Church Farm
In the 18th century this site was occupied by a group of buildings, directly abutting onto the road, which were listed in 1840 as two dwelling houses and a cottage, together with a ‘beer house’ (the ‘Clothier’s Arms’) with malthouse, yard and stables. By 1854 however, when it was put up for sale, the inn had become the ‘Butcher’s Arms’, and the malthouse a butchery. This was evidently a very ancient site, as the premises were also described as ‘… the manor of Twerton, with all its fishery rights, royalties, and appurtenances’, and was a copyhold tenancy (with ‘heriot’) – presumably the last to be granted by the manorial lordship. About 1860 the whole property was acquired by Oriel College, Rectors of Twerton Church, for the site of a new church farm. Formerly the farm was situated next the old Rectory (Clyde House), but when the house and its grounds were acquired by the GWR Company in 1840, it was run temporarily from the old western farmhouse behind the church. This too ceased to be available by 1850 when the farmhouse was replaced by the present ‘Old’ Vicarage House.
A view of the front of Church Farm House and its garden (with Monkey Puzzle tree), taken from the road entrance.
The new farmhouse was built on the western half of the site (formerly occupied by most of the old dwellings) and was a fine residence set well back from the road with an ornamental garden leading down to the entrance. A monkey-puzzle tree in the garden remained a notable landmark throughout the existence of the farm. The stables and outbuildings however, on the eastern half of the site, were retained and walled off separately for the farmyard area, with a new cottage facing the road. Although ‘Church Farm’ later passed from church ownership, it continued to operate as a farm until after WWII. In 1970 it was demolished and replaced by the present building – initially a home for the aged called the ‘Hollies’, but now converted to a community learning centre. All that remains of the old buildings is the angled wall on the west side which constituted the boundary of the manorial cottages.
The cottages and farm complex of Church Farm before demolition. The western entrance to the Parade is visible on the left.
Hello,
I am wondering if you happen to have any more photos of Church Farm? My G-G-G-Aunt lived there with her husband William Kendall until an unknown date, but they were definitely living there in 1881.
I have two photographs taken at the rear of a property which I believe to be somewhere in Bath, and the small image of the front of Church Farm above would seem to correlate with the size of the house in the two photographs.
http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/yy120/BrokenCrockery/?action=view¤t=Enhancement.jpg
http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/yy120/BrokenCrockery/?action=view¤t=Enhancement3.jpg
What do you think? Unfortunately, I can only accurately identify 2/3 people in each photograph, so I cannot say for sure that the occupiers appear in either of the images.
Any help that anyone could provide would be absolutely fantastic!
Many thanks
Andrew Shackell
Hello again,
After looking at the 1884 OS map found on this website, I have come to the conclusion that the house in the two photographs (links above) is indeed Church Farm.
I’m quite saddened that such a long search has ended in this (almost predictable) outcome, but happy also as I can finally put a name and location to the property.
Please feel free to publish these photos on the church Farm entry if you see fit.
I’d like to thank you for going to the trouble of creating this website – without it I would have probably been searching for years, and to no avail. Thank you once again, you’re doing a fantastic job!
Many thanks,
Andrew Shackell
Hmm…don’t know if my first comment actually got posted or not, as it is apparently awaiting moderation whilst the second is not…Here it is again:
Hello,
I am wondering if you happen to have any more photos of Church Farm? My G-G-G-Aunt lived there with her husband William Kendall until an unknown date, but they were definitely living there in 1881.
I have two photographs taken at the rear of a property which I believe to be somewhere in Bath, and the small image of the front of Church Farm above would seem to correlate with the size of the house in the two photographs.
http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/yy120/BrokenCrockery/?action=view¤t=Enhancement.jpg
http://s783.photobucket.com/albums/yy120/BrokenCrockery/?action=view¤t=Enhancement3.jpg
What do you think? Unfortunately, I can only accurately identify 2/3 people in each photograph, so I cannot say for sure that the occupiers appear in either of the images.
Any help that anyone could provide would be absolutely fantastic!
Many thanks
Andrew Shackell
Some of the people in the photo, especially the gentleman with the big white beard, may be members of the Carr family. If true, this would locate the scene somewhere in Twerton. I’ll ask somebody who may know.
The only other photo relevant to Church Farm that I know, is that of the medieval window which was uncovered in the farm yard and is today stored in St Michael’s Church:
http://www.bathintime.co.uk/image.php?id=197321&idx=5&fromsearch=true