Warminster History Society and Dewey Museum – Page 5

Warminster History Society AGM 1977

March 1977

The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held recently in the Town Hall, when 15 members attended, including Mr. Pearce as chairman; Mrs. Pearce, treasurer; Mr. Trollope, curator; and Mrs. Payne, secretary.

The minutes of the last A.G.M. were read, accepted and signed.

The chairman reported that the Society’s financial position was not as stable as had been hoped. Applications were made to the Town Council and the Dewey Bequest Fund for grants to be given towards the upkeep of the Museum on an annual basis. Unfortunately, this produced no further regular contributions towards the funds. Some money has been promised by the Lions Club towards improvements at the Museum.

Mr. Houghton’s suggestions for improvements to the display at the Museum have been taken up by the committee, and we now hope to begin to introduce these measures shortly.

The chairman thanked the following members: Mr. Trollope for his hard work in looking after the Museum; Mr. Houghton for his ideas and plans for improving the Museum; Mrs. Pearce for keeping the accounts; the Misses McMicken for helping to collect the cash from the Museum; and Mrs. Payne for her work as secretary.

The secretary reported on the Society’s meetings during the past year. Membership stands at 31, and the average attendance was 20 per meeting. The committee decided that handbills would be a more useful means of advertising. Mr. Ednay is preparing some sketches for publication as postcards or notelets to raise funds and to provide publicity.

Mr. Houghton and Mr. Trollope have been compiling a detailed card index entry for each object on display at the Museum. Mr B. Upton has agreed to reorganise the geological material to provide a more informative presentation.

Thanks were extended to all Museum helpers. Members were encouraged to continue to support the Society’s activities so that this year would prove as successful as last.

The treasurer reported that our financial position remained much the same as last year. After some discussion of the audited accounts, Mr. Hall proposed their adoption and this was seconded by Mr. Houghton.

The curator, Percy Trollope, reported the number of visitors to the Museum was 581, some 300 down on the previous year. The only school group to visit, was a party of pupils from New Close Primary School.

Thirty-six new items had been presented to the Museum, including a copy of the “History of Warminster Common” by Daniell (presented by Mrs. T. Davies) and a copy of the Enclosure Award of 1783.

The Society received the donation of a copy of Kenneth Roger’s book “Wiltshire and Somerset Woollen Mills” from Mr. K.G. Ponting of Edington.

The meeting discussed a proposition concerning the increase of subscriptions. After much debate the following proposal was accepted: that the subscriptions be raised to £1.50 for individuals, with a £1 rate for senior citizens. It should be understood, however, that where both a husband and wife are members, their children should have free entry to the Museum.

Officers elected were:

Chairman, Mr. Pearce;
Vice-Chairman, Mr. Houghton;
Treasurer, Mrs. Pearce;
Secretary, Mrs. R. Dodge;
Rota Secretary, Mrs. N. Payne;
Hon. Curator, Mr. Trollope;
Committee Members, Mrs. Merritt and Mr. Hall.

Lecture By Sylvia Chard ~ 18th Century Costume

The first lecture of the Warminster History Society’s Autumn Meetings 1976 was held on the evening of Monday 6^th September, when Mrs. Sylvia Chard, of Horningsham, spoke on the subject of 18^th century costume. Her interest in the subject grew from her work in the theatre.

A report of Mrs. Chard’s lecture noted:

It was most interesting to hear how various garments began in court circles and were adopted by the masses; or, contrariwise were taken up by the court and gentry after being successfully worn by the working-classes. This was particularly the case with the “Frock’, a male garment which later, with adaptations, became the “Frock-coat’.

Men apparently paid almost as much for cosmetics and hair care as their women-folk.

Fashion went to great extremes, prompting the beginnings of rival groups who aimed to counteract the extravagances so obvious among the upper-classes.

Female fashions were very romantic, made from rich, extravagant fabrics imported from France or Italy. The century saw a variety of styles from hoop-skirted dresses to saddle-backed dresses, to the gentle designs of the Regency period. Elaborate frills and laces were used as decoration by both men and women. Muffs were frequently seen as were other accessories such as canes, parasols, brooches, buckles, and watch-fobs.

Wigs were worn by men for most part of the century; female hairstyles were varied, the most bizarre of which was the style brushed high and elaborately decorated with all kinds of ornaments, seen around 1770 and 1780. Such creations were arranged and not dismantled for six to eight weeks at a time.

