Robert Exten’s Warminster Wheel and Wagon Works at Boreham, on the east side of the town. Working for Exten at the time was another native of Chitterne – Mr W.J. Feltham.
Charles’ employer, Robert Exten, died on 5th March 1883, and the Warminster Wheel and Wagon Works were taken over by Alfred Edwin Down. Charles didn’t stay on, having found work with Edmund Collins who was the owner of the Boreham Road Ironworks.
During his time working for Collins, Charles was injured while helping to put out a fire at the Rose And Crown inn, at East Street, Warminster. He fell through the roof to the floor below and sustained two broken wrists. This was the first in a series of accidents which eventually marked every part of his body. It is interesting to note that the fire at the Rose And Crown inn led to the formation, soon afterwards, of Warminster’s voluntary fire brigade.
Edmund Collins, fearing that Charles Dewey’s injuries from the fire would hamper his ability to work, promptly laid him off. Seeing the position of a full-time blacksmith at the Station Saw Mills advertised by Mark Hill’s Warminster Timber Company (the first time Hill had made such an appointment), Charles successfully applied. He continued there as an esteemed employee for nearly 50 years until his retirement. During his working life Charles had many remarkable and miraculous escapes from death – one of the last being the time he was pinned beneath an engine at the Station Saw Mills.
In later life, gardening was Charles’ main interest, and he also kept bees on a large scale in the garden of his home at 18 Imber Road, Warminster. His other hobbies included poultry and pig keeping, and he was one of the founders of the Warminster Pig Club.
During his early days in Warminster Charles identified himself with every movement to do with the improvement of life for the working classes. He was a founder member of the Warminster Co-operative Society, and he was Chairman of its Committee, from its inception with “Saturday night sales” in a cottage parlour at No.6 The Furlong, Warminster, to a larger room in a house (now demolished) at the lower end of Sambourne, Warminster, and later to shop premises at East Street, Warminster (later used by Mr Sharp as a tearoom and bakery business – currently the Assam take-away restaurant. The pioneer of the Warminster Co-operative Society was another native of Chitterne, Henry Charles Titt, who came to the town in 1873.
A keen cyclist, Charles Dewey for many years rode a penny-farthing bicycle but later transferred to a solid-tyre safety model. As a youth at Chitterne he showed an interest in cricket when villager Robert Blake was the leading light. Blake later became a well-known member of Warminster Cricket Club. Charles Dewey’s interest in sport in later years was only as a regular spectator watching Warminster Town Football Club play.
In politics, Charles Dewey wasa life-long Liberal, and he had many interesting recollections of the lively scenes when Mr G.P. Fuller was elected as member for West Wilts. Charles stood as a candidate for the first Warminster Urban District Council and although he was a “near runner-up” he never tried for a seat a second time. Before the First World War he acted as agent in an unofficial capacity for candidates and was responsible for many triumphs including those of his employer Mark Hill.
With regards religion, Charles Dewey was brought up in the Church of England faith but on moving to Great Cheverell, after his marriage, he joined the Baptist Chapel in the village. On coming to Warminster he joined the town’s Baptist Chapel at North Row when the minister was the Rev A. Johnson. Charles was made a deacon, and was a senior deacon at the time of his death. He was a willing helper and became a great friend to the ministers who succeeded Johnson. He was a devoted and generous member of the North Row Baptist Chapel, worshipping there even when physical infirmity made it difficult for him to attend.
Charles’ wife Henrietta Dewey died on 1st April 1939, at 18 Imber Road, Warminster. In her early life she had worshipped in the Anglican church but had joined the Baptist chapel when she moved to Great Cheverell soon after her marriage. She later joined the North Row Baptist Chapel, Warminster, in 1886, being baptised by the Rev Hugh Henderson. Henrietta was a supporter of the Liberal Party and was an extremely active member of the local women’s Liberal Association for many years. Her funeral was held at North Row Baptist Chapel.
Charles Dewey passed away, aged 84, on Monday 7th December 1942, and his funeral was held at the North Row Baptist Chapel on the following Thursday.