The scope of Sylvia’s talk was wide and included many charming details, too numerous to mention here. Thanks were extended to Mrs. Chard for giving such a lively and instructive lecture.

Warminster History Society ~ A Walk Around Horningsham

On Monday 3rd May 1976, members and guests of Warminster History Society enjoyed a walk around Horningsham, led by the Curator of Warminster Dewey Museum, Mr. Percy Trollope. It was a most interesting evening, with many facts about the history of the village gradually revealing a picture of the development of the village in years past.

The walk began at Horningsham Church. Attention was drawn to a number of interesting facts: The tower is part of the original structure of 1154; a map-maker and a poet are among those buried in the church yard; the tomb of the only member of the Weymouth family not buried in the family vault (at Longbridge Deverill Church), is in Horningsham Churchyard; and the hammer-beam roof is worthy of note.

Apart from Horningsham’s obvious association with the Longleat Estate, a number of other important families left their mark in the village. Many of the larger buildings were erected by the important and wealthy members of the community, as a result of successful business ventures.

At one time, Horningsham could boast of its self-sufficiency, having enough industry to employ available local labour.

A woollen mill once stood close to a house, which still stands, that was built by the owner of the mill, one William Everett. In the field opposite there stood a part of the mill-factory, and seven cottages, all housed under one roof. Because the cottages were subject to flooding, they were demolished after the diphtheria outbreak of 1875. Several processes at the mill needed water, which was obtained from a pond near the site. This pond is shown on a map dated 1812 but is now no longer in existence. The stream running through this area of land, runs into the lakes of the Longleat Estate.

Horningsham’s Malt House, now demolished, was in Pottle Street. A barn-like building can be seen on its site.

At one time, Horningsham had five public houses and numerous beer-sellers. The difference between the two, was that refreshment purchased from the beer-sellers had to be consumed away from the premises.

The Thorne family built up a factory in Horningsham, responsible for such things as the manufacture of chairs and brushes and the restoration of antiques. This finally closed earlier this century and was demolished in 1936. On that site now there are a number of council houses.

Further along Chapel Street, attention was drawn to the Meeting House built by Scottish masons in 1566. The Manse was erected next to the chapel, and during times of ‘inter regnum’ the manse was let so that the congregation could use the money to offer expenses to visiting ministers. The orginal entrance to the chapel has been blocked-up. 1816 saw the building enlarged. A number of interesting features can be seen inside. As one looks up to the gallery, the right hand side has a row of hat pegs for gentlemen, while the other side has not; obviously the congregation was segregated. The organ was installed in 1859. The chapel clock used to be slightly further forward; it was moved after one of the weights caused an accident when it fell on one of the deacons of the chapel. Following that incident, the clock was removed and installed in the chair factory just up the road. A modern clock was put in its place. On demolition of the factory the original clock was restored to the chapel with just slight alteration to its position to make it safe.

Opposite the Meeting House is a building known as the “pill box.” The name stems from the days when little wooden pill boxes were made there.

Horningsham had its own tailor, blacksmith and butcher, a number of small shops, and a post office (which orginally stood opposite the Village Hall).

The Town Well, which can be seen on the main road through the village, was used for baptisms during the time that Horningsham Church was being rebuilt, around 1783. Other wells in the area were said to have particular properties to aid good health; the well which served the community around Cock Road was said to have medicinal value good for the eyes.

In 1831 the population of Horningsham was 1,323; now it is between four and five hundred.

The walk ended back at the church where it had begun, and a most interesting evening it had been.

Warminster Dewey Museum

A note penned in the mid-1970s by Percy Trollope (first Curator of the Warminster Dewey Museum):

Many local people had expressed the need of a museum in Warminster, which was inspired by the activities of the two historians Mr. V. Manley and Mr. H.N. Dewey. Both of them were schoolmasters, such professions lend to the pursuits of local history, including geological interests.

After the death of Mr. Dewey, the Warminster Historical Society was formed in 1971. Monthly meetings were held and lectures given on local history. This continued for about two years; it was then decided to obtain a property where all the items of hard objects and historical documents could be housed and where the general public could have access.

The Society acquired the vacant cottage behind St. Laurence’s Church, known as Curfew Cottage, from which the Curfew Bell had been tolled for more than 200 years. A considerable amount of work was done before possession, and thanks are due to the Dewey Bequest and the Trustees, which enabled the Society to become established.

There are now between two and three hundred items housed there, which include the Dewey Collection of historical documents and the Manley Collection of geological specimens.